Gokuladasi

Gokuladasi
Gokuladasi
	Theatrical poster
Directed by	K. Subrahmanyam
Screenplay by	K. Subrahmanyam
Story by	Elangovan
Produced by	K. Subrahmanyam
Starring	C. Honnappa Bhagavathar; M. V. Rajamma; T. R. Ramachandran; N. Krishnamurthi; Lalitha; Padmini
Cinematography	P. L. Rai
Edited by	R. Rajagopal
Music by	S. V. Venkatraman
Production; company	Madras United Artistes Corporation
Distributed by	Madras United Artistes Corporation
Release date	November 1948;
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Gokuladasi (transl. Gokulam's Devotee) is a 1948 Indian Tamil-language film directed and produced by K. Subrahmanyam. The film stars C. Honnappa Bhagavathar and M. V. Rajamma in lead roles, with T. R. Ramachandran, N. Krishnamurthi, Lalitha, and Padmini in supporting roles.^[2]

Plot

Kamaroopan is a lustful king who faces the curse of Goddess Parvati and is reborn as a common jeweller in the town of Gokulam. The jeweller happens to set his eyes on a Devadasi named Anuradha and tries to woo her. Anuradha, on the other hand, was a singer-dancer in her previous birth and a devotee of Parvati. She was cursed by sage Narada for displeasing him and is reborn as Anuradha. The jeweller keeps trying to seduce Anuradha not realising the actions he had committed in his previous birth. To settle the matter, Krishna rids both the jeweller and the Devadasi of their curses.^[2]

Cast

Adapted from Film News Anandan and The Hindu.^[1]^[2]

C. Honnappa Bhagavathar as Narada/Kamaroopan/a jeweller
M. V. Rajamma as a singer-dancer/Anuradha
T. R. Ramachandran
N. Krishnamurthi
Lalitha
Padmini as Krishna
Sowdhamini
R. M. Somasundaram
N. Thiruvengadam
K. S. Angamuthu
S. Sarojini
Baby Sathyavathi

Dance

Lalitha
Padmini

Production

K. Subrahmanyam directed and produced the film under his own banner, the Madras United Artistes Corporation.^[1] The story and dialogues were written by Ilangovan while Subrahmanyam himself handled the screenplay.^[1]^[2] Principal photography for the film took place at Neptune Studios.^[2] One of the film's associate directors was L. Krishnan, who later went on to become a prominent filmmaker in Malaysian cinema and earned the Datuk honorific.^[2]

Soundtrack

S. V. Venkatraman was in charge of the music and score for Gokuladasi while the songs' lyrics were written by Papanasam Sivan and Rajagopal Iyer.^[2]

Reception

Film historian Randor Guy notes that Gokuladasi is "remembered for the pleasing music, song and dance numbers by the Travancore Sisters and impressive performances by Rajamma, Honnappa Bhagavathar and T. R. Ramachandran."^[2] The film did not perform well at the box office.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Film News Anandan (23 October 2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru [History of Landmark Tamil Films] (in Tamil). Chennai: Sivakami Publishers. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Guy, Randor (29 January 2012). "Gokuladasi 1949". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.

[anandan-1] Film News Anandan (23 October 2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru [History of Landmark Tamil Films] (in Tamil). Chennai: Sivakami Publishers. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017.

[BFTPhindu-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Guy, Randor (29 January 2012). "Gokuladasi 1949". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2017.

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