Avan Amaran

Avan Amaran
Avan Amaran
	Poster
Directed by	S. Balachander
Written by	Nagercoil S. Nagarajan
Produced by	Nagercoil S. Nagarajan; So.Kanapati
Starring	K. R. Ramasamy
Cinematography	Nemai Ghosh
Music by	T. M. Ibrahim
Production; company	People's Films
Release date	23 May 1958;
Running time	199 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Avan Amaran (transl. He is immortal) is a 1958 Indian Tamil language political drama film produced and written by Nagercoil S. Nagarajan, and directed by S. Balachander. The film stars K. R. Ramasamy, P. Kannamba, Rajasulochana and T. S. Balaiah.^[2] It was released on 23 May 1958 and failed at the box office.

Plot

Cast

K. R. Ramasamy as Arul
P. Kannamba as Arul's mother
Rajasulochana as Lily
T. S. Balaiah as Lily's father

Production

Avan Amaran was produced and written by Nagercoil S. Nagarajan under People's Films, and directed by S. Balachander shot at the Newtone, Paramount, and Revathi studios in Chennai.^[3]^[1] The scene where labourers protest on a bridge was shot at a bridge near Fort St. George, Madras (now Chennai).^[4] Cinematography was handled by Nemai Ghosh.^[1]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by T. M. Ibrahim.^[5] The song "Kaalanaa Minjaadhaiyaa" is based on "Ramayya Vastavayya" from the Hindi film Shree 420 (1955), and "Vaanmadhi Nee Arivaai" is based on "Jaye To Jaye Kahaan" from another Hindi film, Taxi Driver (1954).^[6]

Song	Singers	Lyricist	Length
"Vaanmadhi Nee Arivaai"	Seerkazhi Govindarajan & Jikki	Ku. Ma. Balasubramaniam	03:34
"Kanmaniye Innamudhe Karkandu Paage"	Jikki	Ku. Ma. Balasubramaniam	03:01
"Ezhaiyai Kozhai Endru Ninaikkudhu"	K. R. Ramasamy	Ku. Sa. Krishnamoorthi	02:22
"Varum Kaalam Ulagam Namadhendre"	Jikki & group	A. Maruthakasi	03:24
"Kaalanaa Minjaadhaiyaa Kaalanaa Minjaadhaiyaa"	Seerkazhi Govindarajan, p.susheela & group		03:14
"Aniyaayam Indha Ulagile"	C. S. Jayaraman		04:12
"Kanneer Sindhaadhe Kavalai Kollaadhe"	Jikki		03:11
"Yezhaigal Vaazhvil...Van Pasiyaale Thudikkiraar Inge"	K. R. Ramasamy	Kuyilan
"Aasiyaavin Jyothiyaaga"	Group song	Kuyilan
"Kanavo Sol Kaadhal"	K. R. Ramasamy & Jikki	Kambadasan
"Dhaam Dhoom Thagatham"	A. M. Rajah & A. P. Komala	Surabhi

Release and reception

Avan Amaran was released on 23 May 1958.^[7] As it was a leftist-oriented film there were more than 72 cuts ordered by the censor board and on appeal it was reduced to 52 and after screening it to the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Finally 35 cuts were approved and censor board certification was given. In this dragging background the film's release was delayed by more than six months. When released there was a severe power cut at Tamil Nadu, then Madras state, and theaters were allowed to run only one show. This toppled the film's success and so it become a failure at the box office.^[8]^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 353.
^ காந்தன் (29 June 1958). "அவன் அமரன்". Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 16–17. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2022 – via Internet Archive.
^ Guy, Randor (12 May 2012). "Avan Amaran 1958". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
^ Baskaran 1996, p. 123.
^ Neelamegam, G. (December 2014). Thiraikalanjiyam — Part 1 (in Tamil) (First ed.). Chennai: Manivasagar Publishers. p. 137.
^ Gopalakrishnan, P. V. (15 May 2017). "FIlmy Ripples- Inspired plagiarism in early music". The Cinema Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
^ "1958 – அவன் அமரன் – தி பியூசல் [sic] பிலிம்ஸ்" [1958 – Avan Amaran – The Piyusal [sic] Films]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
^ "பிரதமர் ஜவஹர்லால் நேருவால் தப்பித்த அவன் அமரன் திரைப்படம்". News18 (in Tamil). 24 May 2023. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
^ "Mobile theatres to take serious cinema to masses across state". The Hindu. 16 June 2012. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2023.

Bibliography

Baskaran, S. Theodore (1996). The eye of the serpent: an introduction to Tamil cinema. East West Books. OCLC 243920437.
Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. British Film Institute and Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-563579-5.

External links

Avan Amaran at IMDb

[FOOTNOTERajadhyakshaWillemen1998353-1] Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 353.

[2] காந்தன் (29 June 1958). "அவன் அமரன்". Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 16–17. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2022 – via Internet Archive.

[BFTP-3] Guy, Randor (12 May 2012). "Avan Amaran 1958". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 January 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2017.

[FOOTNOTEBaskaran1996123-4] Baskaran 1996, p. 123.

[5] Neelamegam, G. (December 2014). Thiraikalanjiyam — Part 1 (in Tamil) (First ed.). Chennai: Manivasagar Publishers. p. 137.

[6] Gopalakrishnan, P. V. (15 May 2017). "FIlmy Ripples- Inspired plagiarism in early music". The Cinema Resource Centre. Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2019.

[7] "1958 – அவன் அமரன் – தி பியூசல் [sic] பிலிம்ஸ்" [1958 – Avan Amaran – The Piyusal [sic] Films]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2017.

[8] "பிரதமர் ஜவஹர்லால் நேருவால் தப்பித்த அவன் அமரன் திரைப்படம்". News18 (in Tamil). 24 May 2023. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.

[9] "Mobile theatres to take serious cinema to masses across state". The Hindu. 16 June 2012. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2023.

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