History deals with knowledge of the past events. Like any
other study, the usefulness of history in context with films has got
its own importance, which may be presented as follows. According
to Gatson Roberge, “the study of various uses of cinema helps
us towards a better understanding of the relationship
between the medium and its audience”. By studying film
history, the chronology or important landmark becomes obvious,
which in turn helps us to understand the genesis and development
of the film medium e.g. the early pioneers and personalities
connected with film making; different stages through which film-art
and industry has passed in our country, the typology of films
produced along with a list of successful and failure films of the past
may help us indirectly to understand the likes and dislikes of the
audiences towards a particular type of film. Besides, a comparison
of existing typology with that of the past may present before us a
comparative analysis of films and audiences of the past and present
period. Secondly, films are said to be the mirror of society. Today’s
films to a greater or a lesser extent reflect before us the real,
distorted or indifferent picture of the present day men, his society
and culture.
Cinema in India established its footings on July 7, 1896 when
on the same date a Times of India advertisement had invited
Bombay residents to witness “the marvel of the century, the
wonders of the world” at Watson Hotel. The attraction was
described by Messrs Luminere brothers as “living photographic
picture of life size reproduction”. When the Lumiere cameramen
Maurice Sestire held the first public showing at Bombay’s Watson’s
Hotel, the Indian viewer took the cinematic experience in his stride
as something already familiar to him. Since inception the ‘cinema
shows’ continued, though at frequent interval and for different
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periods in the beginning. Besides Lumiere Brothers of France, the
other
pioneers
from
abroad
followed
the
same
tracts
and
approached the Indian audience with show items and appliances to
be used by them. At Lumiere film screening in Bombay was present
a local photographer – H.S.Bhatavdekar. he was keen on getting
hold of the Lumiere cinematographe which was the three-in-one
apparatus
–
camera,
projector
and
processing
machine.
Bhatavdekar was the first Indian to create moving images in India.
These were the days of British regime in India, when the
Indian audience was becoming accustomed to enjoy cinema shows.
The cinema shows advertised through Times of India were held in
places like hotels, halls, and in tent cinemas in maidans. As evident,
these were the days of travelling showmanship which provides us a
clue concerning non-existence of permanent houses, which in fact
were to emerge later. The Indian audience, during those days
enjoyed films of different nature viz. Mythological, Socials and the
Stunt films.
The Indian film history may broadly be divided into two
distinct phases or eras viz. “Silent Era” and the “Talkie Era”.
These two distinct phases have an apparent demarcation line i.e.,
the first phase predominantly characterised as a period when sound
was not invented in films and the later phase with the advent of
sound and its incorporation into films. Here, it is to be noted that
even after the Talkie films have shown their appearance, the Silent
films continued and tried to survive with Talkie films but later type
of films within a period of four years swept away the Silent films.
The Silent era of Indian film history was started in India ever
since the first screening of Lumiere Brothers ‘Cinematographie’
held at Bombay’s Watson Hotel on July 7, 1896.
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The beginning period of Silent era (1896-1899), after the birth
of cinema at Watson Hotel, witnessed the pioneering efforts of
pioneers from abroad, who with their appliance and film items
approached to the Indian audience on different occasions and for
different timings. Their shows were held in places like Hotels,
theatres, Tent houses in Maidans (Parks) and the like. During the
said period, the cinema had indeed made spectacular progress and
won over the audience regular patronage. As many as twenty five
films were made and now being shown in a single independent
performance, accompanied by ‘piano and violin music played by
European ladies’. The pictures were described as being ‘life like and
life size, vivid clear, humorous and absolutely free from flicker’. The
methods of projection had improved. Electric light was employed.
The first decade of the beginning of the new century (19001909) witnessed the pioneering efforts of Indian film makers viz
F.B. Thanewalla, Save Dada, Sen Brothers, especially Hiralal Sen,
who dominated over the early pioneers and J.F.Madans. These
pioneers in different capacities contributed to the spread of
“Shorts”.
The second decade of the 20th century (1910-1919) witnessed
few promising characteristics along with a few significant changes.
In the first two years i.e. 1910-1912, the production of short films
continued in the country. Indian cinematographers along with their
foreign contemporaries remained busy in bringing out ‘living
pictures’ of topical events and of visual interests. Some of the
“subject selected for filming indeed reflect cinema’s self-discovery
as a medium of news coverage and documentation”.
During the same years, old theatres were being converted into
new ones in Bombay. The theatres tried many tricks to lure
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spectators and by 1912, the new medium had tried all possible
tricks like adding music, synchronised sound and colour to the
Silent images.
The
year
1912-1913,
however,
witnessed
important
achievements in making of India’s first story film Pundalik and the
first narrative feature film in its fullest sense.
With the end of the first decade of the new century, India has
made some 25 feature films and established the Silent films as a
popularly accepted mode of story telling…, the feature films were
shown by turns in different Indian cities, though often with their
titles modified or tailored… Patankar’s king Shriyala came to Madras
as Siruthonda Nayanar.
Besides the above characteristics and events, the present
decade witnessed the pioneering efforts made by new film makers
who, along with the existing ones, contributed in different capacities
in
production
of
various
types
of
films
viz.
‘Shorts’
and
ethnographic films, which especially dominated.
R.G.Torney, a new pioneer, with the aid of N.G.Chitre made
‘Pundalik’ (May 18, 1912) which was the first attempt by an Indian
in making of a dramatic film and based on the life of a Saint of
Maharashtra.
S.N.Patankar , a new pioneer aided with friends, made films
like ‘Savitri’ (1912) based on the well-known tale of ‘Satyavan
and Savitri’ and an episode from Ramayana (1912).
Besides producing the first narrative feature films of India and
a number of Mythological films, Phalke made “Shorts” which shows
“the importance he attached to the films role as documentary”.
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Nataraj Mudaliar of Madras made Keecha Vadam under the
banner of Indian Film Co., which became the first feature film of
South India and it emerged in 1919. The film based on an episode
from the Mahabharata dealt with the Pandavas in exile and the
killing of the libertine Keechaka for the sake of Draupadi.
After stepping into 1920, Indian cinema gradually assumed
the shape of a regular industry. This is most noticeable in quantum
of production, which rose from a mere eight percent to eighteen
(1920), forty (1921), eighty (1925) and a hundred and seventy two
at the turn of the decade.
The year 1929 witnessed the first record of a Silver Jubilee
run, which was set up by Madans with ‘Kapal Kundala’ running at
the crown cinema for twenty nine weeks. The year also witnessed
the coming of the first Talkie film from abroad. Madan Theatre
brought the all-talking photo-play Melody of Love in February 1929.
With the arrival of the first Indian sound feature film, the
Indian film industry was supposed to face a considerable change.
The Talkie came to India at a time when the Silent cinema was at
its peak and the Talkie film slowly and swiftly displaced it within two
years. The Silent era, which apparently continued upto 1934, before
its extinction showed an inclination towards greater quantum of
production and somewhat better quality based films viz. Devadasi
system; ‘Vasantsena’ based on the classic Mrichhakatika; and A
Throw of Dice (1930) made jointly for U.F.A. and a producer of
England.
The Silent era, prior to its extinction, provided a sound base for
the future film industry. During the Silent era, between the period
ranging from 1897 to 1934, Silent ‘Shorts’ and Silent features were
made. Between the period ranging from 1897 to 1912, some 55
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short films mostly pioneering nature were made and shown in India.
Further, the Silent era, covering the period from 1912 to 1934,
produced Silent feature films numbering about a thousand. Besides,
“In the year Talkie arrived, the Silent period showed the highest
production figures in history, namely 172 films in 1930 and 207 in
1931….the Silent films suddenly faced a decline when Talkie arrived
in 1931. Though they did hold on for four more years, the
production dropped from 88 in 1932 to 39 in 1933 and 7 in 1934.
After this no Silent films were made and the curtain was finally rung
down on an era that had been so romantic, exiting and meaningful”.
The Silent era, spread over some twenty years, shows that it
helped to firmly establish the Indian film industry and the cinema as
the most popular medium of entertainment.
Films were completed quickly, some within ten days. The
average budget was around Rs 20,000 and three prints would serve
the exploitation. The stars were paid salaries and allowed to work
for other only on special arrangements. Producers had direct trade
dealings with exhibitors in the absence of a distribution system. The
theatres were directly involved in exploiting the film to its maximum
level. They arranged for music accompaniment (Harmonium and
Tabla for Indian films) and even sound effects at times. There was
also the system of employing a narrator, who would stand near the
screen and give a running commentary at the top of his voice.
But all this was changed overnight when the film with sound
invaded the scene. At first, there was great opposition to the new
medium. The Silent producers turned garrulous and began to
ridicule the Talkies as a passing fancy. They even quoted the
proverb “Silence is golden”. Bur soon they had to yield to the
inevitable, as the Talkie revolutionised the medium and the industry
120
in many respects. Like the history of the emergence of the motion
picture, that of the Talkie has also been a long one, dating back to
the birth of the cinema itself. Amazingly, the film was conceived
from the beginning as a visual image coupled with sound. The
earliest experiment by Edison’s assistant, Dickson on October 6,
1889 was a brief film of himself, appearing and speaking, through
the film being linked with the phonograph. Then, all through the
Silent era, India saw many efforts at bringing talking pictures. The
earliest Indian attempt on record is a Talkie programme shown in
September 1930 at Bombay’s Krishna cinema. It consisted of two
pictures synchronised with sound and music.
Talkie Era
The Talkie era of Indian cinema started since the year 1931
and continues up-till now. The beginning of thirties (1930- 1939) is
characterised as a period for the advent of Talkie film.
Some Indian films also boasted of ‘electrically synchronised
music’. But the real stuff came only in 1931, amidst a lot of heating
competition. Ardeshir Irani with his pioneering zeal had imported a
single-system Tanar recorder and after some short experiments had
started shooting ‘Alam Ara’ with his full staff of directors,
technicians and actors. And soon, there was a frantic race, to
complete and release India’s first Talkie feature, which was finally
won by Alam Ara opening at Bombay’s Majestic cinema on March
14, 1931.
Brief Talkie films on songs, dance, skits and the likes were
produced even before the release of Alam Ara. The “peak of glory
was of course reached by Alam Ara, a typical costume fantasy film,
which told a story, spoke the peoples own language, Hindustani (a
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compromise between Hindi and Urdu) and also ‘Sang’ seven catchy
songs”. The film was described as an “all-talking, singing,
dancing” picture.
Ardeshir Irani even branched out into other languages. He
pioneered the first Tamil film ‘Kalidasa’ with singer T.P.Rajalakshmi
as the leading actress.
A good number of existing film companies failed to adjust with
the new system. These film companies could not compete in the
market and thus very soon these faded out along with a good
number of artists. On the contrary this led to emergence of new film
companies and new artists, who all made efforts to adjust with the
new system. The year 1931 also witnessed the launching of sound
production activity by J.J.Madan and Brothers but soon they decide
to liquidate the Madan film empire. In the year 1932 we come
across the information of the Motion Picture Society of India;
Prabhats’ Ayodhyeeha Raja (The King of Ayodhya), provided signals
about increasing acceptance of film by high caste performers. In the
year 1933 we come across the seventy five Hindi films which were
produced that year and were all with songs and dances.
The Madan theatres produced musical hits in ‘Laila Majnu’
having twenty two songs and in ‘Shakuntala’ with 41 songs. Film
companies had now begun to turn out Talkies as fast as the Silent
films, which were also being made and shown at the same time by
other producers. But despite all their protests and challenges, they
had to change over, sooner or later, to the sound medium. The
Talkie had brought revolutionary changes in the whole set up of the
industry, which could not be ignored. The writer, the music director
and the singing actor now became the important pillars of filmmaking.
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The Talkie Films laid more and more emphasis on the number
of songs, which went up to seventy-one in ‘Indrasabha’ (1932);
play-back singers like Saigal and musicians like R.C.Boral were
gaining
prominence;
technologically
the
films
were
gradually
becoming superior than those of previous decades; and the
organisational
activities
in
film
industry
were
slowly
gaining
prominence.
Imperial Film Company produced many Tamil films between
the period ranging from 1932 and 1933. Amongst the earliest films,
made in South, mention may be made of ‘Pavalakodi’ in 1934 by
K.Subrahmanyam,
which
was
a
big
box-office
success
and
contained fifty songs. During the year 1935-36 several studios were
built in Madras, Salem and Coimbatore and there after Madras was
no more dependent on northern studios. Madras united Artists
Corporation was founded in 1936
company
produced
films
which
in
by K.Subrahmanyam.
earliest
years
were
the
of
mythological nature and were made in Tamil and Telugu languages.
The “socials” started with films like ‘Balyogini’ (child Saint / 1936/
Subramanyam)
which
dealt
about
the
Brahmin
widow
and
‘Tyagabhoomi’ (Land of sacrifice / 1938 / Subramanyam) was
about the Brahmins and the Harijans. In the year 1936 Modern
Theatres Limited was founded in Salem by T.R.Sundaram. The
company started with Tamil and Malayalam films but soon it started
producing films into Telugu and Kannada languages.
A brief history of Tamil cinema
Since its beginning in the Silent era, Tamil cinema has grown
into a multi-million dollar industry. Located in the Chennai district of
Kodambakkam, Tamil Nadu’s cinema city, it produces 150-200
feature films annually. It is often referred to as Kollywood, an
123
amalgam of the words Kodambakkam and Hollywood. Tamil cinema
has a long history comparable to other Indian language cinemas.
Describing the significance of cinema in Tamil society, Baskaran,
Tamil film historian points out that ‘over the eighty years of its
existence,
Tamil
cinema
has
grown
to
become
the
most
domineering influence in the cultural and political life in Tamil
Nadu’. It would be both impossible and an injustice to outline the
entire history of Tamil cinema in a brief introduction chapter.
However, the well-known Tamil film historians Theodore Baskaran,
Randor Guy and "Kalaimaamani" Film News Anandan have written
widely on this topic. According to "Kalaimaamani" Film News
Anandan During the past 82 years, Tamil Cinema has reached many
a mile stone.
In Baskaran’s (1981, 1996) The Message Bearers Nationalist
Politics and the Entertainment Media in South India 1880-1945 and
The Eye of the Serpent: An Introduction to Tamil Cinema, and Guy’s
(1997) Starlight Star bright Early Tamil Cinema, the only English
publications available on the history of Tamil cinema, the authors
offer an excellent account of the arrival of cinema to the Madras
Presidency at the turn of the twentieth century; the early pioneers
of the film industry who were instrumental in setting up production
companies and studios; biographies of directors, producers, and
actors; and synopses of major films over the years. Though there
are other works on the history of Tamil cinema, these are mostly
written in Tamil and have not been translated into other languages.
In 1917, London educated R. Nataraja Mudaliar produced and
directed the first Silent feature film in Tamil Nadu called ‘Keechaka
Vadham’. An automotive dealer, Nataraja established the India
Film Company Limited and built South India’s first film studio in
Madras. He went on to make ‘Draupadi Vastrapaharanam’
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(1917), ‘Mayil Ravana’ (1918), ‘Lavakusa’ (1919) and ‘Kalinga
Mardanam’ (1920).
Following in his footstep, Raghupathy Prakasa, the son of R.
Venkaiah, a photographer turned cinema house operator, produced
a number of Silent feature films including ‘Bhishma Pratignai’
(1921).
Other early film pioneers were A. Narayanan who made
‘Dharma Patni’ (1929) and ‘Gajendra Moksham’ (1930), and
Raja Sandow who made ‘Rajeswari’ (1931), ‘Usha Sundari’
(1931) and ‘Bhakthavatsala’ (1931).
According to the Tamil film historian Randor Guy (1997), title
cards written in more than one language such as English, Tamil,
Telugu and Hindi were used in Silent films to explain the story and
dialogue. The Silent films were accompanied by live background
music and usually Indian instruments such as the Harmonium,
Tabla and, sometimes, the Flute. These films made in Madras were
screened all over India and in the neighbouring British colonies
Burma, Malaya, Singapore and Ceylon.
According to the film historian Yves Thoraval, Tamil cinema
made such a promising start during the Silent era that by the end of
the 1920s, through the establishment of new studios in Madras as
well as other Tamil Nadu cities such as Salem, Madurai and
Coimbatore, and the entry of technically trained film crews, it
emerged as a veritable entertainment industry (in third place after
Bombay and Calcutta). The expansion of infrastructure also enabled
the Tamil film industry to become autonomous of Bombay and
Calcutta by the time sound appeared in film. In fact, as Thoraval
observes, the end of the Silent era also marked the birth of a new
entity, ‘South Indian cinema’ embracing Tamil, Telugu, Kannada
125
and Malayalam cinema with Madras as the centre of production.
Thus, the so-called first Tamil Sound feature film ‘Kalidas’ (1931).
It was directed by H.M.Reddy and produced by T. P. Rajalakshmi
Ardeshar Irani's Imperial Movie Tone and released on 31st October.
‘Kalidas’ was produced in a hurry, and was technically flawed. It
was not a pure Tamil Talkie, in the sense that the artistes spoke
(mainly) both in Tamil and Telugu. It starred T.P.Rajalakshmi as its
heroine. She was a stage artiste who gained immense popularity as
a movie actress and went on to make movies herself. The film tells
the story of the Sanskrit poet and playwright Kalidas. Though it was
a Puranic story - both Tyagaraja Kirtanas and the Indian National
Congress publicity songs had a place in the picture. Its curiosity
factor, if anything guaranteed its success at the box-office.
‘Kalava’ (Rishi) released on 1932 was the first cent-percent Talkie
in Tamil. It was directed by P.P.Rangachari.
As soon as the Talkies arrived, the Tamil film industry began
to develop rapidly, ushering into cinema history a long list of
successful and immensely popular actors, producers, directors,
scriptwriters, music composers and singers. Media mughals such as
S.S. Vasan, A.V. Meyyappan (AVM) and T.R.Sundaram, to name
just a few, established film studios, production companies and
cinema halls giving impetus to the growth of the industry.
As film music and drama music was based on classical music,
the actors and the actresses were selected on the basis of their
knowledge in music, whether they knew acting or not.
Year 1934 marked the creation of a Box-Office Super star in
M.K.Tyagaraja Bhagavathar. The movie ‘Pavalakkodi’ introduced
the lead pair M. K. Tyagaraja Bhagavatar and S. D. Subulakshmi. It
was a box office success, made on a seemingly large scale. As
126
electrical arc lights were not available then, grand sets were erected
in the exterior of the studio and pictures shot with the help of
sunlight.
Until 1934, Tamil movies were mostly made in Bombay and
Calcutta. Srinivasa Kalyanam changed this practice, being the first
Tamil picture produced in Tamil Nadu. It was produced by Srinivasa
Cine Tone.
‘Lava Kusa’ marked the beginning of the famous Tamil Nadu
Talkies. It was produced by S.Soundararaja Iyengar. TamilNadu
Talkies went on to make many such box-office successes.
‘Nandanar’ was unique in many ways release in 1935. The
movie has the distinction of being remade four times in Tamil. This
version had the great stage artiste, K.B.Sundramabal who was a
woman
playing
the
hero.
Also,
the
producer
gave
her
a
remuneration of one lakh rupees, unheard of in those days!
During the pre-war period, films embraced new genres in
addition to mythological. Ellis Duncan’s ‘Iru Sakodarargal’ (1936),
and
K.
Subrahmanyam’s
‘Balayogini’
(1937)
adopted
contemporary social themes such as family disputes and caste
discrimination.
Other
films
like
‘Matrubhoomi’
(1939)
and
‘Thyagabhoomi’ (1939) featured strong overtones of anti-British
sentiments and Indian patriotism. However, during the Second
World War, due to import restrictions on film stock, the British India
colonial government encouraged filmmakers to produce propaganda
films as part of the war effort to win the support of the Tamils
against the Japanese who had already deposed the British in
Southeast Asia and were threatening to invade India. Films such as
‘Manasamrakshanam’
(1944),
‘Burma
Rani’
(1945)
and
‘Kannamma En Kaadali’(1945) were about Tamil freedom fighters
127
foiling Japanese war advances in British Burma and India.
The post-war period also saw the proliferation of Tamil movies
that were on the one hand infused and influenced by Dravidian
politics and more generally melodramas and social themes. The key
features
of
the
Ramachandran,
Bhanumathi,
period
Sivaji
Saroja
include
Ganesan;
Devi
and
major
stars
Gemini
such
as
Ganesan,
Jayalalitha;
film
M.G.
Savitri,
narratives
highlighting and driven by moral imperatives associated with social
ills, family breakdowns, good versus bad, overcoming of social
difficulties, and subaltern struggles with films like ‘Vellaikari’
(1949), ‘Nallathambi’ (1948) and ‘Paraashkati’ (1952).
Between the
1970s and the
1990s, Tamil cinema was
reinvigorated by the arrival of new and young talents as the stars of
earlier decade’s faded away or entered retirement. These three
decades saw the entry of the second generation of actors like Kamal
Hassan, Rajini Kant, Vijaykanth, Saritha, Sri Devi and so forth in
lead roles and major directors such as K. Balachander, Bharatiraja,
Balu Mahendra, K. Bhagyaraj, T. Rajender and ManiRatnam. A
popular genre that emerged during this period is what Sundar Kaali
terms Neo-nativity films that were characterised by an ideological
investment centred on the rurality of its plot-events and roles’.
Thus, the rustic hero, the village and its social milieu became the
preferred site for numerous films produced in this period. Since the
1990s, with the liberalisation of the Indian economy and the rise
of an Indian middle class, Tamil cinema has shifted its orientation
towards tapping into the sensibilities and taste cultures of this new
film audience. The representation of modernity, progress, affluence
and global consumer-ism is its major preoccupation. For instance,
the urban space and ‘the city’ now serve as the primary backdrop
for most films. Films are centred mainly on themes such as
128
romance (teenagers, college youths and young adults); institutional
and bureaucratic inadequacies (hospitals, the police and politicians
being the primary target); and the underworld (gangster flicks). In
a sense, films are a lot more sensual, intense and explosive in their
visual form and this is coupled with a high turnover of new and
young actors within the film industry. In 2006, the Tamil film
industry celebrated its 75th anniversary and it continues to flourish
as a reputable site of cinematic production in India.
Contribution of Papanasam Sivan in cine world
Papanasam Sivan was a legend. He lived for 82 years and
composed many Kritis and songs on all Hindu Deities. For many
people Margazhi Utsavam of Mayilai Karpagambal and the songs he
sang
in
praise
Saptasthanam,
of
Goddess
Kumbakonam
Masi
Karpagambal,
Magam,
Aadi
Tiruvaiyyaru
Pooram
in
Nagapattinam, Rishabha Vaahanam in Thiruvarur and Papanasam
Sivan are inseparable entities. In the biography of Papanasam
Sivan, his daughter Smt Rukmini Ramani made a remark that ''His
name is not Sivan, and his place is not Papanasam, never
learnt Tamil and music, but the songs are thousands in
number''. This is a matter to be exclaimed that Sivan was a legend
in Tamil music in the Twentieth Century. However, the most
surprising thing to look in Sivan’s life is that, he considered the
worldly pleasure as a ‘Maaya’ (illusion) and stayed away from it.
But, he excelled in cinema which is considered as a dream world or
world of illusion. In the beginning era of Tamil Cinema it was only
drama style songs and Hindi tunes in a commanding position, Sivan
created immortal songs and in this regard he is considered as the
first music director in Tamil Cinema.
During the initial stages, Sivan was criticized by people inclined
129
to Tamil and Sanskrit language. Tamil Scholars criticized Sivan for
mixing Sanskrit in his Tamil Composition and Sanskrit scholars
doubted his ability to on Sanskrit. Prominent Karnatic artists sidelined Sivan as a Bhajan singer, one of the music composer even
said that is because of his tune that the songs of Sivan are popular.
Sivan was not honoured by prominent sabhas while he was a young
artist.
Sivan born as Ram Sharma (Nick named Ramaiyya) in
Thiruvarur on September 26, 1890 to Ramamrutha Iyer and
Yogambal and had an elder brother Rajagopalan. Sivan’s father
expired when he was 6 years old.
Sivan sang his first song “Unnai Tudikka Arul ta’ in a
beautiful Tamil in praise of Lord Tyagaraja in the raga ‘Kuntala
varali’.
Pallavi
Unnai tudikka arul ta – innisaiyudan
Unnai tudikka arul ta
Anupallavi
Ponnai tudittupoovaraiyum tudittu
Chinnaththanamadaindu chittamum kalingidaamal
Charanam
Ponnaatinum siranda punniya kamalaalaya
Nannaattinil vilangum nannum ajapaanadana
Tannatiyatirattil naattamodu vaattam ara
Sonnaattaruraar devane sundara Tyagesane
–
130
Afterwards, he travelled to various places and sang many
songs praising the Lord like Nayanmars and Azhwars. It is notable
that his first song was introduced in Tamil Cinema in a lucid and
simple manner and composed in a light raga. It was only one year
that Talkies emerged and Prabhat studio in Kolapur constructed
huge auditoriums for Hindi-Marathi creations and they were thinking
of making Tamil movies and the responsibility was given to the
editor of Sound and shadow magazine Shri. G.K.Seshagiri. The
movie was named Sita Kalyanam (1933), In that movie the whole
family of Shri Sundaram Iyer was decided to act. Sundaram Iyer
was a music lover and Sivan was well-known to Sundaram Iyer so
Sivan was given the chance to do music direction Papanasam Sivan
and the family of Sundaram Iyer moved to Kolapur.
In the movie Sita Kalyanam Sivan composed a song 'Nalvidai
taarum’ in the tune of “Amma ravamma” in the raga Kalyani,
'Kaanakam edu Swamy’ in Bilahari in the tune of “Sevaka
dhanaruchi” of Purandara Dasa and also employed his own songs
like 'Taaye Ezhaipaal' (Bhairavi). This movie has fourteen songs
apart from two Viruttams. It is learnt that from the initial stages
Sivan did not like to add up musical instruments in movies and this
is seen in the music book of this movie that had "Music-Papanasam
Sivan: Musical score: A.N. Kalyana Sundaram B.A.Hons. All the
131
factors like good music, excellent sets, and good story earned
success to the movie. According to S.Rajam and other musicians
says that “His music, capability and talent to compose songs
for any story in the set itself earned name and fame for him”.
In movies old tunes were administered which was not
considered as tune theft. It is not difficult for Sivan to make new
tunes as he already composed hundreds of tunes of his own. Movie
world need only good tunes and they do not bother about whether
the tunes belong to the music director or not. But according to the
situation Sivan composed suitable tunes and songs and taught them
to the actors and singers also. In the movie ‘Sita Kalyanam’, in
some of his songs the lyrics are in beautiful Tamil.
In the composition “Konjum kiligaludan kuzhalisaiyin”
(
) Sivan administered Sanskrit
words blended beautifully with Tamil words in the line
Kumudam malara kulir tingal visumpezha
Kudatisai tanga niram kodu tavazhum
Manju nikarta kunji maindan Raman kangal pol
Vanaja malar kuvindurangum immaalai solai
In the meantime Sivan had many opportunities after having
tunes composed in one movie 1931, four songs in 1932 and eight
songs in another film. Among many opportunities, the important
one was ‘Pavalakkodi’ in the year 1934, and it was the first film
for M.K. Tyagaraja Bhagavatar. This movie gave a good start for
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Bhagavatar - Sivan duo. K.Subramaniam made it a success film
after leaving his legal profession and with that he became
successful Producer-Director. It is also learnt that for the movie,
Sivan was not compensated with anything.
Sivan was fully occupied with his work of composing fifty
melodious songs for this movie and with this Sivan started enjoying
stardom. Among these fifty songs many were in the form of
Viruttams, and songs with small Pallavi and one Charanam, some
without talam and some songs were in drama style (eg.. “Taalen
manasthapam”) also. Some songs were tuned in Tiruppugazh and
Kavadichindu styles and he also administered Hindustani tunes
which gained popularity (“kanna kariya mugil vanna”). He has
also composed in the format of Pallavi Anupallavi and Charanam.
The famous song in this format was ‘Kanna kariya mugil vanna’
in the raga Bhairavi. He mastered in composing songs in popular
ragas by using the life of the raga, for him composing the songs for
old tunes was easy.
During this period, when he scaled heights in cinema world,
he was invited by Rukmani Arundale to teach music in Kalakshetra.
He taught music in Kalakshetra till 1939. He even sang for
Rukmani’s Dance concerts.
During the same period, Sivan composed songs for Rao
bahadur Sambanda Mudaliar’s Drama. It was produced by A.V
Meyyapa Chettiar for Saraswati Talkies Producing Company. The
information was mentioned in “Ratnavali” music book.
In the song 'Kadalukkuvamai Kadale’, Sivan stayed away
from bhakti bhava and detailed about the nature. The story of this
movie depicts the love story of the king and a young damsel who
was found in an unconscious state. (As she came from the sea, she
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was named as ‘Saagarikai’). Here the queen turns to be a villain
for their love and preventing the affair and as situation goes
uncontrolled Saagarika sang a song in praise of God's ten
incarnations is a master piece in the whole story and this song
would haunt the memory of the public and this remark was made
by the leading producers.
During the early stages of music composing for movies, we
could see a commonality in the song book for a movie, which
contained music notations associated with that song. But in
“Ratnavali” in addition to the notation, the information about the
ragas like Suddha Dhanyasi, Atana, Kalyani, Todi, Shanmukhapriya,
Bilahari, Neelambari, Devagandhari, Anandabhairavi, Dhanyasi are
also seen. This shows that Sivan might have been given freedom in
composing songs for the movie.
In the initial stages if the sound is proper with normal
frequency, they feel satisfied as there were some speed variations
in the speed of the camera and tape recorder. After Ratnavali Sivan
composed a song “Sivaperuman kripai vendum” in the raga
Suruti and presented it in ‘Naveena sarangadara’ a film cast by
Bhagavatar in the year 1936. This song fetched popularity and
attracted people and even now it is an evergreen piece in the minds
of them.
Royal Talkies owner, producer, distributors who belonged to
Sourashtra community wanted to produce a film with M.K.Tyagaraja
Bhagavathar. A story called ‘Chintamani’, taken from a beautiful
Sanskrit
book
“Krishna
karnaamrutam”,
written
by
‘Vishvamangal’. It was directed by the director and the actor Y.V
Rao. Kannada actress cum singer Ashwathama acted as the pair
with Bhagavatar and this was produced by the Madan Theatres,
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Calcutta.
In
1917,
the
same
company
already
produced
‘Chintamani’ as a Silent movie in the name ‘Bilvamangal’.
Those
days
B.N.Sarkar's
film
company
Calcutta's
new
Theatres saw new elevated days in theatre arts. And films like
‘Devadas’, were produced in both Bengali and Hindi enjoyed
success in the whole country and the reason being that these films
were created with beautiful western music and melodious tunes.
The film Chintamani which was produced in Tamil in Calcutta
included successful songs in Hindustani tunes. The song 'Divya
darisanam’ which became a hit song was composed by Sivan.
Many
other
songs
like
‘Krishna
krishna
muraiye
kel
ni’
administered the tunes of ‘Suno-suno’ by Ashwathama, 'Pesum
taramo kaadal’ was tuned like ‘Prem kahani’ by M.K.Tyagaraja
Bhagavatar , ‘Maya prapanchatil aanandam verillai’ had ‘Prem
ki naiyya’ tune
by M.K Tyagaraja Bhagavatar and Ashwathama
and all these songs became hit songs of yester years.
On the compulsion of producers, Sivan handled the hit tunes
of Hindi films in his songs and at the same time he also showed his
talent in those songs. He showed his talent in handling the ragas
like Senjuriti in the song 'Radhe unakku' which has in it all melody
and attraction and he also composed many lively songs like
‘Gynanakan ondru irundidum podiniley’ in the raga Asaveri,
'Nadagame ulagm, naalai nadappadai yaar arivar' in the raga
Khamas etc was a super hit songs and Sivan gave life to these
songs. With the support of Sivan's songs Chintamani was a hit to
that extent that led Royal Talkies to rename their company as
Chintamani Talkies.
By seeing the success of Chintamani, some of the silk traders
(Annamalai Chettiar and Tottanna Chettiar – Brothers) also wanted
135
to produce films with Bhagavatar. The American director Ellis R.
Dunken who has already given the hit movies like “Satileelavati”
(1936),
“Iru
sahodarargal”
(1936);
the
Chettiar
brothers
approached the director Ellis R.Dunken to direct 'Ambikapathi'
which depicts the love story of Ambikapathi, son of the famous poet
Kambar with that of Amaravati- daughter of the king. As Dunken
was inspired by the style of Shakespeare in Romeo Juliet, he also
followed the same style in directing the film Ambikapati.
Sivan composed a duet song 'Chandira suryar pom gati
maarinum,
veezhinum
namakkenna
inda
inbamey
sondamadaanaal vaanulagam vendam' was melodious and was
composed in the Hindustani raga ‘Mand’. In those days, this raga
Mand was frequently heard in the concerts as well as in the cine
world. Vallalar's ‘Vaanathin meedu’ also shines in the raga Mand.
Sivan also handled beautifully the heavy classical ragas in
composing his songs for movie. The song ‘Ulagil inbam verundo’
in
the
raga
Simhendramadyamam,
‘Pati
padam
panivadu
namadu kadan’ in the raga Sankarabharanam are some rich
compositions of Sivan in cinema. Bhakti aspect was seen more in
Sivan’s music than the love themes.
The
next
film
of
M.K
Tyagaraja
Bhagavatar
was
‘Tiruneelakantar’. For this movie Sivan composed songs in
orthodox ragas like ‘Chidambaranatha’ in the raga Hemavati,
‘Maraivaai pudaitta odu’ in the raga Durbar. The song ‘Oru naal
oru pozhudaaginum’ in the raga Khamas was admired by
everybody. Even the lay persons used to sing the song “Dheena
karunakarane Nataraja”.
The year when the movie ‘Tiruneelakantar’ was released,
Director K Subrahmaniam once again made Sivan to act in the film
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“Tyaga bhoomi”.
Kalki published the scenes and the story of Tyagabhoomi in
his magazine in many episodes. In the movie 'Thyaga Bhoomi,
Sivan played the role of village head (Mirarsdar Shambhu Shastri),
he shared the responsibility of being the music composer with Moti
Babu and also wrote lyrics with his brother Rajagopala iyer and
apart from this he also sang many songs which include “Sree
Ramabhadra sritajana karunya samudra” in the bhajan style in
the raga Mand. “Sri Jagadambikaiye” was set in Latangi raga and
was a pure classical song. He also sang Neelakanta Sivan's popular
song 'Nava Siddhi pettralum’ set in the raga Kharaharapriya. The
beautiful lyrics of this song is as follows:
Nava siddhi pettralum Siva bhakti illada
Narargal verum saavi
Yevar bhuddhiyum talli suya budhdhityum illadu
iruppavar perum paavi!
Naadan arul marandu bodam illa kootthu
Nadippavar verum saavi
Seeda madi aniyum Sivanai ninaiyamal
Tiribavar perum paavi.
!
!
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In his Thyagabhoomi Sivan wrote the lyrics and composed
music for a song which insists on cleanliness for everyone to follow.
The lyrics run like thisVazhum Manai udal aadai parisuttamaai irundal
Oozhvaliyin varumm yezhmai vaazhvu miga azhagudaithe
Alankaram seididuvom annanmare vaarungalen
Teru veedi kuppai yellam koottithalluvom
Kandaiyenum andrandru kasakki kttuvom – udalai
Andradam teyttu neeraduvome – vaarir
Asuththam seiyaamale ellorum koodiye.
–
–
.
This was composed in Ragamalika (Todi, Devagandhari,
Sahana, Hindustani Kapi). Apart from these films, he also composed
and tuned songs for many films like ‘Krishnaleela’, ‘Lavakucha’
(1934), ‘Naveena Sataaram’, ‘Markhandeya’, ‘Chandrasena’
(1935), ‘Usha kalyanam’, ‘Chandra Mohan or Samoogathondu’
(1936), ‘Kausalya parinayam’, ‘Baalayogini’ (1937), ‘Anaadai
penn’, ‘Thayumanavar’, ‘Yatadi’, ‘Tukkaaram’ (1938), ‘Santa
Chakkubai’, ‘Prahalada’, ‘Panduranga’, ‘Maayamachcheendra’,
‘Matrubhoomi’, ‘Sankaracharya’ (1939) etc; and this stands a
proof as Sivan also interested in composing music.
Sivan wrote songs for ‘Sankaracharya’ and composed music
138
and taught them to the artistes. But at that time he was engaged
with Tyagaraja Bhagavatar's film and could not go with the
Sankaracharya movie troupe. But he told V.N. Sundaram who cast
the role of Sankaracharya that Sankaracharya belonged to South
India and the songs should be accordingly made without mixing
Hindustani ragas.
In
1936,
T.
Sadasivam
met
the
Karnatic
vocalist
M.S.Subbulakshmi when he was the advertising manager in the
magazine Ananda vikatan. Before marrying M.S.Subbulakshmi,
T.Sadasivam started a film producing company and with the help of
Royal Talkies he produced a film. Being a good manager,
Sadasivam was also expert in choosing the artist. He decided to
produce Kalidasas evergreen epic ‘Shakuntalai’. He made Karnatic
music
stalwart
G.N.Balasubramaniam
to
act
as
Dushyanth.
Papanasam Sivan composed songs for that film.
Sivan wrote songs for Dushyantan which was sung by G.N.B.
Sivan’s songs and music rendered in the Ghandharva voice by M.S.
was lively and decorated as a crown forever and those songs even
now after 60 years have the same effect in the hearts of the people.
Once again Sivan had an opportunity to act in a film by
K.Subramaniam and this film was about ‘Bhakta Cheta’ and Guru
Dronacharya and the name of the film is Bhakta Cheta. The role of
Dronacharya was cast by Kotthamangalam Subbhu. With the pride
of his family (Parampara) considers Lord Krishna also of his own.
But the Lord knew about his pride went to the poor cobbler Cheta
and honours him for his devotion and humbleness. By seeing this
out of jealousy Dronacharya imposes all restrictions on him and in
this story cobbler's role was played by Sivan and this film was
beautifully made by Subramaniam. For this film also Sivan brothers
139
wrote songs and composed music and he himself sang the songs for
Cheta character. Music direction was done by V.S.Parthasarathy.
In the film ‘Kuchela’ in 1936, only three types of musical
instruments were used and in 1940 in the film Bhakta Cheta many
instruments were employed (Tabla, Mridangam Bulbultaara).
The richness of the musical instruments increased day by day
with the growth of the film industry by this. It seems that music
was composed by Sivan and the mixing of the music in lyrics and
the background music was totally managed by music composer
Parthasarathy Iyangar only.
The song ‘Ini oru kanam’ in the raga Sriranjani was sung by
Sivan in the movie only and in the later days it was sung by many
leading musicians in the concert field too. He also composed music
in the ragas like Sindhu Bhairavi (‘Tandade anandam’), Ananda
Bhairavi (‘Ellil ennai’) in simple and elegant manner. In the film
Bhakta Cheta, Sivan depicted the Lord's Darshan beautifully in the
song “Kanden kanden”. Here in this song the feelings of emotions
exclamation, happiness are reflected beautifully and the tune, music
and the Lord's Darshan exquisitely earned success and became a hit
also. Sivan had the talent of turning any Namavalis into a Bhajan in
films.
Those days K.B.Sundarambal had a lakh of rupees for the film
‘Nandanar’ as salary. She cast the role of Manimekalai in 1940. But
his film was a failure and the song 'Siraichhalai' composed by
Sivan became a hit song in whole of Tamil Nadu. After this film
Sivan wrote songs for the films of Bhagavatar excepting for
'Satyaseelan' and it seems that Bhagavatar kept conditions for
those who want to make film with him should have Sivan for lyrics
and Ilango for dialogues. This was an extent that Bhagavatar had
140
trust in Sivan-Ilango duo and this trust increased day by day and
film by film.
In
the
film
'Ashok
Kumar'
Sivan
composed
a
song
'Unnaikkandu mayangaada pergal undo' in the majestic raga
Bhairavi was sung by Bhagavatar in his majestic voice made/makes
everyone feel eternal/divine experience/bliss. In this song the
prasam
like
“Dheeratile,
uyar
gambheerattile,
kodai
udharattile, nadai oyyarattile” is also woven beautifully and
these features were employed only for Bhagavatar it seems.
Moreover the songs like 'Manida vazhvu perum anandam’ in the
raga Kalyani, 'Dhyanamey enadu manam niraindadu’ in the
raga Kapi expose the feelings of Sringara rasa in the Carnatic ragas
and these factors made them very famous. For bhagavatar Sivan
composed
the
song
‘Satvaguna
bhodan’
on
the
tunes
of
Gopalakrishna Bharatis famous song “Eppo varuvaaro” in the raga
Jhonpuri. And this song also became a super hit. In another song
“Bhoomiyil maanida janmam’ depicts the thirst and sadness of
spending human life in unworthy matters/things in the world. Its
majestic tempo and the speed of the music also depict a close
feeling effectively. This song attracted everyone from elders to
children and this was explained by a child in an anecdote. This child
wanted a Gramophone and disc even while hiding in a hide out
during the war time. This song was used in the Hollywood movie
'Elephant walk' in many places his songs were played.
In the song 'Maname nee Esan naamattai' in the raga
Kuntala Varali gave a shining to the instrumental music with all
shines turns very calm in the sentence 'Vilangum thooya sajjana
sangam’ and this kind of an employment made it a hit song.
In the song “Vadanamey Chandra bimbamo” in the raga
Sindhubhairavi Bhagavatar and Sivan has created eloquent song.
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This composition is in Tisra nadai where the poetry and the music
complement each other.
Initially he composed the song as “Mugamadu Chandra
bimbamo” (here Sivan meant Mugamadu means “Mugam adu”).
During composition, this word (Mugamadu) which meant face in
Tamil was sounding similar to Islam Prophet name mugmad was
noted by the music assistant and he humbly conveyed this to Sivan.
Later Sivan modified this song to start with ‘Vadanamey’ instead of
‘Mugamadu’. The boy later went on to become a great music
director M.S.Viswanathan.
Yet in another song 'Amba manam kanindu' in Siva Kavi
the words and tune itself became complimentary to each other and
the Prasam (edugai, monai) also became part of it. The rhythm of
the song in Pantuvarali pann was appreciated by Kavigner Subbu
Arumugam and he made this song carved on a pillar in the Devi
temple in Purasaivakkam, Chennai.
Though Bhagavatar belonged to the gold smith community
the songs he sang like “Vallalai paadum vaayaal” (Senchurutti),
“Kavalaiyai teerpadu naatiya kalaiye” (Naatakurinji), “Soppana
vaazhvim magizhndu” (Vijayanaagari, Bhuvanagandhari) were
like the diamonds built on the top of gold. So much he was blessed.
During those days, the actors were also the singers. Sivan
composed for almost all the actors. But, Bhagavatar was special
because, whatever Sivan composed for Bhagavatar stand out and
was a hit.
In 1944, the Sivan-Bhagavatar Duo hit the pinnacle in Haridas
movie. Though Bhagavatar came to the cine field in 1934, but he
claimed the stardom and claimed heights in this movie.
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Sivan
composed
and
tuned
the
hit
song
of
Haridas
“Manmada leelaiyai vendrar undo”. But, the music director
G.Ramanathan changed the raga of the song to Charukesi. Later,
this was accepted and then became a hit. Slowly the effort of Sivan
for the song composition reduced to writing lyrics because of the
arrival creative composers like G.Ramanathan.
Sivan-Bhagavatar duo gave lot of hit songs. People started
criticising that Sivan can only give hits to people like Bhagavatar
and M.S. and he is biased towards them. Sivan had a different
explanation for this. Sivan once said that M.S. and Bhagavatar
always used to sing the song as he composed and not even falling
out of it by a hairline which was the primary reason. It is also well
known that Bhagavatar and M.S know the art of breathing in
between the song which made them successful singers.
Sivan also said that it can also be referred from Bhagavatar
the effort he has spent to learn the composition of the song
composed in the raga Yedukulakambhoji and Atana. Another
instance which can be referred is where Sivan waited patiently for
the singers to understand his composition to get the full output. In
one instance Dandapani Desikar who acted in the film ‘Nandanar’
for which music was composed by Sivan said that Sivan had the
talent of teaching the song dedicatedly to get the feel of the song
from the singers.
The following was the incidence taken place during the filming
of ‘Nandanar’. Sivan was challenged by the director of the movie
Murugadasar,
where
he
said
“he
will
make
Desikar
act
wonderfully; But can Sivan make him sing equally?” Sivan
humbly and with patience replied challenging Murugadasar that he
will make him sing so well but the same can be done by
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Murugadasar by making him equally act good? Sivan finally won the
battle when Desikar said “since I am more attached towards art
of music and poetry my efforts are inclined towards Sivan’s
commitment”.
During the days when Sivan was at his peak rehersals were
rigorous and this is one of the reasons which contributed to the
success of his songs. Also the singers were given time in days to
perfect the song before they do the actual recording.
When someone asked Sivan about the secret of the success of
his songs in various films, he replied: “Neither i write the lyrics
first nor I decide the tune and write the lyrics accordingly. I
deeply understand the feelings and the situation of the story
in bhakti bhava and whatever thoughts and feelings comes
within me, accordingly I used to write the lyrics and set the
tunes”.
Sivan was even praised and respected by the competitors for
his rich quality of music and composition. Similar to Bhagavatar and
Sivan duo, Udumalai Narayana Kavi has written many songs for
P.U.Chinnappa’s films. Narayani Kavi used to point the song “Sollu
kuzhandai” written by Sivan for the movie Savitri and praise him
for the usage of words and bhavams always.
In the meanwhile in 1943, Sivan acted in the movie called
‘Kubera Kuchela’. Papanasam Sivan wrote the lyrics for this
movie. In some other movies it was with his brother Rajagopala
Iyer which was the trend during his days. Following are some of the
movies where Sivan and his brother Rajagopala iyer worked
together. Bhakta Hanuman (1944), Paranjothy (1945), Mahatma
Udankar (1947), Bhakta jana (1948).
144
As noted earlier, it is not just M.k Tyagaraja Bhagavatar, M.S.
Subbulakshmi and Dandapani Desikar, but other stars too with good
singing capability shined in Sivan’s compositions.
During the 1940’s cinema world transitioned. The grace for
epic stories had come down and in music, the role of music director
in background music, re-recording came to prominence. The
following
talented
G.Ramanathan,
music
directors
C.R.Subburaman,
S.V.Venkataraman,
S.M.Subbaiya
Naidu,
C.N.Pandurangan started to produce quality music which made
Sivan write lyrics and move away from music composition. Sivan,
who was religious, humble and knowledgeable, treated everyone
with respect.
The golden age of Sivan was during the second half of 30’s
and the first half of the 40’s. These are un perishable wealth of
Tamil music. It was realised, when in 1960, ‘Sivakami’ movie was
released after the death of Bhagavatar in which Bhagavatar’s songs
of Sivan composition were able to hear. But the movie was not a
hit, but the music was ever green. Slowly Sivan moved away from
the cine world and in the following years saw Sivan involved in
singing bhajans in the lanes of Mylapore while still he was a star. It
shows the humble character of Sivan.
Sivan’s compositions were still popular and were heard in the
gramophone plates with the voice tended by Ariyakudi Ramanuja
Iyengar (Kartikeya gangeya), Madurai Mani Iyer (Kaana kann kodi
vendum), G.N.Balasubramainam (Tamadam yen), D.K.Pattamal
(Sivakama
Sundari),
N.C.Vasantakokilam
(Mahalakshmi)
M.S.Subbulakshmi (Idadu padam). The popularity of Sivan grew
more and more and songs got the right recognition and place in the
history and people started calling Sivan as “Tamil Tyagaraja”.
145
One of the critic says “Tyagaraja who was born and
brought up in Tamil Nadu, composed all his songs only in
Telugu may felt bad and reborn as Sivan who composed his
songs in Tamil’.
146