Kalangarai Vilakkam

Kalangarai Vilakkam (pronunciation ) (transl. Lighthouse)[1] is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film starring M. G. Ramachandran and B. Saroja Devi. It is based on the American film Vertigo (1958).[2] The film was released on 28 August 1965.

Kalangarai Vilakkam
Theatrical release poster
Directed byK. Shankar
Story byMa. Lakshmanan
Produced byG. N. Velumani
StarringM. G. Ramachandran
B. Saroja Devi
CinematographyThambu
Edited byK. Narayanan
Music byM. S. Viswanathan
Production
company
Saravana Films
Distributed byEmgeeyar Pictures
Release date
  • 28 August 1965 (1965-August-28)
Running time
148 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot

Ravi, a leading lawyer and doctor from Madras and his friend Gopal meet Neela, a girl in Mahabalipuram. Ravi falls in love with her but Ravi sees Neela jumping off a cliff, and Gopal pronounces her dead. Heartbroken, Ravi travels with Gopal to get over Neela, but one day, he sees a theatre performance of the famous song "Sange Muzhangu" starring the same woman. Ravi follows her backstage and confronts her, where she calmly tells him that she is "Maliga". Still unconvinced, Ravi peeks into her dressing room and confirms that she is indeed Neela, because of a scar on her back. Meanwhile, Maliga asks Gowri, her elder sister, about the incidences in Mahabalipuram and is told that it is better if she does not know about it. Ravi convinces Maliga to marry him. Nagarajan, her brother-in-law, is against the marriage and tries to thwart their plans, but they marry regardless.

To trick Nagarajan into telling the truth about what transpired in Mahabalipuram, Maliga pretends to get hysterical and runs up the lighthouse and jumps down. Gowri, distraught, tells Ravi that her husband (Nagarajan) had killed a girl who looked exactly like Maliga and taking advantage of the similarity in their looks, her husband made everyone believe it was a suicide. Saying this, she swallows poison and dies. Nagarajan, who is watching all this, tells Ravi that both the witnesses to his murder are dead. The police, who were hiding, waiting for his confession, swoop down and arrest him. It is revealed that it was actually a marionette dressed like Maliga that was thrown from the lighthouse. Maliga is safe. She comes down crying for her elder sister, Gowri. Ravi and Maliga then live happily ever after.

Cast

Soundtrack

The music was composed by M. S. Viswanathan.[3] The song "Pallavan Pallavi" is set in Neelambari raga.[4][5]

No.SongSingersLyricsLength
1"Ennai Marandhadhaen"P. SusheelaPanju Arunachalam03:16
2"Ponnezhil Pootadu"T. M. Soundararajan & P. Susheela06:14
3"Sange Muzhangu"Seerkazhi Govindarajan, P. Susheela & chorusBharathidasan04:57
4"Kattru Vaanga"T. M. SoundararajanVaali04:19
5"Enna Uravo"T. M. Soundararajan04:57
6"Pallavan Pallavi"T. M. Soundararajan03:48

Release and reception

Kalangarai Vilakkam was released on 28 August 1965,[6][7] and distributed by Emgeeyar Pictures.[8] T. M. Ramachandran of Sport and Pastime criticised K. Shankar's direction, saying it was "not up to the mark" and also noted "In some of the places, his treatment is naive and bears marks of hurried work".[9]

References
  1. Kannadasan, Akila (17 November 2013). "View from the top". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. Riti, M. D. (15 November 1987). "Speak Memory". The Illustrated Weekly of India. Vol. 108. pp. 46–47.
  3. "Kalangarai Vilakkam (1965)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 15 June 2014. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
  4. Krishnamachari, Suganthy (15 December 2017). "Filmy perhaps, but definitely not flimsy". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  5. Sundararaman (2007) [2005]. Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Pichhamal Chintamani. p. 152. OCLC 295034757.
  6. "Kalangarai Vilakkam". The Indian Express. 28 August 1965. p. 10.
  7. "எம்.ஜி.ஆர். நடித்த படங்களின் பட்டியல்". Ithayakkani (in Tamil). 2 April 2011. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  8. "Kalangarai Vilakkam". The Indian Express. 22 August 1965. p. 3.
  9. Ramachandran, T. M. (25 September 1965). "Kalangarai Vilakkam". Sport and Pastime. p. 51. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
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