Free sample essay on The Old Movies. One of the old hits in Tamil filmdom was the film ‘Avaya’ produced by the Gemini Pictures, owned by the great film producer of those days, S.S.Vasan. He came up in life the hard way.
Some of his Tamil films were produced in Hindi also. His film ‘Chandrasekhar’ was also a great hit. His contemporary, A.V. Meyyappa Chattier, was also a great film producer. They revolutionised the film world. An American, Ellis R. Duncan, directed some Tamil films of those days. ‘Sakunthalai’ in which the great Carnatak musicians, M.S.Subbulakshmi and G.N.Balasubramaniam acted was directed by him. The Tamil film, ‘Meer’ and its Hindi version were also directed by him.
Among all the films of yesteryear I like ‘Avaya’ very much. It is about the great poetess, ‘Avaya’, who composed many verses lull of morals. Her one-line pithy sayings, called ‘Aathisudi’ are very popular among the youngsters. They are taught to the students in the elementary classes. She is said to have performed many miracles. She was a great devotee of Lord Vinayaka. We can still see the image of Lord Vinayaka worshipped by her in a temple at Thirukoilur in south India. Once, the three great Cola, Cheraw and Panda kings wanted to marry the two daughters of the former king of a small land, by name Par, who was a famed philanthropist. The king died suddenly and her daughters became poor after his death.
Image Source: lionhead.com
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Avatar got enraged over the unjust wish of the three great rulers. They came with their troops in chariots. Avatar saw this scene. She sang a song invoking Lord Vinayaka. Suddenly the passage through which the kings rode in their chariots split widely and there was a big gap. The kings could not proceed further. They saw Away at a distance. They understood that Away should have caused the wide gap in the ground by her spiritual powers. They bowed before her and went back. Away was not only a poetess but a woman of great spiritual powers. She made a barren tree blossom. She chased a ghost away from a dilapidated building. It is said that Lord Subramanian himself appeared before her. It was thrilling and ennobling to see a movie on such a great poetess.
Old films were based on real stories or on the great novels written by well-known writers. ‘Thalami Mohanambal, directed by a veteran director, was a big hit in those days. Shivaji Gamesman, the great actor, who got the Dada Sahib Heike Award and that ace actress and dancer, Padding, who is no more, were the hero and the heroine in the film. The film made a profound impact on the minds of the people. Shivaji, an expert Nadhaswaram player and the great dancer rivaled with each other in establishing the greatness of their respective art forms. It was a neat, social film very ably directed. ‘Veerapandiya Kattabomman’, a great film on the great patriot of South India, Kattabomman, was a film in which Shivaji Gamesman brought out the spirit of patriotism of Kattabomman amazingly well.
The film was shown in an international film festival. ‘Chandrasekhar’, a film produced by the Gemini pictures in Tamil and Hindi was a great hit. It was a blockbuster. It depicted romance and valour. The films based on our Purina stories on Lord Siva and Lord Vishnu, produced by the ace director, A.P. Nagarajan, who directed ‘Thalami Mohanambal,’ was hits. Films of yesteryear were successful as they were based on good stories and were realistic.