Misplaced Pages

School Master
Poster
Directed by	B. R. Panthulu
Produced by	B. R. Panthulu
Starring	B.R. Panthulu Dikki Madhava Rao Udaykumar Sivaji Ganesan Gemini Ganesan B. Saroja Devi
Cinematography	W. R. Subba Rao Karnan
Edited by	R. Devarajan
Music by	T. G. Lingappa
Distributed by	Padmini Pictures
Release date	31 January 1958 (1958-01-31)
Running time	164 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada

School Master is a 1958 Indian Kannada-language film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars Panthulu himself in the lead role along with Dikki Madhava Rao, M. V. Rajamma, Udaykumar, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and B. Saroja Devi in key roles. This was the first Kannada film to complete a silver jubilee. The film features a children's dance drama in Gevacolor, filmed by cinematographer W. R. Subba Rao. It was later remade in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi in spite of it being dubbed in Tamil and Telugu as Engal Kudumbam Perisu and Badi Pantulu respectively.

In 1959, ALS Productions remade it in Hindi as School Master which was also directed by Panthulu. The film was remade in Malayalam in 1964 as School Master by Puttanna Kanagal, in Telugu in 1972 as Badi Panthulu and in Tamil in 1973 as School Master.

School Master was the first Kannada film to be remade in five languages and also the first Kannada film to be remade in three other South Indian languages. The movie is based on 1937 English movie Make Way for Tomorrow which has been adapted multiple times including in Japanese as Tokyo Story (1953), in Marathi as Oon Paus (1954), in Tamil as Varavu Nalla Uravu (1990), in Pakistani as Samaj (1972) and twice in Hindi as Zindagi (1976) and Baghban (2003).

Plot

Ranganna is a newly appointed headmaster in a government-run village primary school, where he admits his children. Gundappa is a peon at the school. A disciplinarian, Ranganna lives with his three children and wife, Seetha. His elder son Gopi gets into fight with a troublesome student, Vasu. Although Vasu is punished, his innate goodness wins over his teacher and he is given special attention to become a better student.

Nagappa, the corrupt chairperson of the village panchayat frequently clashes with the honest Ranganna and the district authorities. After Ranganna refuses to campaign for him in the upcoming elections, Nagappa retaliates by burning down Ranganna's house. However, Ranganna's young students, led by Vasu, build a house for their teacher. Ranganna's efforts to convert the primary school into a high school are temporarily stalled when Nagappa steals the funds meant for the project and pins the blame on Ranganna. Nagappa is eventually caught and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Years later, Vasu tops his matriculation exams. Ranganna's sons marry — Gopi to Radha, Nagappa's daughter, and Ravikumar to Geetha, much against the parents' wishes. However, the parents accept these unions. Their daughter, Gowri, marries a simple businessman, Puttanna. Upon Ranganna's retirement, his sons are reluctant to take in their parents. With no savings of his own, Ranganna must rely on them to support his retired life.Gopi takes his father, while Ravikumar takes their mother. As a result, Ranganna is separated from his wife.

Over time, Ranganna’s eyesight deteriorates, and he is unable to even read his wife's letters because his son refuses to provide him with spectacles. Both Ranganna and his wife are mistreated by their daughters-in-law, prompting them to leave their sons’ homes.

Meanwhile, Ranganna’s house, built by his students, is put up for auction. Vasu, now a Superintendent of Police, happens to pass by and notices the auction. In the climax, he buys the house and hands it over to Ranganna and Seetha, who have now been reunited. Ranganna is overwhelmed with emotion as he sees his once troublesome student has transformed into a role model. His journey as a teacher has come full circle, ending on a note of satisfaction.

Cast

• B. R. Panthulu as Ranganna
• Dikki Madhava Rao as Nagappa
• M. V. Rajamma as Seetha
• Udaykumar as Ravikumar
• Sowcar Janaki as Geetha
• T. N. Balakrishna as Gundappa
• B. Saroja Devi as Radha
• Narasimharaju as Puttanna
• Sivaji Ganesan as Vasu
• Soorya Kumar as Gopi
• S. Vimala
• Annapoornamma
• Lakshmi as Padma (credited as Baby Lakshmi)
• Kusumalatha
• Gemini Ganesan

Soundtrack

The film's score was composed by T. G. Lingappa.

Kannada version

School Master Playback singers are A. M. Rajah, T. G. Lingappa, Pithapuram Nageswara Rao, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi, P. Susheela, A. P. Komala, K. Rani and K. Jamuna Rani.

Tamil version

The Tamil version is titled Engal Kudumbam Perisu. Lyrics were by K. D. Santhanam, Ku. Sa. Krishnamoorthy and Ku. Ma. Balasubramaniam. Playback singers were T. M. Soundararajan, A. M. Rajah, T. G. Lingappa, S. C. Krishnan, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi, P. Suseela, A. P. Komala, K. Rani and K. Jamuna Rani.

Telugu version

The Telugu version is titled Badi Pantulu. Playback singers were P. B. Sreenivas, A. M. Rajah, T. G. Lingappa, Pithapuram Nageswara Rao, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi, P. Susheela, A. P. Komala, K. Rani and K. Jamuna Rani.

Awards

National Film Awards

• 1959 – All India Certificate of Merit for Third Best Feature film
• 1959 – National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada

References

1. "Kannada films for all time". Deccan Herald. 31 October 2018. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
2. "From School Master to Om: Kannada movies that have unique 'first film ever' tag attached to it". Times Now. 6 April 2021. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
3. "ಅತೀ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಭಾಷೆಗೆ 'ರಿಮೇಕ್‌' ಆದ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಿನಿಮಾಗಳ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿದೆ!". Vijay Karnataka (in Kannada). Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
4. "From 'School Master' to 'U Turn': A look at Kannada films remade in other Indian languages". The Times of India. 15 April 2020. Archived from the original on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
5. Biradar, Basav (22 April 2020). "Roopa Rao's Gantumoote: Is This The Dawn Of A New Era In Kannada Cinema?". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 18 August 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
6. "E Bandhana Review". IndiaGlitz. 22 December 2007. Archived from the original on 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
7. "State Awards for Films". International Film Festival of India. 28 April 1959. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2011.

External links

• School Master at IMDb

• 1958 films
• 1950s Indian films
• 1950s Kannada-language films
• Best Kannada Feature Film National Film Award winners
• Films directed by B. R. Panthulu
• Films scored by T. G. Lingappa
• Kannada films remade in other languages
• Third Best Feature Film National Film Award winners