Misplaced Pages

Gejje Pooje
VCD cover
Directed by	Puttanna Kanagal
Screenplay by	Puttanna Kanagal
Based on	Gejje Pooje by M. K. Indira
Produced by	Rashi Brothers
Starring	Kalpana Gangadhar Leelavathi
Cinematography	Srikanth
Edited by	V. P. Krishna
Music by	Vijaya Bhaskar
Production company	Chithra Jyothi
Release date	1969 (1969)
Running time	154 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada

Gejje Pooje (transl. Mock marriage) is a 1969 Indian Kannada-language film directed by Puttanna Kanagal and produced by Rashi Brothers. The film stars Kalpana, Gangadhar and Leelavathi. Actress Aarathi made her first screen appearance in this film. It is based on the novel of the same name by M. K. Indira. The film was remade in Tamil as Thaaliya Salangaiya, in Telugu as Kalyana Mandapam, and in Hindi as Ahista Ahista.

Plot

This socially relevant film explores the problem of prostitutes. It was based on the novel written by M. K. Indira. The heroine Chandramukhi (played by Kalpana) is the daughter of a devadasi who falls in love with a young man who is her neighbour, as they grew up together. The young girl understands the value of education and with the support of her mother intends to reject the life of prostitution. Circumstances and the young man's suspicion make him abandon the heroine. The girl he then goes on to marry is actually her half-sister, the daughter of the heroine's father from his marriage with another woman. He had abandoned both Chandra and her mother. Chandra agrees to perform 'gejje pooje' (literally marrying ankle bracelets) as part of initiation into a life of prostitution, but in the end, she kills herself by crushing and swallowing the diamond (from the ring that was gifted to her by her biological father in his memory).

Cast

• Kalpana as Chandramukhi "Chandra"
• Gangadhar as Somashekhar "Somu"
• Leelavathi as Aparna : Chandra's mother
• Aarathi as Lalita : Somu's sister and Chandra's friend
• Lokanath as Puttanna Shettru "Tiramukulada Savkara"
• Pandari Bai as Tangamma : Somu's mother
• K. S. Ashwath as Ananthaiah : Somu's father
• Annapoornamma as Sangavva : Aparna's foster mother and Chandra's foster grandmother
• Swarnamma
• M. N. Lakshmi Devi as Savitri : Chandra and Somu's neighbour
• Balakrishna as Savitri's husband
• B. V. Radha as Somu's grandmother
• Vajramuni as Gangaiah "Atiguppe Savkara"

Awards

17th National Film Awards

• Best Kannada Film
• Best Screenplay — Puttanna Kanagal

1969–70 Karnataka State Film Awards

• First Best Film
• Best Supporting Actress – Leelavathi
• Best Screenplay — Puttanna Kanagal
• Best Dialogue — Navarathna Ram Rao
• Best Cinematographer — S. V. Srikanth

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Vijaya Bhaskar.

Notes

1. Gejje means anklet and pooje means worship, but in the context of this film, it means a mock marriage.

References

1. Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 403.
2. "'திரை இசைத் திலகம் கேவி மகாதேவன் -40- பிஜிஎஸ் மணியன் எழுதும் தொடர்". Andhimazhai (in Tamil). 26 January 2015. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
3. Narasimham, M. L. (30 November 2019). "A tribute to VMR's 1971 Telugu superhit 'Kalyana Mantapam'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
4. "Eight Sandalwood films that have been remade in other languages". The News Minute. 26 May 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
5. ^ Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 404.
6. "Seventeenth National Awards for Films" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. 21 November 1970. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
7. "Gejje Pooje Kannada Film EP Vinyl Record by Vijayabhaskar". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 7 March 2023. Retrieved 7 March 2023.

Bibliography

• Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1998) . Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema. British Film Institute and Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-563579-5.

External links

• Gejje Pooje at IMDb 

• 1969 films
• 1960s Indian films
• 1960s Kannada-language films
• Best Kannada Feature Film National Film Award winners
• Films based on Kannada novels
• Films directed by Puttanna Kanagal
• Films scored by Vijaya Bhaskar
• Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay National Film Award
• Kannada films remade in other languages