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Irumbu Thirai
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	S. S. Vasan
Story by	Ganesh Subramaniyam along with Gemini Story Department
Produced by	S. S. Vasan
Starring	Sivaji Ganesan Vyjayanthimala B. Saroja Devi
Cinematography	P. Elappa N. C. BalaKrishnan
Edited by	M. Umanath
Music by	S. V. Venkatraman
Production company	Gemini Studios
Release date	14 January 1960 (1960-01-14)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Irumbu Thirai (transl. Iron Curtain) is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language film produced and directed by S. S. Vasan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Vyjayanthimala, K. A. Thangavelu and B. Saroja Devi, with S. V. Ranga Rao, Pandari Bai and Vasundhara Devi in supporting roles. A remake of Vasan's own Hindi film Paigham (1959), it revolves around two brothers Manikam and Kondamuthu and their mill owner.

The soundtrack was composed by S. V. Venkatraman and the lyrics were written by Kothamangalam Subbu, Papanasam Sivan and Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram. The editing was done by M. Umanath while the camera was handled by P. Elappa and N. C. Bala Krishna. The film was released on 14 January 1960 and ran more than 175 days in theatres.

Plot

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The story revolves around two brothers Manikam and Saravanan and their mill owner.

Cast

• Sivaji Ganesan as Manickavasagam (alias) Manickam
• Vyjayanthimala as Jayanthi
• B. Saroja Devi as Malathi
• Pandari Bai as Parvathi
• S. V. Subbaiah as Saravanan
• S. V. Ranga Rao as Mohanarangam
• Vasundhara Devi as Jayanthi's mother
• Radha Bai as Malathi's mother
• K. A. Thangavelu as Kottamuthu
• T. S. Durairaj as Gundu Pillai
• Vanaja as Challi
• D. Balasubramaniam as Judge
• Parthiban as Circle Inspector
• Javar Seetharaman as Lawyer
• Mukherji as Inspector
• Seetalakshmi as Sheela
• G. V. Sharma as Jeevan
• Pushpamala as Kamala
• Master Gopi as Bhola
• Karupaiah as Kundan
• S. R. Janaki as Saravanan and Manickam's mother
• Pattusamy as Sleuth
• Azhwar Kuppusami as Prosecutor
• Kannan as Factory Laber's

Production

In 1959, S. S. Vasan, the proprietor of Gemini Studios, began working on a film built around capital-labour relations. The film, which was the Tamil remake of his own Hindi film Paigham, was untitled, and the creative team of Gemini could not come up with a convincing title. Vasan invited his employees to suggest a title for the under-production film, and he received an abundance of entries; one office boy submitted as many as 2500 entries. After examining one by one, Vasan chose the title Irumbu Thirai (transl. Iron Curtain). He also hosted a reception to honour the boy who suggested the title and rewarded him with some prize money. Besides producing, Vasan also directed the film.

The female cast of Paigham – Vyjayanthimala, B. Saroja Devi and Pandari Bai – returned to star in Irumbu Thirai, while Sivaji Ganesan reprised the role originally played by Dilip Kumar. It was a "coup of sorts" for Vasan to cast Ganesan since the latter had earlier been rejected by the former for a role in Chandralekha (1948), an incident which created a permanent rift between them. Vyjayanthimala's mother Vasundhara Devi played her screen mother as well, having done the same in Paigham. The final length of the film was 18396 feet.

Themes

Irumbu Thirai focuses on capital-labour relations, and the conditions of working-class people.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by S. V. Venkatraman. The album had Kothamangalam Subbu, Papanasam Sivan and Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram as the lyricists. The song "Nenjil Kudiyirukkum" is set in the carnatic raga known as Shanmukhapriya, while the classical-themed "Enna Seidhaalum" is set in Kharaharapriya.

Release and reception

Irumbu Thirai was released on 14 January 1960. Kanthan of Kalki wrote . The film was a commercial success, running for over 175 days in theatres and thereby becoming silver jubilee film.

References

1. ^ Guy, Randor (23 May 2003). "With a finger on people's pulse". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
2. ^ Sriram, V. (1 May 2018). "Paigham and Irumbu Thirai – #MayDay Special". Madras Heritage and Carnatic Music. Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
3. ^ "இரும்புத்திரை - இது சிவாஜி படம்" [Irumbu Thirai – This is a Sivaji film]. Kamadenu (in Tamil). 9 May 2018. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
4. "Gemini's Paigham". Thought. Vol. 11. Siddhartha Publications. 1959. p. 156.
5. ^ "1960 – இரும்புத் திரை – ஜெமினி பிலிம்ஸ் – பைகாம்(இ)" [1960 – Irumbu Thirai – Gemini Films – Paigham(hi)]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 27 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
6. Guy 1997, p. 282.
7. Pradeep, K. (2 November 2011). "Dance and Vyjayantimala". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
8. Vijayakumar, B. (1 May 2017). "Punnapra Vayalar: 1968". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
9. Neelamegam, G. (December 2014). Thiraikalanjiyam – Part 1 (in Tamil) (1st ed.). Chennai: Manivasagar Publishers. p. 191.
10. Mani, Charulatha (2 September 2011). "A Raga's Journey – Sacred Shanmukhapriya". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
11. Srinivasan, Anil (24 July 2015). "How Carnatic music has enriched – and been enriched by – movie scores". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
12. Mani, Charulatha (13 April 2012). "A Raga's Journey — Kingly Kharaharapriya". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
13. காந்தன் (24 January 1960). "இரும்புத்திரை". Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 14–15. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
14. Ganesan & Narayana Swamy 2007, p. 241.
15. Selvaraj, N. (20 March 2017). "வெள்ளி விழா கண்ட தமிழ் திரைப்படங்கள்" [Tamil films that completed silver jubilees]. Thinnai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2018.

Bibliography

• Ganesan, Sivaji; Narayana Swamy, T. S. (2007) . Autobiography of an Actor: Sivaji Ganesan, October 1928 – July 2001. Sivaji Prabhu Charities Trust. OCLC 297212002.
• Guy, Randor (1997). Starlight, Starbright: The Early Tamil Cinema. Amra Publishers. OCLC 1049072979.

External links

• Irumbu Thirai at IMDb 

• 1960 films
• 1960s Indian films
• 1960s Tamil-language films
• Films directed by S. S. Vasan
• Films scored by S. V. Venkatraman
• Films with screenplays by Kothamangalam Subbu
• Gemini Studios films
• Tamil remakes of Hindi films
• Tamil-language Indian films
• Films about brothers
• Indian courtroom films
• Indian legal drama films
• Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police
• Films about lawyers
• Films about the working class
• Films about labor relations
• Films about labour
• Films about the labor movement
• Films about social class
• Films about social realism
• Films about businesspeople