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Maruthanad Elavarasee
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	A. Kasilingam
Written by	M. Karunanidhi
Produced by	G. Muthuswamy
Starring	M. G. Ramachandar V. N. Janaki
Cinematography	G. Dorai
Edited by	A. Kasilingam
Music by	M. S. Gnanamani
Production company	G. Govindan & Company
Release date	2 April 1950 (1950-04-02)
Running time	136 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Maruthanad Elavarasee (transl. Princess of the Marudha Kingdom) is a 1950 Indian Tamil-language film directed and edited by A. Kasilingam, and written by M. Karunanidhi. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran (credited as Ramachandar) and V. N. Janaki. It was released on 2 April 1950 and became a box office success.

Plot

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A king has two wives, one of them being Chithra. The minister Dhurjeyan's sister is the younger queen. The two become pregnant and Dhurjeyan persuades the king to believe that the older queen had poisoned the younger queen out of sheer jealousy which the king tends to believe, but does not take any action. Dhurjeyan tries to kill the younger queen but she is saved by a courtier whom Dhurjeyan kills. The younger queen escapes many trials and gives birth to a son named Kandeeban. He grows up and meets a young woman Rani and her friend and falls in love unaware that she is a princess. Their love grows and when he discovers that she is a princess, he begins to distance himself from her. After many trials, the couple reunites.

Cast

Production

In 2015, lyricist P. K. Muthusamy claimed he wrote a story and gave it to M. Karunanidhi in December 1949, but Karunanidhi "stole" the story and made it into Maruthanad Elavarasee without Muthusamy's knowledge. However, according to M. G. Ramachandran (known and credited as Ramachandar at that time), T. V. Chari began work on a film titled Kaali Dasi as producer, director and writer, but it was shelved after some progress due to the production company dissolving. Ramachandar added that G. Govindan & Company took over production with A. Kasilingam as director and Karunanidhi as writer, retaining some of the already shot scenes but using them to weave a new story. The new film, titled Maruthanad Elavarasee, was produced by G. Muthuswamy, and Kasilingam also handled the editing while cinematography was handled by G. Dorai.

Soundtrack

The music composed by M. S. Gnanamani, while lyrics written by C. A. Lakshmana Das & K. P. Kamatchi Sundaram.

Release and reception

Maruthanad Elavarasee was released on 2 April 1950. The film became a box office success and, according to historian Randor Guy, established Ramachandar and Janaki as a "star pair sure to go places".

References

1. Zakeer Hussain, H. (2 October 2015). "M Karunanidhi stole my script: Film writer". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 30 April 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
2. Sri Kantha, Sachi (5 May 2019). "MGR Remembered – Part 51 | About the Plagiarism charge on Karunanidhi". Ilankai Tamil Sangam. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
3. ^ Guy, Randor (8 January 2011). "Blast from the past – Maruthanaatu Ilavarasi (1950)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
4. "Maruthanad Elavarasee". The Indian Express. 28 March 1950. p. 10. Retrieved 23 March 2021 – via Google News Archive.
5. "Maruthanad Elavarasee". The Indian Express. 2 April 1950. p. 10. Retrieved 4 February 2020 – via Google News Archive.

External links

• Maruthanad Elavarasee at IMDb 

• 1950 films
• 1950s Indian films
• 1950s Tamil-language films
• Films about polygamy
• Films about royalty
• Films scored by M. S. Gnanamani
• Films with screenplays by M. Karunanidhi
• Tamil-language Indian films