Puthiya Vaarpugal
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBharathiraja
Screenplay byBharathiraja
K. Bhagyaraj
Story byR. Selvaraj
Produced byBharathiraja
StarringK. Bhagyaraj
Rati Agnihotri
CinematographyP. S. Nivas
Edited byR. Bhaskaran
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Manoj Creations
Release date
  • 14 April 1979 (1979-04-14)
Running time
143 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Puthiya Vaarpugal (transl. New Mouldings) is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film co-written, produced and directed by Bharathiraja. The film stars K. Bhagyaraj and Rati Agnihotri, with G. Srinivasan, Goundamani, K. K. Soundar and Usharani in supporting roles. It revolves around a school teacher who falls in love with a woman in his village, their relationship is threatened by the lecherous village chief.

Puthiya Vaarpugal is the first film produced by Bharathiraja. It also marked the acting debut of Agnihotri, and the first film for Bhagyaraj as a lead actor. While the story was written by R. Selvaraj, Bharathiraja wrote the screenplay and Bhagyaraj wrote the dialogues. Cinematography was handled by P. S. Nivas and editing by R. Bhaskaran. Filming was completed in 22 working days.

Puthiya Vaarpugal was released on 14 April 1979. The film became a success, and won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards: Second Best Film and Best Dialogue Writer (Bhagyaraj). It was remade in Telugu as Kotha Jeevithalu (1981) by the same director.[2][3]

Plot

Shanmugamani comes to a village as a school teacher. Around the same time, another woman comes there as a social activist. Both work hard to establish themselves. They meet occasionally and exchange pleasantries and books as they are educated, and share common interests. Shanmugamani meets Jothi, daughter of the village temple musician and they fall in love with each other. The village chief is a lecherous man. His stooge Amavasai is keen to marry Jothi, but Jothi's father is not interested in the proposal. When the chief sees Jothi, he lusts for her. Knowing about her love for Shanmugamani, he orders her to yield to his lust and threatens to fire Shanmugamani if she refuses. Jothi slaps him and the chief awaits an opportunity to take revenge. Meanwhile, Shanmugamani approaches Jothi's father with his marriage proposal, and he accepts. Enraged with this development, the chief plots revenge.

When the social activist visits the chief, he rapes and murders her, framing Shanmugamani. The chief alleges that the two had an illicit relationship; when she became pregnant, Shanmugamani killed her. The other villagers believe this and insult Shanmugamani. Though Jothi does not believe this, Shanmugamani leaves the village, leaving a note to Jothi that he would return to take her with him. When Jothi's father and brother are away, he makes Amavasai enter her house without her knowledge. When she is asleep, he knocks on her door along with other villagers. An unaware Jothi opens and says there is no one in her house until Amavasai emerges; the chief alleges an illicit relationship between Amavasai and Jothi, and orders their wedding as a solution. Though aware of the chief's plan, Jothi helplessly marries Amavasai, and her father dies shortly thereafter. Shanmugamani returns to take Jothi and learns about the wedding.

When Amavasai is eager to celebrate his wedding night, the chief orders him to leave as he himself wants Jothi. Amavasai pleads to spare his wife, to no avail. When the chief approaches Jothi, she willingly comes to him and they hug, only for Jothi to stab the chief to death, just as Shanmugamani and Amavasai arrive. Amavasai feels guilty for cheating and marrying her, so he removes the Thaali he tied and asks her to live happily with Shanmugamani. Amavasai hides the chief's corpse in a hay meant for torching during a festival and villagers burn it, oblivious to the corpse. Shamugamani and Jothi leave the village.

Cast

Production

Development

After director Bharathiraja scored three consecutive box-office hits: 16 Vayathinile (1977), Kizhakke Pogum Rail and Sigappu Rojakkal (both 1978), his mentor K. R. Gangadharan asked if he would be interested in taking to film production for his fourth; he agreed. Bharathiraja's then associate R. Selvaraj wrote the story of Puthiya Vaarpugal which Bharathiraja approved, making his debut as producer. Since the director did not have enough money, Gangadharan gave him an advance of ₹5,000 (equivalent to ₹130,000 or US$1,600 in 2023).[5] The film's title was derived from the short story of the same name by Jayakanthan.[6][7] While Bharathiraja wrote the screenplay, K. Bhagyaraj wrote the dialogues. Cinematography was handled by P. S. Nivas and editing by R. Bhaskaran.[4]

Casting and filming

Puthiya Vaarpugal is the film debut of the then 16-year-old Rati Agnihotri; Bharathiraja decided on her as the lead actress after watching her performance in a school play. Agnihotri's father agreed to let her join the film after Bharathiraja promised to complete filming within a month.[8] Bharathiraja said he chose Agnihotri because he wanted a woman who looked like a "sunflower in their midst".[9] It is also the first film for Bhagyaraj as lead actor.[10][11] Gangai Amaran was originally considered, but Bharathiraja later decided on Bhagyaraj.[5] According to Bharathiraja, he was not cast until the day before filming began.[12]

K. K. Soundar and G. Srinivasan were initially cast as the village chief and the female lead's father respectively, but switched their roles.[13] Haja Sheriff was cast after a successful audition, during which he recited a dialogue from Manohara (1954).[14] Manobala made his acting debut with this film, and also worked as an assistant director.[15] The song "Vaan Megangale" was filmed at Kumbakkarai Falls.[16] Filming was completed in 22 working days. Amaran dubbed Bhagyaraj's voice as he was unavailable for dubbing sessions due to having to attend his mother's funeral.[13] Hema Malini dubbed Agnihotri's voice.[17]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyrics by Kannadasan, Gangai Amaran and Muthulingam.[18][19] The song "Vaan Megangale" is set to the Carnatic raga Mohanam,[20][21] "Idhayam Poguthe" is set to Keeravani,[22] and "Thamthananam Thana" is set to Shanmukhapriya.[23][24]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Vaan Megangale"KannadasanMalaysia Vasudevan, S. Janaki4:34
2."Idhayam Poguthe"MuthulingamJency4:24
3."Thamthananam Thana"Gangai AmaranJency, B. Vasantha4:12
4."Thiruvizha Koothu"Gangai AmaranIlaiyaraaja, Gangai Amaran, Bharathiraja5:37
Total length:18:47

Release and reception

Puthiya Vaarpugal was released on 14 April 1979, during Puthandu.[25] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 59 out of 100, saying the director presented the film without deviating from the path chosen and with intelligence and fineness.[26] The film was a success, and won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards: Second Best Film, and Best Dialogue Writer (Bhagyaraj).[27]

References

  1. ↑ Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 442.
  2. ↑ Sri (12 June 2010). "K.Bhaagya Raj – Chitchat". Telugucinema.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
  3. ↑ Nagabhiru, Subbarao (17 July 2022). "Bharathiraja: విలక్షణంగా సాగిన భారతీరాజా". NTV (in Telugu). Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Dhananjayan 2011, p. 26.
  5. 1 2 ராம்ஜி, வி. (13 October 2020). "பாக்யராஜுக்கு கங்கை அமரன் தான் குரல் கொடுத்தான்; சிம்புவின் அம்மா உஷா மிகச்சிறந்த நடிகை! - இயக்குநர் பாரதிராஜாவின் 'புதிய வார்ப்புகள்' நினைவுகள்". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  6. ↑ குப்புசாமி, பி.ச. (28 February 2015). "ஜெயகாந்தனோடு பல்லாண்டு 21- ஜே.கே.வும், தமிழ் சினிமாவும்!". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  7. ↑ Venkatachalapathy, A. R. (30 July 2021). "Vetrimaaran and Suriya's 'Vaadivaasal' sets a new benchmark". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  8. ↑ Vijayakar, Rajiv (10 March 2000). "The return of Rati". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  9. ↑ Suganth, M (30 July 2018). "There aren't many Tamil-speaking heroines in the industry today: Bharathirajaa". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 January 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  10. ↑ Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 59.
  11. ↑ Suganth, M. (26 February 2017). "From ADs to actors in their guru's films". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  12. ↑ Pillai, Sreedhar (15 February 1984). "K. Bhagyaraj; the reigning king in the world of Madras film Hollywood". India Today. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  13. 1 2 "நான் உங்கள் ரசிகன்" [I am your fan]. Kungumam (in Tamil). 12 October 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  14. ↑ "பாரதிராஜாவின் குட்டு; ரஜினியின் ஷொட்டு!" (PDF). Kalki (in Tamil). 12 December 1982. pp. 60–61. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  15. ↑ "Tamil actor-director Manobala passes away at 69, Rajinikanth pays tribute". Business Today. 3 May 2023. Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  16. ↑ "சில்லென்று கொட்டும் கும்பக்கரை அருவி... தேனியின் முக்கிய ஷூட்டிங் ஸ்பாட்டில் எடுக்கப்பட்ட படங்கள் தெரியுமா?". News18 (in Tamil). 3 September 2022. Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  17. ↑ "குரலால் நடிக்கும் நாயகிகள் நாங்கள்: டப்பிங் கலைஞர்களின் அனுபவப் பகிர்வு". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 18 October 2019. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  18. ↑ "Puthiya Vaarppukal Tamil Film EP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  19. ↑ "Puthiya Vaarpugal (1979)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  20. ↑ "தமிழ்த்திரை இசையில் ராகங்கள் : [ 6 ] : T.சௌந்தர்". Inioru (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  21. ↑ Sundararaman 2007, p. 165.
  22. ↑ Sundararaman 2007, p. 132.
  23. ↑ Sundararaman 2007, p. 160.
  24. ↑ Mani, Charulatha (2 September 2011). "A Raga's Journey – Sacred Shanmukhapriya". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  25. ↑ "ஹீரோ, வில்லன், செகண்ட் ஹீரோ... ஒரே வருடத்தில் 3 பாக்யராஜ் படங்கள்". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 17 September 2019. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  26. ↑ "புதிய வார்ப்புகள்". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 29 April 1979. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  27. ↑ Dhananjayan 2011, p. 27.

Bibliography

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