Kalathur Kannamma (1960)

Kalathur Kannamma (English: Kannamma of Kalathur) is an Indian Tamil romantic drama film produced by A. V. Meiyappan and directed by A. Bhimsingh. The film stars Gemini Ganesan and Savitri in the lead, while Kamal Hassan made his debut in this film as a child artist. T. S. Balaiah, Devika and S. V. Subbaiah play supporting roles. The film's critically acclaimed soundtrack was composed by R. Sudharsanam. The film tells the story of a young couple — a wealthy zamindar's son and a farmer's daughter — who are separated by unfortunate circumstances, while their innocent son is forced to grow up in an orphanage.

Kalathur Kannamma was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, and won several awards such as the Certificate of Merit by the Government of India, and the President's Gold Medal award. The film was remade in Telugu as Mooga Nomu. It was also remade in Hindi as Main Chup Rahungi with Bhimsingh returning as director, in Sinhala as Mangalika, and in Malayalam as Navavadhu.

Synopsis

Rajalingam (Gemini Ganesan) is the only son of Ramalingam (T. S. Balaiah), the zamindar of Kalathur. Kannamma (Savithri) is the daughter of Murugan (S. V. Subbaiah), a farmer of the same place. On the zamindar's advice, Murugan sends his daughter to Madras for higher education. While returning from Madras, Kannamma meets Raja in the train. Noticing her respect and awe for the zamindar, Raja calls himself an electrician visiting the zamin palace. They fall in love. A few days later, Kannamma learns the truth and to reassure her, Raja marries her secretly in a temple.

Actors