Ratha Thilagam

Ratha Thilagam
Ratha Thilagam
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Dada Mirasi
Screenplay by	Dada Mirasi
Produced by	Panchu Arunachalam; P. V. Krishnan
Starring	Sivaji Ganesan; Savitri Ganesan
Cinematography	Jagirdhar
Edited by	R. Devarajan
Music by	K. V. Mahadevan
Production; company	National Movies
Release date	14 September 1963;
Running time	142 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Ratha Thilagam (transl. Tilaka of Blood) is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language war romance film directed by Dada Mirasi. The film stars Sivaji and Savitri Ganesan (no relation). Based on the Sino-Indian border dispute of 1962, it was released on 14 September 1963. The film was not commercially successful.

Plot

Kumar is a graduate who decides to enlist in the Indian Army, following news of Chinese invasion in the country during the midst of the Sino-Indian War, only to find out that his love interest Kamala was working against the Indian Army.

Cast

Sivaji Ganesan as Major Kumar^[1]
Savitri Ganesan as Kamala^[1]
Nagesh as Madurai^[1]
Kannappa as a Chinese doctor^[1]
Kannaiah as Military Rajarathnam
Gundu Karuppaya as Kumar's hostel servant
Veerasami^[1]
Shanmugasundaram as Chinese military officer^[2]
Parthiban^[1]
Pushpalatha^[1]
Manorama as Poonkuyil^[1]
Janaki^[1]
Comedy Shanmugam as Madurai Assistant

Production

Ratha Thilagam is based on the Sino-Indian border dispute of 1962. It was directed by Dada Mirasi who also wrote the screenplay. It was produced under National Movies by Panchu Arunachalam and P. V. Krishnan while Kannadasan, along with, P.C. Ganesan and Thyagan wrote the dialogue; Kannadasan also presented the film. Cinematography was handled by Jagirdhar and editing by R. Devarajan.^[1]^[3]

Themes

Critic Baradwaj Rangan noted Ratha Thilagam's similarities to the Bengali film Saptapadi (1961) in that both films had "the backdrop of war, the star-crossed lovers, and, of course, the staging of Othello, which, in both films, appears to have been dubbed by the same voices (Jennifer Kapoor, Utpal Dutt)."^[4] Writing for The Times of India, Ganesh Krishnamoorthy felt that, as the film was set in the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War, "this scene, used as a play enacted by the characters, provides a structural unity to the main plot."^[5]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by K. V. Mahadevan, with lyrics by Kannadasan.^[6] The songs "Oru Koppaiyila" and "Pasumai Niraintha" were well received.^[1]

Song	Singers	Length
"Buddhan Vanthan"	T. M. Soundararajan	02:55
"Happy Birthday"	Suzi Miller	03:22
"Oru Koppaiyile"	T. M. Soundararajan	02:33
"Pani Padarntha"	T. M. Soundararajan	06:06
"Pasumai Niraintha"	T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela	03:49
"Pogathe Pogathe"	Manorama	01:56
"Thazhampoove"	T. M. Soundararajan, L. R. Eswari	05:53
"Vaadai Kaatramma"	L. R. Eswari	03:27

Release and reception

Ratha Thilagam was released on 14 September 1963.^[3] Kanthan of Kalki praised the film for the comedy subplot and the Othello play.^[7] T. M. Ramachandran, writing for Sport and Pastime, commended Ganesan and Savitri's performances, calling their roles in the Othello play the film's pièce de résistance.^[8] The film was not commercially successful.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Guy, Randor (17 October 2015). "Rattha Thilakam (1963)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Just In: Veteran actor Shanmuga Sundaram is no more". The Times of India. 15 August 2017. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
^ ^a ^b "91-100". nadigarthilagam.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
^ Rangan, Baradwaj (12 September 2014). "Lights, Camera, Conversation... "All the world's a screen..."". Baradwaj Rangan. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
^ Krishnamoorthy, Ganesh (9 May 2016). "All the world's a stage, Tamil Nadu too". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
^ "Ratha Thilagam". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
^ காந்தன் (6 October 1963). "இரத்த திலகம்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 29. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.
^ Ramachandran, T. M. (5 October 1963). "A Good Effort". Sport and Pastime. Vol. 17. p. 50. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023 – via Internet Archive.

External links

Ratha Thilagam at IMDb

[hindu-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Guy, Randor (17 October 2015). "Rattha Thilakam (1963)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[2] "Just In: Veteran actor Shanmuga Sundaram is no more". The Times of India. 15 August 2017. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2021.

[nadigarthilagam-3] "91-100". nadigarthilagam.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.

[4] Rangan, Baradwaj (12 September 2014). "Lights, Camera, Conversation... "All the world's a screen..."". Baradwaj Rangan. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.

[5] Krishnamoorthy, Ganesh (9 May 2016). "All the world's a stage, Tamil Nadu too". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.

[6] "Ratha Thilagam". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 11 January 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2015.

[7] காந்தன் (6 October 1963). "இரத்த திலகம்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 29. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 7 October 2022.

[8] Ramachandran, T. M. (5 October 1963). "A Good Effort". Sport and Pastime. Vol. 17. p. 50. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2023 – via Internet Archive.

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