Chintamani (1937 film)

Chintamani
Chintamani (Aswathamma), Lord Krishna (Serugulathur Sama) and Bilwamangal(M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar)
Directed by	Y. V. Rao
Produced by	Royal Talkies
Written by	Dialogue: Somayajulu, Serugalathur Sama
Screenplay by	Y. V. Rao
Story by	Y. V. Rao
Starring	Aswathamma M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Serugulathur Sama Y. V. Rao L. Narayana Rao
Music by	Papanasam Sivan
Cinematography	Y. B. Washgar
Edited by	Bholenath Adya
Distributed by	Royal Talkies
Release date	12 March 1937
Running time	215 min
Language	Tamil

Chintamani (Tamil: சிந்தாமணி) is a 1937 Tamil-language film directed by Y. V. Rao starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, Serugulathur Sama and Aswathamma. It was the first Tamil film to run for a year in a single theatre.

Chintamani was a popular play which had been performed in many languages. First, a silent film was made based on the play, then talkies based on it were made in Bengali, Hindi and Telugu. In 1937, a Tamil version of the film was directed by film-maker Y. V. Rao under the banner of Royal Talkies, owned by yarn merchants of Madurai.

Initially, the director Y. V. Rao, wanted to play Bilwamangal's role himself. However, he changed his mind and acted as Bilwamangal's companion Manoharan. Serugulathur Sama was another contender for the main role. But, Rao rejected him in favor of M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar who was signed to play the part. In the initial stages, more publicity was given to the Kannada actress Aswathamma who played Chintamani's role than M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. Her name was mentioned above that of Bhagavathar's in the credits.

Chintamani was based on the legendary story of a Sanskrit poet and devotee of Lord Krishna named Bilwamangal (M. K. Thyragaraja Bhagavathar). Bilwamangal, a resident of Varanasi, was a Sanskrit scholar, who gets infatuated towards a courtesan called Chintamani (Aswathamma), a woman of ill-fame. As a result, he deserts his wife. However, Chintamani is an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna (Serugalathur Sama) and spends most of her time singing bhajans in praise of Lord Krishna. His attraction towards Chintamani eventually draws Bilwamangal closer towards Lord Krishna and transforms his life forever. Bilwangal, himself, becomes a devotee of Lord Krishna and pens a monumental Sanskrit work Sri Krishna Karnamritam.

Chintamani was released on 12 March 1937and became one of the most acclaimed films of early Tamil cinema. Though Bhagavathar's first film Pavalakkodi had achieved some success, it was Chintamani that made Bhagavathar into a successful actor. It had an uninterrupted theatrical run of more than a year. It was one of the two films of Bhagavathar, released in 1937 (the other one was Ambikapathy) which ran for more than a year. It also marked the debut in Tamil for Kannada actress Aswathamma who played the title role. Aswathamma acted in one more Tamil movie before her untimely death in 1939 due to tuberculosis.