Miss Malini

Miss Malini
A still from the film
Directed by	Kothamangalam Subbu
Produced by	Gemini Studios
Written by	R. K. Narayan
Starring	Pushpavalli Kothamangalam Subbu Sundari Bai Javar Seetharaman Gemini Ganesan
Music by	Saluri Rajeswara Rao Parur S. Anantharaman
Release date	1947
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Miss Malini is a 1947 Indian Tamil-language satirical film directed by Kothamangalam Subbu and produced by Gemini Studios. Based on the novel Mr. Sampath – The Printer of Malgudi by R. K. Narayan, it included aspects of life in Madras (now known as Chennai) during the World War II period (1939-1945) when there was a shortage of commodities and high prices, and includes depictions of social mores, a love story, and the moral dilemmas its characters face pursuing business and personal interests. No print of the film is known to survive, making it a lost film.

Life is a constant struggle for Malini, a poor woman with an ailing father. She reluctantly accepts stage actor-friend Sundari’s suggestion to go on stage, and joins her theatre group, Kala Mandhiram. Success smiles on her and she soon becomes an idol of the masses. Sampath, a swindler, befriends Malini and takes control of her life. He persuades her to start her own theatre company. A puppet in his hands, Malini severs ties with those who have helped her in the past such as Sundari. Soon she is in debt and back at the bottom of the ladder. Sampath abandons her. Sundari and others come to her rescue and Malini goes back to Kala Mandhiram and begins her life anew, sadder but certainly wiser.

Produced by Gemini Studios, the film featured Pushpavalli in the title role and M. S. Sundari Bai as Malini's friend. Kothamangalam Subbu wrote and directed the film and appeared as Sampath, a cheat, in a portrayal that was then considered "exceptional" in South Indian cinema and his performance was praised for being "suave villainy".

The cast also included N. Sitaraman, who later became known as Javar Seetharaman, and a debut by Ramaswamy Ganesan who was working in Gemini Studios casting department before going on to "blossom as one of the top stars of South Indian cinema — Gemini Ganesan".