Navarathri (1964 film)

Navarathri
Directed by	A. P. Nagarajan
Written by	A. P. Nagarajan
Starring	Sivaji Ganesan Savitri Nagesh
Music by	K. V. Mahadevan
Release date	3 November 1964
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Navarathri ("Nine Nights") is a 1964 Tamil Drama film by A. P. Nagarajan. The film is well known for starring Sivaji Ganesan in nine distinct roles: the basic emotions - wonder, fear, compassion, anger, peace, love, courage, repulsion and happiness. It was Sivaji's 100th film he acted. Navarathri traces Nalina's (Savitri) experience of these nine emotions on nine consecutive nights. The record of playing most number of roles in one Indian film was made by Sivaji Ganesan followed by Telugu with the same title and in Hindi as Naya Din Nai Raat (1974)with Sanjeev Kumar and Kamal Haasan in Dasavathaaram (2008).

The film opens with the narrator explaining that there are nine types of human behaviors (Navarasam) such as Wonder (அற்புதம்), Fear (பயம்), Compassion (கருணை), Anger (கோபம்), Equanimity (சாந்தம்), Disgust (அருவருப்பு), Elegance (சிங்காரம்), Bravery (வீரம்) and brightness (ஆனந்தம்) and that Sivaji Ganesan's nine roles represents one character per role.

Nalina (Savitri) is the only daughter of a rich man. When she happily celebrates Navaratri festival at her home with her friends her father informs about the visit of a groom and his parents for her wedding. Nalina is reluctant to the proposal as she wants to marry her college mate Anand. After arguments with her father, she leaves away from home without her father's knowledge at the first Navaratri night.

First Night (Wonder): She searches for her lover in the college hostel but finds that he has gone to get married. Nalina felts cheated by Anand and attempts for suicide where she is stopped by a widower Arputharaj (Sivaji Ganesan). He takes her to his house and introduces her to his daughter. He urges her to tell her address to drop her safely. Unwilling to return home she leaves the place the next early morning.

Second Night (Fear): The next day she damages the vegetables of a vendor. When vendor fights with her she was rescued by a homely looking woman. The woman takes Nalina to her home. Nalina meets several women in her house. But the house is a brothel house. She is trapped to a drunkard (Sivaji Ganesan). The drunkard justifies that he cannot seduce his own wife as she is a TB patient. Though he does not want to betray his wife, he is not able to resist his feelings. Nalina advises and warns him in order to escape from him but he does not want to hear. After much struggle the drunkard falls into the floor and faints. Nalina escapes from the place.

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