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Or Iravu

Or Iravu
ஓர் இரவு
Or Iravu Poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by P. Neelakantan
Produced by Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar (AVM Productions)
Written by Story: C. N. Annadurai
Screenplay: P. Neelakantan
Starring K. R. Ramasamy
T. S. Balaiah
A. Nageswara Rao
T. K. Shanmugam
T. P. Muthulakshmi
Lalitha
Music by R. Sudharsanam
Cinematography S. Maruti Rao
Edited by K. Shankar
Release date
14 April 1951
Running time
160 min. (14,980 Feet)
Language Tamil

Or Iravu (Tamil: ஓர் இரவு; English: One Night) is a 1951 Tamil film produced by AVM Productions. It was based on the play of the same name written by C. N. Annadurai (later chief minister of Tamil Nadu).

Or iravu (lit. one night) was a stage play written by Annadurai. It was originally written for K. R. Ramasamy's Krishnan memorial drama company by Annadurai . Avichi Meiyappa Chettiar of AVM productions decided to make a film based on the play. Annadurai was paid 10,000 Rupees for writing the screenplay. Annadurai went to AVM studios and wrote the entire script and dialogues totaling 300 pages in a single night. The screenplay was later modified by the director and the producer of the film. This was the third film to be made based on Annadurai's plays, after Velaikaari (1949) and Nallathambi (1949). P. Neelakantan, who had begun working for AVM in the 1947 film Nam Iruvar as assistant director, made his debut as director with this film. Per Annadurai's recommendation Velaikari's lead actor K. R. Ramasamy was hired to play the hero. Akkineni Nageswara Rao and T. S. Balaiya played supporting roles in the film. The completed film was 14,980 feet in length.

The play Or iravu depicted events that happen in a single night. Older incidents were depicted using flashbacks. However, in the film version, flash backs were replaced with a linear narration.Or iravu tells the story of a thief who breaks into a rich man's house without knowing that the rich man is his own father who had abandoned him and his mother long ago.

The film was a box office failure. However, it was received well by critics and contemporary writers of Annadurai. After seeing the film Kalki Krishnamurthy praised Annadurai as "Tamil Nadu's Bernard Shaw". Writing about the film in his biography, the film's producer Meyyappan explains the reasons for its failure:


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