Sathi Leelavathi (1936 film)

Sathi Leelavathi
Poster
Tamil	சதி லீலாவதி
Directed by	Ellis R. Dungan
Produced by	Marudachalam Chettiar, Manorama Films
Written by	S. S. Vasan
Starring	M. K. Radha M. S. Gnanambal M. G. Ramachandran T. S. Balaiya
Music by	Sundara Vadhyaar
Production company	Manorama Films
Release date	28 March 1936
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Sathi Leelavathi (English: Leelavathi, the wife) is a 1936 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Ellis R. Dungan and produced by the Coimbatore based Manorama Films. This was the first film for M. G. Ramachandran and for Dungan as director. This was one of the first Tamil films to become the subject of a court case involving copyright violations. No print of the film is known to survive, making it a lost film.

Krishnamurthy (M. K. Radha), a rich man living with his wife Leelavathi (M. S. Gnanambal) and a daughter in Madras, is lured into drinking, gambling and other vices by his friend Ramanathan (T. S. Balaiah) at a mock tea party arranged for this purpose; Ramanathan's collaborator is Rangaiah Naidu (M. G. Ramachandran), a corrupt police inspector. Krishnamurthy is lured by the wiles of Mohanangi (Santhakumari), a woman with loose morals. Infatuated by her, he promises to pay her ₹50,000.

Parasuram (P. Nammalvar), a good friend of Krishnamurthy, tries to reform him but his efforts yield no results. A moneylender who had lent a huge sum to Krishnamurthy to meet his lavish lifestyle issues a warrant for the recovery of his money and Krishnamurthy sinks into a deeper mess. In his drunken state, he finds fault with his wife and even accuses her of having an illicit relationship with Parasuram. When Parasuram visits Krishnamurthy to warn him about the warrant, Leelavathi advises him to leave as Krishnamurthy is not at home. Absent mindedly, Parasuram leaves his umbrella behind. Krishnamurthy comes home drunk, notices the umbrella, suspects that his wife is having an affair with Parasuram, beats her and rushes out with a revolver to shoot Parasuram. Meanwhile, Ramanathan sends his servant in the guise of Parasuram to steal the jewels of the Ekambareswarar Temple.

Krishnamurthy comes pursuing Parasuram; a shot is heard and a man lies dead. This sudden and unexpected calamity brings the drunken Krishnamurthy to his senses. Krishnamurthy thinks he has murdered his friend Parasuram, decides to escape and leaves his wife and child in the custody of his faithful servant Govindan. He goes to Ceylon where he leads a wretched life as a nameless labourer in a tea estate. Ramanathan now takes this opportunity to try to molest Leelavathi who rejects his illicit advances. Penniless, she goes with her servant and daughter and leads a poor but honourable life spinning the charkha. Meanwhile, Krishnamurthy, during his labour work, finds a treasure trove and gives it to his master; his master is pleased with his honesty and adopts him as his own son.