Vazhkai
| Vazhkai | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | A.V. Meiyappan |
| Produced by | A.V. Meiyappan |
| Written by | M. V. Raman K. Mugunthan P. Neelakandan |
| Starring |
Vyjayanthimala M. S. Draupadi T. R. Ramachandran S. V. Sahasranamam |
| Narrated by | M. V. Raman |
| Music by | R. Sudarsanam |
| Cinematography | T. Muthu Samy |
| Edited by | M. V. Raman |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | AVM Productions |
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Release date
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Running time
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170 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Vazhkai (English: Life) is a 1949 Indian Tamil-language social guidance film produced and directed by A.V. Meiyappan through AVM Productions. The film starred Vyjayanthimala in her screen debut with M. S. Draupadi, T. R. Ramachandran and S. V. Sahasranamam forms an ensemble cast along with many actors appearing in other significant role.
Upon release the film was well received where it won the Best Tamil Film Award at the 1st Film Fans' Association Awards with Vyjayanthimala and M. S. Draupadi received the Second Best Tamil Actress and Third Best Tamil Actress Awards respectively. It also broke some box office record in South India.
The film was simultaneously released in Telugu as Jeevitham. Following that the film was later remade in Hindi as Bahar (1951) directed by M. V. Raman. Vyjayanthimala played the lead role in all the films along with A.V. Meiyappan as the producer.
Murthi (S. V. Sahasranamam) comes to a village. He deceives Meenakshi (M. S. Draupadi) and has sex with her. After going back to his home town he tries to marry Mohana (Vyjayanthimala), who loves Nathan (T. R, Ramachandran). Lakshmi discovers she is pregnant and goes to meet Murthi, who pretends ignorance. She jumps into the sea in a suicide attempt. A passerby saves her and she delivers the baby. She leaves the baby with Nathan. He takes care of the baby and faces a lot of problems. Learning about the baby, Mohana gets suspicious. Finally the actions of Murthi are exposed and he accepts Meenakshi as his wife.
Vazhkai was the first film to be shot at the new AVM's new studio at Chennai. For the lead female role A.V. Meiyappan wanted to launch a new face. When M. V. Raman the story writer of Vazhkai spotted Vyjayanthimala performing Bharata Natyam in Chennai Gokhale Hall, impressed by her talent he later recommended her to Meiyappan. Vyjayanthimala who happens to be the daughter of the leading Tamil actress Vasundhara Devi was just 13 years old when Meiyappan approach her for the film. Furthermore, Kannada actress Pandari Bai was considered for the other female role. However she was later replaced by M. S. Draupadi as she was rejected by Meiyappan who feels her Kannada-tinged Tamil accent will not suit the audience. However the actress later played that role in the Hindi version two years later in Bahar (1951) under the screen name Padmini.
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