Edhir Neechal (transl. Swimming against the current)[1] is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The film has an ensemble cast including Nagesh, Muthuraman, Sundarrajan, Srikanth, M. R. R. Vasu, Sowcar Janaki and Jayanthi. It is based on Balachander's play of the same name, itself inspired by Sombhu Mitra's play Kanchanranga. The film was released on 12 December 1968, and became a commercial success, with Balachander winning the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer. It was remade in Telugu as Sambarala Rambabu (1970) and in Hindi as Lakhon Me Ek (1971).
| Edhir Neechal | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | K. Balachander |
| Written by | K. Balachander |
| Based on | Edhir Neechal by K. Balachander |
| Produced by | N. Selvaraj B. Duraisamy N. Krishnan |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | N. Balakrishnan |
| Edited by | N. R. Kittu |
| Music by | V. Kumar |
Production company | Kalakendra Movies |
Release date |
|
Running time | 165 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editMaadhu is a destitute orphan who performs odd jobs in a multi-family tenancy for his living and education. For the services he renders, he's allowed to sleep under the stairs of the tenancy without any rent and is given leftovers. He attends college with the help from one of his college professor while working the nights for supplementary income for books along with certain kind people that share roof in that tenancy he lives. Among few people who understand his situation, and are ready to help are Sabapathy and Nair.
Paaru is a daughter to one of the tenants who returns from Bangalore and whose marriage has been fixed to Kumaresan, one of the tenants living in the house. When, in the marriage hall, one of them recognises Paaru as a person in a mental asylum and when he heard this, Kumerasan says that if Paaru's father pays 15,000 the marriage will happen but Paaru and her family had only 5000. For this reason, Kumerasan rejects her. Maadhu overhears one of the tenants speaking to her husband of getting him married to their daughter Paaru who is said to be psychologically challenged. He forcefully makes his mind to love their daughter even before they propose a marriage, so as to calm himself that the girl is none other than the girl he loved and not some unknown psychologically challenged girl. Then they fall in love and then Maadhu finishes his college studies with lot of obstacles with Nair and Sabapathy helping him inside.
Then one day a rich businessman claims that Maadhu is his long lost son. Hearing this, all the tenants give their gifts but which Nair later reveals that that is a rumor and everyone later takes back the gifts. Paaru reveals that she is the person behind all this and she said that Maadhu has been serving the tenants from the very start if his life and she wanted Maadhu to be served by the tenants. Listening this Kumaresen, who now realizes how intelligent Paaru is, says that he will marry her to which Paaru agrees forcefully and is forced to break her love with Maadhu. She however extracts a promise that he should not marry anyone. In the marriage, Paaru creates a ruckus, and thus stopping the marriage. Maadhu now returns as a rich man and Sabapathy says that he should marry her to which Maadhu replies that he has already married a Punjabi girl. Shocking everyone, he reveals that the girl is none other than his friend Vadivelu and then Paaru and Maadhu marries and thus ending the movie.
Cast
edit- Nagesh as Maadhu[2]
- Muthuraman as Nair[3]
- Sundarrajan as Sabapathy[4]
- Srikanth as Kittu[4]
- M. R. R. Vasu as Kumaresan[5]
- Sowcar Janaki as Pattu Mami[4]
- Jayanthi as Paaru[6]
- Manorama as Renu[5]
- S. N. Lakshmi[5]
- Thengai Srinivasan (guest appearance)[5]
Production
editEdhir Neechal was a play written by K. Balachander,[7][8] inspired by Sombhu Mitra's play Kanchanranga.[9] Nagesh, who acted in Balachander's play,[10] returned to the film adaptation,[11] which was written and directed by Balachander, and produced by Kalakendra Movies.[12] R. Muthuraman played the Malayali cook Nair, reprising the role originally played by Raman.[10] Balachander considered Sowcar Janaki's role to be "a total contrast" to the melancholic roles she was then known for.[13] Cinematography was handled by N. Balakrishnan, editing by N. R. Kittu and art direction by Ramaswamy.[12]
Soundtrack
editThe music was composed by V. Kumar, with lyrics by Vaali.[14][15] The song "Aduthathu Ambujatha Parthela" is set in the Carnatic raga known as Mohanam,[16] and attained popularity.[17] Although P. B. Sreenivas' cinematic career was declining in the late 1960s, B. Kolappan of The Hindu described "Thamarai Kannangal" as "one of his finer numbers during this period."[18]
| Song | Singers | Length |
|---|---|---|
| "Aduthathu Ambujatha Parthela" | T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela | 03:30 |
| "Ennamma Ponnamma" | T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela | 04:05 |
| "Sethi Ketto Sethi" | K. Jamuna Rani, S. C. Krishnan, Y. Swarna, P. Susheela | 04:02 |
| "Thamarai Kannangal" | P. B. Sreenivas, P. Susheela | 04:11 |
| "Vetri Vendumaa" | Sirkazhi Govindarajan | 02:41 |
Release and reception
editEdhir Neechal was released on 12 December 1968.[12] The following week, The Indian Express wrote, "The film, which has a few touching scenes and some interesting twists, is on the whole satisfying", though they criticised the music.[19] Ananda Vikatan, in a review dated 29 December 1968, praised the performances of the cast, particularly Nagesh, Sreekanth and Janaki.[4] C. N. Annadurai, then the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, called the film better than the source play.[20] The film was commercially successful,[17] and Balachander won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer.[21]
Legacy
editFilm historian Mohan Raman considered Edhir Neechal to be one of several films where Balachander established Nagesh, a comedian, as a "serious actor".[22] It was remade in Telugu as Sambarala Rambabu (1970),[10] and in Hindi as Lakhon Me Ek (1971).[23] The characters Pattu Mami and Maadhu became iconic in Tamil cinema.[24] Stage actor Maadhu Balaji adopted the prefix "Maadhu" after the character of the same name.[25]
References
edit- ^ Narwekar, Sanjit (1994). Directory of Indian film-makers and films. Flicks Books. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-948911-40-8.
- ^ Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (19 December 2015). "Uncrowned monarch of humorous actors in Tamil movies". Daily FT. Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ "பிளாஷ்பேக்: எதிர்நீச்சல் எந்த கதையின் தழுவல்?" [Flashback: Which story is Edhir Neechal based on?]. Dinamalar (in Tamil). 15 November 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ a b c d "சினிமா விமர்சனம்: எதிர் நீச்சல்". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 29 December 1968. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
- ^ a b c d "மாடிப்படி மாது, பட்டு மாமி, கிட்டு மாமா, படவா ராஸ்கல்... என்றும் நினைவில் நிற்கும் 'எதிர்நீச்சல்' - 51 வயது". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 12 December 2019. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ Kavitha (26 July 2021). "Jayanthi, the 'bold & beautiful' yesteryear actress, passes away". The Federal. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ Guy, Randor (7 March 2003). "Dialogue delivery set him apart". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
- ^ Ramachandran, T. M. (30 April 1966). "K. Balachander does it again!". Sport and Pastime. Vol. 20. pp. 50–51. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 24 March 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Gopalie, S. (1969). "Tamil | (In)significant" (PDF). Enact. No. 25. pp. 13–15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
- ^ a b c Krishnamachari, Suganthy (19 May 2016). "Spotlight on 'Edirneechal' Raman". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ Nayar, Aashmita (24 December 2014). "7 Must-Watch K Balachander Movies On Youtube". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ a b c "Edhir Neechal". The Indian Express. 12 December 1968. p. 5. Retrieved 3 April 2018 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Rangan, Baradwaj (10 September 2006). "Interview: K Balachander". Baradwaj Rangan. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ^ "Ethir Neechal (1968)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ "Ethir Neechal (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
- ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 122.
- ^ a b Kesavan, N. (26 June 2016). "Comediennes who made Tamil cinema bright". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ Kolappan, B. (15 April 2013). "A singer who evoked pathos, a nonpareil". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ "Social drama". The Indian Express. 21 December 1968. p. 5. Retrieved 3 April 2018 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Srinivasan, Meera (15 September 2009). "Significant contribution to Tamil theatre, cinema". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
- ^ "State film awards". The Indian Express. 1 March 1970. p. 5. Retrieved 25 May 2021 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Raman, Mohan (3 January 2015). "KB: Kollywood's Discovery Channel". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- ^ Lokapally, Vijay (5 November 2015). "Lakhon Mein Ek (1971)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
- ^ Rajasekaran, Ilangovan (18 October 2013). "The KB school". Frontline. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
- ^ Saravanan, T. (22 February 2017). "When quirk and mirth come to party". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.