imported>Kailash29792: /* Cast */

2021-08-25T09:13:20Z

Cast

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{{distinguish|Veerabhimanyu}}
{{short description|1965 film by V. Madhusudhan Rao}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Veera Abhimanyu
| image = Veera Abhimanyu poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[V. Madhusudhan Rao]]
| producer = Sundarlal Nahta<br />[[Doondi]]
| screenplay = S. I. Peruman
| starring = [[Gemini Ganesan]]<br />[[K. Balaji|Balaji]]<br />[[A. V. M. Rajan]]<br />[[Kanchana (actress)|Kanchana]]
| music = [[K. V. Mahadevan]]
| cinematography = Ravi
| editing = N. S. Prakasam
| studio = Rajalakshmi Productions
| released = {{film date|1965|8|20|df=y}}
| country = India
| language = Tamil
}}
'''''Veera Abhimanyu''''' is a 1965 Indian [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-language [[Hindu mythological cinema|Hindu mythological film]] directed by [[V. Madhusudhan Rao]] and produced by Sunderlal Nahta and [[Doondi]]. Based on [[Abhimanyu]], a character from the Indian epic ''[[Mahabharata]]'', the film stars [[Gemini Ganesan]] leading an [[ensemble cast]], including [[A. V. M. Rajan]] portraying the title character. It was simultaneously filmed in [[Telugu language|Telugu]] as ''[[Veerabhimanyu]]'', with a largely different cast. The film was released on 20 August 1965, and failed commercially.

== Plot ==
The [[Pandava]] prince [[Arjuna]]n explains to his pregnant wife [[Subhadra]]i the nuances of entering the ''[[Padmavyuha]]'', a deadly war-plan created by [[Drona]]n. [[Abhimanyu]], the child in Subhadrai's womb, listens to it. When Arjunan is about to explain how to come out of it, [[Krishna]]n shows up and diverts the topic. While the Pandavas are in the [[Virata Kingdom]] during the ''agnaatvaas'', Abhimanyu grows up at [[Dvārakā|Dwaraka]] as a valiant warrior. While chasing [[Uttara (Mahabharata)|Uthrakumaran]], Abhimanyu enters King [[Virata]]'s garden and meets [[Uttarā (Mahabharata)|Uthrai]], and they both fall in love. Abhimanyu seeks [[Ghatotkacha]]n's support to marry Uthrai.

When the Pandavas' ''agnaatvaas'' ends, the marriage of Abhimanyu and Uthrai is conducted. Upon returning, the Pandavas seek their share of the kingdom, but the [[Kaurava]] prince [[Duryodhana]]n refuses to part with even five villages, leading to the [[Kurukshetra War]]. Drona creates the ''Padmavyuha'' to stop Abhimanyu, who is slayed by the Kauravas through deceit. To a devastated Arjunan, Krishna conveys, through his ''[[Vishvarupa]]'', the truth about the circle of life.

== Cast ==
{{Col-begin|width=70%}}
{{col-break|width=20%}}
; Male cast<ref name="songbook" />
* [[Gemini Ganesan]] as [[Krishna]]n
* [[K. Balaji|Balaji]] as [[Arjuna]]n
* [[A. V. M. Rajan]] as [[Abhimanyu]]
* [[T. K. Bhagavathi]] as [[Duryodhana]]n
* [[Nagesh]] as [[Uttara (Mahabharata)|Uthrakumaran]]
* [[O. A. K. Thevar]] as [[Ghatotkacha]]n
* [[S. V. Sahasranamam]] as King [[Virata]]
* [[E. R. Sahadevan]] as [[Bhima]]n
* M. R. Rajarathnam as [[Shakuni]]
* M. K. Mustafa as [[Drona]]n
* Natarajan as [[Yudhishthira|Dharuman]]
* T. K. Vijayan as [[Indra]]n
{{col-break|width=20%}}
;Male cast (continued)
* Mahalingam as [[Balarama]]n
* K. V. S. Sharma as [[Bhishma]]r
* Kadhiresan as [[Karna]]n
* [[Karikol Raju]] as Neelamegan
* S. R. Gopal as Karmegam
* Bangalore Sundaram as Laknakumar
* [[K. K. Soundar]] as [[Jayadratha]]n
* Dhanapal as [[Susharma]]n
* S. A. G. Swami as [[Dushasana|Dushathanan]]
* Jayaraman as [[Ashwatthama|Aswathama]]
* Ragunatha Rao as [[Sahadeva]]n
* Koteeswara Rao as [[Kripa]]charya
* Vijayakumar as [[Nakula]]n
{{col-break|width=20%}}
; Female cast<ref name="songbook" />
* [[Kanchana (actress)|Kanchana]] as [[Uttarā (Mahabharata)|Uthrai]]
* [[G. Varalakshmi]] as [[Draupadi|Panjali]]
* [[S. Varalakshmi]] as [[Subhadra]]i
* Malathi as [[Sudeshna]]
* [[Geetanjali (actress)|Geethanjali]] as Dancer
* Sujatha as Madhavi
{{Col-end}}

== Production ==
''Veera Abhimanyu'' revolves around [[Abhimanyu]], a character in the Indian epic ''[[Mahabharata]]''. Directed by [[V. Madhusudhan Rao]] and produced by Sunderlal Nahta and [[Doondi]] under the banner Rajalakshmi Productions, it was simultaneously produced in Tamil and Telugu languages, the latter as ''[[Veerabhimanyu]]'' which featured a largely different cast.<ref name="veerabhimanyu" /> In Tamil, [[A. V. M. Rajan]] played the title role of Abhimanyu,<ref name="songbook" /> and [[Gemini Ganesan]] played [[Krishna]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jeyaraj |first=D. B. S. |author-link=D. B. S. Jeyaraj |date=11 July 2015 |title="Kaadhal Mannan" Gemini Ganesan, romantic actor king of Tamil cinema |work=[[Daily FT]] |url=http://www.ft.lk/columns/kaadhal-mannan-gemini-ganesan-romantic-actor-king-of-tamil-cinema/4-444263 |url-status=live |access-date=18 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618160709/http://www.ft.lk/columns/kaadhal-mannan-gemini-ganesan-romantic-actor-king-of-tamil-cinema/4-444263 |archive-date=18 June 2018}}</ref> Rajan and Ganesan were replaced in Telugu by [[Sobhan Babu]] and [[N. T. Rama Rao]], respectively.<ref name="veerabhimanyu" /> [[Kanchana (actress)|Kanchana]] played [[Uttarā (Mahabharata)|Uttara]] in both versions.<ref name="review" /><ref name="veerabhimanyu" /> Since Kanchana was familiar with the story and already knew what Uttara would go through, she was comfortable when facing the camera.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vandhana |date=17 January 2019 |title='I May Not Agree with the Films We Make, But We Have To Soldier On': An Interview With Actress Kanchana |url=https://silverscreen.in/features/i-may-not-agree-with-the-films-we-make-or-the-society-we-live-in-but-we-have-to-soldier-on-an-interview-with-actress-kanchana/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190121052600/https://silverscreen.in/features/i-may-not-agree-with-the-films-we-make-or-the-society-we-live-in-but-we-have-to-soldier-on-an-interview-with-actress-kanchana/ |archive-date=21 January 2019 |access-date=21 January 2019 |website=Silverscreen.in}}</ref> The screenplay was written by S. I. Peruman, cinematography was handled by Ravi, the editing by N. S. Prakasam, and the art direction by S. Krishna Rao.<ref name="songbook" />

== Soundtrack ==
The soundtrack was composed by [[K. V. Mahadevan]], and the lyrics were written by [[Kannadasan]].<ref name="release" /> The song "Paarthen, Sirithen" is set in the [[Carnatic raga]] known as [[Sahana (raga)|Sahana]].{{sfn|Sundararaman|2007|p=152}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mani |first=Charulatha |author-link=Charulatha Mani |date=27 April 2012 |title=A Raga's Journey – Soothing Sahana |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-ragas-journey-soothing-sahana/article3360309.ece |url-status=live |access-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106172448/http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-ragas-journey-soothing-sahana/article3360309.ece |archive-date=6 November 2013}}</ref> While in [[Tiruppur]], Kannadasan was relaxing after a meal. His assistant requested him to write a "sweet song"; immediately, Kannadasan broke into the verse "Paarthen sirithen pakkathil azhaithen, anru unaithen ena naan ninaithen, andha malaithen idhuvena malaithen"; each word ended with "then", meaning [[honey]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Govindarajulu |first=Rajesh |date=1 October 2014 |title=Those were the leaders |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/those-were-the-leaders/article6465358.ece |url-status=live |access-date=2 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129164807/http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/those-were-the-leaders/article6465358.ece |archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref> The word appears 65 times in the song.<ref>{{Cite web |last=மதிராஜ் |first=ஆர்.சி. |date=22 June 2018 |title=காலமெல்லாம் கண்ணதாசன் – 17 பார்த்தேன் சிரித்தேன்... |trans-title=Kannadasan forever – 17 I Saw and smiled... |url=https://www.kamadenu.in/news/series/3540-kalamellam-kannadasan-17.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20190702081737/https://www.kamadenu.in/news/series/3540-kalamellam-kannadasan-17.html |archive-date=2 July 2019 |access-date=2 July 2019 |website=[[Kamadenu (magazine)|Kamadenu]] |language=ta}}</ref> Kannadasan took inspiration from a poem by [[Kambar (poet)|Kambar]], which used the same word five times.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 July 2014 |title=" 'My Lord' more classical than colonial" |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/my-lord-more-classical-than-colonial/article6175597.ece |url-status=live |access-date=13 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713053750/https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/my-lord-more-classical-than-colonial/article6175597.ece |archive-date=13 July 2018}}</ref> Writing for ''[[The Hindu]]'', Sudha Balachandran praised the song's setting in the Sahana raga, and wrote that Kannadasan "penned lines with unique word-play, amazing puns and punctuated the verses with beautiful rhyming."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Balachandran |first=Sudha |date=25 May 2017 |title=Where does beauty lie? |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/where-does-beauty-lie/article18576230.ece |url-status=live |access-date=3 August 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180803103855/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/where-does-beauty-lie/article18576230.ece |archive-date=3 August 2018}}</ref> Film critic [[Baradwaj Rangan]], who defines a "list song" as one where the "structure is that of a list, a catalogue of similar-sounding (or similar-meaning) things", called it a list of "dazzling rhymes".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rangan |first=Baradwaj |author-link=Baradwaj Rangan |date=12 March 2016 |title=Lyrics from a laundry list |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/baradwaj-rangan-remembers-the-list-song-25-years-after-kabhi-tu-chhalia-lagta-hai/article8341588.ece |url-status=live |access-date=4 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201085715/http://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/baradwaj-rangan-remembers-the-list-song-25-years-after-kabhi-tu-chhalia-lagta-hai/article8341588.ece |archive-date=1 December 2016}}</ref>
{{Track listing
| all_writing =
| all_lyrics =
| all_music =
| headline = Tracklist<ref name="songbook" />
| extra_column = Singer(s)
| title1 = Yugam Thorum Naan
| note1 =
| length1 =
| lyrics1 =
| music1 =
| writer1 =
| extra1 = [[Sirkazhi Govindarajan]]
| title2 = Velum Vizhiyum
| note2 =
| length2 =
| lyrics2 =
| music2 =
| writer2 =
| extra2 = [[P. B. Sreenivas]], [[P. Susheela]]
| title3 = Thotta Idam
| note3 =
| length3 =
| lyrics3 =
| music3 =
| writer3 =
| extra3 = P. Susheela
| title4 = Povom Pudhu Ulagam
| note4 =
| length4 =
| lyrics4 =
| music4 =
| writer4 =
| extra4 = P. B. Sreenivas, P. Susheela
| title5 = Paarthen, Sirithen
| note5 =
| length5 =
| lyrics5 =
| music5 =
| writer5 =
| extra5 = P. B. Sreenivas, P. Susheela
| title6 = Kallathaname Uruvai Vantha
| note6 =
| length6 =
| lyrics6 =
| music6 =
| writer6 =
| extra6 = [[S. Janaki]]
| title7 = Koorayil Neruppinai
| note7 =
| length7 =
| lyrics7 =
| music7 =
| writer7 =
| extra7 = Sirkazhi Govindarajan
| title8 = Neeyum Oru Pennanal
| note8 =
| length8 =
| lyrics8 =
| music8 =
| writer8 =
| extra8 = P. B. Sreenivas, P. Susheela
| title9 = Thuvakathil
| note9 =
| length9 =
| lyrics9 =
| music9 =
| writer9 =
| extra9 = Sirkazhi Govindarajan
}}

== Release and reception ==
''Veera Abhimanyu'' was released on 20 August 1965,<ref name="release" /> eight days after ''Veerabhimanyu'' (12 August).<ref name="veerabhimanyu" /> ''[[The Indian Express]]'' lauded the film, particularly the performances of Ganesan Rajan, Balaji Thevar, Nagesh and Varalakshmi, in addition to the battle sequences.<ref name="review" /> Writing in ''[[Sport and Pastime]]'', T. M. Ramachandran too praised the film, primarily for the cast performances, the storytelling, the sets and the trick photography.<ref name="Sport and Pastime">{{Cite magazine |last=Ramachandran |first=T. M. |date=18 September 1965 |title=A Glorious Page from Our Epics |url=https://archive.org/details/dli.bengal.10689.11921/page/n671 |magazine=[[Sport and Pastime]] |volume=19 |page=51}}</ref> Despite this, the film did not succeed commercially, and distributors blamed the producers for casting Ganesan (instead of Rama Rao) as Krishna.<ref name="veerabhimanyu" />

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="songbook">{{Cite book |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7JevgDCLbuNd3dUUDBPMVRuSW8/view |title=வீர அபிமன்யு |date=1965 |publisher=Rajalakshmi Productions |language=ta |type=songbook}}</ref>

<ref name="release">{{Cite news |date=20 August 1965 |title=Veera Abhimanyu |pages=12 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19650820&printsec=frontpage&hl=en}}</ref>

<ref name="review">{{Cite news |date=21 August 1965 |title=Gemini Ganesh excels in ''Veera Abhimanyu'' |pages=3 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19650821&printsec=frontpage&hl=en}}</ref>

<ref name="veerabhimanyu">{{Cite news |last=Narasimham |first=M. L. |date=10 November 2017 |title=Veerabhimanyu (1965) |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/veerabhimanyu-1965/article20104073.ece |url-status=live |access-date=17 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617173654/http://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/veerabhimanyu-1965/article20104073.ece |archive-date=17 June 2018}}</ref>}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite book |last=Sundararaman |title=Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music |publisher=Pichhamal Chintamani |year=2007 |edition=2nd |location=Chennai |oclc=295034757 |orig-year=2005}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|6145404}}
* {{CITWF title|369821}}

{{V. Madhusudhan Rao}}

[[Category:1960s Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:1965 films]]
[[Category:Films based on the Mahabharata]]
[[Category:Films directed by V. Madhusudhan Rao]]
[[Category:Hindu mythological films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan]]
[[Category:Indian multilingual films]]

Veera Abhimanyu - Revision history

imported>Kailash29792: /* Cast */