Irumbu Thirai: Difference between revisions

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'''''Irumbu Thirai''''' ({{trans|The Iron Curtain}}) is a 1960 Indian [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-language film produced and directed by [[S. S. Vasan]]. The film stars [[Sivaji Ganesan]], [[Vyjayanthimala]], [[K. A. Thangavelu]] and [[B. Saroja Devi]], with [[S. V. Ranga Rao]], [[Pandari Bai]] and [[Vasundhara Devi]] in supporting roles. It is a remake of the [[Hindi]] film ''[[Paigham]]'' (1959). The soundtrack was composed by [[S. V. Venkatraman]] and the lyrics were written by [[Kothamangalam Subbu]], [[Papanasam Sivan]] and [[Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram]]. The editing was done by M. Umanath while the camera was handled by P. Elappa and N. C. Bala Krishna. The story revolves around the two brothers Manikam and Kondamuthu and their mill owner.

* [[Sivaji Ganesan]] as Manikkam

* [[Vasundhara Devi]] as Manju's Mother

* [[S. V. Ranga Rao]] as Mohanarangam

* S. R. Janaki as Seth's wife

In 1959, [[S. S. Vasan]], the proprietor of [[Gemini Studios]], began working on a film built around capital-labour relations.<ref name="finger">{{Cite news |last=Guy |first=Randor |author-link=Randor Guy |date=23 May 2003 |title=With a finger on people's pulse |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2003/05/23/stories/2003052301510600.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=24 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211192149/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2003/05/23/stories/2003052301510600.htm |archive-date=11 February 2012}}</ref> The film, which was the Tamil remake of the [[Hindi]] film ''[[Paigham]]'',<ref name="sriramv">{{Cite web |last=Sriram |first=V. |author-link=V. Sriram |date=1 May 2018 |title=Paigham and Irumbu Thirai&nbsp;– #MayDay Special |url=https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2018/05/01/paigham-and-irumbu-thirai-mayday-special/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928033720/https://sriramv.wordpress.com/2018/05/01/paigham-and-irumbu-thirai-mayday-special/ |archive-date=28 September 2018 |access-date=27 September 2018 |website=Madras Heritage and Carnatic Music}}</ref> was untitled, and the creative team of Gemini could not come up with a convincing title. Vasan invited his employees to suggest a title for the under-production film, and he received an abundance of entries; one office boy submitted as many as 2500 entries. After examining one by one, Vasan chose the title ''Irumbu Thirai'', which means "Iron Curtain". He also hosted a reception to honour the boy who suggested the title and rewarded him with some prize money.<ref name="finger" /> Besides producing, Vasan also directed the film.<ref name="kamadenu" />

The female cast of ''Paigham''&nbsp;– [[Vyjayanthimala]], [[B. Saroja Devi]] and [[Pandari Bai]]&nbsp;– returned to star in ''Irumbu Thirai'',<ref>{{Cite magazine |year=1959 |title=Gemini's ''Paigham'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N5gcAQAAMAAJ&q=PAIGHAM |magazine=Thought |publisher=Siddhartha Publications |volume=11 |page=156}}</ref><ref name="Anandan">{{Cite book |last=Film News Anandan |url=http://www.lakshmansruthi.com/cineprofiles/1960-cinedetails6.asp |title=Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru |publisher=Sivagami Publishers |year=2004 |location=Chennai |language=Tamil |trans-title=Tamil film history and its achievements |author-link=Film News Anandan |access-date=28 September 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180927105453/http://www.lakshmansruthi.com/cineprofiles/1960-cinedetails6.asp |archive-date=27 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> while [[Sivaji Ganesan]] reprised the role originally played by [[Dilip Kumar]]. It was a "coup of sorts" for Vasan to cast Ganesan since the latter had earlier been rejected by the former for a role in ''[[Chandralekha (1948 film)|Chandralekha]]'' (1948), an incident which created a permanent rift between them.<ref name="sriramv" />{{sfn|Guy|1997|p=282}} [[K. A. Thangavelu]], [[S. V. Ranga Rao]] and [[S. V. Subbaiah]] were cast in supporting roles.<ref name="kamadenu" /> Vyjayanthimala's mother [[Vasundhara Devi]] played her screen mother as well.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pradeep |first=K. |date=2 November 2011 |title=Dance and Vyjayantimala |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/dance-and-vyjayantimala/article2591559.ece |url-status=live |access-date=24 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318014547/http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/dance-and-vyjayantimala/article2591559.ece |archive-date=18 March 2014}}</ref> The final length of the film was 18396 feet.<ref name="Anandan" />

The soundtrack was composed by [[S. V. Venkatraman]].<ref name="Tunesmith">{{Cite news |date=21 April 2011 |title=Tunesmith of many dimensions |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/Tunesmith-of-many-dimensions/article14691463.ece |url-status=live |access-date=27 September 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180927113726/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/Tunesmith-of-many-dimensions/article14691463.ece |archive-date=27 September 2018}}</ref> The album had [[Kothamangalam Subbu]], [[Papanasam Sivan]] and [[Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram]] as the lyricists.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Filmography {{!}} Lyricist |url=http://www.kothamangalamsubbu.com/filmography_lyricist.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426001637/http://www.kothamangalamsubbu.com/filmography_lyricist.shtml |archive-date=26 April 2012 |access-date=25 November 2011 |website=Kottamangalam Subbu}}</ref> The singers consist of [[T. M. Soundararajan]], [[Thiruchi Loganathan]], [[Sirkazhi Govindarajan]], [[P. Leela]], [[Jikki]], [[Radha Jayalakshmi|(Radha) Jayalakshmi]] & [[K. Jamuna Rani]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Neelamegam |first=G. |title=Thiraikalanjiyam&nbsp;– Part 1 |date=December 2014 |publisher=Manivasagar Publishers |edition=1st |location=Chennai |page=191 |language=Tamil}}</ref> The song "Nenjil Kudiyirukkum" is set in the [[carnatic raga]] known as [[Shanmukhapriya]],<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mani |first=Charulatha |author-link=Charulatha Mani |date=2 September 2011 |title=A Raga's Journey&nbsp;– Sacred Shanmukhapriya |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article2418290.ece |url-status=live |access-date=24 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102204446/http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article2418290.ece |archive-date=2 November 2012}}</ref> while the classical-themed "Enna Seidhaalum" is set in [[Kharaharapriya]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Srinivasan |first=Anil |author-link=Anil Srinivasan |date=24 July 2015 |title=How Carnatic music has enriched&nbsp;– and been enriched by&nbsp;– movie scores |url=https://scroll.in/article/743532/how-carnatic-music-has-enriched-and-been-enriched-by-movie-scores |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928033720/https://scroll.in/article/743532/how-carnatic-music-has-enriched-and-been-enriched-by-movie-scores |archive-date=28 September 2018 |access-date=27 September 2018 |website=[[Scroll.in]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mani |first=Charulatha |author-link=Charulatha Mani |date=13 April 2012 |title=A Raga's Journey&nbsp;— Kingly Kharaharapriya |work=[[The Hindu]] |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-ragas-journey-kingly-kharaharapriya/article3310742.ece |url-status=live |access-date=28 September 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180928165416/https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-ragas-journey-kingly-kharaharapriya/article3310742.ece |archive-date=28 September 2018}}</ref>

''Irumbu Thirai'' was released on 14 January 1960.<ref name="kamadenu">{{Cite web |date=9 May 2018 |title=இரும்புத்திரை - இது சிவாஜி படம் |trans-title=Irumbu Thirai&nbsp;– This is a Sivaji film |url=https://www.kamadenu.in/news/cinema/2504-sivajiyin-irumbuthirai.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726103905/https://www.kamadenu.in/news/cinema/2504-sivajiyin-irumbuthirai.html |archive-date=26 July 2018 |access-date=27 September 2018 |website=Kamadenu |publisher=[[The Hindu (Tamil)|The Hindu Tamil]]}}</ref> The film was a commercial success, running for over 175 days in theatres and thereby becoming [[silver jubilee]] film.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Selvaraj |first=N. |date=20 March 2017 |title=வெள்ளி விழா கண்ட தமிழ் திரைப்படங்கள் |trans-title=Tamil films that completed silver jubilees |url=http://puthu.thinnai.com/?p=34587 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170329085911/http://puthu.thinnai.com/?p=34587 |archive-date=29 March 2017 |access-date=27 September 2018 |website=Thinnai |language=Tamil}}</ref>{{sfn|Ganesan|Narayana Swamy|2007|p=241}}

{{reflist}}

* {{Cite book |last=Ganesan |first=Sivaji |title=Autobiography of an Actor: Sivaji Ganesan, October 1928&nbsp;– July 2001 |title-link=Autobiography of an Actor |last2=Narayana Swamy |first2=T. S. |publisher=Sivaji Prabhu Charities Trust |year=2007 |author-link=Sivaji Ganesan |orig-year=2002}}