The National Film Archive of India (NFAI), aided by the Chennai-based AVM Cine Lab, has restored 13 classics of Tamil cinema, making and storing 35 mm prints of each of these masterworks.
The majority of the films from this baker’s dozen set are from the 1940s and the 1950s and includes such famed titles as ‘Nandanar’ (1942), ‘Mayavathi’ (1949), renowned for its dance sequences, and ‘Nallathambi’ (1949).
‘Nandanar’ was directed by the pioneering Murugadasa (A. Muthuswami Iyer) and produced and cannily marketed by the iconic founder of Gemini Studios, S.S. Vasan.
The film, a 19th century folk myth about low-born farmhand’s devotion to Lord Nataraja, was made twice in 1933 and 1935.
‘Mayavathi’, directed by the czar of Modern Theaters’, T.R. Sundaram (popularly known as T.R.S.), is known for the dance sequences with two of the three Travancore sisters, Lalitha and Padmini.
‘Nallathambi,’ produced by famed actor N.S. Krishnan, who cast himself in the lead role alongside Bhanumathi, had the script penned by later Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai.
The film (albeit with substantial alterations) is a reworking of Frank Capra 1936 screwball classic ‘Mr. Deeds goes to Town’ with Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur essaying memorable lead roles.
The other notables to find their way into the NFAI vaults include 1954’s ‘Malaikkallan’, the Tamil version of the Zorro legend which catapulted M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) to the superstar category and ‘Gulebakavali’ (1955), another the MGR-starrer , based on the Arabian Nights and memorable for his extended fight with a tiger.
Fears of decaying negatives prompted the AVM Cine Lab to initiate preservation procedures at the NFAI.
“Each of these films is culturally significant and their creation resonates with famous anecdotes, so beloved to aficionados of Tamil cinema. Most of them are the products of filmmaking houses like AVM Productions, Gemini Studios and Modern Theatres. While prints of ‘Nandanar,’ ‘Mayavathi’ and ‘Nallathambi’ were prepared from dupe negatives, originals were sourced to make prints of the others,” said P. Vasanthan, public relations officer at AVM Cine Lab.
“Prints of these classics, most of whom feature icons like MGR, Gemini Ganesan, Sivaji Ganesan and Bhanumathi in the leads, were painstakingly made over three years. We appeal to the owners of these materials to deposit them with us as they are in dire need of preservation,” said Prakash Magdum, Director, NFAI.
