Krishna Bhakthi

Krishna Bhakthi (transl. Devotion to Krishna) is a 1949 Tamil-language historical musical film, directed by R. S. Mani, and produced by S. N. Laxmana Chettiar. The film stars P. U. Chinnappa and T. R. Rajakumari as a hypocrite saint and chaste court dancer respectively. Inspired by Matthew Lewis' French novel The Monk, it was released on 14 January 1949.

Krishna Bhakthi
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	R. S. Mani
Story by	R. S. Mani
Based on	The Monk by Matthew Lewis
Produced by	S. N. Laxmana Chettiar
Starring	P. U. Chinnappa T. R. Rajakumari
Cinematography	Jiten Banerjee
Edited by	P. S. Winfred
Music by	S. V. Venkatraman Kunnakudi Venkatarama Iyer
Production company	Krishna Pictures
Release date	14 January 1949 (1949-01-14)
Running time	160 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Harikanandha Bhagavathar is a hypocrite saint who lusts after a chaste court dancer Devakumari.

Cast

Male cast according to the opening credits of the film and female cast according to the song book^[1]

Male cast P. U. Chinnappa as Harikanandha Bhagavathar N. S. Krishnan as Vevukarar K. R. Ramasami as Shri Krishnan Chithambaram Jayaraman as Naradar Pullimoottai Ramasami as Neebhushanam, Rajaguru D. Balasubramaniam as Narasimhan Azhwar Kuppusami as Alwar Kulathu Mani V. K. Ramasamy (uncredited) C. S. Pandian T. V. Namasivayam K. R. Chellamuthu E. Krishnamoorthi S. V. S. Narayanan T. V. Sivanandam Chandrasekharan S. Ramanathan T. V. Radhakrishnan V. Srinivasa Rao C. P. Venkateswaran Thirupathi S. S. Mani A. K. Kaleeswaran

Female cast T. R. Rajakumari as Devakumari, Palace Dasi T. A. Mathuram as Vevukarar's Wife S. P. L. Dhanalaskhmi as Vasumathi, Rajaguru's Wife P. A. Periyanayaki as Bhama A. R. Sakunthala as Rukmani C. T. Rajakantham as Ragamanjari, Old Mother M. L. Vasanthakumari as Singer Kumari N. Rajam as Mridangam Player C. V. Dhanalakshmi as Yazh Player T. D. Kusalakumari as Women Dancer P. Padma as Women Dancer K. S. Lakshmi as Geetham Singer M. K. Saroja as Thillana Dancer C. R. Rajakumari as Thillana Dancer K. S. Rajam as Women Dancer K. S. Chandra as Women Dancer Kumari Vanaja as Women Dancer R. Saraswathi as Women Dancer S. Rajeswari as Women Dancer S. Padma as Women Dancer Kumari Seetha as Beggar Girl

Production

S. Ramanathan, an assistant of director R. S. Mani, bought a copy of the English translation of Matthew Lewis' French novel The Monk at Moore Market for one rupee. Subsequently, Mani began writing his next film Krishna Bhakthi taking inspiration from this novel. While Mani was credited for the story, the dialogues were written by S. D. S. Yogi, Shuddhananda Bharati, Ku. Pa. Sedhu Ammal and Sandilyan. Work on the script lasted more than six months, and the protagonist played by P. U. Chinnappa was based on the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin. The film was produced by S. N. Laxmana Chettiar under Krishna Pictures. M. L. Vasanthakumari appeared onscreen as a singer, and Krishna Bhakthi was the only film she ever acted in.^[2]

Soundtrack

Music was composed by S. V. Venkatraman and Kunnakudi Venkatarama Iyer and lyrics were written by Udumalai Narayana Kavi.^[1][3] The song "Saarasam Vaseegara" was composed by G. Ramanathan. Kunnakudi Venkatarama Iyer composed music for the song "Kannan Varuvarodi", to which dance was choreographed by Vazhuvoor B. Ramaiah Pillai. He also composed music for "Thamarai Senkann" and "Entha Vedu".^[4] The song "Entha Vedu Kontha O Raagavaa" is set in the raga Saraswathi Manohari.^[2]

Song	Singer	Length
"Aattam Enna Solluven"	C. S. Jayaraman	03:20
"Sarvarthana Krishna"	P. U. Chinnappa	07:42
"Marumurai Nee Indha"	P. U. Chinnappa	07:09
"Saarasam Vaseegara"	P. U. Chinnappa	02:30
"Pennulagilae"	K. R. Ramasamy
"Poojithamana Meignanam"	P. A. Periyanayaki
"Entha Vedu"	M. L. Vasanthakumari	04:18
"Murali Gaana Mohana"	P. U. Chinnappa & Chorus
"Naan Kanavil Kanden"	P. A. Periyanayaki
"Edhu Vendum"	C. S. Jayaraman
"Kannan Varuvarodi"	P. A. Periyanayaki
"Ellorum Nallavarae"	P. U. Chinnappa	03:22
"Kalaimagal Devakumari"	P. U. Chinnappa
"Poovaiyar Karpin Perumai"	P. U. Chinnappa
"Raadha Samethu"	M. L. Vasanthakumari	03:00
"Enna Vazhvu"	T. R. Rajakumari
"Thamarai Senkann"

Release and reception

Krishna Bhakthi was released on 14 January 1949.^[5][3] The Indian Express wrote, "P. U. Chinnappa as the wily Rajaguru does credit to his reputation as top male star of the day. T. R. Rajakumari as the charming and ingenuous Rajanartaki gives a convincing performance". The Hindu wrote, "Krishna Bhakthi should have a very popular run for several weeks for more reasons than one. The theme has been handled in a very dignified and telling manner." The Mail wrote, "The drab found in most Tamil mythological pictures is completely eliminated in Krishna Bakthi".^[6] The film was released partly in color. ^[7]