Thai Ullam

Thai Ullam (transl. Mother's Heart) is a 1952 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. Ramnoth. Starring V. Nagayya, Manohar and R. Ganesh, the film has music composed by Nagayya and A. Rama Rao. It is an adaptation of the 1861 novel East Lynne, by Ellen Wood. The film was released on 9 February 1952, and emerged both a critical and commercial success.

Thai Ullam
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	K. Ramnoth
Screenplay by	S. D. Sundaram Umachandran
Based on	East Lynne by Ellen Wood
Produced by	Pattanna[1]
Starring	V. Nagayya Manohar M. V. Rajamma Madhuri Devi
Cinematography	N. Prakash[1]
Edited by	S. P. Chandrasekar[1]
Music by	V. Nagayya A. Rama Rao
Production company	Narayanan & Company
Distributed by	Narayanan & Company
Release date	9 February 1952 (1952-02-09)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Cast

Male cast[2] V. Nagayya as Zamindar Seethapathy Manohar as Manohar R. Ganesh as Sekar K. Ramasami as Clerk Kuppu N. Seetharaman as Magistrate Masilamani Chandra Babu as Sukumar Kolathumani as Ponnambalam C. V. V. Panthulu as Sabapathy

Female cast[2] M. V. Rajamma as Nirmala Madhuri Devi as Vasundhara K. R. Chellam as Santhamma T. P. Muthulakshmi as Janaki Sakunthala as Singari C. K. Saraswathi as Kanthimathi

Supporting cast^[2]

T. K. Kalyanam, G. V. Sharma, Nandaram, Loose Arumugam, and V. T. Kalyanam.

Production

K. Ramnoth, who had left Gemini Studios on 15 August 1947, worked for Narayanan & Company, for which he made the film Thai Ullam, an adaptation of the 1861 novel East Lynne by Ellen Wood.^[3] While Manohar was cast as the male lead, T. S. Balaiah was considered for playing the antagonist. He however opted out of the project after demanding a salary of ₹75,000, which he was refused.^[4] Subsequently, he was replaced by a then struggling actor named R. Ganesh, who later became known as Gemini Ganesan.^[3]

Soundtrack

The songs were composed by Nagayya and A. Rama Rao, with lyrics by Kanakasurabhi, Subramania Bharati and Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai.^[2][5][6] The song "Vella Thamarai" is based on Bharati's poem of the same name.^[7] The song "Konjum Puraave" is based on the song "Thandi Hawayen" from the Hindi film Naujawan (1951).^[8][9] That, along with the songs "Kovil Muluthum Kanden", "Kathayai Kelada", "Vellai Thamarai" and "Poo Chendu Nee" attained popularity.^[10][11]

Song	Singer	Lyricist	Length
"Ohoho Nilave Nillay Odathe"	Jikki	Kanakasurabhi
"Konjum Puraave"	M. L. Vasanthakumari		03:04
"Nathathile Pethama"	T. A. Mothi
"Vellai Thamarai Poovil"	M. L. Vasanthakumari	Subramania Bharathi
"Kovil Muzhuthun Kanden"		Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai	03:02
"Poochendu Nee"	T. A. Mothi, (Radha) Jayalakshmi & N. L. Ganasaraswathi	Kanakasurabhi	03:35
"Pokkiri Payale Nee Polladhavan"	(Radha) Jayalakshmi		02:00
"Anbai Ariyamal Kali Odi Poche"	T. A. Mothi
"Baby Baby Chinna Chinna Baby"	Jikki		02:38
"Malai Nila Varavendum"	R. Balasaraswathi & T. A. Mothi
"Kathayai Kelada"	M. L. Vasanthakumari		02:51

Release

Thai Ullam was released on 9 February 1952,^[1] and distributed by Narayanan & Company themselves.^[12] The film was both a critical and commercial success,^[4] and a major breakthrough for Ganesh, who would later become a part of the "Big Three" of Tamil cinema, the other two being Sivaji Ganesan and M. G. Ramachandran.^[3]