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[S.Balaji]

Nadigar Thilagam , in his illustrious career had played many breathtaking characters …some are very unique which no other hero would dare to take up ….

The Thyagarajan role he plays in Aalayamani is one such….
Produced by P.S.Veerappa under the PSV pictures banner, screen play and dialogues by Javar Seetharaman, the movie was released in 1962….
Aalayamani is a tale of an individual whose possessiveness and distrust leads to even trying to kill his best friend…but once he realizes the true sacrifice made by his friend as well as his lady love, even goes to the extent of sacrificing himself….

The character is actually a placid version of a characteristic split personality …..This pitiable man has an unforgettable childhood when he was a witness to the death of a girl due to his possessiveness……occasional revisits to his childhood memories only make him more insecure , possessive..he is left with none to care for despite being rich...however he finds an ultimate friend , a noble guy like SSR whom he comes across as someone who voluntarily loses a tennis match who actually was leading at one stage ..

The movie starts with shot showing a temple tower with a big bell super imposing ….. a narration follows justifying the title…..one poor man was about to commit suicide on the death rock but was stopped by the divine bell from the temple…soon he becomes a rich man and his son is none other than Mr. Thayagarajan , the hero !

Shot 2 formally introduces the main character , our Nadigar Thilagam …. A servant putting sports shoes, another attendant arranging the wearing outfit, the third guy politely showing 3 racquets…..after a brief swing , he chooses one racquet and asks to bring some reserve racquet also ! Hallmark of a seasoned player ! the shot that follows covers a list of cups he had won as a tennis champion…as he proudly views them , he whispers, “ if I am manage to win today ” …as he briskly walks out of the bungalow , another attendant , S.A.Krishnan, a long time associate of NT comments in admiration….”Yejamanoda nadaiya paarraa !” now NT casually gives a smart look at him and a joyful hero , cheerfully walks out of the bungalow.. Now move on to the tennis stadium and the second hero SSRajendran gets introduced….those in the audience include MRR, TRR and VIjayakumari….So the director swiftly introduces all the support characters….

The match takes off with Thyagarajan ( NT ) pitted against Sekar ( SSR ). While there is a fierce competition, SSR gradually takes lead…but on seeing an upset Thyagu breaking his racquet, realizes his traits ….Sekar gives up and loses the match…As they congratulate post match, NT queries him on why he deliberately gave up for which SSR replies that he had noticed NT getting upset losing and hence decided to lose. This immensely pleases Thyagu who instantly announces Sekar to be his good friend and takes him home. He also convinces SSR to be alongside forever which Sekar accepts after much deliberations ….Thayagarajan gives his heart and soul to make Sekar happy and satisfied…..and gives the same royal treatment which he gets from his staff….NT also visits Sekar’s mother and requests her to allow SSR to be with him for which M.V.Rajamma also agrees….after some minor skirmishes, the 2 become thick friends as one understands each other….So, the initial scenes cover the mutual admiration , growing friendship and the fondness shown by the friends……..

SSR and SarojaDevi love each other and he promises to marry her…..it so happen that Nadigar Thilagam also comes across SD as a vivacious girl , while going for a routine visit to his estate and instantly falls in love …while both the friends share their thoughts about SarojaDevi, they didn’t realize that they are in love with the same woman…

SD’s sister Pushpalatha falls in love with villain MRRadha’s son who demands a heavy price for the alliance. MRR is NT’s estate Manager . Unable to meet up with his commitments, Nagaiya , their Father is in a precarious situation. NT comes to the rescue, pays the money and enables the wedding too…..it was a pleasant surprise for NT to see SD being the daughter of Nagaiya…shortly NT proposes to marry SD and sends SSR as his messenger ….both SSR and SD get a shock of their life…Others unknown of the love triangle are all extremely pleased with the plan….….SSR realizes the extent of love NT has over SD and sacrifices his love , requests SD to agree to the offer . SD , besides had to yield in the larger interests of the family. When everything is about to fall in place, NT meets with an accident , legs get impaired , become immobile….So SD becomes his caretaker …. she forgets all her past love life and dedicates herself totally to NT , serves him …..

SSR though sacrifices his love for the sake of friendship , couldn’t come out of the past reminiscences and continues to move closely with SD though she maintains an arms length distance. She even advises SSR that NT should not suspect anything fishy as now she is very clear about her role….Vijayakumari , daughter of MRR loves SSR but he is not interested as of now. …..

The grisly phase starts with Sivaji doubting the genuineness of SSR ….basically, NT loves SD so much …further, he is incapacitated by the injury…a sort of complex gets built now onto him….Once NT asks SD to dress up well and she does appear ….SSR involuntarily admires the beauty of SD which NT observes and gets wild…..couple of incidents further add fuel to the fire….these are the scenes shown to justify the kind of possessiveness and jealousy shown by the central character…
The suspicion grows and NT gets twitchy….now he concludes that both have a malevolent relationship …he also overhears a conversation and his anger blows out of proportion…….calls for a picnic in a place called Maranappaarai ( death rock ) , a sharp edge known for its scenic beauty as the end is sea but highly dangerous curve…His intention was to drive SSR to the edge and push him to death….

Shivaji while taking SSR to the edge reveals his anger and frustration on SSR-SD intimacy…..questions his sincerity ..SSR in turn bursts with revelation that he has actually sacrificed his love for the sake of his friend NT and swears that for the sake of friendship and to prove his innocence , goes to the extent of committing suicide…..NT stops him , realizing the truth and that he is a true friend ….decides to die and jumps into the sea…. . everyone conclude that he is dead…. SSR and SD are inconsolable . NT gets saved by a local fisherman Veerappa , who works in his company …interestingly, NT’s both legs get cured but walks on crutches…

SD assumes the role of a widow (before marriage) and maintains her identity …also compels SSR to wed VK which finally happens….. On the wedding day, NT resurfaces at the hall … he overhears a conversation …SD expressing her thoughts … that NT is ultimate to her and without him there is no life for her…now NT is immensely pleased…he decides to announce his return…..but the wicked Manager MRR tries to kill him ( in pursuit of his wealth ) gives a blow on his head…. he falls unconscious…… As SSR marriage gets over, SD decides to end her life on the same edge where NT fell down earlier ….but to her shock and glee ….finds NT in crutches….shouting loudly to stop her suicidal attempt…….finally both join hands………As the song Ponnai virumbum boomiyile being replayed, a happy couple NT-SD joyfully give a warm goodbye to us with the same old pride on his face back !

The movie is absolutely serious & rarely one can witness comedy scenes…. MRR , the main villain, however does his customary witty, sarcastic comments and ensures both comedy and villainess prevail……T.R.Ramachandran, son of MRR sporadically appears to give some comic relief ……

SSR has played alongside NT for many movies right from his Parasakthi days….to Deivapiravi, Kaikodutha deivam, Kungumam etc….Here plays the supportive role a good friend cum well wisher who sacrifices his love for the sake of his friend…….

SD starts on a very merry note……..the initial scenes are all vibrant & energetic…...She displays exuberance and naughtiness during the pre-NT association with SSR ….but transforms into a caretaker and ideal homemaker once NT gets confined to wheel chair….She is like a devoted wife with motherly affection, controlling all her emotions and works with a single minded ardor to cure his handicap……highly matured and seasoned portrayal….she doesn’t even smile once

The movie gets into damn serious mode once NT gets injured…….as he is confined to indoors, the story revolves around the 3 main characters ….NT-SD-SSR….every scene creates a sense of uneasiness and audience will be left wondering when the bubble will get burst……


Small characters like Pushpalatha ( sister of SD ), Nagaiyya ( Father of SD ), M.V.Rajamma ( SSR’s mother ) , T.R.Ramachandran ( MRR’s son ), Verappa , all make their contribution …

The movie ceases to get into boredom despite the protagonist’s movements paralysed

The Director Late K.Shankar takes honor for having presented with an unusual storyline, making it interesting tale of a domineering, protective character .probably K.S. was the only fortunate man to direct both the Thilagams simultaneously ( Panathottam was under making then ) He even revealed one interesting incident in a TV programme …. “I was trying to build an emotional scene for Panathottam…MGR was smart enough to quickly point out ……Neenga engerindho vandhu edhaiyo edhirparkireenga !! ” , a subtle remark that K.Shankar was largely influenced by NT’s acting in Aalayamani ….One will not get a greater credential on NT’s proficiency!. K.Shankar also carries the unique distinction of having directed 3 former CMs…. MGR, NTR and JJ . The movie has a nice editing work ….each scene has some relevance & distinctly related to another …even the flashback is quick and fast …never gets into a boring mould ….despite the hero getting handicapped very early ….the dialogues are sharp and precise ….

By any yardstick, Alayamani was as good as the famous Paa series

[madhuraman]

Dear Mr.Balaji,
While appreciating your effort of consolidating your views on "Aalaya mani', I would request your attention to one fact. Please see to it that you bring out smaller classified episodes so that people devote enough time to thoroughly grasp your perception. Lengthy write-ups invite only cursory glance. If you can offer split treatment, you too gain the advantage of devoting to subtleties better, than having to abridge key aspects. In fact, new approaches to movie appreciation by treating one or two items at a time can help deeper analyses and our mission of looking at movie-making. Old movie-makers succeeeded without distracting the audience by unnecessarily shooting in Arctic or Antarctic just for the sake of claiming a stupid novelty. Also, the present day need is to strongly emphasise, how the lyrics of the present period do not justify their existence, while the music is a pathetic revelation of intellectual bankruptcy.

With so much information up your sleeves, you should be able to give a finer deal to your own thought. I TRUST YOU RECOGNIZE THE SPIRIT OF MY SUGGESTION, FOR YOUR FUTURE ENDEAVOUR ON SIMILAR EFFORTS.

Warm regards Prof.K.Raman Madurai.
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Prof. K. Raman
Mumbai

[S.Balaji]

Dear Professor

Thank you very much for pointing out . I have done some editing now and moved to a separate thread. However, the story narration couldnt be shortened.

[madhuraman]

Dear Mr. Balaji,
I understand your approach. On story, one has to give everything in a single piece. But it is also advantageous to specifically delimit zones of a movie so that people of varied tastes would respond to each zone. You would also be able to address finer issues. My only desire is ours should BE A MODEL SITE or A BENCH MARK in movie appreciation besides ably narrating the glories of MMs. THANK YOU.

Warm regards Prof.K.Raman Madurai
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Prof. K. Raman
Mumbai

[Ram]

Dear Balaji...

I just have a question for you...

Have you been the script writer for movies in the Thamizh Film Industry???

Please tell the truth !!!!!
_________________
Ramkumar