Veerapandiya Kattabomman () is a 1959 Indian Tamil-language historical war film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Padmini, S. Varalakshmi, and Ragini, with V. K. Ramasamy and Javar Seetharaman in supporting roles. Its soundtrack and score were composed by G. Ramanathan.
The film is loosely based on the story of Veerapandiya Kattabomman, an 18th-century king who rebelled against the East India Company. It was an adaptation of the play of the same name by Sakthi T. K. Krishnasamy which featured Sivaji Ganesan as the title character, and premiered in August 1957. Principal photography began in October the same year, and took place mainly in Jaipur and Madras (now Chennai) until late 1958. This was the first full-length Tamil film released in Technicolor.
Veerapandiya Kattabomman premiered in London on 10 May 1959, and was released in Tamil Nadu six days later. It was critically acclaimed; Sivaji Ganesan's performance as Kattabomman received widespread praise, although some film scholars considered elements in the film, particularly the portrayal of the title character, to be historically inaccurate. It was a commercial success, running for over 25 weeks in theatres and becoming a silver jubilee film.
Veerapandiya Kattabomman was the first in Tamil cinema to receive international awards for Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Music Director at the 1960 Afro-Asian Film Festival in Cairo, and received a Certificate of Merit as part of the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil. Veerapandiya Kattabomman was re-released in 1984, and a digitally-restored version was released on 21 August 2015; both were commercially successful.
Plot Veerapandiya Kattabomman, the chieftain of Panchalankurichi, is a brave warrior. On receiving news of a robbery in his territory, he and his retinue set out incognito to capture the robbers. When captured, the robbers confess that they had been hired by the British to create unrest in Kattabomman's domain; the British had enticed the neighbouring chieftain, Ettappan, to help them annexe Panchalankurichi.
Vellaiyammal, who lives in Chayalkudi, a village near Panchalankurichi, vows to marry the man who tames her pet bull. She brings her bull to Panchalankurichi for participating in a jallikattu game sponsored by Kattabomman. All those who attempt to tame the bull fail until Vellaiyathevan, Kattabomman's commander-in-chief, subdues the bull and wins Vellaiyammal's love. Kattabomman later learns of their love, and encourages them to marry.
The king receives a message from W. C. Jackson, the tax collector for Tirunelveli, which demands a meeting with him at Ramanathapuram to discuss payment. Captain Davison, Kattabomman's British friend, advises him to see Jackson. Jackson, learning that Kattabomman has come with his troops, demands to meet him alone. At the meeting, Jackson insults him and orders him arrested. Surrounded by British troops, Kattabomman fights and escapes; however, his minister Thanapathi Sivasubramaniam Pillai is captured.
Some time later, Pillai is released and brings news that Jackson has been sent back to England at Davison's recommendation. A British messenger sent to Kattabomman's court by Colonel S. R. Lushington, Tirunelveli's new revenue collector reports that Pillai and his men have looted their granaries and killed their men at Srivaikuntam. Pillai justifies his act, saying that he instructed his men to do it because of the famine in their kingdom. Ashamed of Pillai's action, Kattabomman accuses him of theft and murder. Pillai apologises and offers himself as a prisoner to the British, but Kattabomman refuses to hand him over; instead, he offers money to compensate for the looted rice. Lushington refuses the compensation and, with Major Bannerman's and Ettappan's help, incites the neighbouring rulers to attack Kattabomman. Bannerman is placed in charge of the British troops; he and Ettappan plan to attack Panchalankurichi when the people are attending a festival in Tiruchendur. Kattabomman's spy Sundaralingam informs the king, who prepares for war.
On the day of the battle, Vellaiyammal begs Vellaiyathevan not to go because she had a nightmare full of evil omens the previous night. Ignoring her entreaties, Vellaiyathevan sets out and is killed in the ensuing battle. When she learns of her husband's death, Vellaiyammal avenges him by killing the man who killed him. She finds Vellaiyathevan's body and, overcome by grief, falls dead across it. Bannerman's troops attack Panchalankurichi with heavy artillery, and Kattabomman's army suffers. The king, wounded in the neck, is saved by his brother Oomaithurai. Sensing that the fort cannot survive another cannon barrage, Kattabomman and Oomaithurai flee to the adjoining kingdom of Kovilpatti. Pillai, disguising himself as Kattabomman, decoys the British soldiers who are on the king's trail. From Kovilpatti, Kattabomman and Oomaithurai flee to Pudukkottai. Thondaimaan, the king of Pudukkottai, is ordered by the British to capture Kattabomman and Oomaithurai. Fearing the British, Thondaimaan captures them and hands them over. While Oomaithurai is jailed, Kattabomman is tried by the British and hanged.
Cast Note: Listing as per the film's opening credits.
Sivaji Ganesan as Kattabomman Gemini Ganesan as Vellaiyadhevan Padmini as Vellaiyammal S. Varalakshmi as Jakkammal Ragini as Sundaravadivu V. K. Ramasamy as Ettappa Nayagar Javar Seetharaman as Bannerman O. A. K. Thevar as Oomaithurai M. R. Santhanam as Dhanapathi Subramania Pillai V. R. Rajagopal as Kariyappan A. Karunanidhi as Sundaralingam Pakkirisami as Ponnan
Chinaiah as Adappakkaran Stunt Somu as Gopal Iyer K. V. Seenivasan as Dubash Ramalinga Mudaliar Anandan as Duraisingam Natarajan as Colonel Maxwell S. A. Kannan as Captain Davison Parthiban as W. C. Jackson Krishnasami as Alan Kannan as Governor Muthulakshmi as Kamakshi Tambaram Lalitha as Valli Baby Kanchana as Baby Meena
Production Origin Since childhood, Sivaji Ganesan dreamt of playing the resistance fighter Veerapandiya Kattabomman; he had left home at age seven to fulfill his dream. Several years later, while Ganesan and writer Sakthi T. K. Krishnasamy were travelling through Kayatharu, where Kattabomman was hanged, Ganesan expressed a desire to produce a play based on Kattabomman's life; his first exposure to acting was when he saw Kambalaththaar Kooththu, a street play about Kattabomman's life. Krishnasamy immediately agreed, and began to write a script. Krishnasamy completed writing the script within a month. Krishnasamy's play, Veerapandiya Kattabomman, premiered in Salem in late August 1957 and was performed by Ganesan's troupe, Sivaji Nataka Mandram. He had invested nearly for sets and costumes. When he saw the play, director B. R. Panthulu decided to adapt it as a feature film. Panthulu produced the film version (also entitled Veerapandiya Kattabomman) with his company, Padmini Pictures. G. Dharmarajan, the play's set designer, was also assigned the same crew position for the film. W. R. Subbarao was signed as cinematographer, and R. Devarajan as editor. The screenplay was credited to a "history research team", headed by M. P. Sivagnanam and consisting of Krishnasamy, Panthulu, Sivaji Ganesan, P. A. Kumar and Singamuthu.
Before Ganesan and Panthulu, there were two unsuccessful attempts to make a film on Kattabomman: in July 1948, Selvam Pictures announced its intention to produce Kattabommu (the rebel's real name), which would star P. U. Chinnappa. The other attempt was made by producer S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios; a promotional poster for the project, entitled Kattabomman, was released on 5 November 1953. A notice from Gemini, inviting anyone with useful information about Kattabomman and his exploits to send it to the studio's storyboard department, was published three days later in the magazine Ananda Vikatan. According to a 1957 article by Singapore-based Indian Movie News, when Ganesan heard about Vasan's attempt to make a film about Kattabomman, he asked him to abandon the project; Vasan agreed, and lent Ganesan important research material on Kattabomman. Film historian Randor Guy contradicted this in his 1997 book, Starlight, Starbright: The Early Tamil Cinema, saying that writers like Kothamangalam Subbu and Veppathur Kittoo were hired by Vasan to research Kattabomman's life, and Vasan believed that Ganesan, who had become popular after Parasakthi (1952), was the only eligible choice to portray Kattabomman. Guy noted that Ganesan hesitated to work with Vasan, since he was earlier rejected for a role in Chandralekha (1948), leading to Vasan dropping the project. Despite this, Ganesan later appeared in Vasan's later ventures, Irumbu Thirai (1960) and Motor Sundaram Pillai (1966).
Casting and filming Ganesan originally offered the role of Vellaiyathevan to S. S. Rajendran, who declined due to his commitment to Sivagangai Seemai. He later asked actress Savitri to ask her husband, Gemini Ganesan, to play the role. Gemini was initially reluctant to accept the part, feeling it was "improper" to replace Rajendran. After Rajendran wrote to Panthulu that he had no objection to Gemini playing Vellaiyathevan, however, the actor agreed. S. Varalakshmi, in addition to playing Kattabomman's wife, Jakkamma, also was a playback singer. Kattabomman's daughter in the film, Meena (Baby Kanchana), was a fictional character created by Krishnasamy. Meena was based on Krishnasamy's daughter, Mynavathi, who died when she was five years old. Krishnasamy initially refused to include the scene of Meena's death since it reminded him of his daughter, but finally did reluctantly.
Veerapandiya Kattabomman was launched at Annai Illam, Sivaji Ganesan's home. Principal photography began in October 1957 with a puja. During filming at Bharani Studios, Madras (now Chennai) in 1958, Adoor Gopalakrishnan (who watched the shoot one afternoon) remembered the actors rushing outside after every take because of the intense heat on set: "The speed of the film was so low those days that one needed many, many lights for correct exposure." Filming also took place prominently in Jaipur. With the aid of Janakaraja (who was in charge of the cavalry division), the production unit hired junior artistes to play cavalry soldiers in the battle scenes. This was where the final filming schedule took place, and principal photography ended in the same year, around late November to early December.
Veerapandiya Kattabomman was the first full-length Tamil film released in Technicolor; it was shot in Gevacolor and then converted into Technicolor in London. Panthulu adopted the American director Cecil B. DeMille's practise of introducing the film on-camera. The film's final length was .
Music The soundtrack album was composed by G. Ramanathan, with lyrics by Ku. Ma. Balasubramaniam. Its songs range from "folksy to light to classical". The soundtrack was a career breakthrough for struggling playback singer P. B. Sreenivas, who was recruited by Ramanathan to sing the duet "Inbam Pongum Vennila", with P. Susheela. Some of the songs are set in Carnatic ragas; "Pogaathe Pogaathe" is set in Mukhari, "Manam Kanintharul" in Kurinji, and "Singara Kanne" in Brindavanasaranga. Stage actor K. B. Chellamuthu was the songs' violinist. A remix of "Inbam Pongum Vennila" was recorded by Hiphop Tamizha for the 2015 film, Aambala.
Release and reception