Annavin Aasai

Annavin Aasai (transl. The elder brother's wish) is a 1966 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Dada Mirasi and produced by K. Balaji. A remake of the Hindi film Chand Aur Suraj (1965), it stars Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, Balaji and K. R. Vijaya. In the film, after a man's faked death, the lives of his family change drastically when they receive money from an insurance company he cheated.

Annavin Aasai
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDada Mirasi
Produced byK. Balaji
Screenplay byS. I. Peruman
Based onChand Aur Suraj
by Dulal Guha
Starring
Music byK. V. Mahadevan
CinematographyKamal Ghosh
Production
company
Sujatha Cine Arts
Distributed byGemini Studios
Release date
  • 4 March 1966 (1966-03-04)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Annavin Aasai is the first film produced by Balaji's Sujatha Cine Arts. It's screenplay was written by S. I. Peruman and the cinematography handled by Kamal Ghosh. The film was released on 4 March 1966 and was a modest commercial success.

Plot

Ramanathan and Seetha, a married couple, face difficulties after the former loses his job. Ramanathan wants to help his younger brother Ravi to pursue MBBS, and to fund his education, he takes an insurance policy for ₹1 lakh (equivalent to ₹49 lakh or US$68,000 in 2019). Ramanathan then fakes his death by using a mutilated man's corpse near a railway line, and is legally declared dead. Seetha, who is traumatised by her husband's "death", tells Ravi to pursue his education using the insurance money she receives.

Ravi eventually becomes disinterested in his education. Using the insurance money, he takes to gambling on race horses and becomes rich. He falls in love with Vijaya, the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Mohan, a family friend and lawyer, discovers that Ramanathan is still alive and shares this information with Seetha, but she chooses to keep it a secret. Ravi misunderstands Mohan's night-time visits; assuming that Seetha is having an affair with Mohan, he begins to taunt her.

Seetha later arranges Ravi's marriage with Vijaya, whose father commits suicide after having been cheated by an insurance fraud. Ravi, still unaware that Ramanathan is alive, believes he is responsible for his brother's "death", surrenders to the police and is taken to court before a judge. During Ravi's trial, Mohan asserts that Ramanathan is not dead and Ravi pleaded guilty to murdering someone who is still alive. Soon after, Ramanathan appears and tells the court the truth. Ravi is exonerated, while Ramanathan receives three years' imprisonment for committing insurance fraud.

Cast

Production

Annavin Aasai was a remake of the Dulal Guha-directed Hindi film Chand Aur Suraj (1965),[2] and was the first production of K. Balaji's company Sujatha Cine Arts.[3][4] Dada Mirasi directed the film while the screenplay written by S. I. Peruman.[5] Besides producing the film, Balaji also acted as Ravi, the younger brother of Gemini Ganesan's character Ramanathan. Savitri acted as Ramanathan's wife Seetha,[6] and Baby Shakila acted as the couple's daughter.[7] Hindi film actor Ashok Kumar made a cameo appearance as the judge presiding over Ravi's trial,[6] making his first appearance in a Tamil film.[8] Cinematography was handled by Kamal Ghosh,[6] and the final length of the film was 4,761 metres (15,620 ft).[5][9]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was composed by K. V. Mahadevan, with lyrics by Kannadasan and Vaali.[6]

Tracklist[1]
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Kovililae Veedu Katti"KannadasanT. M. Soundararajan, A. L. Raghavan, P. Susheela 
2."Pooppol Malara Mottu Vaiththan"VaaliP. Susheela 
3."Paateluthattum Paruvam"VaaliP. B. Sreenivas, P. Susheela 
4."Inbamenbathu"KannadasanT. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela 
5."Thunbam Enpathu Enna"KannadasanP. Susheela 

Release and reception

Annavin Aasai was released on 4 March 1966,[5] and was released by Gemini Studios.[10] The following week, on 12 March, The Indian Express said, "Dynamic performance by all the artistes – [Savitri] particularly – and a couple of good tunes by K. V. Mahadevan attempt to revive our sagging hopes. But they are only partly fulfilled."[7] T. M. Ramachandran of Sport and Pastime said the "treatment by director Dada Mirasi is so pedestrian that the film fails to sustain interest completely." He praised the performances of Ganesan, Savitri, Balaji and Vijaya, but criticised the comedy subplot featuring Nagesh.[2] According to historian Randor Guy, the film was not a major success but "good enough to boost the morale of [Balaji] to stick to the new role" of a producer.[11]

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References
  1. Annavin Aasai (songbook) (in Tamil). Sujatha Cine Arts. 1966.
  2. Ramachandran, T. M. (2 April 1966). "Some Recent Releases". Sport and Pastime. Vol. 20. p. 52.
  3. "சுரேஷ் பாலாஜி நேர்முகம்!" [Suresh Balaje interview!]. Dinamalar (in Tamil). 20 April 2012. Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  4. Sridhar, Gemini (17 November 2017). "ரசிகர்களின் நண்பர்!" [The friend of all fans!]. Hindu Tamil Thisai. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  5. Film News Anandan (2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru [Tamil film history and its achievements] (in Tamil). Chennai: Sivagami Publishers. Archived from the original on 2018.
  6. "Annavin Aasai (1966)". The Hindu. 3 October 2015. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  7. "Hopes partly fulfilled". The Indian Express. 12 March 1966. p. 3.
  8. சிவரஞ்சன் (2001). சுராவின் சுவையான சினிமா துணுக்குகள் [Sura's delicious cinematic snippets]. Sura Books. p. 87. ISBN 817478246X.
  9. "Annavin Aasai (Tamil) (35 mm)". The Gazette of India. 7 May 1966. p. 328.
  10. "Annavin Asai". The Indian Express. 4 March 1966. p. 3.
  11. Guy, Randor (15 May 2009). "A void on the film firmament". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
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