Bama Vijayam (1934 film)

Bama Vijayam (transl. Bama's Victory) is a 1934 Tamil-language film directed by Manik Lal Tandon. The film featured G. N. Balasubramaniam who made his debut in Tamil cinema, M. R. Krishnamurthi, P. S. Ratna Bai and P. S. Saraswathi Bai in the leading roles. P. S. Ratna Bai and P. S. Saraswathi Bai are well known as Palayamkottai Sisters.[2]

Bama Vijayam
Directed byManik Lal Tandon
Produced byA. N. Maruthachalam Chettiar
StarringG. N. Balasubramaniam
M. R. Krishnamurthi
P. S. Ratna Bai
P. S. Saraswathi Bai
Music byK. Thyagaraja Desigar[1]
Production
company
Pioneer Films[1]
Distributed byChellam Talkies
Release date
1934[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget₹50,000[2]
Box office₹1,000,000[2]

Cast

Adapted from Film News Anandan and The Hindu.[1][2]

Production

Bama Vijayam marked the acting debut of Carnatic musician and singer G. N. Balasubramaniam, who played the role of sage Narada.[2] In the film's opening credits, Balasubramaniam's name appeared as "Hutchins Plate Fame Sangeetha Vidwan".[lower-alpha 1] The film was produced by A. N. Maruthachalam Chettiar under his banner, Chellam Talkies. "Chellam" was also Chettiar's pet name.[3] The film's ending showed all the characters singing the song Jana Gana Mana, which film historian Randor Guy mentions it as the first time the future national anthem of India was sung on screen.[3] The rendition of the song instilled a feeling of patriotism amongst cinema goers.[2]

Soundtrack

K. Thyagaraja Desigar composed the film's score.[1] There were 59 songs in the film, out of which Balasubramaniam sang 10.[3] Balasubramaniam's first song as the character was "Balakanakamaya", a Tyagaraja kirtana which Guy believed to be the first composition of the aforementioned saint in the Atana raga. Another song was "Koti Nathulu", a duet by Balasubramaniam and M. R. Krishnamurthi. The song was also another composition by Tyagaraja based on the raga Todi.[2][3]

Reception

According to Randor Guy, was a box office success and "made a sizeable profit", grossing ₹1,000,000 against a budget of ₹50,000.[2] In the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan, writer Kalki Krishnamurthy reviewed the film and called it "'Paatti'!", which was a word play on talkie and "paattu", the Tamil word for song.[3]

Notes
  1. According to Randor Guy, Hutchins was then "a well known gramophone recording company of that period and 78 rpm discs were then colloquially known as 'plates'".[3]
gollark: Great, you can stop now then.
gollark: Tell them when you find some stuff, so they can go deal with it in some way, don't be dodecahedral.
gollark: Which is NOT VERY GOOD.
gollark: Maybe I should run anti-nobody adverts on osmarks internet radio™ to gather popular support.
gollark: Refusing to provide people the information necessary to make informed choices about privacy or whatever when you gather it so that you can indulge your bizarre habit isn't very good *either*.

References
  1. Film News Anandan (23 October 2004). Sadhanaigal Padaitha Thamizh Thiraipada Varalaru [History of Landmark Tamil Films] (in Tamil). Sivakami Publishers. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017.
  2. Guy, Randor (18 January 2008). "Bhama Vijayam 1934". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
  3. Guy, Randor (24 January 2002). "Melody and more in every frame". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.

Bama Vijayam on IMDb

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