En Kadamai (transl. My duty) is a 1964 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film, produced and directed by M. Natesan, and written by Ma. Ra. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran and B. Saroja Devi. It was released on 13 March 1964, and became a box-office bomb.

En Kadamai
Theatrical release poster
Directed byM. Natesan
Written byMa. Ra.
Produced byM. Natesan
StarringM. G. Ramachandran
B. Saroja Devi
CinematographyR. Sampath
Edited byA. Murugesan
Music byViswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Production
company
Natesh Art Pictures
Distributed byEmgeeyaar Pictures
Release date
  • 13 March 1964 (1964-03-13)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot edit

Dharmalingam, a rich landlord, is the father of two sons and a daughter. His eldest son has a love marriage with a poor teacher's daughter, Kamala. Dharmalingam disowns them. The son dies, and Kamala is left homeless, with a little child. Nathan, a police inspector, gives Kamala shelter in his house and decides to help her fight her case for the property. But Kamala is murdered on the way to the court hearing. Fingers point at Dharmalingam and his son Shankar. Shankar and Nathan's sister Uma are in love. Nathan comes to investigate the case and falls in love with Dharmalingam's daughter Sarasu. Now, Nathan is in a dilemma over whether he should protect Shankar as he is his sister's sweetheart, or drop the case because he loves Dharmalingam's daughter.

Cast edit

Production edit

En Kadamai was produced and directed by M. Natesan under Natesh Art Pictures. The story and dialogue were written by Ma. Ra. Cinematography was handled by R. Sampath, and editing by A. Murugesan.[1]

Soundtrack edit

The soundtrack was composed by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy (a duo consisting of M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy) with lyrics by Kannadasan.[1][2]

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Thenodum Thanneren Meedhu"P. Susheela4:01
2."Meene Meene Meenamma"P. Susheela3:45
3."Yaaradhu Yaaradhu"T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela4:52
4."Hello Miss Hello Miss"T. M. Soundararajan4:11
5."Iravinile Enna Ninaippu"P. Susheela4:52
6."Nilladi Nilladi Seemaatti"T. M. Soundarrajan3:33
Total length:25:14

Release and reception edit

En Kadamai was released on 13 March 1964,[3] and distributed by Emgeeyaar Pictures.[4] T. M. Ramachandran of Sport and Pastime panned the film, calling the music its "saving grace".[5] Playing on the film's title, Kanthan of Kalki said, "Ayyo, ennai kodumai!" (Oh god, what an atrocity!).[6] En Kadamai was a box-office bomb;[7] while many speculated this was due to it releasing shortly after M. G. Ramachandran resigned from the Madras Legislative Council, Ramachandran himself did not think so.[8][9]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d என் கடமை (PDF) (song book) (in Tamil). Natesh Art Pictures. 1964. Retrieved 29 June 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ "En Kadamai". Gaana. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Table: Chronological List of MGR's Movies released between 1960 and 1967" (PDF). Ilankai Tamil Sangam. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  4. ^ "En Kadamai". The Indian Express. 11 March 1964. p. 3. Retrieved 3 April 2021 – via Google News Archive.
  5. ^ Ramachandran, T. M. (11 April 1964). "South Indian Stage and Screen" (PDF). Sport and Pastime. Vol. 18. pp. 50–51. Retrieved 29 March 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ காந்தன் (5 April 1964). "என் கடமை". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 21. Archived from the original on 24 July 2022. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  7. ^ Sri Kantha, Sachi (18 July 2016). "MGR Remembered – Part 36 | MGR's Testimony". Ilankai Tamil Sangam. Archived from the original on 26 June 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  8. ^ Kannan, R. (2010). Anna: The Life and Times of C.N. Annadurai. India: Penguin Books. p. 280. ISBN 978-0-670-08328-2.
  9. ^ Kannan, R. (28 June 2017). MGR: A Life. India: Penguin Random House. p. 123. ISBN 978-93-86495-88-4.

External links edit