Galatta Kalyanam (transl. Riotous Marriage) is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by C. V. Rajendran and written by Gopu. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Jayalalithaa. It is based on Gopu and Sridhar's play of the same name. The film, released on 12 April 1968, was later remade in Malayalam as Snehikkan Samayamilla and in Kannada as Aliya Devaru.[2]

Galatta Kalyanam
Poster
Directed byC. V. Rajendran
Written byGopu
Based onGalatta Kalyanam
by Gopu and Sridhar[1]
Produced bySivaji Ganesan
StarringSivaji Ganesan
Jayalalithaa
CinematographyP. N. Sundaram
Edited byN. M. Shankar
Music byM. S. Viswanathan
Production
company
Ramkumar Films
Release date
  • 12 April 1968 (1968-04-12)
Running time
148 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot edit

Madan and Lalitha are in love with each other. Lalitha is the second daughter of a businessman, Dharmalingam. While seeking her hand in marriage, Dharmalingam lays down a condition that all his daughters' weddings are to be held simultaneously, thereby entrusting Madan with the unenviable task of finding suitable grooms for his other daughters. Madan seeks the help of his friend, Chandran in his mission. Madan, however, soon realises that he has a Herculean task ahead of him – the eldest daughter Rathna is averse to marriage. The others have their own tastes and preferences. After encountering a lot of difficulties, they manage to find grooms for all of them. However, on the wedding eve, one of the grooms goes missing. After tracing the gang, Madan fights them to rescue the groom and finally all pairs get married.

Cast edit

Actors
Actresses

Production edit

Galatta Kalyanam was the adaptation of a play written by Gopu, which was staged in a star night organised for donations during the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Gopu completed the script within two days. After seeing the positive response the play received, Ganesan expressed interest in adapting the play into a feature film. This was the first film which had Gopu working outside the banner of Chithralaya and the film was directed by Sridhar's cousin C. V. Rajendran.[3] It is the first film produced by Ramkumar Films named after Ganesan's son.[4][5]

The song sequence "Engal Kalyanam" was shot at Anna Nagar Tower Park.[6][7] Rajendran required that all the lead actors appear in the song, but was unable to bring them all together except for "half a day of shoot" due to their other commitments; as a result, he had to rely on "used cuts, zooms and whizz-pans to circumvent the challenge". To portray Ganesan as "stylish and youthful", he created a shot of him walking from the manager's room to his seat, hoping it would create a huge response among the audience.[8]

Soundtrack edit

The music was composed by M. S. Viswanathan, with lyrics by Vaali.[9][10] The song "Nalla Idam" contains the lines "Nalla Idam, Nee Vandha Idam" (Good place, the place you have come), which writer R. Kannan interpreted as meaning Jayalalithaa had moved to Sivaji Ganesan from acting exclusively with M. G. Ramachandran.[11]

Song Singers Length
"Appappa Naan" T. M. Soundararajan 03:41
"Engal Kalyanam" T. M. Soundararajan, P. B. Sreenivas, P. Susheela, L. R. Eswari, C. S. Ganesh 05:07
"Mella Varum Kaatru" T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela 03:39
"Nalla Idam" T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela 04:31
"Uravinil" C. S. Ganesh, L. R. Eswari 03:16

Release and reception edit

Galatta Kalyanam was released on 12 April 1968.[12] Kalki appreciated the film for its comical dialogues and non-confusing direction.[13]

Legacy edit

In 2003, Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote, "Together with Nagesh, Sivaji Ganesan made watching Galatta Kalyanam a memorable experience".[14] In 2013, Anupama Subramanian of Deccan Chronicle praised Jayalalitha's performance, stating that "It was Galatta Kalyanam [..] which brought out her flair for comedy".[15] The title of the Tamil-dubbed version of the Hindi film Atrangi Re (2021) was taken from this film.[16]

References edit

  1. ^ "கலாட்டா கல்யாணம்". Kalki (in Tamil). 28 April 1968. p. 72. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Vetern Director C.V.Rajendran Passed away". Cine Info TV. 2 April 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  3. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (10 July 2009). "Looking back with a smile". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 March 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  4. ^ "சிவாஜி இல்லையென்றால்... – இயக்குனர் சி.வி. ராஜேந்திரன் பேட்டி" [If there is no Sivaji... – Director C. V. Rajendran interview]. Dinamalar (in Tamil). 25 September 2011. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  5. ^ "சி(ரி)த்ராலயா 36: கலாட்டா கல்யாணம் வைபோகமே". Hindu Tamil Thisai. 28 September 2018. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  6. ^ Raman, Mohan (26 August 2020). "#MadrasThroughTheMovies: Tracing the parallel journey of MGR and Sivaji in Madras". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  7. ^ Subramanian, Anupama (27 August 2019). "When Madras cast a spell on Tamil movies". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  8. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (8 September 2016). "In a flashback mode". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 June 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Sumathi En Sudarai – Kalatta Kalyanam Tamil Film Audio CD". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Galatta Kalyanam (1968)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  11. ^ Kannan, R. (28 June 2017). MGR: A Life. India: Penguin Random House. p. 154. ISBN 9789386495884.
  12. ^ "கலகல 'கலாட்டா கல்யாணம்'; சிவாஜியும் ஜெயலலிதாவும் இணைந்து நடித்த முதல்படம்!". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 29 April 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  13. ^ "கலாட்டா கல்யாணம்". Kalki (in Tamil). 5 May 1968. p. 33. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
  14. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (25 July 2003). "'Comedian' par excellence". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 October 2003. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  15. ^ Subramanian, Anupama (25 February 2013). "Jaya's phenomenal celluloid presence". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  16. ^ "நடிகர் தனுஷுக்கு மீண்டும் கைகொடுக்குமா சிவாஜி படத் தலைப்பு ?". Dinamani (in Tamil). 22 November 2021. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.

External links edit