N.C.VASANTHAKOKILAM VINTAGE CLASSICS OF 1940-1952 ERA
Tamil Cinema and Music - 10
N. C. VASANTHAKOKILAM
‘Valmiki’ had C. Honnappa Bhagavathar, the Mysore State-based
Carnatic musician and actor (who replaced MKT Bhagavathar) as
hero, with T. R. Rajakumari, T. S. Balaiah, U. R. Jeevaratnam, Kali N.
Ratnam, C. T. Rajakantham and Nott Annaji Rao additionally in the
cast. Directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni, the film did fairly well at the
box-office.
Vasanthakokilam, as Naradar, sang many songs in this film including
‘Jaya Jaya Bhuvana Pathey’,
‘Sundaranandaa Vaikuntaa’,
‘Poi Thavazhum’ (Simendramadhyamam and Kambodhi) and
‘Puvi Meedhu’(Shankarabharanam). All these songs became popular.
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1947 witnessed another film ‘Kundalakesi’ with Vasanthakokilam,
but it is scarcely remembered today. Based on a Tamil classic, it was
written by Elangovan, the first star writer of Tamil cinema, and
directed by Bomman Irani. It had Honnappa Bhagavathar, G. Pattu
Iyer, G. M. Basheer, T. R. Ramachandran, M. R. Swaminathan, N. C.
Vasanthakokilam, K. L. V. Vasantha, and others in the cast.
Papanasam Sivan wrote the songs and set the tunes while
G.Ramanathan and S. M. Subbaiah Naidu took care of the musical score and orchestration.
In this movie, NCV sang
songs in Hindolam and Shanmughapriya
but they did not create any impact and were forgotten as fast as the
film itself was!
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Vasanthakokilam again played Naradar in ‘Krishna Vijayam’ (1950)
produced by
Jupiter Pictures and directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni. Besides
NCV, it had P. V. Narasimha Bharathi, R. Balasubramaniam,
C. V. V. Panthulu, Nott Annaji Rao, Trichur Premavathi and M.S.S.
Bhagyam in the cast, and Lalitha-Padmini as dancers.
This movie had many songs some of which were written and composed
by Papanasam Sivan. The music directors were S. M. Subbaiah
and the famed play-back singer
Chidambaram S. Jayaraman
The musical talents and singing skills of Vasanthakokilam were used
to maximum advantage in this ‘Krishna Vijayam’. Her proficiency in
classical Carnatic music surfaced and soared skywards as never
before in any of her other films. She sang songs in many ragas including
a ragamalika about the birth of Lord Krishna ‘Porumai Kadalaagiya Bhoomadevi’
பொறுமைக் கடலாகிய பூமாதேவி
in
Bilahari,
Neelambari,
Bhairavi,
Shankarabharanam,
Thodi,
Pantuvaraali,
Mohanam,
Sree Ragam,
Anandhabhairavi and
Hamsnaadham.
1) பிலஹரி
2) நீலாம்பரி
3) பைரவி
4)சங்கராபரணம்
5) தோடி
6) பந்துவராளி
7) மோஹனம்
8) ஸ்ரீ ராகம்
9) ஆனந்த பைரவி
10)ஹம்சநாதம்
The composer was Papanasam Sivan while S. M. Subbaiah Naidu handled the Orchestration.
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‘Karunanidhey Madhavaa’ (in Hindustani Kapi by Papanasam Sivan
and C. S. Jayaraman),
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another ragamalika
‘Aayar Manaiyiley Maayan Valarndhu.’
(in
Karaharapriya,
Atana,
Harikambodhi
, Senjurutti,
Behag,
Sriranjani,
Gaganakuthoohalam,
Kalyani,
Vasantha,
Surutti
(composed by
Papanasam Sivan and C. S. Jayaraman),
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‘ NavaneethaKannaney’ (in Sindhubhairavi written by K.P. Kamakshi and C.S.
Jayaraman,) became hits.