Kadhalikka Neramillai

Kadhalikka Neramillai
File:Kadhalikka Neramillai poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	C. V. Sridhar
Written by	C. V. Sridhar Chitralaya Gopu
Produced by	C. V. Sridhar
Starring	R. Muthuraman Ravichandran Kanchana Rajasree T. S. Balaiah Nagesh
Cinematography	A. Vincent P. N. Sundaram
Edited by	N. M. Shankar
Music by	Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Production companies	Vijaya Vauhini Studios Gemini Studios (processing)
Distributed by	Chitralaya Pictures
Release date	27 February 1964 (1964-02-27)
Running time	159 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Kadhalikka Neramillai ([No Time for Love] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a 1964 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written, produced and directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film was conceived and co-written by Chitralaya Gopu, a close associate of Srindhar. It features an ensemble cast consisting of T. S. Balaiah, R. Muthuraman, Rajasree, Sachu, Ravichandran, Kanchana and the then-rising comedian Nagesh.

The film's plot revolves around Viswanathan, an estate owner who hopes to get his daughters Nirmala and Kanchana married to wealthy grooms. However, Nirmala falls in love with Ashok, a poor man who was once employed by Vishwanathan's estate. To earn Viswanathan's approval, Ashok pretends to be the only heir of a rich businessman; he is supported by his friend Vasu, who poses as Ashok's fictional millionaire father Chidambaram. A comedy of errors ensues when Vasu discovers his lover Kanchana is Viswanathan's other daughter.

Shooting took 30 days; the film was mostly shot in Ooty and in a bungalow near Pollachi, except one song sequence that was filmed in Marina Beach, Madras. It was the first Tamil film to be released in Eastman Color; previous Indian colour films were made in Gevacolor and Technicolor. The cinematographers were A. Vincent and P. N. Sundaram, and the editor was N. M. Shankar. The film features music by the duo Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy, with lyrics written by poet Kannadasan.

Kadhalikka Neramillai was released on 27 February 1964 to unanimous critical acclaim; it was a commercial success, running in theatres for more than 25 weeks. It also received wide appreciation from contemporary film personalities and humourists. Regarded a trend-setting comedy, the film has since developed a cult following. Its success led to a 1965 Telugu remake Preminchi Choodu and a Hindi remake Pyar Kiye Jaa the following year; the latter was directed by Sridhar.

Plot

Viswanathan (T. S. Balaiah) is an arrogant, money-minded estate owner in Chinnamalai, a small hill station near Pollachi. His son Chellappa (Nagesh) is an aspiring filmmaker; Chellappa is his father's antithesis and voices his displeasure at his father's arrogance. Viswanathan also has two daughters; Kanchana (Kanchana) and Nirmala (Rajasree). At her graduation in Madras, Kanchana falls in love with Vasu (R. Muthuraman), the son of a rich businessman Sachidanandam (V. S. Raghavan). The sisters return home after completing their education in Madras. One day when they are sightseeing, a battered car driven by their father's young, rebellious estate manager Ashok (Ravichandran) bumps into theirs. The sisters quarrel with Ashok and are annoyed by his insolence. At their home, they force Viswanathan to dismiss Ashok. Infuriated, Ashok pitches a tent overlooking their bungalow and demands his job back. Nirmala accidentally drops a bucket of water on Ashok's head, hurting him. Feeling guilty, she visits Ashok's tent to apologise and they fall in love.

Viswanathan decides to get his daughters married to wealthy men. Ashok realises that because he is poor he has no chance of becoming a prospective groom. Nirmala loves him but she will not elope with him. He calls upon his friend, Vasu, to pose as his wealthy father. Vasu arrives at Chinnamalai and agrees to help. He disguises himself as a rich, old man and names himself Chidambaram. When Kanchana is introduced to Vasu in disguise, he is shocked because he believes Ashok loves Kanchana, but discovers to his relief that Ashok is in love with Nirmala.

Meanwhile, Chellappa starts a film production house called Oho Productions. Unable to earn anyone's faith in his capabilities, he handles the film-making himself. Chellappa unsuccessfully tries to persuade his father to finance his film; he engages the estate manager's daughter Meenalochani (Sachu) to play a heroine in his film. Chellappa signs Ashok for the film and asks Chidambaram to fund it. When the film does not progress as expected, Meenalochani's father forces Chellappa to marry her. Chellappa initially refuses but realising he has no choice, he accepts the offer.

On a short trip, Chidambaram reveals his identity to the women, who agree to play along. Viswanathan, believing Ashok is the only heir of a millionaire, asks Kanchana's consent to marry him. When Kanchana rejects the proposal, Viswanathan asks Nirmala, who happily accepts. Sachidanandam, who is buying a nearby estate, is referred to Viswanathan and arrives in Chinnamalai. They meet and discover they were childhood friends. Thinking it would be inappropriate to marry off his younger daughter while the elder one is still unmarried, Viswanathan arranges Kanchana's marriage to Sachidanandam's son. Vasu meets his father but he is unable to reveal his true identity to prevent getting caught. When Sachidanandam returns to Madras to make wedding preparations, he finds there has been no word from his son, who left for Coimbatore weeks before. Sachidanandam almost cancels the marriage when Vasu makes a telephone call in the nick of time and approves the marriage.

Sachidanandam's car breaks down and he takes shelter in a nearby hut until it is fixed. There, he finds a photograph of Ashok and an elderly school teacher who claims to be Ashok's father. He suspects Ashok of foul play to usurp Viswanathan's riches and files a complaint. Vasu and Ashok are held in custody at the Chinnamalai police station. As Sachidanandam arrives at the police station, the truth behind the impersonation is revealed and he withdraws his complaint. When his daughters refuse to part with their lovers, Viswanathan reluctantly accepts their love and the three couples get married.

Cast

• T. S. Balaiah as Viswanathan
• R. Muthuraman as Vasu/Chidambaram
• Nagesh as Chellappa
• Rajasree as Nirmala, a PUC graduate
• Sachu as Meenalochani aka Meena
• Ravichandran as Ashok
• Kanchana as Kanchana, a B.Sc. graduate
• V. S. Raghavan as Sachidanandam
• A. K. Veerasamy as Ashok's father

Production

Origin

C. V. Sridhar and Sadagopan had been friends since their schooldays at St. Joseph's High School, Chengalpattu. At school both were playwrights; Sridhar wrote stage plays and played heroes while Sadagopan wrote the humorous parts and played comedians. Later, when Sridhar had the opportunity to direct a film, he asked Sadagopan to join him and produce the comedy track. The film Kalyana Parisu (1959) was a hit and Sridhar started his own production house, Chitralaya Pictures. Sadagopan became popularly known as 'Chitralaya' Gopu.

Sridhar used to spend his evenings with Gopu, driving along Marina Beach. Gopu asked Sridhar whether he would like to work on a comedy film. Srindhar was known for melodramas and thought the audience would not accept a comedy from him. He agreed reluctantly, and decided to produce a full-length comedy and originated the title, which translates as "No time for love". The entire story and screenplay were conceived on Marina Beach; according to Gopu, "[s]itting in Sridhar’s open Herald, we discussed the script for days on end".

Casting

P. S. Raman, who went to Madras in 1963 to join a medical college, was asked to see Sridhar, who was auditioning newcomers for the film. Sridhar renamed Raman to Ravichandran and introduced him in this film. While on a flight, Sridhar met an air-hostess named Vasundhara Devi and approached her to play one of the female leads. Because she shared her name with Vasundhara Devi, the mother of actress Vyjayanthimala, Sridhar renamed her Kanchana to avoid confusion.

Rajasree, who made her film debut as a child actor in AVM Productions' Naga Devathai (1956) playing the younger Jamuna, was in her late teenage years and was playing second heroine and sister roles in Telugu films. Gopu telephoned her to ask her to attend their studio the next day for a shoot. Rajasree's family were suspicious because Rajasree was informed of her casting for the film, which would begin shooting the following day, and telephoned Gopu for confirmation. A song sequence, "Anubhavam Pudhumai", was shot to audition her; the makers were impressed and her name was added to the cast, making it her first film as a lead heroine.

Sachu, who began her career as a child actor, had just graduated to playing the heroine in Veerathirumagan (1961) and Annai (1962) when Srindhar offered her a comic role. She initially she refused the offer because she was hesitant about taking a comedy role. Sridhar persuaded Sachu that being a full-fledged comedy film, there were no separate comedians and she would only be playing a character in one of the three lead pairs. Gopu also persuaded her grandmother, who used to accompany her to the sets. Impressed by the way Sridhar "narrated the story featuring three couples", Sachu accepted the film offer.

T. S. Balaiah was chosen to play the lead character Viswanathan, and R. Muthuraman was chosen to play Vasu, the friend of Ravichandran's character. Nagesh, a struggling actor whose breakthrough role was in Sridhar's Nenjil Or Aalayam (1962), was selected to play Viswanathan's son Chellappa. The screenplay and dialogue were co-written by Sridhar and Gopu. The cinematographer was P. N. Sundaram and DOP was Aloysius Vincent, who later became a successful, multi-lingual filmmaker. Editor N. M. Shankar, art director Ganga and choreographers Thangappan and Sundaram comprised the rest of the technical crew. The music was scored by the duo Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy, and lyrics were written by poet-lyricist Kannadasan.

Filming

Aaliyar Dam, as seen from the bungalow

Kadhalikka Neramillai was the first Tamil film to be made in Eastman Color. The film was launched with a unique advertisement that said, "Do not look for any story in the film!".

Filming on the project commenced with the song "Anubhavam Pudhumai", which was picturised on Ravichandran and Rajasree. Portions of the song featuring the latter were the first scenes shot. Because the producers had not taken measurements for her costumes, Rajasree was sceptical about whether filming would begin that day. She was given a nightgown as the costume for the song sequence.

Because the idea for the film came while at the Marina Beach, the opening sequence song "Enna Parvai" picturised on Muthuraman and Kanchana was filmed on the beach promenade with Madras University and Presidency College in the background. In the first scene of the film, Sridhar attempted to depict Madras as a "progressive place: where couples sang duets on the Marina". After several days of filming, Sridhar was unhappy with the script and filming was stopped. He reworked the script and dialogues, after which filming resumed. Most of the film was shot in Ooty in 30 days. Filming also took place on location at the Aaliyar Guest House, a bungalow near Aaliyar Dam, Coimbatore.

Ravichandran spoke only English and Malay. Gopu gave him the lyrics of the song "Naalaam Naalaam", which were written like tongue-twisters in chaste Tamil, said they were his lines and asked him to memorise them. When the director called for the shots, Ravichandran asked for more time because he found it difficult to remember the dialogue. The puzzled director then said, "This isn’t the dialogue. Who gave it to you? This is a social film, a comedy. Gopu must have done it. He’s always pulling a fast one, don’t you know?"

In one scene, Balaiah asks Nagesh to tell a story, promising to finance his film if he is impressed. Knowing he will not get any funds, Nagesh decides to scare Balaiah and narrates a horror story. Nagesh later said this was Gopu's idea; "You know how director Dada Miraasi tells a story. Just follow the pattern". Nagesh and Balaiah completed shooting the scene in a single take. Kanchana recalled filming the scene and said, "I was standing behind, trembling to control my laughter. The moment the scene was over, the entire team began to laugh, so hard, we soon had tears running down our faces."

Soundtrack

Untitled

The soundtrack album and musical score were composed by the duo Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy and the lyrics were written by Kannadasan. The album was released under the label HMV. The song "Anubhavam Pudhumai" samples a 1940 Spanish song titled "Bésame Mucho". Philips, an autodidact guitarist, played guitar for the songs "Anubhavam Pudhumai" and "Malarendra Mugamondru". The original soundtrack edition omits the songs "Maadimele" and "Kadhalikka Neramillai", which are included on the tracklist of Raaga.com; the website omits the song "Viswanathan Velai Vendum" which was included on the original soundtrack edition. Viswanathan and his wife were spending a vacation in Yercaud for a week, when Kannadasan, Gopu and Sridhar were waiting for him to begin composing the songs. The day when Viswanathan returned and arrived at Chithralaya office, Kannadasan said, "Ennappa..Viswanathaa...Velai kodu.." ([Viswanathan give me some work] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)). Sridhar then said that should be the beginning of the song and decided to rename Balaiah's character as Viswanathan.

The music received positive reviews from critics. Dhananjayan said in his book The Best of Tamil Cinema that all the songs were popular—especially among teenagers—and contributed to the film's success. In August 2014, Mayura Akilan of Oneindia Entertainment said the songs were mesmerizing and pleasant to the ears. Y. G. Mahendra called the songs "immortal masterpieces". V. Chandramohan of The Hindu praised the catchy rock and roll tunes in "Maadimele" and said "Anubhavam Pudhumai" and "Enna Paarvai" were meant for all music lovers.

Original tracklist

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Unga Ponnaana Kaigal"	P. B. Sreenivas	03:26
2.	"Enna Paarvai"	K. J. Yesudas, P. Susheela	03:21
3.	"Malarendra Mugamondru"	L. R. Eswari, M. S. Raju	03:20
4.	"Viswanathan Velai Vendum"	P. B. Sreenivas	04:43
5.	"Naalaam Naalaam"	P. B. Sreenivas, P. Susheela	03:21
6.	"Nenjathai Alli"	K. J. Yesudas, L. R. Eswari, P. Susheela	03:44

Raaga tracklist

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Enna Paarvai"	K. J. Yesudas, P. Susheela	03:21
2.	"Maadimele"	P. B. Sreenivas	03:26
3.	"Unga Ponnaana Kaigal"	P. B. Sreenivas	03:26
4.	"Anubhavam Pudhumai"	P. B. Sreenivas, P. Susheela	05:30
5.	"Naalaam Naalaam"	P. B. Sreenivas, P. Susheela	03:21
6.	"Malarendra Mugamondru"	L. R. Eswari, M. S. Raju	03:20
7.	"Kadhalikka Neramillai"	Sirkazhi Govindarajan	04:55
8.	"Nenjathai Alli"	K. J. Yesudas, L. R. Eswari, P. Susheela	03:44

Release

Kadhalikka Neramillai was released on 27 February 1964. Gopu said Chitralaya released the film because initially no company wanted to screen it; the first showings were at the Casino Theatre in Madras and later in Madurai. When the film received positive responses upon release, it caught the attention of distributors, who competed with each other for it. According to the 2011 book The Best of Tamil Cinema by G. Dhananjayan, "The distributors who saw the first copy were impressed as the film was looking fresh and appealing in Eastman Color and eagerly bought the rights". After playing to full houses for about eight weeks, revenue began to fall. The film attracted controversy when newspapers said it could spoil the youth and the society, and the film gathered momentum. Eventually, it garnered wide critical acclaim and was commercially successful, running for more than 175 days at the box office and becoming a silver jubilee film. On the 175th day celebrations held at N. K. T. Kala Mandapam, Triplicane, Viswanathan and Ramamoorthy were conferred with the title "Mellisai Mannargal", by Kannadasan. After its release, Sridhar placed full-page advertisements in magazines with a disclaimer that his company should not be held responsible if anyone suffered from stomach ache after watching the film.

Critical response

Gopu (pictured in 2015) and Nagesh (pictured in 2005) received major praise for their contributions.

The film received positive response from critics and the performances of Nagesh and Balaiah were particularly praised. The Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan wrote in its review, "Tamil cinema has not witnessed a film like this so far, which did not bore the audience for two and a half hours, but entertained and made them laugh throughout ... It changed the image that Tamil films mean only crying and emotion ... the film maker has given an innovative, best comedy entertainer to the audience." Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote, "Even today 'Kadhalikka Neramillai' has you in splits every time you watch it". Following Sridhar's death, she wrote, " ... who can forget the humour ride Sridhar offered with 'Kadhalikka Naeramillai?' The carnival feel and gaiety, the freshness of the cast, the hill station back drops in Eastman colour and the comedy that every actor projected so well, with Nagesh and T.S. Balaiah at the helm will live as long as Tamil cinema does!" P.R. Viswanathan wrote, "Kadhalikka Neramillai saw Nagesh walking into the hearts of Tamil filmgoers".

The Hindu said that as an intrepid storyteller/film director, Nagesh gave Tamil cinema one of its memorable, vintage, comedy scenes. Press Trust of India said his role as aspiring director Chellappa is still remembered by Tamil moviegoers. Ramya Kannan of The Hindu said, "Kadhalikka Neramillai broke out on celluloid screens in the South, in glorious Eastman Colour, with songs (by Vishwanathan-Ramamoorthy) that were an instant hit". Writing for The Hindu, Meera Srinivasan said, "Kadhalikka Neramillai made waves in the industry and remains one of the best-loved comedies in Tamil cinema". Another journalist for The Hindu wrote, "Kaadhalikka Neramillai (1964) turned out to be a superhit, its songs memorable, and some of the scenes featuring T.S.Balaiya and Nagesh classic comedy". Film critic Naman Ramachandran called it "one of the all-time great comedies of Tamil cinema". Sify wrote, "[Nagesh's] scenes with Baaliah who played his father has terrific comedy timing and great one-liners".

Remakes

In 1965, Kadhalikka Neramillai was remade in Telugu as Preminchi Choodu. The remake was directed by P. Pullaiah, and featured Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Kongara Jaggayya in the lead roles. Kanchana and Rajasree reprised their roles. The following year, the film was remade in Hindi as Pyar Kiye Jaa. This remake was directed by Sridhar, and starred Shashi Kapoor and Kishore Kumar in the lead, while Mehmood portrayed the role played by Nagesh in the original. Rajasree, who again reprised her role, was the only actor to appear in both remakes.

In 2007, director-turned-comedian Manobala—who wanted to return to directing—decided to remake Kadhalikka Neramillai as his comeback film and bought the remake rights. The Hindu reported that R. Madhavan would be playing the lead role. The film would be produced by Raadhika Sarathkumar's production house Radaan Media Works. When the casting fell through, the project was abandoned and Manobala was willing to sell the rights. Meanwhile, director K. Selva Bharathy was reported to have been engaged for the project with a few casting changes, but it did not materialise.

The planned contemporary remakes drew criticism. In an interview with Rekhs, a celebrity columnist for Behindwoods, Gopu said, "This film even if it is remade today, will not hold a candle to its original". Crazy Mohan said, "Kadhalikka Naeramillai is Tamil Cinema’s Mount Everest of comedy. There’s no other Tenzing in sight so far. I was aghast that some people even considered re-making Kadhalikka Naeramillai. None should attempt it. It is blasphemy".

Legacy

Since its release, Kadhalikka Neramillai has developed a cult status. It has been hailed as a trendsetting comedy, and the film is said to kindle a feeling of joie de vivre. It rewrote the grammar of healthy humour in Tamil cinema and the comedy sequences are regarded as evergreen. Nagesh's much-praised comedy set the trend for humour for the decades that followed. The members of the cast often meet and discuss their experiences working on the film. While the comedy track of 'Oho Productions' featuring Nagesh is considered to be one of Gopu's masterpiece, the Balaiah-Nagesh scene is often termed legendary.

In a film that featured mostly newcomers, Balaiah was the most senior artiste. When the Balaiah-Nagesh pairing was an instant hit, he praised the latter saying, "Watch out! This boy is a scene-stealer". Gopu said, "Chitralaya had a solid technical team ... Thangappan’s choreography in [Kadhalikka Neramillai] is timeless and combined with MSV’s magic, looks modern even today". Choreographer-turned-director Prabhu Deva, whose father Sundaram was the assistant choreographer under Thangappan, named Kadhalikka Neramillai among his five favourite films.

 ...  What does [Kadhalikka Neramillai] not have? It’s Tamil Cinema’s dictionary for humour ... And it has a solid message camouflaged in humour, that if you go in for ostentation and sycophancy you are bound to bite the dust ... No cheap rib-ticklers for Sridhar and Gopu! They could have made many a joke with the false beard Muthuraman sported in the film, but they didn’t. Classy comedy was their forte.

—Crazy Mohan and his brother Maadhu Balaji in an interview with Malathi Rangarajan on how Kadhalikka Neramillai inspired them.

After Tamil cinema's platinum jubilee in 2007, when eight acclaimed directors were asked to list ten films they liked most, Kadhalikka Neramillai was chosen by K. S. Ravikumar. Playwright-comedian Y. G. Mahendra said the film:

taught me there is everything to know about comedy—what is timing, what is healthy comedy, what is situational comedy ... It also portrayed love in such a clean and healthy way. And, who can forget the music? I can relate to the songs even today. I’ve seen the film more than 150 times, about 60-70 times in the theatre itself. I am a huge fan of director Sridhar. Kaadhalikka ... is a movie for all seasons.

In an interview with The Hindu, Crazy Mohan hailed the film as the peak of comedy for Tamil cinema audiences. On 1 July 2013, coinciding with International Joke Day, actors and writers of comedy were asked to name their favourite films. 'Crazy' Mohan named Kadhalikka Neramillai as his all-time favourite, stating, " ... I particularly like the story narration scene between Nagesh and Balaiah. Nagesh was brilliant in his serious narrator act and Balaiah’s expressive face left us in splits." Comedian Aarthi also called it one of her favourites. The film was featured in a list by The Hindu named "Bring on the laughs".

In February 2014, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the film, The Hindu invited film personalities to talk about the impact the film had on them. Kamal Haasan said, "Two of the very significant contributors to this vibrant affinity for Kadhalikka Naeramillai [sic] are dialogue writer and Sridhar’s associate, Gopu, and Nagesh. Gopu anna is one of our most talented, but most under-sung comedy writer-directors. His dialogue was healthy comedy at its best. [Kadhalikka Neramillai] is a classic example, though there are others, like his Kasedhaan Kadavulada." Y. G. Mahendra said, "[Kadhalikka Neramillai] was Wodehouseian humour at its best—unadulterated and pure. I must have watched it 120 times so far and nearly 50 per cent of it was at Casino. The film has been part of our lives for five decades almost. At Casino, once the 'Nenjathai Alli Konjam' song sequence began we would feel low as we knew that the climax was just 10 minutes away. We didn’t want the film to end."

In popular culture

In 1985, choreographer Raghuram directed a film featuring Karthik and Jeevitha in the lead roles. The film was titled Viswanathan Velai Venum after the song of the same name. It was believed to be an unofficial remake of Kadhalikka Neramillai. In 2006, Crazy Mohan wanted to create something similar to Kadhalikka Neramillai. He wrote the story, screenplay and dialogue of the film Jerry, which he described as his "pet project". In 2011, director I Ahmed's forthcoming film was initially titled Kadhalikka Neramillai, but this was changed to Endrendrum Punnagai because the producers could not get the rights to use the former name.

In memory of Sridhar and Kadhalikka Neramillai, director Kamal Suburamaniam started a production house called Oho Productions. Surya, son of writer Balakumaran, named his short film Kadhalikka Neramillai. Independent filmmaker R. Buvana has titled her upcoming romantic comedy film Kadhalikka Naeramundu ("There is Time for Love"). Y. G. Mahendra has a particular affinity for Kadhalikka Neramillai. When he launched his theatre group United Amateur Artists' 55th play, he named it Kadhalikka Neramundu as a tribute to Gopu and Sridhar. The play, a parody of the film, was written by Gopu's son 'Chitralaya' Sriram.

Bibliography

• Dhananjayan, G. (2011). The Best of Tamil Cinema, 1931 to 2010: 1931-1976. Galatta Media. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Narwekar, Sanjit (2012). Eena Meena Deeka: The Story of Hindi Film Comedy. Rupa & Co. ISBN 978-81-291-2625-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Ramachandran, Naman (2014) [2012]. Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography (2nd ed.). Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-81-8475-796-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• "50th Year Celebration of Kadhalikka Neramillai". Behindwoods. 18 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.

External links

• Kadhalikka Neramillai at IMDb
• Kadhalikka Neramillai at Upperstall.com