Underplayed Gems

Ratha Kanneer (1954)

Ratha Kanneer poster
Original title
ரத்தக்கண்ணீர்
Directed by
S. Panju, R. Krishnan
Genre
drama film
Country
India
Runtime
2h 31m
Rating
8.0 of 10 from 3 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A wealthy man returns from abroad and looks down on Indian culture and people beneath his social class. His arrogance leads to conflict with those around him.

melodramaticemotionaltenseclassicsocietal-critiquetheatricaltragicculturally-charged

What happens

Ratha Kanneer (transl. Tears of Blood) is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Krishnan–Panju, and written by Tiruvarur K. Thangaraj. Based on Thangaraj's play of the same name, the film stars M. R. Radha, Sriranjani and S. S. Rajendran, with Chandrababu, M. N. Rajam and S. R. Janaki in supporting roles. It revolves around a returned-from-abroad, westernised rich man who shows arrogance and contempt towards anything part of Indian culture and anyone below his social standards. The film was produced by Perumal Mudaliar of National Pictures, and had Radha reprising his role from the play. Cinematography was handled by R. R. Chandran and editing by Panju under the alias S. Panjabi. The score was composed by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy and the songs by C. S. Jayaraman, with lyrics by Mahakavi Bharathiyaar, Bharathidasan, Udumalai Narayana Kavi and Ku. Sa. Krishnamurthy. Ratha Kanneer was released on 25 October 1954, during the week of Diwali. The film became a critical and commercial success, and Radha became a much sought-after artiste in Tamil cinema. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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