Kalidas (film)

Vidhyadhari is the daughter of Vijayavarman, the king of Thejavathi. His minister wants the princess to marry his son but she refuses. Annoyed, the minister sets out to find another potential husband for Vidhyadhari. In the forest, the minister finds an illiterate cowman sitting on a tree and cutting into the branch on which he is sitting. The minister persuades the cowman to come to the palace and has Vidhyadhari marry him. When Vidhyadhari realises she has been cheated, and is married to a farmhand, she prays to the goddess Kali for a remedy. Kali appears before her, names her husband Kalidas and endows him with phenomenal literary talents. == Cast ==

• T. P. Rajalakshmi as Vidhyadhari • P. G. Venkatesan as Kalidas • L. V. Prasad as the temple priest Other supporting roles were played by Thevaram Rajambal, T. Susheela Devi, J. Sushila and M. S. Santhanalakshmi. == Production ==

After the success of India's first sound film Alam Ara (1931), its director Ardeshir Irani wanted to venture into South Indian cinema. according to film historian Randor Guy, she was the "automatic choice to play the heroine." Before this, Rajalakshmi had acted in many silent films, and Kalidas was her first sound film. it was completed in eight days, using either or of film, as sources differ. Film historian Film News Anandan stated that Kalidas "was produced in a hurry, and was technically flawed." Film critic and journalist Kalki Krishnamurthy, in his review of the film for Ananda Vikatan, noted that the film had dialogues in Telugu, with Tamil songs featured at the beginning, middle, and end, but no Tamil speech. In the 2010 book Cinemas of South India: Culture, Resistance, Ideology, Sowmya Dechamma states that Telugu dialogues were included in the film, apparently to "increase its market potential in the two important language markets of southern India." == Music ==

Kalidas featured fifty songs composed and written by Bhaskara Das. The patriotic song "Gandhiyin Kai Rattiname" ("The Charkha that Mahatma Gandhi|[Mahatma] Gandhi handles"), also known as "Raattinamam ... Gandhi Kai Bhanamaam ...", was sung by T. P. Rajalakshmi, and was unrelated to the story of Kalidas; the song extolled the charkha (spinning wheel), a Gandhian symbol of nationalism. Rajalakshmi also performed two of Tyagaraja's compositions, "Enta Nerchina" and "Suraragadhara", the latter of which was based on the Sankarabharanam raga, for the film. Another song which Rajalakshmi performed, "Manmada Baanamadaa", became immensely popular, and was described by Guy as "the emotional outburst of love by the heroine". Another song, "Indhiyargal Nammavarkkul Eno Veen Sandai", spoke about the Indian independence movement and the need for unity among Indians. Guy described "Manmada Baanamadaa" as the "first hit song of Tamil Cinema". == Release ==

An advertisement announcing the release of Kalidas was published on 30 October 1931 in The Hindu, where it was proclaimed that the film was the "first talkie to be screened in the city with Tamil and Telugu songs". The posters of the film read, Tamil Telugu pesi paadu padam (). Film producer and writer G. Dhananjayan said the film succeeded because it was a "novelty for the audience to witness an audio visual with dialogues and songs of their language". The Tamil newspaper Swadesamitran printed a favourable review for Kalidas on 29 October 1931, two days prior to its theatrical release, where the reviewer, in contrast to Krishnamurthy's comments, appreciated Rajalakshmi's singing. == Legacy ==

The arrival of sound in South Indian cinema, with the release of Kalidas, triggered a migration of theatre artists into cinema. Kalidas was the only South Indian film to be produced and released in 1931. No print or gramophone record of the film is known to survive, making it a lost film. The only remaining artefacts include a few stills, advertisements, and an image of the cover of the songbook. Kalidas was a major breakthrough in Rajalakshmi's career, and made her a "bankable singing star". Other films based on the life of Kālidāsa include the Kannada film Mahakavi Kalidasa (1955), which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada, the Hindi film Kavi Kalidas (1959), the Telugu film Mahakavi Kalidasu (1960), the Tamil film Mahakavi Kalidas (1966), and the Kannada film Kaviratna Kalidasa (1983). == See also ==