Thyagabhoomi

1939 Drama 194 minutes Directed by K. Subrahmanyam

Open in new tab

About Thyagabhoomi

Landlord Sambu Sastrigal marries his daughter Savitri to Sridharan. Pregnant and turned out of the house, she leaves their daughter Charu with Sambu and later returns wealthy under the name Uma Rani. Sambu, cast out for sheltering Harijans after a cyclone, raises Charu in a poor settlement and pickets liquor shops. Savitri puts on khadi, joins the nationalist campaign, and is arrested. She refuses to go back to Sridharan, who loses a suit for restitution of conjugal rights and then goes to jail beside her.

Cast & crew

More about Thyagabhoomi

K. Subramanyam directed and wrote the screenplay from Kalki Krishnamurthy's novel. Gopalkrishnan produced. S. S. Vasan's Gemini Pictures Circuit distributed it. Ananda Vikatan serialized the story while the film was shooting and printed stills from the set. R. Rajagopal edited.

Themes

  • A daughter married off and turned out
  • A landlord who shelters Harijans
  • Khadi and arrest
  • widowhood
  • Harijan
  • khadi
  • Congress
  • Calcutta marriage
  • Tamil nationalism

Background

Subramanyam made the film during the campaign against British rule. Madras authorities banned it in 1940 for siding with the Congress.

Making

Kalki was on the staff of Ananda Vikatan. Vasan, who backed the serial and the release, later founded Gemini Studios.

Audiences

It played 22 weeks to packed houses in and around Madras before the 1940 ban, and it circulated among Tamil audiences in Malaya, Singapore, Ceylon, and Burma.

Look

Sailen Bose was the cinematographer.

Music

Papanasam Sivan and Motibabu wrote the music. D. K. Pattammal sings 'Desiya Sevai Seyya Vareer.'

Preservation

The only known theatrical print is stored at an archive in Pune. A digital copy is also on Wikimedia Commons.

Notes

  • Papanasam Sivan plays Sambu Sastrigal as well as writing music.
  • S. D. Subbulakshmi plays Savitri, who also appears as Uma Rani.
  • K. J. Mahadevan plays Sridharan. Baby Saroja plays Charu.
  • Motibabu shares the music credit with Sivan.
  • The Madras ban cited Congress caps on screen and the song 'Desiya Sevai Seyya Vareer,' sung by D. K. Pattammal.
  • After the ban, exhibitors kept running free shows until police broke one up with a lathi charge.
  • The British ban in 1940 made it the first Indian film banned in Madras.

Scenes

  • Savitri leaves the infant Charu with Sambu and goes away.
  • She comes back as the rich Uma Rani and finds her father and daughter.
  • She is arrested after she starts wearing khadi.

Influenced by

  • Kalki Krishnamurthy's novel Thyaga Bhoomi

Also available

  • Wikimedia Commons (Thyagabhoomi (1939).webm)