Haridas is a 1944 Tamil language film directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni and starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, T. R. Rajakumari and N. C. Vasanthakokilam. It holds the record of being the first film to run continuously for 110 weeks at a single theatre. IBN Live included Haridas in its list of100 greatestIndian films of all time. This film had a colour sequence which was manually colored by studio technicians. The film was entirely recoloured and released in year 1946. The poster in this page mentions that in has released with a full colour copy. The movie was produced by Madurai Royal Talkies and Central Studios in Coimbatore.
Plot
Haridas is a vain individual who spends his life in luxury and lust, ignored his parents for wife, ignoring his wife for a courtesan. But when his wealth is appropriated by the courtesan, he realizes life's realities, reforms and spends the rest of his days serving his parents and God.
Haridas was directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni, a Marathifilm director, and produced by Royal Talkies. The film was adapted from the book Sri Krishna Vijayam by Elangovan. It was based on the story of the life of a poet-saint called Haridas. The role of Haridas was played by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, who was the highest-paid actor in the Tamil film industry at the time. It was very short compared to other films from the same period. Featuring a number of melodious songs sung by Bhagavathar, the film was released on Diwali 1944. Classical musician N. C. Vasanthakokilam, who was often compared to M. S. Subbulakshmi as a singer, played the role of Haridas' wife. The film also marked the debut of renowned Tamil actress Pandari Bai. The comedic duo of N. S. Krishnan and T. A. Mathuram were cast in this film. Th film was shot at Central Studios, Coimbatore. and M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar Lower: N. S. Krishnan and T. A. Mathuram
Soundtrack
All songs in this film became hits. The song "Manmadha Leelayai Vendrar Undo" celebrating erotic love has become an enduring hit and the phrase has entered every day Tamil usage. Papanasam Sivan was the composer and G. Ramanathan was in charge of the orchestration. A partial list of songs from Haridas: Two songs, sung by N. C. Vasanthakokilam were recorded by HMV distinct from the film version of these songs and were released with black label.
Reception
Haridas hit the theatres on Deepavali 1944. It was a huge success and ran for 110 consecutive weeks till Deepavali 1946 at the Sun Theatres in Broadway, Madras. Across theatres it had an uninterrupted theatrical run of 133 weeks. With the profits earned from the film, the producers established a knitting company in Madurai. Bhagavathar became the Tamil cinema industry's highest paid star and was offered a salary of 1 lakh per film. Following the success of Haridas, Bhagavathar was immediately booked for as many as twelve films. However, he was not able to enjoy his success as he was arrested in November 1944 as a suspect in the Lakshmikanthan Murder Case. IBN Live included the film in its list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time.
