Maruthanad Elavarasee

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A king has two wives, one of them being Chithra. The minister Dhurjeyan's sister is the younger queen. The two become pregnant and Dhurjeyan persuades the king to believe that the older queen had poisoned the younger queen out of sheer jealousy which the king tends to believe, but does not take any action. Dhurjeyan tries to kill the younger queen but she is saved by a courtier whom Dhurjeyan kills. The younger queen escapes many trials and gives birth to a son named Kandeeban. He grows up and meets a young woman Rani and her friend and falls in love unaware that she is a princess. Their love grows and when he discovers that she is a princess, he begins to distance himself from her. After many trials, the couple reunites.

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;Male cast

• M. G. Ramachandar as Kandeeban
• Pulimootai Ramasami Iyer as Azhagu
• M. G. Chakarapani as Minister Dhurjeyan
• Battling C. S. D. Singh
• P. S. Veerappa as King
• N. S. Narayana Pillai
• T. M. Ramasami Pillai
• Kottapuli Jayaraman
• Vishnu Ramasami Iyengar
• S. M. Thirupathi

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;Female cast

• V. N. Janaki as Princess Rani
• C. K. Saraswathi as Queen Chithra
• C. K. Nagarathnam as Rani's friend
• K. Meenakshi as Veerathayai Pannivom

;Dance

• Lalitha-Padmini

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In 2015, lyricist P. K. Muthusamy claimed he wrote a story and gave it to M. Karunanidhi in December 1949, but Karunanidhi "stole" the story and made it into Maruthanad Elavarasee without Muthusamy's knowledge.{{Cite news |last=Zakeer Hussain |first=H. |date=2 October 2015 |title=M Karunanidhi stole my script: Film writer |url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/151002/nation-current-affairs/article/m-karunanidhi-stole-my-script-film-writer |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430042037/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/151002/nation-current-affairs/article/m-karunanidhi-stole-my-script-film-writer |archive-date=30 April 2017 |access-date=23 March 2021 |work=Deccan Chronicle}} However, according to M. G. Ramachandran (known and credited as Ramachandar at that time), T. V. Chari began work on a film titled Kaali Dasi as producer, director and writer, but it was shelved after some progress due to the production company dissolving. Ramachandar added that G. Govindan & Company took over production with A. Kasilingam as director and Karunanidhi as writer, retaining some of the already shot scenes but using them to weave a new story.{{Cite web |last=Sri Kantha |first=Sachi |author-link=Sachi Sri Kantha |date=5 May 2019 |title=MGR Remembered – Part 51 {{!}} About the Plagiarism charge on Karunanidhi |url=https://sangam.org/mgr-remembered-part-51/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909131651/https://sangam.org/mgr-remembered-part-51/ |archive-date=9 September 2021 |access-date=23 March 2021 |website=Ilankai Tamil Sangam}} The new film, titled Maruthanad Elavarasee, was produced by G. Muthuswamy, and Kasilingam also handled the editing while cinematography was handled by G. Dorai.{{Cite news |date=28 March 1950 |title=Maruthanad Elavarasee |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19500328&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=23 March 2021 |work=The Indian Express |pages=10 |via=Google News Archive}}{{cbignore}}

The music composed by M. S. Gnanamani, while lyrics written by C. A. Lakshmana Das & K. P. Kamatchi Sundaram.{{Cn|date=October 2024}}

Maruthanad Elavarasee was released on 2 April 1950.{{Cite news |date=2 April 1950 |title=Maruthanad Elavarasee |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19500402&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=4 February 2020 |work=The Indian Express |pages=10 |via=Google News Archive}}{{cbignore}} The film became a box office success and, according to historian Randor Guy, established Ramachandar and Janaki as a "star pair sure to go places".{{Cite news |last=Guy |first=Randor |author-link=Randor Guy |date=8 January 2011 |title=Blast from the past – Maruthanaatu Ilavarasi (1950) |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/Blast-from-the-past-Maruthanaatu-Ilavarasi-1950/article15511688.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818032907/https://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/Blast-from-the-past-Maruthanaatu-Ilavarasi-1950/article15511688.ece |archive-date=18 August 2021 |access-date=9 June 2014 |work=The Hindu}}

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title}}

Category:1950 films

Category:1950s Indian films

Category:1950s Tamil-language films

Category:Films about polygamy

Category:Films about royalty

Category:Films scored by M. S. Gnanamani

Category:Films with screenplays by M. Karunanidhi

Category:Tamil-language Indian films