Kasi Yathirai (1973) TAMIL

Updated - November 26, 2016 07:17 pm IST

Kasi Yathirai was a fairly successful comedy, featuring comedian, character actor and producer V.K. Ramasami, with a host of supporting actors. Interestingly, in the end credits, there is only a collage of faces of the comedians featuring in the film, without any names being mentioned.

The film was written by the noted writer of that period, V.C. Guhanathan, and directed by S.P. Muthuraman, one of the most successful filmmakers of Tamil cinema, who began his innings at AVM Studios and made his way to the top.

The director is known for his many super hits, and is often credited for creating the commercial star power of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan in Tamil cinema.

Kasi Yathirai was produced by S. S. Sethuraman and is armed with a cast full of strong performers like Sreekanth, Suruli Rajan, and Cho Ramasami. Actress Manorama plays a double role, and virtually dominates the film.

In this film, V. K Ramasami plays a dedicated and committed bachelor, and finds it difficult to keep up his bachelorhood with so many temptations around him.

He is also a rich man, with people like Suruli Rajan and M. R. R. Vasu going after his money. Cho plays an alcoholic in love with Manorama. So fond is he of his drink that when starved for alcohol, he doesn’t even mind pouring kerosene into his glass. Expectedly, his dialogues are littered with trademark comments on local politics.

The film was produced under the banner of Sri Devi Cinetone and shot at Bharani and Karpagam Studios.

Bharani Studios was then promoted by top star P. Bhanumathi and her husband P.S. Ramakrishna, before it was eventually given away on lease to noted film personality A.L. Srinivasan.

Music was composed by the popular duo Shankar-Ganesh with lyrics by Vaali and Panju Arunachalam. All four songs in the film are breezy, and sung by many artistes including, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam , Sasirekha, Ponnusamy, Manorama, and L.R. Easwari.

Cinematography was by Babu, and the editing was by Vittal. Art direction was by Radha, though not much is known about him today.

Choreography was by dance master Thangappan and Madurai Ramu. It is to be noted that Kamal Haasan worked under Thangappan as his dance assistant in this film.

The film did reasonably well, owing its reception mainly to Manorama’s splendid double role.

Remembered for: The comedy and fine acting by V.K. Ramasami, Cho, Suruli Rajan (as Sreekanth’s) assistant, Kumari Padmini, Jaya, ISR and others.

randor guy

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.