Chandralekha (1948 film)

Chandralekha
Chandralekha
	Theatrical-release poster of the Tamil version
Directed by	S. S. Vasan
Written by	K. J. Mahadevan; Subbu; Sangu; Kittoo; Naina;
Produced by	S. S. Vasan
Starring	T. R. Rajakumari; M. K. Radha; Ranjan;
Cinematography	Kamal Ghosh; K. Ramnoth (uncredited);
Edited by	Chandru
Music by	S. Rajeswara Rao (songs); M. D. Parthasarathy (background music);
Production; company	Gemini Studios
Distributed by	Gemini Studios
Release date	9 April 1948;
Running time	193–207 minutes
Country	India
Languages	Tamil; Hindi;
Budget	₹3 million

Chandralekha (also spelt Chandraleka)^[b] is a 1948 Indian historical adventure film produced and directed by S. S. Vasan of Gemini Studios. Starring T. R. Rajakumari, M. K. Radha and Ranjan, the film follows two brothers (Veerasimhan and Sasankan) who fight over ruling their father's kingdom and marrying a village dancer, Chandralekha.

Development began during the early 1940s when, after two successive box-office hits, Vasan announced that his next film would be entitled Chandralekha. However, when he launched an advertising campaign for the film he only had the name of the heroine from a storyline he had rejected. Veppathur Kittoo (one of Vasan's storyboard artists) developed a story based on a chapter of George W. M. Reynolds' novel, Robert Macaire: or, The French bandit in England. Original director T. G. Raghavachari left the film more than halfway through because of disagreements with Vasan, who took over in his directorial debut.

Originally made in Tamil and later in Hindi, Chandralekha spent five years in production (1943–1948). It underwent a number of scripting, filming and cast changes, and was the most-expensive film made in India at the time. Vasan mortgaged all his property and sold his jewellery to complete the film, whose cinematographers were Kamal Ghosh and K. Ramnoth. The music, largely inspired by Indian and Western classical music, was composed by S. Rajeswara Rao and M. D. Parthasarathy with lyrics by Papanasam Sivan and Kothamangalam Subbu.

Chandralekha was released on 9 April 1948. Although the film received generally positive reviews, it did not recoup its production costs. Vasan directed a Hindi version with some changes, including re-shot scenes, a slightly altered cast, and Hindi dialogues from Agha Jani Kashmiri and Pandit Indra. The Hindi version was released on 24 December of that year, becoming a box-office success. South Indian cinema became prominent throughout India with the film's release, and it inspired South Indian producers to market their Hindi films in North India.

^ "Memory of the World: National Cinematic Heritage" (PDF). UNESCO. 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
^ Banerjee & Srivastava 1988, p. 58; Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 310.
^ "43rd International Film Festival of India – 2012" (PDF). Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
^ ^a ^b Cite error: The named reference Cecil was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Chandralekha (motion picture) (in Tamil). India: Gemini Studios. 1948. Event occurs at 0:33.
^ Chandralekha (motion picture) (in Hindi). India: Gemini Studios. 1948. Event occurs at 0:26.
^ Cite error: The named reference the hindu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[1] "Memory of the World: National Cinematic Heritage" (PDF). UNESCO. 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2016.

[FOOTNOTEBanerjeeSrivastava198858RajadhyakshaWillemen1998310-2] Banerjee & Srivastava 1988, p. 58; Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 310.

[3] "43rd International Film Festival of India – 2012" (PDF). Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.

[Cecil-5] Cite error: The named reference Cecil was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[6] Chandralekha (motion picture) (in Tamil). India: Gemini Studios. 1948. Event occurs at 0:33.

[7] Chandralekha (motion picture) (in Hindi). India: Gemini Studios. 1948. Event occurs at 0:26.

[the_hindu-8] Cite error: The named reference the hindu was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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