Chandralekha (1948 film)
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 the 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Originally made in Tamil and later in Hindi, Chandralekha spent five years in production (1943–1948).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.
Veerasimhan and Sasankan are the sons of a king. When Veerasimhan rides through a village, he meets a local dancer named Chandralekha and they fall in love. At the palace, the king decides to abdicate his throne in favour of Veerasimhan. This enrages Sasankan, Veerasimhan’s younger brother, who forms a gang of thieves; they embark on a crime spree. Chandralekha’s father is injured in the ensuing chaos, and dies shortly afterwards. The orphaned Chandralekha joins a band of travelling musicians, whose caravan is raided by Sasankan’s gang.
Sasankan orders Chandralekha to dance for him, which she does only after being flogged, but she soon escapes. He later ambushes Veerasimhan and takes him prisoner. Chandralekha watches Sasankan’s men imprison Veerasimhan in a cave and seal its entrance with a boulder. She rescues him with the aid of elephants from a passing circus troupe. Veerasimhan and Chandralekha join the circus to hide from Sasankan’s men. When Sasankan returns to the palace he imprisons his parents, declares himself king and sends a spy to find Chandralekha.
