Meera (1945 film)
Encyclopedia
Meera is a 1945
Tamil
-language film starring M. S. Subbulakshmi
, Kumari Kamala, T. S. Baliah and Chittoor V. Nagaiah based on the life of the devotional singer and dancer Meera
. The film was directed by American film director Ellis R. Dungan.
. He has 2 daughters, Meera and Krishna and a son, Jaimal. Meera is in deep emotional love with Lord Krishna
, so much so that she consider Lord Krishna to be her husband. Akbar is becoming stronger day by day and hence other small provinces are trying to join against Akbar. Medta, in one such political agreement, decides to join hands with Raja Vikramajit . As a part of this agreement Meera is married (against her wish) to Vikramajit's son, Rana Bhojraj. But even after getting married her love for Lord Krishna remains the same and she follows her own ideals and way of living which are not very acceptable to Bhojraj and his family. One thing leads to another and one day Meera is declared as an outcast and traitor who failed to play a wife's duties towards her husband, a bride's duties towards her family, and a woman's duties towards society. She is jailed and a public trial is ordered to decide her fate. But Meera is still unshakable and her spirituality keeps her going. She is not even afraid of death. Finally, she is given a death sentence and ordered to publically drink a cup of poison.
Initially, the Kannada singer C. Honnappa Bhagavathar was chosen to play the part of the Rana, but later due to reasons unknown, he was replaced with Chittoor V. Nagaiah.
held the view that the shooting locations should be as similar to the actual pilgrimage spots connected with the life of the saint Mirabai as possible. Hence,she insisted that they shoot the film at the very pilgrimage spots Mirabai had visited.
Ellis R. Dungan agreed and with a vast entourage, the crew set out for North India
. Dungan was familiar with Rajputana
and its culture to the extent of the color of the bangles the Rajput
women used.
Once when the entourage passed through the town of Vrindavan
with M. S. singing "Brindavan ki mangal lila", the renditions remained in the memories for many days. On another occasion, she almost drowned during the filming of a rescue scene in the river Yamuna
.
Being a Christian, Ellis R. Dungan was not allowed inside Hindu temples. Hence,in order to shoot inside Hindu temples he would occasionally disguise himself as a Kashmiri pandit.
Ellis R. Dungan introduced some new and advanced filming techniques while shooting the movie. The transition of young Mirabai (played by baby Radha) into the adult (M. S. Subbulakshmi) during the song "Nandha Balaa En Manalaa.." was shot in a rapidly-cut extremely fast-paced sequence.
"Kaatrinile Varum Geetham...", written by Kalki
, was one of the popular songs in the movie. The tune and melody for the song were taken from a song by the Bengali singer Juthika Roy and were suggested by Kalki to the music director S. V. Venkataraman.
.
1945 in film
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
-language film starring M. S. Subbulakshmi
M. S. Subbulakshmi
Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi , also known as M.S., was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. She is the first Indian musician to receive...
, Kumari Kamala, T. S. Baliah and Chittoor V. Nagaiah based on the life of the devotional singer and dancer Meera
Meera
Meerabai was an aristocratic Hindu mystical singer and devotee of Lord Krishna from Rajasthan and one of the most significant figures of the Sant tradition of the Vaishnava bhakti movement...
. The film was directed by American film director Ellis R. Dungan.
Plot
The story is set around 1580, in the time of King Akbar. Biramdev is the king of Medta, a province in RajasthanRajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
. He has 2 daughters, Meera and Krishna and a son, Jaimal. Meera is in deep emotional love with Lord Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
, so much so that she consider Lord Krishna to be her husband. Akbar is becoming stronger day by day and hence other small provinces are trying to join against Akbar. Medta, in one such political agreement, decides to join hands with Raja Vikramajit . As a part of this agreement Meera is married (against her wish) to Vikramajit's son, Rana Bhojraj. But even after getting married her love for Lord Krishna remains the same and she follows her own ideals and way of living which are not very acceptable to Bhojraj and his family. One thing leads to another and one day Meera is declared as an outcast and traitor who failed to play a wife's duties towards her husband, a bride's duties towards her family, and a woman's duties towards society. She is jailed and a public trial is ordered to decide her fate. But Meera is still unshakable and her spirituality keeps her going. She is not even afraid of death. Finally, she is given a death sentence and ordered to publically drink a cup of poison.
Cast
- Jayaman - T. S. Balaiah
- Kumari KamalaKumari KamalaKumari Kamala is an Indian dancer and actress. Initially featured as a child dancer, Kamala appeared in almost 100 Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films throughout her career...
, Krishna - Chittor V. NagaiahChittor V. NagaiahChitturu Nagayya or Chittor V. Nagaiah birth name - Vuppaladadiyam Nagayya was an Indian actor, composer, director, producer, writer and playback singer of Telugu film industry, Andhra Pradesh, India. Indian film journalist and the editor of Film India, Baburao Patel, described Nagiah as ‘The...
, King of Mewar - RadhaRadha ViswanathanRadha Viswanathan is an Indian vocalist and former classical dancer. She has performed extensively with her mother, Bharat Ratna Carnatic vocalist M. S. Subbulakshmi, the Nightingale of India.- Early life and career :...
, Young Meera - M. S. SubbulakshmiM. S. SubbulakshmiMadurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi , also known as M.S., was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. She is the first Indian musician to receive...
, Meera
Initially, the Kannada singer C. Honnappa Bhagavathar was chosen to play the part of the Rana, but later due to reasons unknown, he was replaced with Chittoor V. Nagaiah.
Production
M. S. SubbulakshmiM. S. Subbulakshmi
Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi , also known as M.S., was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. She is the first Indian musician to receive...
held the view that the shooting locations should be as similar to the actual pilgrimage spots connected with the life of the saint Mirabai as possible. Hence,she insisted that they shoot the film at the very pilgrimage spots Mirabai had visited.
Ellis R. Dungan agreed and with a vast entourage, the crew set out for North India
North India
North India, known natively as Uttar Bhārat or Shumālī Hindustān , is a loosely defined region in the northern part of India. The exact meaning of the term varies by usage...
. Dungan was familiar with Rajputana
Rajputana
Rājputāna was the pre-1949 name of the present-day Indian state of Rājasthān, the largest state of the Republic of India in terms of area. George Thomas was the first in 1800 A.D., to term this region as Rajputana...
and its culture to the extent of the color of the bangles the Rajput
Rajput
A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...
women used.
Once when the entourage passed through the town of Vrindavan
Vrindavan
Vrindavan also known as Vraj is a town in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India...
with M. S. singing "Brindavan ki mangal lila", the renditions remained in the memories for many days. On another occasion, she almost drowned during the filming of a rescue scene in the river Yamuna
Yamuna
The Yamuna is the largest tributary river of the Ganges in northern India...
.
Being a Christian, Ellis R. Dungan was not allowed inside Hindu temples. Hence,in order to shoot inside Hindu temples he would occasionally disguise himself as a Kashmiri pandit.
Ellis R. Dungan introduced some new and advanced filming techniques while shooting the movie. The transition of young Mirabai (played by baby Radha) into the adult (M. S. Subbulakshmi) during the song "Nandha Balaa En Manalaa.." was shot in a rapidly-cut extremely fast-paced sequence.
"Kaatrinile Varum Geetham...", written by Kalki
Kalki Krishnamurthy
Kalki was the pen name of R. Krishnamurthy , a noted Tamil writer, film & music critic, Indian independence activist and journalist from Tamil Nadu, India.- Biography:...
, was one of the popular songs in the movie. The tune and melody for the song were taken from a song by the Bengali singer Juthika Roy and were suggested by Kalki to the music director S. V. Venkataraman.
Reception
The film was a success and made in Hindi. It was also a success in Hindi. The Hindi version of the film had an introduction by the "Nightingale of India", Sarojini NaiduSarojini Naidu
Sarojini Naidu , also known by the sobriquet The Nightingale of India, was a child prodigy, Indian independence activist and poet...
.