Prahalada (1939 film)
Encyclopedia
Prahalada is a 1939 Tamil
film directed by B. N. Rao. It deals with the story of Prahlada
and his devotion to Lord Vishnu. The film was made 20 times in numerous languages, with the remakes generally being successful at the box office. The languages include Hindi, Gujarati
, Tamil
, Telugu
, Malayalam
, Kannada
, Bengali
and Assamese
. It is also the only story which has been made so many times, generally to box-office success. The film's story is based on the story of Narasimha and Prahlada. It features M. G. Ramachandran
as Lord Indra This was the sixth film of Ramachandran who later became one of the popular actors of the Tamil film industry. The film also featured a sword fight sequence between M.G. Ramachandran and Santhanalakshmi.
, a holy text of Vaishnavites, that narrates the story of Prahlada, an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu much against the wish of his father Hiranyakashipu, a demon. All of Hiranyakashipu's attempts to change his son's attitude are in vain. Finally, when he decides to kill his son, Lord Vishnu comes to the rescue of the son, in the form of Narasimha (a man-lion form), and kills the king.
, Tamil
, Telugu
, Malayalam
, Kannada
, Bengali
and Assamese
. It is also the only story which has been made so many times, often with box-office success.
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...
film directed by B. N. Rao. It deals with the story of Prahlada
Prahlada
Prahlada is a character from the Puranic texts of Hinduism, wherein he is famed for his exclusive devotion to Vishnu, despite attempts in the story by his father, Hiranyakashipu, to turn him to the contrary...
and his devotion to Lord Vishnu. The film was made 20 times in numerous languages, with the remakes generally being successful at the box office. The languages include Hindi, Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, 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...
, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, Malayalam
Malayalam language
Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
, Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
, Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
and Assamese
Assamese language
Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
. It is also the only story which has been made so many times, generally to box-office success. The film's story is based on the story of Narasimha and Prahlada. It features M. G. Ramachandran
M. G. Ramachandran
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....
as Lord Indra This was the sixth film of Ramachandran who later became one of the popular actors of the Tamil film industry. The film also featured a sword fight sequence between M.G. Ramachandran and Santhanalakshmi.
Plot
The story is from a short episode in the Vishnu PuranaVishnu Purana
The Vishnu Purana is a religious Hindu text and one of the eighteen Mahapuranas. It is considered one of the most important Puranas and has been given the name Puranaratna...
, a holy text of Vaishnavites, that narrates the story of Prahlada, an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu much against the wish of his father Hiranyakashipu, a demon. All of Hiranyakashipu's attempts to change his son's attitude are in vain. Finally, when he decides to kill his son, Lord Vishnu comes to the rescue of the son, in the form of Narasimha (a man-lion form), and kills the king.
Cast and crew
- T. R. MahalingamT. R. Mahalingam (actor)Thenkarai Ramakrishna Mahalingam was a Tamil film actor, singer and music composer of the 1940s and 1950s. He was known for his melodious songs mostly based on romantic or devotional themes.-Early days:...
as Prahalada - M. R. SanthanalakshmiM. R. SanthanalakshmiM. R. Santhanalakshmi was a Tamil film actress who played lead roles in movies of the 1930s and 1940s.- Filmography :...
- R. Balasubramaniam
- Nagercoil K. Mahadevan
- M. G. RamachandranM. G. RamachandranMaruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....
as Lord Indra - N. S. KrishnanN. S. KrishnanNagerkoyil Sudalaimuthu Krishnan , popularly known as Kalaivanar and also as 'NSK' was a leading Tamil film comedian, drama artist, playback singer and writer in the early stages of the Tamil film industry - in the 1940s and 1950s....
- T. A. Mathuram
- P. S. Gnanam
Production
The story and the dialogues of the Tamil film were closely followed for the Malayalam version. The script and dialogues of the Malayalam version was by N. P. Chellappan Nair. The film was an average success at the box office.Inspiration and remakes
The story was originally filmed in Telugu as Bhakta Prahlada in 1939; it was remade in 1942 with the same title. The film was made 20 times in numerous languages, with the remakes generally being successful at the box office. The languages include Hindi, GujaratiGujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, 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...
, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, Malayalam
Malayalam language
Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
, Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
, Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
and Assamese
Assamese language
Assamese is the easternmost Indo-Aryan language. It is used mainly in the state of Assam in North-East India. It is also the official language of Assam. It is also spoken in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and other northeast Indian states. Nagamese, an Assamese-based Creole language is widely used in...
. It is also the only story which has been made so many times, often with box-office success.