1941
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Age 25
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Savithri
"Profile of
Ellis R. Dungan
by Randor Guy :
“In 1941, Rao
went to Calcutta
a make a Tamil
musical of
historic
interest.
A
mythological,
Savitri,
attracted
considerable
attention. The
title role was
played by the
Marathi and
Hindi star,
Shantha Apte.
Making her act
in a Tamil film
was a daring
move made by Rao,
which generated
public interest
in the film even
during its
making. Unlike
the artistes of
today, she
insisted on
speaking and
singing in
Tamil. Rao sent
a Tamil tutor to
Pune to get her
to learn the
language. The
project was put
on the
backburner for
nearly a year
until Shantha
Apte was ready
to speak and
sing on her own.
Such was her
devotion to her
profession.
Another
innovative
feature, which
raised public
interest, was
Rao's move to
cast M. S.
Subbulakshmi in
the male role of
Narada. M.S. was
always popular
and her role as
the male sage
became the talk
of the town.
Savitri had many
songs, mostly
sung by M.S. and
some by Shantha
Apte. Music was
by Papanasam
Sivan and
Kamaldas Gupta.
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MS as Narada
in the
Film
Savithri |
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Founding of
Kalki magazine
as a result of
funds from
Savithri |
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Meets Chinani
Mami (Narayani
Mahadevan) who
becomes a
lifelong friend.
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Move to Kalki
Gardens at 20
Guruswamy
Mudaliar Road,
formerly called
Sladen
Gardens."Enraptured
by tales of the
Mahatma's walks
outdoors and
councils
indoors,
T.Sadasivam had
bought Sladen
Gardens from
Mammen Mappillai,
through the
agency of `Aryabhavan'
Sharma, to house
the Kalki
magazine. The
first floor
became his home.
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Benefit Concerts
for Kasturba
Memorial Fund
Letter from
Gandhiji
thanking MS |
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MS and Sadasivam
seen at
a prayer
meeting
with
Mahatma
Gandhi |
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1945 -
Age 29
|
Meera released
in Tamil on
Deepavali day
Making of the movie Meera
The making of
"Meera" was
studded with
interesting
incidents. 'Kalki'
Krishnamurthy,
who wrote the
script and a few
of the immortal
songs,
accompanied the
crew and
recorded the
episodes.
Excerpts,
translated by
GOWRI
RAMNARAYAN.
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MS in
the film Meera |
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1947 -
Age 31
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Apr 4, 1947
Delhi Premiere
of Hindi Meera
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| MS With Lady Edwina Mountbatten and Pandit Nehru at the Delhi premiere of Meera in 1947 |
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Apr 4, 1947
Radha Anandhi
Dance
Performance at
Indian Gymkhana
grounds in
Mumbai
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MS in
one of
the last
scenes
in the
film |
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