Panneer Pushpangal (transl. Fragrant Flowers) is a 1981 Indian Tamil-language teen romance film jointly directed by Santhana Bharathi and P. Vasu in their directorial debut. The film stars Pratap, Vennira Aadai Moorthy and newcomers Suresh Kumar and Shanthi Krishna. It was released on 3 July 1981. It was dubbed into Telugu as Madhura Geetham and released on 20 March 1982.[2]

Panneer Pushpangal
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBharathi-Vasu
Screenplay byBharathi-Vasu
Story byK. Soma Sundareswaran
Produced byS. Padmini
StarringPratap
Vennira Aadai Moorthy
Suresh
Shanthi Krishna
CinematographyM. C. Sekar
Edited byV. T. Vijayan
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Hemachitra Arts
Release date
  • 3 July 1981 (1981-07-03)[1]
Running time
102 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot

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Panneer Pushpangal is a love story between Aravind Prabhu and Uma supported by their teacher Prem.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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During an impromptu discussion, K. Somasundareswaran had narrated the story of two convent students coming of age to Gangai Amaran. Moved by the tale, Amaran gave the directorial opportunity to P. Vasu and Santhana Bharathi at the helm.[3] Vasu, son of make-up man Peethambaram and Santhana Bharathi, son of producer M. R. Santhanam, both earlier assisting Sridhar made their directorial debuts with this film.[4][5] According to Amaran, "The idea of the story came out of friendly banter".[6]

Casting and filming

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A photographer friend of Suresh Kumar's father opined that Suresh could make it as a lead actor and with a portfolio, Suresh approached director C. V. Sridhar to feature in his films, but his effort went in vain. He then met Bharathi and Vasu who decided to cast him in Panneer Pushpangal, while simultaneously he was cast in the lead role in Bharathiraja's Alaigal Oivathillai presenting him with a dilemma of which film to choose; he chose the former.[7] The film also marked the Tamil debut of Shanthi Krishna, and was shot at the Laidlaw Memorial School of St. George's Homes, Ketti, in the Nilgiris.[8]

Themes

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Panneer Pushpangal deals with adolescent love, a theme that was not frequently explored in 1980s Tamil cinema.[9]

Soundtrack

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The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyrics by Gangai Amaran.[10][11] For the dubbed Telugu version Madhura Geetham, all songs were written by Rajasri.[2] The song "Ananda Raagam" is set in Simhendramadhyamam raga,[12][13] and "Vengaya Sambarum" is set in Shanmukhapriya.[14] Ilaiyaraaja later reused "Ananda Ragam" as "Saara Yeh Aalam" in Shiva (2006).[15]

Tamil
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Kodai Kaala Kaatre"Malaysia Vasudevan5:11
2."Aanandha Raagam"Uma Ramanan4:26
3."Poonthalir Aada"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:45
4."Vengaya Sambarum"Deepan Chakravarthy, S. N. Surendar, T. K. S. Kalaivanan4:36
Total length:18:58
Telugu
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Navvulalona"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki4:38
2."Anandha Ragam"P. Susheela4:15
3."Kondagali Thirige"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:31
4."Monnati Sambaaru"Deepan Chakravarthy, S. N. Surendar, T. K. S. Kalaivanan4:36
Total length:18:00

Reception

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Sindhu-Jeeva of Kalki criticised the cinematography as out of focus and also panned lyricist for using same kind of words in songs but praised Ilaiyaraaja's music and added the acting of Suresh and Shanthi looked good with enough acting and concluded the director and writer team should get successful in their next film.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "'பன்னீர் புஷ்பங்கள்' – 38 வயது! – இப்போதும் ஹிட்டடிக்கும் அப்பவே அப்படி கதை!". Kamadenu (in Tamil). 3 July 2019. Archived from the original on 15 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Madhura Geetham". indiancine.ma. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  3. ^ Ramesh, Deepika (8 January 2015). "K Rajeshwar Interview: Future Perfect". Silverscreen.in. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
  4. ^ Ashok Kumar, S.R. (16 November 2006). "This character artist's first love is direction". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  5. ^ Prasad, G. (9 September 2006). "In the right direction". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  6. ^ Jeshi, K. (15 August 2019). "What happens when Lenin, Santhana Bharathi and Gangai Amaren meet?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  7. ^ Suresh. "Interview". Behindwoods (Interview). Interviewed by Jyothsna. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  8. ^ Gopalakrishnan, Aswathy (28 February 2019). "'Write Strong Characters For Actresses My Age': In Conversation With Shanthi Krishna". Silverscreen.in. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  9. ^ Anantharam, Chitra Deepa (21 January 2017). "Fascinated by the supernatural, says Director Vasu". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Paneer Pushpangal Tamil Film EP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraaja". Macsendisk. Archived from the original on 27 November 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Panneer Pushpangal (1981)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  12. ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 123.
  13. ^ Mani, Charulatha (20 January 2012). "A Raga's Journey – The passionate appeal of Simhendramadhyamam". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 February 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  14. ^ Sundararaman 2007, p. 167.
  15. ^ Rangan, Baradwaj (15 May 2007). "Music Review: Cheeni Kum". Baradwaj Rangan. Archived from the original on 20 September 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  16. ^ சிந்து-ஜீவா (26 July 1981). "பன்னீர் புஷ்பங்கள்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 39. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2023 – via Internet Archive.

Bibliography

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  • Sundararaman (2007) [2005]. Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Chennai: Pichhamal Chintamani. OCLC 295034757.
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