Haridas (1944 film)

Haridas is a 1944 Tamil language film directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni and starring M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, T. R. Rajakumari and N. C. Vasanthakokilam. It holds the record of being the first film to run continuously for 110 weeks at a single theatre. IBN Live included Haridas in its list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time.

Haridas was directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni, a Marathi film director and produced by Royal Talkies. The film was adapted from the book Sri Krishna Vijayam by Elangovan. It was based on the story of the life of a poetsaint called Haridas. The role of Haridas was played by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, who was highest paid actor in Tamil film industry then. It was very short 10,994 Feet compared to other films from the same period. Featuring a number of melodious songs sung by Bhagavathar, the film was released on DiwaliOctober 1944. Classical musician N. C. Vasanthakokilam, who was often compared to M. S. Subbulakshmi as a singer, played the role of Haridas wife. The film also marked the debut of renowned Tamil actress Pandari Bai. The comedic duo of N. S. Krishnan and T. A. Mathuram were cast in this film.All songs in this film became hits. The song Manmadha leelayai vendrar undo celebrating erotic love has become an enduring hit and the phrase has entered every day Tamil usage. Papanasam Sivan was the composer and G. Ramanathan was in charge of the orchestration. A partial list of songs from Haridas ........

Source: Wikipedia