Poova Thalaiya

Poova Thalaiya (transl. Heads or Tails?) is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by K. Balachander. The film features Gemini Ganesan, Jaishankar, Rajasree, Vennira Aadai Nirmala and S. Varalakshmi. The film, produced by M. L. A. Rama. Arangakannal, had musical score by M. S. Viswanathan and was released on 10 May 1969. The film was remade in Telugu as Bomma Borusa, in Malayalam as Balapareekshanam and in Kannada as Balondhu Uyyale.[1]

Poova Thalaiya
Directed by	K. Balachander
Produced by	Rama. Arangakannal
Written by	K. Balachander
Starring	Gemini Ganesan Jaishankar Nagesh S. Varalakshmi Rajasree Vennira Aadai Nirmala
Music by	M. S. Viswanathan
Cinematography	N. Balakrishnan
Edited by	N. R. Kittu
Production company	Arul Films
Release date	10 May 1969
Running time	150 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Gemini Ganesan is a widower and S. Varalaxmi is his mother in law. Jaishankar is the younger brother of Gemini Ganesan and he falls in love with S. Varalaxmi's youngest daughter Venniradai Nirmala. A healthy competition takes place between evil minded S. Varalaxmi and Jai Shankar so as to overthrow one another.

Cast

• Gemini Ganesan as Ganesan
• Jaishankar as Shankar
• Nagesh as Nagesh
• S. Varalakshmi as Parvathamma
• Rajasree as Raji
• Vennira Aadai Nirmala as Nirmala
• Srikanth as Nagamma's son
• Manorama as Indra
• T. P. Muthulakshmi as Nagamma
• M. R. R. Vasu as Hotel Manager
• S. Rama Rao as Indra's Father
• J. Balayya
• Sachu as Saraswathy
• S. N. Parvathy as Indra's mother

Production

The film was shot at AVM Studios and was produced by Rama Arangannal, an active politician.[2]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by M. S. Viswanathan, with lyrics by Vaali.[3] The song "Maduraiyil Parandha" is based on Kalyani raga.[4]

No.	Song	Singers	Lyrics	Length (m:ss)
1	"Adi Sarithan Podi"	T. M. Soundararajan, L. R. Eswari	Vaali	03:50
2	"Madhurayil Parantha"	T. M. Soundararajan		03:58
3	"Paladai Meni"	P. Susheela, L. R. Eswari		04:28
4	"Poda Chonnal Pottu"	T. M. Soundararajan, Manorama, A. L. Raghavan		05:43
5	"Poova Thalaiya"	T. M. Soundararajan, Seerkazhi Govindarajan		04:21

Release & reception

Poova Thalaiya was released on 10 May 1969.[5] The Indian Express called the film "an all-out attempt at comedy and it succeeds reasonably well", however cited Balachander's direction "not come up with the standard of his previous films".[6] Randor Guy of The Hindu stated that the film is remembered for "The interesting story line, situational comedy, humorous dialogues, tuneful music and superb acting by Varalakshmi, Jai Shankar, Gemini Ganesh, Nagesh, Rajasri, Manorama, Srikanth and Rama Rao".[2]

References

1. "பொன்விழா படங்கள் : 3 மொழிகளில் ரீமேக் ஆன பூவா தலையா?". Dinamalar (in Tamil). 16 July 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
2. Guy, Randor (10 October 2015). "Poova Thalaiya (1969)". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
3. "Poova Thalaiya (1969)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
4. Mani, Charulatha (14 October 2011). "A Raga's Journey: Kinetic Kalyani". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
5. "கே.பாலசந்தர் சுண்டிவிட்ட 'பூவா தலையா'; 51 வருடமாகியும் இன்னும் 'ஹிட் ஸ்கிரிப்ட்'!". Hindu Tamil Thisai. 18 May 2020. Archived from the original on 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
6. "Cinema". The Indian Express. 17 May 1969. p. 5.

External links

• Poova Thalaiya at IMDb
• Poova Thalaiya at Rotten Tomatoes