S Balachandar was famous in the Tamil film industry as an actor, director, music composer and singer with many talents. He made his debut as an actor in Tamil cinema and composed the music for Bhakta Tulsidas, released in 1947. The following year, in 1948, he directed the film Idhu Nijama.
Balachander was a filmmaker of different storylines. He also directed the first Tamil film to be made without songs. In 1952, he acted in the film Rani, directed by LV Prasad and written by ASA Sami. Actress P Bhanumathi played the leading actress in the film which was a heroine-centric story, released on April 26 that year. The film has now completed 71 years since its release. The film Rani was adapted from the 1948 American film The Loves of Carmen which starred Rita Hayworth in the lead role.
Rani’s plot revolves around the culture, which stated that the royal emblem is tattooed on the body of a child born into the royal family. A girl child, who was born into such a royal family, was also given the tattoo. However, one night, members of the Pacchikuthiya nomadic group kidnapped the child. As the plot progresses, the audience realises that the group will take the future princess as their leader and keep her with them. She only discovers later about her royal lineage and the subsequent story is about how she enters the palace as a princess.
Bhanumathi played the role of the princess and Balachandar played the role of the young man she falls in love with. SV Subbaiah, M Saroja, Wakab Kashmiri, MR Chandanam and Baby Sachu also acted along with them.
Rani was produced by Jupiter Pictures of S Somasundaram and SK Mogaideen, who made different films in those days. ASA Sami adapted the Hollywood film into Tamil and wrote the screenplay and dialogues.
As the story was suitable for all language fans, the film was shot simultaneously in both Tamil and Hindi languages. More than ten songs were featured in the film. Bhanumathi and Balachandar’s acting and the film’s music and direction gave the audience a good viewing experience.
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