Bommala Pelli
Bommala Pelli (lit. 'Wedding of dolls'; colloquially: Fake wedding) is a 1958 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film, directed by R. M. Krishnaswamy. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Jamuna and Mynavathi. It was simultaneously produced in Tamil as Bommai Kalyanam.
| Bommala Pelli | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster in Tamil | |
| Directed by | R. M. Krishnaswamy |
| Screenplay by | Acharya Aatreya |
| Produced by | M. Radhakrishnan R. M. Krishnaswamy |
| Starring | Sivaji Ganesan Jamuna Mynavathi |
| Cinematography | C. A. Madhusudhan |
| Edited by | R. M. Venugopal |
| Music by | K. V. Mahadevan |
Production company | Aruna Films |
| Distributed by | Subbu & Co.[1] |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 131 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Languages | Telugu Tamil |
Plot
Suryam / Kannan is a playful teenage boy, in the cusp between puberty and adolescent, the son of the famous and well-to-do lawyer Perayya / Varatharajan and Parvathamma / Thangam. While playing football, he meets Radha, the daughter of a well respected freedom fighter family of Simhadri / Veeramuthu and Seshamma / Maragatham. At first sight both fall in love.
Perayya / Varatharajan is a modest man, but Parvathamma / Thangam is a greedy woman. Parvathamma / Thangam wishes to marry off Suryam / Kannan to her brother Chalamayya / Sonachalam's and Bhadramma / Perundevi's daughter Bullemma / Kannamma and invites them to her place. Bullemma / Kannamma is a naïve girl and Thimaiyya / Mannar, Bhadramma / Perundevi's brother loves her. Perayya / Varatharajan likes the simplicity of Simhadri / Veeramuthu's family and agrees on the alliance of Suryam / Kannan and Radha. When Parvathamma / Thangam opposes this, Perayya / Varatharajan, in order to carry on with the wedding, lies to her that Simhadri / Veeramuthu will present a large dowry. The wedding takes place.
After the wedding, Bhadramma / Perundevi, who is furious that Bullemma / Kannamma is not the bride, instigates Parvathamma / Thangam to query regarding the dowry. A scuffle takes place between the two families and Parvathamma / Thangam wishes to send back Saroja / Radha to her parents place, but Suryam / Kannan sides with Saroja / Radha and accepts her whole-heartedly. Meanwhile, Chalamayya / Sonachalam wishes to leave home, but Bhadramma / Perundevi, who is in agony, decides to stay back and plans to create hatred between Parvathamma / Thangam and Radha. In turn, Parvathamma / Thangam tortures Saroja / Radha in every possible way, but Saroja / Radha fights back and keeps calm. Matters get worse when Perayya / Varatharajan dies, but not before seeking a promise from Suryam / Kannan not to disobey Parvathamma / Thangam. Suryam / Kannan and Radha's marriage life hits a roadblock. When coming to know that Parvathamma / Thangam treats Saroja / Radha very badly, Simhadri / Veeramuthu steps in and takes Radha, who is driven away by both Parvathamma / Thangam and Bhadramma / Perundevi, away to his place.
When Suryam / Kannan comes back, Parvathamma / Thangam and Bhadramma / Perundevi lie to him that Saroja / Radha had gone to her parents place along with Simhadri / Veeramuthu, without seeking their consent. That night, Saroja / Radha tries to meet Suryam / Kannan, but Parvathamma / Thangam would not let Saroja / Radha in. Meanwhile, Bullemma / Kannamma unwittingly lets know Suryam / Kannan regarding this incident and Suryam / Kannan goes to Simhadri / Veeramuthu's place to explain, in order to take back Radha. Simhadri / Veeramuthu spells out to Suryam / Kannan clearly that Saroja / Radha would not go to Suryam / Kannan's place as long as Parvathamma / Thangam is there. Taking this opportunity, Parvathamma / Thangam and Bhadramma / Perundevi force and arrange Bullemma / Kannamma to be married to Suryam / Kannan. Observing all this, Chalamayya / Sonachalam and Thimaiyya / Mannar attempt to abduct Bullemma / Kannamma, but fail. To make matters worse, Parvathamma / Thangam sends a letter to Saroja / Radha informing that Suryam / Kannan would remarry and restricts Saroja / Radha not to interfere in Suryam / Kannan's life any more.
On the engagement day, Suryam / Kannan who is badly disturbed by the events, falls from the first floor of his balcony and is badly injured. Upon hearing this, Saroja / Radha rushes to Suryam / Kannan's place, was stopped by Simhadri / Veeramuthu, but later consents after hearing to Radha's plea. Suryam / Kannan is happy to see Saroja / Radha around, tells her not to leave him even though Parvathamma / Thangam mistreats her and Saroja / Radha assures this. At this juncture, Parvathamma / Thangam and Bhadramma / Perundevi further humiliate Simhadri / Veeramuthu to the worst, which drives him to sell his mansion to compensate with much dowry. Parvathamma / Thangam tries all her best to drive Saroja / Radha away, but to no avail and she becomes violent. Saroja / Radha hides in one of the rooms, but Parvathamma / Thangam tries to force open the door, when the door collapse onto Parvathamma / Thangam. At the same time, Simhadri / Veeramuthu parades the dowry items from his home throughout the streets, much to the residents' dismay and reaches Suryam / Kannan's place. Upon seeing all this, Bhadramma / Perundevi and Bullemma / Kannamma flee.
Parvathamma / Thangam realises her error on her deathbed and seeks apology from Suryam / Kannan, Saroja / Radha and Simhadri / Veeramuthu then dies. Suryam / Kannan and Saroja / Radha reunite and live happily.
Cast
| Male cast | Female cast | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cast (Tamil) | Cast (Telugu) | Role (Tamil) | Role (Telugu) | Ref. | Cast (Tamil) | Cast (Telugu) | Role (Tamil) | Role (Telugu) | Ref. | |
| Sivaji Ganesan | Suryam | Kannan | [2] | Jamuna | Saroja | Radha | [2] | |||
| V. Nagayya | Perayya | Varatharajan | Santha Kumari | Parvathamma | Thangam | |||||
| S. V. Ranga Rao | Simhadri | Veeramuthu | Mynavathi | Bullemma | Kannamma | |||||
| Friend Ramasamy | Ramana Reddy | Sonachalam | Chalamayya | M. S. Sundari Bai | Suryakantham | Perundevi | Bhadramma | |||
| Kaka Radhakrishnan | Nalla Ramamurthy | Mannar | Thimaiyya | Rushyendramani | Seshamma | Maragatham | ||||
- Telugu
- Vangara Venkata Subbaiah as the sanyasi
- Gauripati Shastri as Somayajulu
- Y. V. Raju as Doctor
- B. V. Ramanachari as Bhima
- Bhavana Rishi as Sambhu
- Lakshmi Devi as Kamala
- Sitarammamma as Mangamma
Soundtrack
- Telugu songs[2]
The music was composed by K. V. Mahadevan.
Lyrics were by Acharya Aatreya.
| No. | Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chitti Baava" | Pithapuram Nageswara Rao & Swarnalatha | Acharya Aatreya | 03:27 |
| 2 | "Raavo Kanaraavo" | A. M. Rajah & Jikki | Sri Sri | 02:29 |
| 3 | "Avunaa Idhi Thudiavunaa" | Jikki | Acharya Aatreya | 02:53 |
| 4 | "Haayigaa Theeyagaa" | A. M. Rajah & Jikki | Acharya Aatreya | 03:31 |
| 5 | "Raaramma Raaramma" | Jikki | Acharya Aatreya | 02:56 |
| 6 | "Chikkave Chindana" | Pithapuram Nageswara Rao | Acharya Aatreya | 02:42 |
| 7 | "Vasantham Inthenaa" | Jikki | Acharya Aatreya | 03:00 |
| 8 | "Ninne Ninne Meghama" | P. Susheela & K. Jamuna Rani | Acharya Aatreya | 03:06 |
| 9 | "Kalyaname Cheli Vaibhogame" | A. P. Komala | Acharya Aatreya | 03:54 |
| 10 | "Hareram Hareram" | Acharya Aatreya | 03:54 |
- Tamil songs[3]
Lyrics were by Udumalai Narayana Kavi & A. Maruthakasi. The song "Nillu Nillu Megame" by P. Susheela, K. Jamuna Rani & Group did not take place in this film.
| No. | Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Aasai Vachchen" | Seerkazhi Govindarajan & T. V. Rathnam | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 03:27 |
| 2 | "Anbe Nee Ange" | A. M. Rajah & Jikki | A. Maruthakasi | 02:29 |
| 3 | "Idhuvo Namgathi" | Jikki | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 02:53 |
| 4 | "Inbame Pongume" | A. M. Rajah & Jikki | A. Maruthakasi | 03:31 |
| 5 | "Kalyaanam Kalyaanam" | Jikki & Group | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 02:56 |
| 6 | "Ennam Pole Pennum" | Seerkazhi Govindarajan | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 02:42 |
| 7 | "Vasandha Kaalam" | Jikki | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 03:00 |
| 8 | "Nillu Nillu Megame" | P. Susheela, K. Jamuna Rani & Group | A. Maruthakasi | 03:06 |
| 9 | "Kalyaname Selvi Kalyaname" | A. P. Komala & Group | A. Maruthakasi | 03:54 |
| 10 | "Raajaadhi Rajan Vandhen" | Kaka Radhakrishnan | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 02:05 |
Reception
Bommala Pelli fared slightly better than Bommai Kalyanam,[4] which ran for 50 days in theatres.[5] Bommai Kalyanam was panned by Kanthan of Kalki.[6]
References
- "பொம்மை கல்யாணம்". Kalki (in Tamil). 4 May 1958. p. 59. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- https://indiancine.ma/documents/AKY
- "Bommai Kalyanam". Gaana. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
- "வீட்டை வாங்கி பார், மெட்டை போட்டு பார்!". Dinamalar (in Tamil). 2 December 2018. Archived from the original on 7 August 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ஜெயந்தன், ஆர்.சி. (4 May 2018). "பொன்விழா: ஒரே ஆண்டில் 8 வெற்றிப்படங்கள்!". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- காந்தன் (18 May 1958). "பொம்மை கல்யாணம்". Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 18–19. Retrieved 11 October 2022.