Manohara (1954)

Banner: Manohar Pics
Director: L.V. Prasad
Music: S.V. Venkatraman
Story: P. Sambandani Mudaliar
Dialogues: Acharya Athreya
Lyrics: Acharya Athreya, Balijepalli Lakshmikama Kavi, Sri Sri
Cast:
P. Kannamba,
T.R. Rajkumari,
Pandharibai,
Girija,
SivaJi Ganesan,
S.A. Natarajan,
S,S. Rajendran,
K.A. Thangavelu,
Sadasivarao,
Kaka Radhakrishnan

Story: Costume fantasy allegedly set in the llth C. at the time of the Chola dynasty. The king (Sadasivarao), seduced by Vasantasena (T.R. Rajakumari), abandons his wife (Kannamba) and his son Manohara (Ganesan). Vasantasena wants Manohara arrested and her own son (Radhakrishnan) made heir. She has the king and queen imprisoned while she attempts to seize power. Manohara escapes from prison and leads a popular revolt against Vasantasena and her general Ugrasen (Natarajan). The hit, scripted by Karunanidhi and featuring a major star cast, is sometimes seen as the most chauvinist of all the DMK films with its anti-North India rhetoric climaxing in Ganesan's monologue at the end characterising all 'Aryans' as intruders and jackals who entered through the Khyber Pass.