Thangappathakkam
Thangappathakkam is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film, directed by P. Madhavan and written by Mahendran. Based on Mahendran's play of the same name, the film stars Sivaji Ganesan, K. R. Vijaya, Srikanth and Prameela. It focuses on a disciplined police officer who is dedicated to his job, while his rebellious son, on the contrary, is a criminal and resents his father. Ganesan reprises his role from the play.
Thangappathakkam was released on 1 June 1974. The film was a commercial success, running for over 175 days in theatres, and thereby becoming a silver jubilee film. It served as an inspiration for the Telugu film Kondaveeti Simham, the Hindi film Shakti and the Kannada film Kadamba.
Plot
Choudhry is a strict and committed police officer. Though a loving husband and father, his top priority is his duty. While he upholds the principles of justice and honesty, his son Jagan proves contrary to this even at a young age. After his father berates him for skipping school and indulging in gambling, Jagan runs away from home. He lands in Bombay, where he is caught by the police for a petty theft and sent to juvenile prison. Though Choudhry's wife Lakshmi longs to meet their son, Choudhry prevents her as he feels it would hamper Jagan's reformation process.Years later, Choudhry is promoted to Superintendent of Police. Jagan, after his release, returns home. While affectionate towards his mother, he still dislikes his father. This hatred has been ingrained over the years since his father had ignored him for the sake of duty. Jagan falls in love with a woman named Vimala, marries and brings her home. Choudhry and Lakshmi accept her, hoping that all differences have been sorted out and they would now be able to enjoy domestic happiness. However, father and son are still at loggerheads.
Jagan, who befriended other criminals in prison, indulges in several illegal activities like theft, kidnapping and smuggling, and is wanted by the police. Choudhry tries his best to reform Jagan, but fails. His repeated attempts to reform him are misunderstood by Jagan, who decides to take revenge on his father for blocking his path to easy riches. In their fight, the family splits, and a depressed Lakshmi dies. Jagan does not come even for her cremation.
Jagan decides to sell sensitive military documents to a foreign country for a large sum. Choudhry learns of this, confronts him and persuades him to stop, but Jagan refuses and shoots Choudhry, who is forced to shoot back. Jagan dies in the arms of Choudhry, who survives, and is later rewarded with a gold medal for his valour.
Production
Irandil Ondru was a play written by Mahendran for actor Senthamarai. While naming the male lead character, a Superintendent of Police, Mahendran could not find any convincing name in Tamil; he found the Bengali name "Choudhry" convincing, and finalised that name. After seeing the play, Sivaji Ganesan bought the rights and staged the play again with some changes under the title Thangappathakkam, starring as Choudhry. This play, which was inaugurated in 1972, was directed by S. A. Kannan. It became a huge success, being staged more than 100 times. Ganesan's company Sivaji Productions decided to adapt it into a film with the same title, with P. Madhavan directing.Ganesan's daughter Shanthi Narayanaswamy produced the film along with T. Manohar. Mahendran wrote the film's dialogues and was also credited for the original story. Ganesan reprised his role from the play as Choudhry, K. R. Vijaya was cast as his wife Lakshmi, reprising the role originally played by Sivakami while Srikanth was cast as Choudhry's son Jagan, reprising the role originally played by Rajapandian. Cho was cast in two roles: a politician named Vaiyapuri and his older brother Sundaram, a constable. The politician character was not present in the play. Mahendran did not write any dialogue for the scene where Lakshmi dies, instead he "visually depict the sorrow of a widower, which was very challenging", although Ganesan managed it successfully in a single take. Cinematography was handled by P. N. Sundaram, and editing by R. Devarajan. Choudhry's home was built as set in Vijaya Studios.