Adutha Veettu Penn

<p>Mannaru, a simple man, falls in love with his wealthy neighbour Leela, who sings and dances well. He wants to impress her by singing, but he cannot sing. So he seeks the help of his friend, a singer who agrees. While the friend sings in secret, Mannaru merely . Leela is charmed by what she thinks is Mannaru singing and falls in love with him. Soon the truth comes out, and the rest of the film deals with how the tangle between the lovers is solved. Adapted from the film’s songbook and opening credits: is a remake of the film (1952), itself based on the namesake short story by Arun Chowdhury. The film was produced by (who also starred as the female lead) and her husband , who also composed the music. Anjali Devi reprised her role from s adaptation (1953). The film’s animated opening credits were created by Dayabhai Patel. The screenplay was written by , cinematography was handled by C. Nageswara Rao, and the editing by N. S. Prakasam. While primarily in black and white, the film was partly coloured using . Its final length was 16,887 feet (5,147 m). Although the opening credits of acknowledge the source film , Saritha Rao Rayachoti (writing for ) opines that it has some similarities with ‘s play , in which the male lead Cyrano loves his cousin Roxane but feels he is not worthy of her due to his large nose; so he romances her by proxy, i.e. he writes her love letters for which another man, Christian de Neuvillette, claims credit at Cyrano’s requ- According to Rayachoti, the film eschewed the play’s elements in favour of overtones. The soundtrack album was composed by P. Adinarayana Rao, with lyrics were by . The song “Vanitha Maniye” is set in the raga, while “Kannale Pesi Pesi Kolladhe” is set in , and “Kangalum Kavi Paaduthe” is set in . The album was a major breakthrough for , who sang five of the film’s songs. According to s B. Kolappan, the film “proved beyond doubt that Sreenivas was going to secure an established place in Tamil film music.” was released on 11 February 1960. A review from the magazine , dated 27 March 1960, called the film a must-watch for the comedy and dance sequences which were in colour. Kanthan of said no one could have done the role of Mannaru better than Ramachandran. According to historian , it was a major commercial success primarily because of its full-length situational comedy, then a rarity in Indian cinema and more so in Tamil.</p>