Jun 25, 2022
Theatrical release poster
Directed by K. Balachander
Written by K. Balachander
Produced by
V. Govindarajan
J. Duraisamy
Starring
Kamal Haasan
Sundarrajan
Srividya
Jayasudha
Cinematography B. S. Lokanath
Edited by N. R.... Kittu
Music by M. S. Viswanathan
Production
company
Kalakendra Movies
Release date
15 August 1975
Running time 146 minutes[1]
Country India
Language Tamil

Cast
Kamal Haasan as Prasanna[2]
Sundarrajan as Mahendran[2]
Srividya as Bhairavi[3]
Jayasudha as Ranjani[3]
Nagesh as Suri / Hari[4]
Rajinikanth as Pandiyan[5]
Kannadasan, Jaishankar and members of the Madras-based United Amateur Artistes make "friendly appearances".[2]

Apoorva Raagangal (transl. Rare Melodies; Tamil pronunciation: [apuːɾʋa ɾaːɡaŋɡaɭ]) is a 1975 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Sundarrajan, Srividya and Jayasudha, while Nagesh and debutant Rajinikanth play supporting roles. It revolves around Prasanna (Haasan) who falls in love with the much older Bhairavi (Srividya) while Bhairavi's daughter Ranjani (Jayasudha) is drawn to Prasanna's father Mahendran (Sundarrajan).

Apoorva Raagangal's theme was based on a riddle featured in the Indian folktale collection Baital Pachisi about a king marrying a woman and his son marrying her mother, and Vetala, the riddler asking Vikramaditya what would be their kinship relations if these couples were to beget children. The film was produced by V. Govindarajan and J. Duraisamy under the Kalakendra Films banner, photographed by B. S. Lokanath and edited by N. R. Kittu; the music is composed by M. S. Viswanathan. Unlike many contemporaneous Tamil films, it was shot entirely in actual houses for their interiors without building sets, as Balachander wanted to convey a more authentic narration.

Apoorva Raagangal was released on 15 August 1975. Despite exploring the concept of relationships between people with wide age gaps, which challenged Indian social mores, it received critical acclaim and became a commercial success, and a breakthrough for Srividya and Haasan. The film won three National Film Awards, including Best Feature Film in Tamil, and three Filmfare Awards South in the Tamil branch: Best Feature Film, Best Director for Balachander and Best Actor for Haasan, and a Special Award for Srividya. It was remade in Telugu as Thoorpu Padamara (1976) where Srividya reprised her role, and in Hindi by Balachander as Ek Nai Paheli
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