Jalaja (1938 film)

The film was produced by Sagar Renaissance Theatre and directed by R. R. Gautham and G. K. Seshagiri. G. K. Seshagiri played the hero, Rajagopalan, while Varalakshmi of the Varalakshmi-Bhanumathi duo was hired to play the heroine, Jalaja. Production began in 1937 in Bombay and on 3 November, Varalakshmi died suddenly.[3] Her niece Bhanumathi whose real name was Kumbakonam Bhanumathi was asked to replace her role, which she accepted.[2] The film had a second title, Natya Mahimai meaning the glory or greatness of dance.[1][3][5] K. S. Gopalakrishnan, a congress party worker turned film director played the Mudaliar.[1] He is often confused with another film director, K. S. Gopalakrishnan.[6] Bhudo Advani, a Bengali actor played one of the Mudaliar’s servants.[1] The story and dialogues were written by Manjeri S. Eswaran, Dr. V. Raghavan and. G. K. Seshagiri. Photography was handled by Rajinikanth Pandya and Meenu Billimoria. Editing was done by Fakir Mohammed.[1] Although there is no choreographer listed in the song book, Film News Anandan credits S. Shanmugam as the dance choreographer.[7] Hari Krishnan believes that S. Shanmugam is actually Shanmugasundara Nattuvanar of Thiruppanandal, who was an associate of Vadivelu Pilai, the duo’s choreographer before he died in 1937.[3]

The music was composed by A. N. Kalyanasundaram who wrote the lyrics as well.[1][7] The singers were Kokilam, Pankajam, Bhanumathi[lower-alpha 1], Lakshmi, K. S. Gopalakrishnan[lower-alpha 2] and Rukmani. There were 8 songs in the film of which most were dance pieces.[3]

A. N. K.'s Orchestra[1]

• Parur S. Anantharaman (Conductor) – Fiddle
• V. Natarajan – Fiddle
• M. R. Jayarama Sarma – Flute, Harmonium
• M. Balusami Mudaliar – Veena
• Ponnusami Dikshithar – Gottuvadhyam
• S. Radhakrishnan – Organ, Piano, Xylophone
• M. K. Venkatapathy – Mridangam
• C. V. Mani – Mridangam, Tabla, Dholak
• S. Shanmugam as Nattuvanar

According to Hari Krishnan, "there is no information about how Jalaja fared at the box office. Regardless, the success of the film provides us with new perspectives on thinking about the ways in which Bharathanatyam was circulating in the period [during the 1930s] immediately following the work of the [Madras] Music Academy and [Rukmini Devi] Arundale." In an August 1938 Filmindia magazine, Baburao Patel reports that, "Jalaja failed to draw and people in town think that it was due to bad direction. The story is reported to be weak and a bad selection of artistes is also given as a reason."[8] In September of the same year, Patel continues with, "the original Jalaja is now expected to be revived after a number of changes."[9] No print of the film is known to survive, making it a lost film.[3]