| | 4 | aka She Too Is A Woman 1974 164’ b&w Tamil d/s Durai pc Shri Panduranga Prod. p P.R. Ramarao, Pandharibai Ramarao lyr Vali c V. Manohar m V. Kumar lp R. Muthuraman, M.R.R. Vasu, Thengai Srinivasan, S.A. Ashokan, S.V. Sahasranamam, Sumithra, Manorama, M.N. Rajam, Pandharibai, Kutti Padmini, V.K. Ramaswamy, S.V. Ramadas, Adithan, Dasarathan, Ambathur Mani |
| | 7 | Durai’s first film tells of Seeta (Sumithra), a prostitute, and her attempt to quit the trade. Muthu (Muthuraman), a young businessman from a mofussil town finds her in a Madras brothel and proposes marriage but her pimp (Vasu) ruins her chances and she commits suicide. A strident camera and editing, heavy symbolism, two songs and a comic subplot help maintain the narrative momentum of the melodrama. In contrast to Tamil cinema’s archetypes, the film offers some well-drawn characters with distinct caste identities, speaking with pronounced regional accents: the Chettiar money lender and his young wife interested in pornography, Kanagu the vegetable vendor and Sambandham the bicycle mechanic. |