Kalangarai Vilakkam (1965): watch the full film free, legally

A lighthouse rescue in Mahabalipuram

Kalangarai Vilakkam, translated as Lighthouse, is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language action thriller directed by K. Shankar. Released on 28 August 1965 and distributed by Emgeeyar Pictures, it stars M. G. Ramachandran and B. Saroja Devi. The film is based on the American film Vertigo, released in 1958. M. S. Viswanathan composed the music, including “Pallavan Pallavi”, which is set in the Neelambari raga.

Ramachandran plays Ravi, a leading lawyer who travels to Mahabalipuram to see his doctor friend Gopal. During the journey, Ravi sees a young woman run up a lighthouse, apparently intending to jump. He saves her, only to hear her identify herself as Sivagami and speak of the Pallava king Narasimhavarman I. She says that King Narasimha Pallava, her lover, has left her. Ravi sees that something is seriously wrong and tells her that he is Narasimha Pallavan. The claim convinces her to return with him.

The woman is Neela, a history student and Gopal’s patient. While researching Narasimha Pallava, she suffered a minor accident and became mentally ill. Ravi continues to play the part of the king in an effort to help Gopal treat her. He stays at Neela’s home with Gopal, her bedridden father and her paternal uncle, Nagarajan. In the song “Ponnezhil poothathu”, Ramachandran appears as Ravi and King Narasimma Pallavar, while Saroja Devi appears as Neela, Malliga and Sivakami.

Neela, Malliga and Nagarajan’s scheme

Nagarajan has his own designs on Neela’s family. He wants to dispose of Neela through a staged suicide and kill his brother to inherit the property. To carry out his plan, he pressures his girlfriend Gowri and her younger sister Malliga, who looks exactly like Neela. Gowri reluctantly helps because Nagarajan promises to marry her once the scheme succeeds.

Neela begins to recover her memories and show signs of improvement, alarming Nagarajan. Ravi and Neela fall in love, and her father approves their marriage. Nagarajan then kidnaps Neela and replaces her with Malliga. Ravi detects something strange in the apparent Neela’s conduct, though he cannot identify the reason. Nagarajan’s henchmen mistake Malliga for Neela and attempt to take her away. Ravi fights them, and Malliga suffers an injury to her back while protecting him from a knife attack.

Ravi and Gopal are later brought to the lighthouse through Malliga’s actions under Nagarajan’s instructions. After a series of events, Ravi is devastated by Neela’s apparent suicide, and Neela’s father is found dead. At a dance programme, Ravi and Gopal see Malliga and initially think Neela is alive. They learn that she is a dancer named Malliga, but Ravi remains unconvinced when he sees the injury on her back. Malliga is moved by Ravi’s account of his lost love and agrees to marry him. Their marriage takes place in secret, while Gowri warns Malliga not to reveal what happened at the lighthouse, saying Nagarajan will kill Ravi.

Song filming and contemporary response

The cast also includes M. N. Nambiar as Nagarajan, V. Gopalakrishnan as Gopal, Nagesh as Vasu, K. D. Santhanam as Neela’s father, G. Sakunthala as Gowri, Manorama as Mohini, A. Veerappan as Deva and S. M. Thirupadhiswamy as Thirumalai.

During filming of “Pallavan Pallavi”, Saroja Devi was reportedly suffering severe stomach pain and sent her assistant, Nawaz Khan, to tell Shankar that she could not perform. Shankar was known for a strict working style, with a rule that actors who had reached the set were expected to complete their work. He said Ramachandran’s call sheet ended that day and finishing the song was necessary to complete the film on schedule.

Shankar recalled using a traditional Kerala Ayurvedic oil remedy when writer-actor Javar Seetharaman experienced chest pain during Aandavan Kattalai. He suggested that Saroja Devi apply the oil to her abdomen, massage it and bind the area tightly with cloth before performing the sequence. She later said in an interview that the treatment gave considerable relief. Her pain also produced a sorrowful expression that suited the scene’s mood.

T. M. Ramachandran of Sport and Pastime criticised Shankar’s direction as “not up to the mark”, writing that some parts had naive treatment and showed signs of hurried work. Kalki appreciated Thambu’s cinematography, particularly its images of Mysore and Mamallapuram.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Kalangarai Vilakkam”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.