Vigathakumaran (1928)

Interesting facts

Vigathakumaran is a 1928 Indian silent film written, produced and directed by J. C. Daniel, who also played the hero in the movie. The lead actress P. K. Rosy was a Dalit who played an upper-caste Nair woman, which caused an uproar at the film's premiere at the Capitol Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram. It was the first Malayalam feature film and is considered India's first social drama. Daniel is regarded as the father of the Malayalam cinema industry for this work. Vigathakumaran is a lost film, of which no copy has survived.

Production

J.C. Daniel developed a passion for cinema while completing his higher education in Travancore. He was interested in martial arts and was an expert in chelambatam, the traditional martial art of southern Travancore, and wished to popularise chelambatam by harnessing the popular influence of cinema. At that time the common people of Kerala were not even aware of cinema, so the idea was quite a challenge.

The first Malayalam actress was a scheduled caste labourer named P K Rosy, from Thiruvananthapuram. She used to come with lunch to act in the movie and go to her other work in the evening. Daniel had earlier signed an actress from Bombay named Lana to act in the heroine role.

Another important role, the villain Bhoothanathan, was played by the actor Johnson, who is the father of actress B. S. Saroja. It was Johnson who suggested that the role of Sarojini could be played by Rosy.

Two of Daniel's children, his son Sundaram and daughter Sulochana, appeared in the film.

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