Avan Pithana? is based on a play written by Mu. Karunanidhi titled Avan Paithiyakarana?.
S. S. Rajendran and C. R. Vijayakumari, the star couple of the period, played the lead in this film that was directed by Pa. Neelakantan.
The film was produced under the banner of Umayal Productions by P. Angamuthuand featured a cast that included veterans such as S.V. Sahasranamam, D.V. Narayanaswamy, T.P. Muthulakshmi, C.K. Nagesh, A. Karunanidhi and Kumari Sachu.
The film is about Nallaiah Raja (Sahasranamam), a wealthy industrialist who drives away his son after learning of his desire to marry a poor woman. The son dies of poverty, leaving behind his wife and a son named Kumar. The wife, too, doesn’t survive for long, and dies on the road, leaving Kumar to fend for himself. A kind couple, who run a tea shop, raise Kumar into a smart young man.
One day, a woman named Gomathi (Vijayakumari) runs into the tea shop after being chased by a man. Kumar offers her shelter, and a while later, Kumar takes her to Nallaiah to work as his nurse, unaware that Nallaiah is his grandfather.
Nallaiah, meanwhile, is unwell and regrets his decision to send away his son. Gomathi wins the old man’s trust and is given the keys to his safe. But he too dies soon, giving rise to a quarrel for the property he leaves behind. A group of miscreants, lead by actors T. S. Balaiah and Muthulakshmi, forge Nallaiah’s will to add their own names to it. But Kumar steps in and stakes his claim to the inheritance after proving that he is Nallaiah’s grandson.
S. S. Rajendran and Vijayakumari give fine performances, and Rajendran excels in delivering Karunanidhi’s dialogues. Music was by R. Parthasarathi, with the film being shot by T. M. Sundara Babu.
Remembered for: The excellent dialogues of Mu. Karunanidhi and the performances of Rajendran, Vijayakumari and Sahasranamam.
