Anubhavi Raja Anubhavi was a superhit comedy written and directed by K. Balachander. It was based on a story by Rama Arangannal and it was produced under the banner of Ayya Films.
C.K. Nagesh played a dual role in the film. Muthuraman played the role of his brother and ‘Major’ Sundararajan played his father. While Nagesh is the adopted son, Muthuraman is the biological son. In due course, we’re told that a poor lady (S.N. Lakshmi) delivered twins (both Nagesh) and lost one of them in a train journey. Major Sundararajan adopts this child and raises him in Madurai, even as the poor lady brings up her other son in Thoothukudi. Both these towns play an important role in the film, as one of the characters played by Nagesh speaks in the Madurai dialect while the other speaks in the Thoothukudi dialect.
C.R Manorama too, playing the lover of the Nagesh belonging to Thoothukudi, delivers an excellent performance, speaking in the dialect. Major Sundararajan delivers a memorable performance, along with Rajashree and Jayabharathi who played the lovers of the two heroes, Muthuraman and Nagesh.
The film became a hit and was known for the excellent dialogues and direction by K. Balachander and for the camera work of Nemai Ghosh.
Maestro M.S. Viswanathan’s music was also another reason for the film’s success. It had five songs rendered by L.R. Easwari, P. Susheela, T.M. Soundararajan, and Sirgazhi Govindarajan. One particular song by by L. R. Easwari, ‘Muthukulikka Vaareergala’, rendered in typical Thoothukudi dialect, became a superhit.
Another popular song was ‘Madras Nalla Madras’, rendered by T.M. Soundararajan. It was filmed on the roads of Madras city, with Nagesh in his small-town avatar.
Remembered for : The excellent screenplay, dialogue and direction of K. Balachander and the brilliant performance by Nagesh in a dual role.
