Kodimalar

Kodimalar is a 1966 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Muthuraman and R. Vijayakumari, with A. V. M. Rajan, Nagesh, M. V. Rajamma and Kanchana in supporting roles. It is a remake of the Bengali film Shyamali (1956), itself based on Debnarayan Gupta's play of the same name. The film was released on 4 March 1966 and failed commercially.

Plot
Lakshmi, a mute woman, faces numerous troubles with her mother-in-law.

Cast

 * Male cast
 * Muthuraman as Ramu
 * A. V. M. Rajan as Thambi Durai
 * Nagesh as Annamalai
 * Female cast
 * R. Vijayakumari as Lakshmi
 * M. V. Rajamma as Ramu's mother
 * Kanchana as Parvathi

Production
Although the Bengali film Shyamali (1956), based on Debnarayan Gupta's play of the same name was a failure, C. V. Sridhar still decided to adapt the story in Tamil. The remake, titled Kodimalar, was produced by Sree Productions and directed by Sridhar who also wrote the screenplay. Cinematography was handled by Balu, and editing by N. M. Shankar. Filming was suspended, but resumed in October 1965 after sixth months.

Soundtrack
The music was composed by M. S. Viswanathan, with lyrics by Kannadasan. The song Mouname Paarvayaal is based on raga Tilak Kamod.

Release and reception
Kodimalar was released on 4 March 1966, and distributed by Rajshri Productions. On 12 March 1966, The Indian Express wrote, "The main defect with the film is that its characters and incidents are so strikingly similar to those seen in some previous Tamil movies that we do not feel like viewing a new film." Writing for Sport and Pastime, T. M. Ramachandran wrote "The delineation of the story follows the conventional pattern. The direction by Sridhar is uninspiring in the first half of the film, in which they are dull patches though it improves in the second". Kalki said Vijayakumari's performance salvaged the film's flaws. The film was commercially unsuccessful.