Back in 1974, a Tamil language film titled 'Dikkatra Parvathi' was made by director Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. A winner of the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil, it also fetched for Lakshmi a National Film Award for Best Actress.
The news is that the acclaimed film is going to be screened at the Chennai International Film Festival on January 1. A landmark film, it was sponsored by Film Finance Corporation in a rare instance.
The film was shot in Tamil Nadu's Thorapalli, which is the birthplace of freedom fighter and statesman Rajaji, on whose novel by the same name the film was based. It was shot at a court in Hosur with prior permission. Real lawyers acted in the movie.
In fact, a song had lyrics from Rajaji himself. Another song was written by Kannadasan. Singer Vani Jairam enlivened the songs with her soulful rendition. Then Tamil Nadu CM MG Ramachandran supported the film by issuing a notification saying that the government was buying it out to help its loans be repaid.
Singeetam, on an occasion, said that meeting with Rajaji to secure permission for the film is an unforgettable experience. The negative copy of the film got destroyed a few days after its theatrical release. Fortunately, by then, a print was already archived at the famous Pune National Film Institute.
