Rajaraja Cholan

Rajaraja Cholan is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language biographical film directed by A. P. Nagarajan and written by Aru. Ramanathan. Based on Ramanathan's play of the same name, about the life of the Chola king Rajaraja I, the film has Sivaji Ganesan playing the title role. It was the first CinemaScope to be released in Tamil. The film was released on 31 March 1973.
Plot.
The movie star with the construction of the Brihadeswara Temple in Tanjavur, eveyone is busy with the construction and the main sculpturer is busy on the big Nandi statue. When the Emperor Raja Raja Chola arrives everyone goes to meet him but the shilpi(sculpturer) is busy and not perturbed by the arrival. When he asks his assistant for betel leaves to chew he doesn't relaise that it is the emperor who is giving him the betel leaf. The king is highly pleased with the dedication of the shilpi. Raja raja cholan's wife queen Cholama devi runs to lift the baby who is crying in a cradle, it is the baby of a temple construction worker who comes running, but the queen acknowledges that everyone in the empire are her kids as well. The king and queen leave to meet Karuvur devar and they are introduced to Tamizarasi, who is a poetess and drama writer and requests the king to write a drama about the emperor's life. The emperor is felicitated by the queen on his birthday and then his daughter Kundavi comes and asks him to open the three boxes and resolve the puzzels in them. 
In the first box there is a granite stone, a flower and a diamond, when the king says that he has no time for such silly puzzles, Kundavi tells her father that the granite represents his heart when he passes the judgement without being partial, his heart has to become hard. The diamond represents the king's heart when he is fighting his enemies where he stays courageous. The flower represents his soft heart when he is with his family. Kundavi makes fun of her father asking him if she will have to continue solving the puzzles for him. At this moment the emperor opens the second box containing a hair ornament and a bunch of grass, he says that only when the bunch of grass is grown by his people can the chola emperor wears the ornament on his bunch of hair. He opens the third box and there is a venjamaram( fan made of dear hair), he says that this represent the dignity and honour of the emperor, as in Tamil maan(deer) sounds similar to maanam (honour). Raja Raja shows kundavi that he already knew the puzzle in the first box, but was just testing her. Then Amaichar the minister arrives with his siter Viramadevi to recite a poem abou the emperor. Raja Raja's elder sister comes to see him on his birthday.
The emperor informs that his son Rajendran and chola army is helping the Vengai king Sakthivarman and his younger brother Vimalathithan to regain the kingdom from Satyasiriyan.
Satyasiriyan runs back into his palace and there his minister Bala Devar hatches a plan to destroy Raja Raja Chola. he asks Satyasiriyan to tie him up and leave and that he shall get into the Chola Empire and help Satyasiriyan destroy Cholas and become the new ruler of the empire. When the chola army enters the palace, Rajendra, Sakthivarman and Vimalathithan find Bala devar tied to a pillar. Bala devar lies to them that he asked Satyasiriyan to not fight but he never listened and he was about to get killed by sataysiriyan when the chola army entered the palace and satyasiriyan ran away. The others don't believe him, so Bala devar says that he will prove his intellect and work for Cholas. He shows everyone that one of the soldier's is actually emperor Raja Raja in disguise, everyone is shocked. Raja Raja declares Bala devar as his minister in spite of others not trusting Baladevar. Raja Raja leaves for his capital along with Baladevar.
The emperor announces to his noblemen that Baladevar should be given same respect as himself. Sataysiriyan is taking refuge in another kingdom and still hatching a plan. A lady comes to meet Bala devar and announces she is Poonkodi from the same village as Baladevar. Poonkodi meets baladevar and insults him for being disloyal to Satyasiriyan, but baladevar tells her that he actually wants the destruction of Raja Raja, they both decide to work together and he asks her to stay back in chola capital.
Kundavi is waiting for her brother, then Rajendra enters and he informs Kundavi this time he got a special gift and then Vimalathithan enters. Kundavi and Vimalathithan are attracted to each other, they realise they were childhood playmates. Kundavi's friend Viramadevi has also come to meet her love Rajendran. The king is aware of these attractions and asks all of them to leave as they must all be busy. Amaichar tells the king that Kundavi and Vimalathithan make a nice pair, for which Blaa devar criticizes and tells that how can such a lowly king's brother get intimate with the emperor's daughter that would be an insult to Raja Raja and insult to Kundavi's chastity. For which Raja Raja replies that as long as he is the emeror and has confidence in his rule, he equally trusts his daughter to do the right thing. 
The King is at the temple and construction is ongoing, there Nambiyandar Nambi comes to pay his respects to the Emperor. He tells that via divine intervention Nambi found the presence of scripts, in the form of cadijam leaves half eaten by termites in a chamber inside the second precinct in Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram, these were the great works of saints Sampantar, Appar and Sundarar. The tradition at the temple is that the chamber shall only be opened if the three saints arrive at the temple at the same time, something which is not possible as these saints lived between 6th and 8th centuries, hundreds of years before the time of Raja raja. The Emperor suggests that they retrive the works and Nambiyandar tells the emperor that he would like to combine these works and write Tirumurai, which shall be a sung in all temples in Chola empire. The Emperor, his sister and Nambi goto Chidambaram temple to open the chamber, but the priest (Dikshitar) in the temple is opposed and informs them that all three saints have to come to open the chamber. Rajaraja's men get three palanquins and Raja Raja opens them to show the golden statues of the saint-poets. the priest asks how can these statues be saints? Rajaraja responds by saying, if Golden statue of Nataraja is God himself then why can't these statues be saints? These saints have no death they are eternal due to their works. The priest relents and gives the keys to the chamber. There Rajaraja and Nambi find the half eaten scriptures. Rajaraja thus became known as Tirumurai Kanda Cholan meaning one who saved the 
Tirumurai. The duty of writing the first seven volumes falls to Nambi, who is more than happy to do the divine task and arranges the hymns of three saint poets Sampantar, Appar and Sundarar. Thus far Shiva temples only had images of god forms, but after the advent of Rajaraja, the images of the Nayanar saints were also placed inside the temple.
Bala devar lets Satyasiriyan through a secret passage into his house in the chola capital, there he askes Baladevar about the Chola emperor and when his son can get married to Kundavi. Bala devar tells him that he has become Raja raja's confident and Kundavi and Vimalathithan have become lovers, so he is creating suspicions in Rajaraja's mind against vimalathithan. The Emperor shall soon question Vimalathithan, he asks Satyasiriyan and his guard to leave and asks the guard to meet every full moon to pass on the information.
Rajaraja admonishes Vimalathithan that it seems his elder brother is too busy to pay repect to the emperor, Vimalathithan defends his brother saying that on Vengi nadu the people decide who has to be king and they didn't want any major ceremonies for the crowning, also that due to peoples good will the Vengi coin has higher value in chola kingdom. The Emperor gets angry and tells him that every local head in his empire is elected by the people, the Vengi coin is taken only because there is so much more wealth in Chola empire, but as it is higher in value a tax shall be imposed on all the merchants from Vengi kingdom. Vimalathithan responds by imposing tax on all good entering Vengi from Chola empire. At this rajaraja is furious and tells him that from henceforth the will always be a chola reserve army in Vengi kingdom and also Vengi will be under Chola empire and Bala devar shall be the regent under whom Vengi kings shall rule. At this insult and oppression Vimalathithan says that he is no slave and leaves, and tells the emperor not to use his daughter and her love as bait to trap him. Kundavi is heartbroken, but vows to father that a person who does not respect her father shall not be her husband. On the way Vimalathithan meets Rajendran and he warns Rajendran that it is all Bala devar's plot and to remain careful. Rajendran tries to confront his father, but Rajajraja dismisses him.
The Periyakovil(Brihadeshvara temple) is completed and the Emperor announces that his daughter Kundavi shall perform her Arangaitram on the kumbhabhishekam/ temple opening day. The emperor on the insistence of Baladevar does not send an invite to Vengi raja or his brother Vimalathithan. rajendra on hearing this decides not to attend the kumbhabhishekam. On the day the king performs Kumbhabhiskam by first climbing onto the temple top then later doing abhishekam on the Sivalingam. Vimalathithan arrives and informs the emperor that as he was not invited he shall sit along with the common people to watch kundavi's dance. Kundavi dances but makes a mistaken, vimalathithan points that out and she stops dancing. She says that she made no mistake, then he challenges her to dance according to his playing of the madhalam(percussion instrument). During the dance Rajaraja stops it and tells him it is enough, that he insulted his daughter. Vimalathithan warns the emperor that Baladevar should not be trusted, at this the angry Rajaraja tells him that he and Vengi kingdom shall live under chola empire now and cholas shall conquer Vengi kingdom by next full moon. Vimalathithan leaves angrily. Kundavi argues with he rmother and aunt that her father unnecessarily interfered in the argument between her and vimalathithan, two artists can argue about art, but her father now asks Vengis to pay tax and live under them, while he had promised them freedom and independence when he helped the kigs defeat Satyasiriyan. Rajendra gets to know all this from viramadevi and asks her to console his sister. He faces his father who is angry that he did no attend the temple opening ceremony, informs Rajendra that he shall lead the army to attack Vengi king as they have forgotten that the chola reserve army protects them, not cholas themselves will annex Vengi kngdom. Rajendra refuses to do it as he shall not betray his friend, and gives his sword to his father and tells him to find any heartless guy and make him his son and heir, then he leaves. Baladevar syays that Rajendran's mind is changed due to viramadevi's love and made him soft, hence their love is ended by the emperor, as he begs viramadevi to forget his son and accuses her of loving his son and making him weak. Viramadevi vows that she will stop loving Rajendra as she cant bear such accusations. Rajendra is watching this and comes back and takes the sword and announces that he shall lead the army to Venginadu. King accepts his son is courageous. Rajendran consols kundavi that he shall get vimlathithan and get him married to her.
The chola army is goes to vengi kingdom to annex it, rajendran tells vimalathithan he has no choice but to fight. Then a sage comes and tells them why make the armies fight and lead to so many people's death, only Rajendran and vimalathithan should fight. Then the sage who is actually the emperor in disguise leaves the battlefield. Rajendran attacks and hurts vimalathithan, then apologises and asks him to come to Chola empire, in spite of his loss he shall be treated like a prince. But when they reach the emperor's court, on the advice of Baladevar, vimalathithan is pout in a cage in front of the palace gates, this in spite of Rajendra and Amaichar asking Raja Raja not to do it. In captivity Vimalathithan tells all the towns people of how Baladevar is the reason for his imprisonment and that soon due to baladevar the whole empire will face ruin. Baladevar tries to stop it but he runs away when the public sarts sloganeering against him. Baladevar meets with Poonkudi to discuss the destruction of Rajaraja, but suddenly the emperor appaers, baladevar tells him that vimalathithan is turning the whole empire against Rajaraja and asks to move vimalathithan to underground prison. The emperor tells baladevar that he trusts baladevar completely. Kundavi visits her lover in the prison and is sorry for all that her father is doing, vimalathithan tells her that all this is due to Baladevar and Emepror is just dancing to the tunes of that villan. Kundavi promises to get her love released by pleading to her father. She goes and flatters her father, her father sees through this and orders that the prison have bigger locks, kundavi asks her father to not listen to baladevar and to release vimalathithan. Raja rja tells that he shall release, provided, vengi comes under Chola rule, they pay taxes to cholas and allwo a chola reserve army in their kingdom. Kundavi says this is unacceptable, even Rajendran joins her, then baladevar proposes that kundavi forget the prisoner and marry satyasiriyan's son, at this she says she is not her father to dance to baladevar's tunes, and leaves.
Rajendran tells Kundavi that there is secret passage from palace to the Periyakovil temple, she can take vimalathithan and get married secretly, but alas he doesn't know where this passage starts, and tells kundavi to ask their aunt as she is the secret keeper of their father. Kundavi smartly cajoles her aunt into telling her the secret passage entrance. Then Rajaraja arrives to meet his sister to give her garland of lord shiva and questiosn what they are discussing, kundavi takes their blessing and along with the garland goes to the temple and gets married, but in the temple there is Rajaraja and Baladevar. The emperor is furious and asks vimalathithan to leave, Kundavi goes to her aunt to talk about vimalathithan and get them married, but Rajaraja enters and informs that Satyasiriyan has sent a messenger and if he kills vimalathtian and gets Kundavi married to Satyasiriyan's son then they can join their empires, else they shall attack the cholas if kundavi marries Vimalathithan. At this kundavi threatens to leave the place, then Rajaraja tells her that if she is his daughter then she would stay in the palace and fight to get ther right to marry her love. The king tells Amaichar that he shall release all the prisoners for his birthday. Kundavi is happy listening to this but her aunt tell her that even if he is released Vimalathithan will be sent to Venginadu as he has rebelled against the emperor. Then her aunt tells kundavi a plan to succeed with he marriage. Baladevar secretly tries to listens to their conversation but cannot hear anything. He then catches kundavi talking secretly to Vimalathithan in the prison, he tells her that he will make sure that they don't get married. Kundavi challenges Baladevar that she will get married to Vimalathithan.
Satyasiriyan asks his Guard Ottan to go an meet Baladevar as it is Pournami day. Ottan is captured by Rajajraja when he enters the palace and Rajajrja takes his place and disguises as the guard Ottan. Baladevar informs him to pass on the message to Satyasiriyan that on the eve of Rajajrja's birthday he plans to invite the emperor that night for a feast and poison him during the feast, poonkodi volunteers to add the poison in the food. Ottan/Rajajraja leaves and Baladevar gives the poison(Karkotaka visham) to Poonkodi. She opens the door to check if emperor is coming but finds Rajaraja infront of the door, they invite him for the feast but Rajaraja tells them that he will only have milk and fruits. Poonkodi mixes the poison in the milk and gets it for the emperor, who offers it to Baladevar, but he tells that he is fasting. So the king informs him that he plans to kill Vimalathithan and get Kundavi married to Satryasiriyan's son, and would not drink the milk as Poonkodi has poisoned the milk. Baladevar acts angry at Poonkodi and tells the emperor he never realise how evil Poonkodi was. The king says that no point finding her as all prisoners shall be released the next day. Baladevar acts and cries about what could have happened to the Empire if Rajaraja would have been poisoned.
Next day morning all the various kings in his empire pays Rajaraja their respects, there Vimalathithan comes and pays his respects as he is released from prison, he sings a song praising the emperor. Rajaraja is so thrilled by his song he grants him a wish, he asks for the emperor's daughter. The emperor hesitates but then Vimalathithan talks about the benevolence of the emperor and cholas and how emperor cannot break a promise. So kundavi is given to Vimalathithan, baladevar questions Rajaraja and tells him that Satyasiriyan will attack. Then Rajaraja asks him why will he atack now, you Baladevar had asked him to attack during next pournami, at his Bladevar is shocked. Rajaraja revelas that he caught Ottan and came last night as the guard and got the message from Baladevar, and poonkodi is a Chola spy who works for him, and he knew Baladevar was plotting against him right from the start. To remove a thron using a thron all this game was played by Rajaraja. Baladevar accepts defeat and says sorry and the emperor forgives him. Vimalathithan asks the emperor why he forgave so easily. Rajaraja tells him that forgiving and forgetting mistakes is the character of Tamizhnaadu. Vimalathithan then asks why he was imprisoned, then Rajaraja tells him that it was to test his courage and test his will, if he gives up and accepts being a tax state of Cholas or stay an independent ally of Cholas.
Tamizarasi has completed her notes and informs Rajaraja that she will start writing her drama Rajarajeshwaram. The marriages of Rajendran-viramadevi and Vimalathithan-Kundavi takes place. The Emperor and empire bids goodbye to her duaghter happily.
Production.
"Raja Raja Cholan", based on the life of the Chola king Rajaraja I was a play written by Aru. Ramanthan, and staged by the TKS Brothers in 1955. In 1973, it was adapted into a film by the same name, directed by A. P. Nagarajan and produced by G. Umapathy; Ramanathan was retained as writer alongside Nagarajan. Sivaji Ganesan, a self-described Chola, was cast in the title role. Umapathy wanted to film in Thanjavur's Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur, but as he was denied permission, an identical set was constructed in Vasu Studios. Rajaraja Cholan was the first CinemaScope to be released in Tamil.
Soundtrack.
The soundtrack album was composed by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan. The lyrics were written by Tirunavukkarasar, Kannadasan, K. D. Santhanam, Poovai Senguttuvan and 'Ulunthurpettai' Shanmugham.
Release.
"Rajaraja Cholan" was released on 31 March 1973. The film's prints were taken to theatres atop an elephant. In Tiruchirappalli, fans hired a helicopter and showered flower petals on the print"." According to Ganesan, though the film succeeded commercially "it was not filmed well enough to bring out the magnificence of the emperor's personality", and was filmed on the lines of a "family drama". Nonetheless, the film ran for over 100 days in theatres.. One of the paper advertisement given by the producer of the film mentions, "Despite heavy powercut, within two weeks, Rupees Twenty five lakhs has been collected and it is a new record in the tamil film industry"
Reception.
"The Hindu" said, "A great deal of thought and effort has gone into Anand Movies' "Raja Raja Chozhan" in CinemaScope produced by G. Umapathy and directed by A. P. Nagarajan. The grandeur, majesty and the culture and prosperity of the golden era of "Raja Raja Chozhan" have been captured faithfully including the building of the Thanjavur temple." "The Indian Express" said, "The film is lavishly mounted. Muthuraman and Lakshmi impress and Kumari Padmini has given a good account of herself." "The Mail" said, "As befitting the distinction, it is lavishly mounted, carefully produced and studded with stars. Producer G. Umapathy merits a pat on the back for steering so huge a project safely home."