The movie was in production for a long time due to many issues.
The historic drama featured Gemini Ganeshan and Vyjayantimala in the lead roles.
Parthiban Kanavu is one of the historical novels written by Kalki Ramaswamy Krishnamurthy, better known by his pen name Kalki. From 1941 to 1943 Parthiban Kanavu was published as a weekly series in Kalki, a magazine founded by Kalki Ramaswamy himself. It was later filmed in Tamil, Telugu and Sinhala languages in 1960.
Parthiban Kanavu released in theatres on June 3, 1960 and the movie failed at the box office. The film was directed by Yoganand and produced by V Govindarajan. The film featured Vyjayanthimala as Narasimhavarman’s daughter Kundavai, Gemini Ganesan as Parthiban and SV Ranga Rao as Narasimhavarman. Saroja Devi also played a small role in the movie.
The movie was in production for a long time due to many issues. Saroja Devi who played one of the friends of Princess Vyjayathimala got a star status during this period. The movie won the Best Feature film in Tamil award at the National Film Awards.
The novel Parthiban Kanavu was based on the life of Vikraman, the son of the wealthy Chola king Parthiban. Parthiban dreamt of how the Chola nation would become great one day. After the death of Parthiban in a battle, Vikraman liberated Chola from the enemy to fulfill his father’s dream.
After 62 years, another historical novel by Kalki has made it onto the big screen, Ponniyin Selvan. Fans of Kalki’s work are hoping that, unlike Parthiban Kanavu, Ponniyin Selvan will make a profit.
