Director Y V Rao is considered to be one of the most prolific filmmakers, who had a revolutionary vision which was much ahead of his time. He was the first director in India to make motion films in different languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Konkani and Hindi, apart from silent movies too. Many of his films are remembered and watched to date with great interest like Sathi Sulochana, Viswamohini and Chintamani. Released on March 12, 1937, Chintamani is considered an iconic film and established stunning box-office records. This film also gave its hero M K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, also a renowned musician, gain stardom. Apart from these jaw-dropping facts, cine buffs remember this project for a rare record. As stated in Chithiram Pesuthadi, written by S Theodore Baskaran, Chintamani had an uninterrupted theatrical run of more than a year.
Critics, audiences and every hardcore cinema buff praised this film for showing nearly every aspect with utmost perfection, be it plot, dialogues, and music. Chintamani was based on the legendary story of a Sanskrit poet and devotee of Lord Krishna named Bilwamangal (M K Thyragaraja Bhagavathar). Bilwamangal, a resident of Varanasi, was a Sanskrit scholar, who got infatuated with a courtesan called Chintamani (Ashwathama), a woman of ill fame. As a result, he deserts his wife. What happens next forms the core theme of this film.
The real win for a filmmaker and writer is when their movie manages to strike an emotional chord with the audience. Chintamani ticked all the boxes correctly when it came to proving this statement right. According to the critically acclaimed Tamil writer Kalki, viewers were emotionally connected to the film and its hit chartbusters. He wrote in his review that the film has affected viewers so much that many housewives (of that time) would sing Maya Prapanchathil (a song from the movie) while preparing tea or coffee in the morning, and their husbands would supposedly sing Rathey Unakku Kobam to please her.
Thyagaraja, the male lead of Chintamani, donned the cap of a singer as well and provided heartwarming vocals to songs Mayaprapanchattil and Rathey Unakku Kobam. The audience took to an instant liking for his vocals. Getting encouraged by that, Thyagaraja provided vocals to many more hit numbers thereafter as well.
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