Rajaraja Cholan
1973 Tamil film directed by A. P. Nagarajan
Rajaraja Cholan is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language historical 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 stars Sivaji Ganesan in the title role and was the first Tamil CinemaScope film. It was released on 31 March 1973, and ran for over 100 days in theatres.
Plot
During the construction of the Brihadeswara Temple in Thanjavur, Emperor Rajaraja Cholan visits and is greeted by everyone except one sculptor who is deeply engrossed in his work. The emperor and empress then meet Karuvur Devar and are introduced to Tamizharasi, a poet and playwright. Rajaraja reveals that his son Rajendra, along with the Chola army, is helping the Eastern Chalukya king of Vengai Sakthivarman and his brother Vimalathithan reclaim their kingdom from Satyasiriyan.
As the army enters Satyasiriyan's palace, they find Bala Devar tied up, who claims he tried to stop the king from fighting but was ignored. Rajaraja, disguised as a soldier, identifies himself and appoints Bala Devar as his minister despite suspicions from others. He then announces to his noblemen that Bala Devar should be treated with the same respect as himself. Meanwhile, Bala Devar meets Poongodi from his village and shares his desire to overthrow Rajaraja.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Rajaraja Cholan” is 1973 Tamil film directed by A. P. Nagarajan. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Rajaraja, Cholan and Tamil, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “1973 Tamil film directed by A. P. Nagarajan” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7285771. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1973.
Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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- Expand the search: follow Rajaraja Cholan primary sources, Rajaraja Cholan archive and Rajaraja research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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This entry incorporates text from “Rajaraja Cholan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.