Thukkaram
1938 film
Thukkaram is a 1938 Indian Tamil-language biographical film directed by B. N. Rao and produced by Central Studios in Coimbatore. The film featured Carnatic vocalist Musiri Subramania Iyer as the eponymous saint.
Plot
The film depicts the life story of the saint Tukaram.
Cast
Musiri Subramania Iyer as Tukaram
K. Sarangapani
R. Balasubramaniam
M. S. Murugesan
K. A. Chokkalinga Bhagavathar
K. Seetha
Meenambal
R. Balasaraswathi as Tukaram's daughter
Production
This is the only film that Musiri Subramania Iyer had any stint in the celluloid world. According to writer and critic Kalki Krishnamurthy, Tukaram wore a moustache whereas Subramania Iyer had a clean shaved face. When he was acting the part, he used a fake moustache. Subramania Iyer could not bear the itching caused by the gum that held the moustache in place. He told the producers to wait for sometime until he grew his own moustache. It was a scene of merriment to see him sporting a moustache because basically he was a Carnatic singer for whom in those days it was considered a taboo to wear a moustache. However, the moment the shooting was over, Subramania Iyer got a clean shave done.
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Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q12927188. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1938.
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This entry incorporates text from “Thukkaram” 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.