Thyagabhoomi poster

Thyagabhoomi

  • 20 May 1939
  • 3h 14m
3.2/5
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  • Status Released
  • Release date 20 May 1939
  • Running time 3h 14m

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S. D. Subbulakshmi, Papanasam Sivan, Baby Saroja, A. K. Kamalam, K. J. Mahadevan
Papanasam Sivan, Mothi Babu & Rajagopala Iyer, Mothi Babu, Rajagopala Iyer
A still from the film

Sambu Sastrigal is a compassionate landlord who belongs to a conservative Brahmin community in the village Nedungarai. His only daughter Savitri is married to Sridharan, who works in Calcutta. Savitri leads a life of devotion and piety while Sridharan is fashionable, has his own secret inclinations of leading a licentious life and whiles away his time with his Anglo-Indian girlfriend Susie in Calcutta.

In his anxiety to ensure that his daughter starts her marital life, Sambu sells his properties and pays a huge dowry to Sridharan's father for taking Savitri into their household. Savitri starts living at Calcutta. Time passes and she becomes pregnant. But Savitri's life becomes sorrowful with a disgruntled mother-in-law and an indifferent husband. She writes letters to her father seeking help, which are intercepted by her stepmother and hence she receives no help.

Sambu Sastri shelters Harijans in his home when they are rendered homeless by a cyclone, thus inviting social ostracism from the community. The orthodox Hindu society gets agitated and excommunicates him. Having lost everything, Sambu Sastri goes to Madras hoping to find employment as a music teacher. But he fails in his efforts. Savitri, who was thrown out of her husband's house, returns to her village and learns that her father has left for Madras. She goes in search of him. In the meantime she gives birth to a girl child. She finds her father but he was in a state of trance. As she doesn't want to be a burden to him, she leaves the child with him and goes away.

Sambu wakes up and hears the cries of the child. When he does not find anyone around and nobody claims the child, he decides to bring her up himself in his own way and goes to Nallan, his erstwhile servant, who has settled down in Chavadikuppam, a suburb of Madras. With the presence of Sambu and the child, Chavadikuppam becomes an important colony. Sambu devotes all his time and energy for the upliftment of his poor neighbours and embarks on Gandhian social upliftment programmes, including picketing of liquor shops.

Sambu brings up Charu who grows to be a girl with many talents, more specifically dance. She is very popular among her schoolmates, but is always in the bad books of the headmistress. In the meanwhile, Uma Rani, a rich woman from Bombay, donates ₹500,000 for the development of Madras and is felicitated for the gesture. Uma Rani is none other than Savitri, who has inherited the wealth of her aunt who died in Bombay She tries to trace her father and child and lives in Madras incognito as Uma Rani.

Charu has a pet dog, which accompanies her to the school. The headmistress throws the dog out and it gets fatally injured. Charu takes it to the hospital and the matron of the hospital does not attend to it immediately. Uma Rani arrives there and Charu seeks her help to get the dog treated. The very sight of Charu strikes a chord in Uma Rani's heart; she immediately orders the matron to treat the dog. When the dog dies, Charu blames the doctor and runs away.

Uma Rani regrets not having taken Charu's details. She immediately instructs her lawyer to trace the child and finally finds her and Sambu. Without revealing her true identity, Uma Rani pays frequent visits to Chavadikuppam to meet her child and father. Sambu Sastri is elated that the distinguished lady Uma Rani visits them. He thinks God has blessed them in disguise. He permits Charu to go and reside with Uma Rani, but Charu's heart longs for Sambu Sastri. One night, she quietly slips back to Chavadikuppam. Sambu Sastri, who has resolved to spend the rest of his life for the upliftment of the poor and the masses, takes Charu with him when he visits villages.

Thinking that Sambu Sastri and Charu have disappeared, Uma Rani meets the Police Deputy Commissioner for help and is surprised to find Sridharan arrested by the police for forgeries he committed in Calcutta. Out of pity Uma Rani arranges his bail and he is released. Learning that Uma Rani is none other than his wife Savitri, Sridharan immediately goes to her and expresses that he wants to live with her again. However, Uma Rani is determined to spend the rest of her life serving people and the country. She turns down his proposal: he swears revenge and institutes proceedings for Restitution of Conjugal Rights. Court proceedings follow. Uma Rani, Sambu Sastri and Charu all play their own parts. Uma Rani refuses to live with him and even offers him alimony to get relieved from the relationship. Finally, Sridharan wins the case, but is unable to change Uma Rani's will as she has decided to dedicate her life for a cause. She wears khadi outfits, joins the Freedom Movement with her father and gets arrested with other freedom fighters.

Sridharan repents and decides to join the campaign for the upliftment of the country as retribution. Practically at the same time, Sridharan and Uma Rani court imprisonment for the noble cause. A new light dawns upon them. They feel that they are no longer man and wife, but children of the soil. Sambu Sastri feels out of place at Uma Rani's home and realises that his place in life is more in Chavadikuppam and its environments. He returns to Chavadikuppam with Charu.

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