# Chakra Dhari

Chakra Dhari (transl. He who holds the wheel) is a 1948 Indian Tamil-language film produced by Gemini Studios. V. Nagayya and Pushpavalli star, while Gemini Ganesan who was a budding actor then, appeared in a minor role. A year after its initial release, the film was re-released with a new partly coloured copy.

## Plot

Gora is a potter who lives in a village near Pandharpur in Maharashtra. He is a strong devotee of Lord Panduranga. He is not interested in earning money which worries his wife Thulasi. Venkat is Gora's elder brother and an affluent man. His wife Sona does not like Gora and his family. One day while Gora was mixing clay, his child Hari comes there, playing. Gora was in a devotional ecstasy and did not notice his child. The child is killed trampled under the mud. Thulasi threatens to destroy the idol of Panduranga but Gora tries to kill her with an axe. She tells Gora that he should not touch her in future and he also vows that he will not touch her. However, Thulasi gets her sister Shantha to marry her husband Gora so that they can beget a child, however, Gora refuses to touch Shantha too. The sisters seduce Gora one night. Gora is shocked and cuts off his hands for breaking the vows. Lord Panduranga and his consort Rukmini come in disguise and help Gora. Due to their divine powers, happiness is restored in the family. Gora gets back his hands and Hari is brought back to life. The whole family becomes devotees of Lord Panduranga.

## Production

This tale has been filmed many times in many languages such as Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and twice in Tamil.

## Soundtrack

Music was composed by M. D. Parthasarathy with P. S. Anantharaman as assistant. Parthasarathy also sang one or two songs. Lyrics were penned by Papanasam Sivan, Kothamangalam Subbu and Sangu Subramaniam. Singers are V. Nagayya and Nagarcoil Mahadevan. Playback singers are S. S. Mani (S. Subramanian), T. V. Rathnam, Balasaraswathi and M. Kalpagam. The song Kadhali Radhaiyai kalangavittan is set in the raga Kharaharapriya.
| No. | Song | Singer/s | Lyricist | Duration (m:ss) |
| 1 | "Vaa Vaa Ambuliye" | T. V. Rathnam | Kothamangalam Subbu | 02:22 |
| 2 | "Salangai Kulunga Vaa" | M. Kalpagam | Kothamangalam Subbu | 02:42 / |
| 3 | "Ayane Mayane" | S. S. Mani | Kothamangalam Subbu | 03:30 |
| 4 | "Aiyamaare Vanga Ammaamare Vanga" | | Kothamangalam Subbu | 07:16 |
| 5 | "Kannale Vettadhe Ennaiye" | | Kothamangalam Subbu | 08:43 |
| 6 | "Unakkum Enakkum" | Nagayya | Kothamangalam Subbu | 03:07 |
| 7 | "Enna Ruchiyo, Aha, Enna Ruchiyo" | Nagayya | Kothamangalam Subbu | |
| 8 | "Vittalanai Panivom" | Nagayya | Kothamangalam Subbu | |
| 9 | "Ammaa Ammaa Ena" | Balasaraswathi | Kothamangalam Subbu | |
| 10 | "Kanne Thaalelo" | T. V. Rathnam | Kothamangalam Subbu | |
| 11 | "Kakkai Sirakinile" | Nagayya | Papanasam Sivan | 03:21 |
| 12 | "Prabhu Pandu Ranga" | Nagayya | Papanasam Sivan | 02:47 |
| 13 | "Pandu Rangan Karunayale" | Nagayya | Papanasam Sivan | 02:07 |
| 14 | "Bhakthiyudan Puganzhndhu Paaduvome" | Nagarcoil Mahadevan | Papanasam Sivan | 02:03 |
| 15 | "Poojai Seithome" | T. V. Rathnam and group | Papanasam Sivan | 02:29 |
| 16 | Musical Dance | | | 02:31 |
| 17 | "Oradiyal Ulagalanda" | Nagayya | Sangu Subramaniam | 01:40 |
| 18 | "Kadhali Radhaiyai Kalangavittan" | M. Kalpagam | | 02:43 |

## Reception

The film was a success at the box-office. Film historian Randor Guy wrote in 2008 that the film is "Remembered for its soul-filling music, fine photography and Nagayya’s performance."