Wikipedia
Harishchandra is a legendary Indian king, who appears in several legends in texts such as Aitareya Brahmana, Mahabharata, the Markandeya Purana, and the Devi-Bhagavata Purana.
The most famous of these stories is the one mentioned in Markandeya Purana. According to this legend, Harishchandra gave away his kingdom, sold his family and agreed to be a slave – all to fulfill a promise he had made to the sage Vishwamitra.
Harishchandra is a 1955 Malayalam film produced by P. Subramaniam and directed by Anthony Mithradas. The film was based on the legend of King Harishchandra, recounted in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Starring Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair, Miss Kumari, Master Hari, G. K. Pillai, Jose Prakash and T. S. Muthiah in major roles, it features cinematography by N. S. Mani and music by Brother Lakshmanan.
Harishchandra was heavily inspired by Raja Harishchandra (1913, Hindi), which was the first film adaptation of the legend. The film also borrows inspiration from Satya Harishchandra (1943, Kannada) as well as Harishchandra (1945, Tamil). Several scenes from these movies were directly reused in Harishchandra.
It was the first Malayalam film to be shot outdoors. Previous films were filmed from studios or indoor units. However, a few parts of the film was shot from Merryland Studios. The film was marketed well before its release and the songs were aired continuously in radio channels. P. Subrahmaniam could attract people through the content and theme of the film, which was new for Malayalam films. The film released on 19 March 1955 in Kerala theatres. It was a big box office success and paved the way for many films in this genre.
The music was composed by Brother Lakshmanan with lyrics by Thirunainar Kurichi. The film had 15 songs including "Aathmavidyalame", sung by Kamukara Purushothaman, which is considered a classic. The lyrics and the sequence of this song is inspired by the famous Grave Diggers scene in Shakespeare's Hamlet. P. B. Sreenivas debuted as a playback singer through this film.
Harishchandra is the 36th king of the Solar Dynasty, Surya Maharishi Gothram according to Hindu religious texts.
Harishchandra may also refer to:
Harishchandra is a 1932 Tamil mythological film directed by Raja Chandrasekhar and Sarvottam Badami for Sagar Movietone. T.C. Vadivelu Naicker is another name cited as an earlier co-director. The film was the third Tamil Talkie produced. The first Tamil talkie was Kalidas (1931) produced by Imperial Movietone and directed by H. M. Reddy in 1931. The second Tamil sound film was Galava Rishi produced by Sagar Movietone and directed by Sarvottam Badami. The cast included Nungambakkam Janaki and Rukmini.
The film was inspired by the first Indian film Raja Harishchandra, and involved the story of the legendary King Harishchandra, who in the process of sticking to his principles of honesty and keeping his vows made, suffers through loss of kingdom, family, and penury.