Krishna Bhakthi

Harikanandha Bhagavathar is a hypocrite saint who lusts after a chaste court dancer Devakumari.

Male cast according to the opening credits of the film and female cast according to the song book^[1]

S. Ramanathan, an assistant of director R. S. Mani, bought a copy of the English translation of Matthew Lewis' French novel The Monk at Moore Market for one rupee. Subsequently, Mani began writing his next film Krishna Bhakthi taking inspiration from this novel. While Mani was credited for the story, the dialogues were written by S. D. S. Yogi, Shuddhananda Bharati, Ku. Pa. Sedhu Ammal and Sandilyan. Work on the script lasted more than six months, and the protagonist played by P. U. Chinnappa was based on the Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin. The film was produced by S. N. Laxmana Chettiar under Krishna Pictures. M. L. Vasanthakumari appeared onscreen as a singer, and Krishna Bhakthi was the only film she ever acted in.^[2]

Music was composed by S. V. Venkatraman and Kunnakudi Venkatarama Iyer and lyrics were written by Udumalai Narayana Kavi.^[1][3] The song "Saarasam Vaseegara" was composed by G. Ramanathan. Kunnakudi Venkatarama Iyer composed music for the song "Kannan Varuvarodi", to which dance was choreographed by Vazhuvoor B. Ramaiah Pillai. He also composed music for "Thamarai Senkann" and "Entha Vedu".^[4] The song "Entha Vedu Kontha O Raagavaa" is set in the raga Saraswathi Manohari.^[2]

Krishna Bhakthi was released on 14 January 1949.^[5][3] The Indian Express wrote, "P. U. Chinnappa as the wily Rajaguru does credit to his reputation as top male star of the day. T. R. Rajakumari as the charming and ingenuous Rajanartaki gives a convincing performance". The Hindu wrote, "Krishna Bhakthi should have a very popular run for several weeks for more reasons than one. The theme has been handled in a very dignified and telling manner." The Mail wrote, "The drab found in most Tamil mythological pictures is completely eliminated in Krishna Bakthi".^[6] The film was released partly in color. ^[7]