| Nenjil Or Aalayam | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | C. V. Sridhar |
| Written by | C. V. Sridhar |
| Produced by | C. V. Sridhar |
| Starring | Kalyan Kumar Devika R. Muthuraman |
| Cinematography | A. Vincent |
| Edited by | N. M. Shankar |
| Music by | Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 164 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Nenjil Or Aalayam (transl. A Temple in the Heart) is a 1962 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed, produced and written by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Kalyan Kumar, Devika and R. Muthuraman while Nagesh, Manorama and Kutty Padmini play supporting roles. The original soundtrack album and background score were composed by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy, while the lyrics for the songs were written by Kannadasan.
The film revolves around a young woman named Seetha, her husband Venu and Murali, who was Seetha's lover. Due to his tenure overseas, Seetha's parents force her to marry another person. A few years later, Venu contracts cancer and Seetha brings him to Chennai to meet a cancer specialist who, to her dismay, is revealed to be Murali. Realising that something is worrying Seetha, Venu gives her the freedom to marry Murali after his death. The remainder of the film shows how Murali sacrifices his love for the sake of the couple's happiness and cures Venu.
Nenjil Or Aalayam was released on 26 January 1962, coinciding with Republic Day in India. The film received positive critical feedback and went on to become a commercial success. The songs "Sonnathu Neethaana" and "Engirundhaalum Vaazhga" attained popularity among the Tamil diaspora. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil and the President's Award for Sridhar at the 10th National Film Awards.
The film became a trendsetter for both fast-paced filmmaking and triangular love stories with sacrifice as the theme. Sridhar remade the film in Hindi as Dil Ek Mandir (1963) and in Telugu as Manase Mandiram (1966). It was also remade in Malayalam as Hridayam Oru Kshethram (1976), and in Kannada as Kumkuma Rakshe (1977). The former was directed by P. Subramaniam while the latter was by S. K. A. Chari.
- ^ Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, pp. 373–374.