The Noble Man) is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language drama film written by Javar Seetharaman and directed by Krishnan–Panju.
It stars Sivaji Ganesan and Sowcar Janaki, while S. A. Ashokan, Major Sundarrajan, Vanisri and Sivakumar play pivotal roles.
The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by M. S. Viswanathan, while the lyrics for the songs were written by Vaali.
Sankaralingam, fearing for his son's safety, arrives at Kodaikanal and becomes furious upon finding out Raju's marriage to Parvathi.
Nineteen-year-old Sathyamurthy, who lives with his uncle Murugan, is unable to retain any job due to his honest nature.
[6] Javar Seetharaman was hired as screenwriter, and made a few alterations to the screenplay, while the duo Krishnan–Panju (R. Krishnan and S. Panju) were signed to direct.
[9] When the script was ready, Meiyappan's sons and the film's co-producers M. Saravanan, M. Kumaran and M. Murugan narrated it to Sivaji Ganesan at his residence, Annai Illam.
[18] The song "En Kelvikkenna Badhil", depicting Sathyamoorthy (Sivakumar) and Gowri (Bharathi), was shot at Kodaikanal and My Lady Garden, Madras (now Chennai).
[19] Meiyappan was not pleased with the original song sequence shown to him by the production unit as he felt it was incongruous to have two poor characters dressed well in modern attire, so it was reshot.
[18][20] The song "Paal Polave" was initially meant to be shot at Kodaikanal, but due to unfavourable weather conditions, the shoot had to be called off.
The film's art director, A. K. Sekhar, therefore constructed a specially erected set at AVM Studios in Madras that resembled Kodaikanal's misty ambience.
[6][10] It was speculated that a production company bought the remake rights of The Parent Trap (1961) in Hindi and titled it as Vapas.
[Note 3] To avoid a clash with that film, AVM stalled production on Uyarndha Manithan for eight months to focus on Do Kaliyan.
[22][Note 4] When filming resumed after a year, Ganesan and Janaki refused to act along each other due to a fallout they had at a public forum but later relented after the producers convinced them.
Sivakumar was eventually left with his right arm dislocated after being kicked by Ganesan and falling over the sofa, and was hospitalised.
[27] In his 2015 book Madras Studios: Narrative, Genre, and Ideology in Tamil Cinema, Swarnavel Eswaran Pillai notes that the title Uyarndha Manithan, meaning "A Honourable Man", epitomises the contradiction within the character of Raju, and in the trajectory of the rebel in Parasakthi (1952), as he finally ends up a "meek/reactionary family man" who had forsaken his own offspring/lineage at a critical juncture.
[30] In the composition and picturisation for the song "Andha Naal Gnaabagam", Viswanathan was inspired by a sequence in My Fair Lady (1964) in which Rex Harrison's character sings with a walking stick in hand on a golf course.
[33] The soundtrack was received positively by critics, with "Andha Naal Gnaabagam" and "Paal Polave" attaining popularity.
[37][38] An event was organised in Chennai to celebrate its release, and it was attended by Yashwantrao Chavan, then the Home Minister of India.
[40][41] On 7 December 1968, the critic from The Indian Express lauded the performances of the cast members, particularly Ganesan, Janaki, Ashokan, Vanisri and Sundararajan along with Ramaswamy's comedy and Sundaram's cinematography, but criticised the "predictable" climax, editing and musical score, adding, "But directors Krishnan and Panju see to it that the picture does not fall apart.
[46] My first national award came for the song ”Naalai intha velai parthu’ ["Paal Polave"] (from 1969’s [Uyarndha] Manithan), which Vaali wrote.
Rediff ranked it alongside "Madhavi Pon Mayilaal" from Iru Malargal (1967) and "Potri Paadadi Penne" from Thevar Magan (1992).