The Stage Play that Became a Film: Psychodynamics of K.Balachander's Major Chandrakanth (1966)

A murderer, having escaped the police after committing a killing, seeks refuge in the home of the deceased's father. Yet, the killer is guilty only before the law, not before Justice—a verdict delivered by the very father of the man killed. The film explores how such a plot unfolds, how the characters' psychological knots are untangled, and how each reveals their innermost selves to the other.

​Directed by K. Balachander and released in 1966, Major Chandrakanth was the film that transformed the ordinary Sundararajan into the formidable Major Sundararajan. The character of Major Chandrakanth was sculpted with such majesty that it forever attached the title "Major" to his name. Nagesh, too, injected profound strength into his character, Mohan, with a compelling performance that intensely conveys the emotional atmosphere of the story to the audience.

​The story centers on Major Chandrakanth, a retired army officer who is blind. His two sons are Sreekanth (Muthuraman), an honest police officer, and Rajinikanth (AVM Rajan—not the superstar Rajinikanth), a college student with a penchant for pursuing women. The plot is set in motion by Rajinikanth’s irresponsible behavior.

​A Tragedy of Love and Deception

​Mohan (Nagesh) and Vimala (Jayalalithaa) are siblings, orphaned and living in abject poverty. Mohan, a tailor, sacrifices to send Vimala to college, dreaming of arranging a respectable marriage for her. In college, Rajinikanth ensnares Vimala in his net of love. Inevitably, he cruelly rejects her, saying he cannot accept her. Vimala, whose love for him was genuine, is left distraught and helpless. Unaware of the betrayal, Mohan finds a groom for Vimala and is overjoyed, bubbling with excitement that all is set for a good life. He goes inside to call Vimala to meet the prospective in-laws, only to be struck by the devastating shock that she has committed suicide.

​The way Nagesh portrays this sudden, two-pronged emotional surge—the height of joy collapsing into the abyss of sorrow—is utterly true-to-life. Mohan eventually discovers that Rajinikanth, who had loved and cheated Vimala, is the reason for her suicide. He confronts Rajinikanth to seek justice. When Rajinikanth’s vile contempt surfaces, Mohan's absolute desperation drives him to murder. Utterly disillusioned, Mohan is convinced that his act of killing was justifiable, making him feel undeserving of punishment. He flees the town.

​A Shelter in the House of Sorrow

​The path of the fugitive Mohan ultimately leads him to Rajinikanth's hometown. He seeks refuge in the home of a man whose honest and righteous nature he observed on the way, hoping to find compassion and understanding. That man is Major Chandrakanth, the father of the very person Mohan killed. Though the Major lost his eyesight in a wartime skirmish, his sharp instincts and deep perceptiveness remain his constant companions. Noticing someone hiding in his house, the Major calls the man out and engages him in conversation. Their dialogue forms the rest of the narrative.

​Upon hearing Mohan’s story, the Major agrees that Mohan’s act was justifiable in the eyes of justice and offers him shelter for the night. Simultaneously, Sreekanth, the Major's eldest son and a police officer, begins his search for the killer who fled from the neighboring town.

​Justice Over Paternity

​The following morning, the Major receives a telegram informing him of Rajinikanth’s death. Mohan realizes he has killed the Major’s own son and confesses his crime. The news that his son was a man of such low character shatters the Major more deeply than the news of his death.

​Sreekanth arrives home. Grasping the situation, he questions his father: How can a father offer refuge to his son’s killer? The Major defends Mohan, asserting that Mohan is innocent before justice; Rajinikanth was not murdered—he was punished. The honest police officer Sreekanth then arrests both Mohan, the killer, and his own father for the crime of harboring a criminal. The Major accepts his arrest wholeheartedly.

A Philosophical Masterpiece

​The dialogues between Nagesh and Sundararajan in the film are both insightful and compelling. Nagesh, standing as the very embodiment of despair, delivers a performance that extends beyond any narrow boundary, establishing him as a timeless, sublime artist. K. Balachander masterfully carved the screenplay, threading the characters' natures and mental states together, breathing life into the story.

​This tale originated as Balachander's stage play. Major Chandrakanth is a pearl in the garland of Tamil cinema—a film that successfully transformed the language of the stage into the language of the screen, enriching the medium of Tamil film.