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{{short description|1969 film by K. Vijayan}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox film
| image = Kaaval Dheivam.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[K. Vijayan]]
| based_on = {{based on|''Kai Vilangu''|[[Jayakanthan]]}}
| producer = [[S. V. Subbaiah]]
| starring = [[Sivaji Ganesan]]<br />[[Sivakumar]]<br />[[Lakshmi (actress)|Lakshmi]]<br />[[Nagesh]]
| cinematography = Vijayan
| music = [[G. Devarajan]]
| studio = Ambal Productions
| released = {{Film date|1969|05|01|df=y}}
| runtime = 145 minutes{{sfn|Rajadhyaksha|Willemen|1998|pp=399–400}}
| country = India
| language = Tamil
}}

'''''Kaaval Dheivam''''' ({{Translation|Guardian deity}}) is a 1969 Indian [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-language [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]], directed by [[K. Vijayan]] and produced by [[S. V. Subbaiah]]. An adaptation of the novel ''Kai Vilangu'' ({{Translation|Handcuff}}) by [[Jayakanthan]], the film stars [[Sivakumar]], [[Sowcar Janaki]], [[Lakshmi (actress)|Lakshmi]] and [[Nagesh]], while [[Sivaji Ganesan]] makes an extended cameo appearance. The film was a moderate success at the box-office. It was remade in [[Kannada]] as ''Devara Mane'' (1985).<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 June 2019 |title=பொன்விழா படங்கள்: ஜெயகாந்தன் கதையில் சிவாஜி நடித்த காவல் தெய்வம் |url=https://cinema.dinamalar.com/tamil-news/78666/cinema/Kollywood/Sivajis-Kaval-Deivam.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206114920/https://cinema.dinamalar.com/tamil-news/78666/cinema/Kollywood/Sivajis-Kaval-Deivam.htm |archive-date=6 December 2019 |access-date=6 December 2019 |website=[[Dinamalar]] |language=ta}}</ref>

== Plot ==
Aanaikundram Jail. Superintendent K. Raghavan is a man of integrity and humaneness who views the 500 inmates as 500 books that need to be perused. He stays with his wife Alamu in the bungalow adjoining the penitentiary, and the childless couple treats the prisoners with compassion and love, for they look upon the inmates as the children they never had. Chamundi who is serving a life sentence for killing one of the 2 villains who had fatally molested his teenage daughter Sivakami.

In the nearby Allikkulam village lives Manickam- an honest, hardworking youth who is the leaseholder of Raghavan's lands. Manickam and Kokila love each other. The scoundrel Marimuthu, an unwelcome suitor of Kokila, sees his dreams of marrying Kokila coming to nought, and schemes with his accomplices to harm Manickam. They spy Manickam and Kokila singing and romancing, and this increases their ire. Marimuthu accosts Manickam near the Aiyanaar statue. When Marimuthu speaks deprecatingly of Manickam's lineage, Manickam sees red. He plucks the sword from the hands of the Aiyanaar statue and injures Marimuthu. Manickam is arrested and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Superintendent Raghavan consoles him and treats him with kindness. With the unusual backdrop of a prison, original story author JK endows each character with an interesting history and subtle idiosyncrasies.

The story then captures the interesting events in the prison. Of particular interest are the sequences that involve Chamundi. Chamundi sees the other man who was responsible for his daughter's death as an inmate in the prison and manages to hack him to death one night. For this crime, Chamundi is sentenced to death, and the death sentence is carried out. In the meantime, Manickam gets the news that his mother is seriously unwell. He grieves for her and longs to pay her a visit. On his own accord Superintendent Raghavan takes the unprecedented step of permitting Manickam to go to Allikulam to see his mother, after eliciting a promise from him that he would return to the prison by daybreak. The next day is Raghavan's last day in service, and Raman Nair arrives to take charge as the new superintendent. Manickam has not yet returned, and Raman Nair refuses to take charge until the headcount tallies with the roster. Raghavan is confident that Manickam will return, and his confidence is not misplaced. Manickam arrives just in the nick of time. Raghavan retires; his honour and reputation untarnished.

== Cast ==
{{Cast listing|
*[[Sivaji Ganesan]] as Samundi (extended cameo)
*[[Sivakumar]] as Manickam{{sfn|Rajadhyaksha|Willemen|1998|pp=399–400}}
*[[Lakshmi (actress)|Lakshmi]] as Gokila
*[[R. Muthuraman]] as Saiyathu Bai
*[[S. V. Subbaiah]] as Raghavan{{sfn|Rajadhyaksha|Willemen|1998|pp=399–400}}
*[[Sowcar Janaki]] as Alamel
*[[Sriranjani Jr.]] as Rangamma
*[[M. N. Nambiar]] as Raman Nayar
*[[S. A. Ashokan]] as Marimuthu
*[[O. A. K. Thevar]] as Mioner
*[[V. Gopalakrishnan (actor)|V. Gopalakrishnan]] as the head of police
*[[T. S. Balaiah]] as Sangili Pillai
*[[V. K. Ramasamy (actor)|V. K. Ramasamy]] as Subbaiya Pillai
*[[Nagesh]] as Kesavan
*[[G. Sakunthala]] as Poongavanam
*[[Usilai Mani]] as Panchayat Kambathukarar
*[[Kuladeivam Rajagopal]] as Villupattu Singer's
*[[Shanmugasundari]] as Villupattu Singer's
*[[Karuppu Subbiah]] as Jail Wanted
*K. Kannan as Sundaramoorthy
*[[M. R. Krishnamurthy]]
}}

== Production ==
After acting in several films, [[S. V. Subbaiah]] decided to venture into production. He chose to adapt ''Kai Vilangu'', a novel of Jayakanthan; the film adaptation would be titled ''Kaaval Deivam''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Vamanan |author-link=Vamanan |date=13 May 2019 |title=எஸ்.வி. சுப்பையாவின் உதட்டசைப்பில் சில பாடல்கள் |url=http://www.dinamalarnellai.com/web/news/70867 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206114933/http://www.dinamalarnellai.com//web/news/70867 |archive-date=6 December 2019 |access-date=6 December 2019 |website=[[Dinamalar]] |language=Ta}}</ref> It is the directorial debut of K. Vijayan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 July 2018 |title=18 வயதில் இயக்குநர் ஆனேன்! |url=http://www.kungumam.co.in/Articalinnerdetail.aspx?id=13909&id1=3&issue=20180713 |access-date=11 June 2024 |website=[[Kungumam (magazine)|Kungumam]] |language=ta |archive-date=31 October 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231031160256/http://www.kungumam.co.in/Articalinnerdetail.aspx?id=13909&id1=3&issue=20180713 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[M. R. Krishnamurthy]] made his film debut with this film.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 August 2012 |title=Actor MRK passes away |url=https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/actor-mrk-passes-away/54921/story.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240416142729/https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/actor-mrk-passes-away/54921/story.htm |archive-date=16 April 2024 |access-date=16 April 2024 |website=Nowrunning |language=en}}</ref> [[Sivaji Ganesan]], who made an extended cameo appearance, completed his portions in five days in between the schedules of ''[[Uyarndha Manithan]]'' upon that film's producer [[M. Saravanan (producer)|M. Saravanan]]'s permission.{{Sfn|Saravanan|2013|page=221–222}}

== Soundtrack ==
The soundtrack was composed by [[G. Devarajan]], while the lyrics were written by [[Mayavanathan]], Thanjai Vaanan & Nellai Arulmani.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
! Song !! Singers !! Length
|-
| "Allahvin Dhayavaale" || || 00:50
|-
| "Porappadhum Poradhum Iyarkai" || T. M. Soundararajan || 03:21
|-
| "Aiyanaaru Neranja Vaazhvu" || Dharapuram Sundararajan & P. Susheela || 03:50
|-
| "Aiyan Enbom" || Kuladeivam Rajagopal, Krishnamoorthy, Krishnan, [[Shanmugasundari]] & Andal || 02:19
|-
| "Maiyal Migavum Meerudhe" || Radha Jayalakshmi || 02:80
|}

== Release and reception ==
''Kaaval Dheivam'' was released on 1 May 1969.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 October 2016 |title=Art of the matter |url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/Art-of-the-matter/article15747777.ece |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200810132052/https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/Art-of-the-matter/article15747777.ece |archive-date=10 August 2020 |access-date=17 January 2019 |work=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> ''[[Ananda Vikatan]]'', in a review dated 8 June 1969, praised the film for its story, the cast performances and the cinematography.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=8 June 1969 |title=காவல் தெய்வம் |url=http://www.mayyam.com/talk/showthread.php?10239-Nadigar-Thilagam-Sivaji-Ganesan-Filmography-News-and-Events/page178 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180920070406/http://www.mayyam.com/talk/showthread.php?10239-Nadigar-Thilagam-Sivaji-Ganesan-Filmography-News-and-Events/page178 |archive-date=20 September 2018 |access-date=14 July 2022 |magazine=[[Ananda Vikatan]] |language=ta}}</ref> ''[[The Indian Express]]'' in its review dated 3 May 1969 called it "a conventional picture and a departure from the usual Tamil film" and concluded "The technical side is not an asset to the film but despite these drawbacks, it is a warmly recommendable family picture".<ref>{{Cite news |date=3 May 1969 |title=Conventional departure |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=P9oYG7HA76QC&dat=19690503&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |access-date=1 May 2019 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |pages=5 |via=[[Google News Archive]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{Cite book |last1=Rajadhyaksha |first1=Ashish |author-link=Ashish Rajadhyaksha |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema |last2=Willemen |first2=Paul |author-link2=Paul Willemen |publisher=[[British Film Institute]] and [[Oxford University Press]] |year=1998 |isbn=0-19-563579-5 |orig-date=1994}}
* {{Cite book |last=Saravanan |first=M. |author-link=M. Saravanan (producer) |title=AVM 60 Cinema |publisher=Rajarajan Pathippagam |year=2013 |edition=3rd |language=ta |oclc=1158347612 |orig-date=2005}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title}}
{{K. Vijayan}}
[[Category:1969 Indian films]]
[[Category:1960s prison films]]
[[Category:1969 Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:1969 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:1969 drama films]]
[[Category:1969 films]]
[[Category:Adaptations of works by Jayakanthan]]
[[Category:Films based on Tamil novels]]
[[Category:Films directed by K. Vijayan]]
[[Category:Films scored by G. Devarajan]]
[[Category:Indian black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Indian prison drama films]]
[[Category:Tamil films remade in other languages]]
[[Category:Tamil-language drama films]]
[[Category:Tamil-language Indian films]]

Kaaval Dheivam - Revision history

Ghazal Builders at 05:09, 4 March 2026