Aanandan or Agni Purana Mahimai, a mythological tale, was written and directed by S.D.S. Yogi (also known as Yogiyar). Screenplay, dialogue and lyrics were also by him.Some two thousand years ago lived a king, Vasantha Maharaja (M.V. Mani); all his court affairs are handled by his scheming and wicked Rajaguru Rashtracharya (S.D.R. Chandran). Persuaded by the ambitious Rajaguru, the attractive court dancer Mohini (B. Saraswathi), a willing slave to the king, seduces the pious priest Aananthan (Krishnakanth). But soon she becomes the priest’s willing disciple, and this upsets all the devious plans of the Rajaguru. Disappointed and seething with anger, he succeeds in rendering the priest unconscious in deep meditation and places his inert body on the cot beside Queen Vasanthi (K.V. Jeeva) who is fast asleep. The king, who notices the priest and the queen sleeping on the same cot, orders both of them to be burnt alive. In sheer remorse, Aananthan plucks out his eyes and gives them to Mohini, but the eyes slip away and reaches Mount Kailas to gaze with rapture at Lord Shiva.
Back on earth, when they are about to be set on fire, Lord Shiva and goddess Parvathi appear and save them. Rajaguru Rashtracharya is struck blind by the divine curse and is justly punished for his wickedness. The reformed king begs for divine pardon.
Aanandan was produced under the banner Madras Bharat Studio Movietone. Music was composed by K.V. Mahadevan along with G. Ramanathan, using a peculiar name ‘GR. Juvenile and Party’; they launched T.M. Soundararajan as a playback singer. Cinematography was by R.M. Krishnaswami.
S.D.R. Chandran, who plays Rajaguru, was S.D.S. Yogi’s younger brother. S.D.S. Yogi was a poet, playwright, screenwriter and translator. As his literary brilliance was evident at a young age, he was also known as ‘Bala Bharathi’.
He developed interest in the movie media and worked in Tamil films as a screenwriter, lyricist and later also became a filmmaker. The American Tamil filmmaker in Madras, Ellis R. Dungan, held him in high esteem. The film did fairly well, thanks to S.D.S. Yogi.
Remembered for: The deft direction by S.D.S.Yogi, good performances by S.D.R. Chandran and B. Saraswathi
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