Shylock (1940 film)

1941 film directed by Kinema Ramu and Serukalathur Sama

Shylock

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Sama-Ramu
Screenplay by| Kinema Ramu
Based on| The Merchant of Venice
by William Shakespeare
Starring| Serukalathur Sama
Cinematography| K. Prabhakar
Edited by| T. R. S. Raghavan
Music by| S. G. Kasi Iyer

Production
company

Bharat Pictures

Release date

* 23 November 1940 (1940-11-23)

Country| India
Language| Tamil

Shylock is a 1940 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Kinema Ramu and Serukalathur Sama (under the name Sama-Ramu) and produced by Bharat Pictures. It is based on William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, and features Sama as the title character. The film was released on 23 November 1940 and failed commercially. No print of it is known to survive, making it a lost film.[1]

## Cast

[edit]

* Serukalathur Sama as Shylock
* T. S. Santhanam as Bassanio[1]
* S. G. Kasi Iyer as Antonio[1]
* T. V. Janakam as Portia[1]
* Jayagouri as Jessica[2]
* Halasyam as Lancelot[2]
* P. S. Sivaramalingam as the Duke

## Production

[edit]

Kinema Ramu, a lawyer based in Kumbakonam and scholar on William Shakespeare, wrote the screenplay for Shylock, a Tamil adaptation of Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice. He and his friend Serukalathur Sama directed the film under the name Sama-Ramu.[1] The film was produced by Bharat Pictures.[3] Sama also played the title character. The lyricists were Yaanai Vaidyanatha Iyer, P. S. Sivaramalingam (who acted onscreen as the Duke) and Papanasam Rajagopala Iyer, brother of Papanasam Sivan. S. G. Kasi Iyer, the brother of Tamil theatre actor S. G. Kittappa, was the music composer, besides playing Antonio onscreen.[1] Cinematography was handled by K. Prabhakar, and editing by T. R. S. Raghavan.[4] Shooting took place at Bharat Movietone in Kilpauk.[1] The makers went to great lengths to recreate an authentic Venetian look for the narrative through the costumes and setting.[5]

## Release and reception

[edit]

Shylock was released on 23 November 1940.[6] Kay Yess Enn of The Indian Express wrote on the same day, "To attempt to bring Shakespeare on the screen and to succeed at that keeping faithfully to the original, is a creditable achievement standing in the name of Serukulathur Sama and Rama".[2] The film did not succeed commercially; according to historian Randor Guy, this was because audiences could not relate to the characters, costumes and sets.[1] No print of the film is known to survive, making it a lost film.[1][7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guy, Randor (29 March 2014). "Blast from the Past: Shylock (1941)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
2. ^ a b c Kay Yess Enn (23 November 1940). "Shakespeare on Tamil Screen". The Indian Express. p. 3. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
3. ^ Doraiswamy, V. (1952). Asian Film Directory and Who's who. Bombay: Fozalbhoy House. p. 176\. Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
4. ^ "1940 – ஷைலாக் – பாரத் பிக்சர்ஸ்" [1940 – Shylock – Bharat Pictures]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 7 December 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
5. ^ Jain, Manju, ed. (2009). Narratives of Indian Cinema. Primus Books. p. 233\. ISBN 9788190891844. Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
6. ^ "Shylock". The Indian Express. 23 November 1940. p. 1. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
7. ^ Baskaran, S. Theodore (23 April 2016). "Of monologues and melodrama". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 November 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Shylock at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice

Characters|

* Shylock
* Antonio
* Bassanio
* Portia
* Jessica

Sources|

* Gesta Romanorum
* Il Pecorone
* The Jew of Malta

On screen|

* 1914
* 1916
* 1923
* Shylock (1940)
* 1953
* 1961
* 1969
* 1980 (TV)
* 2004

Music|

* Incidental music: Shylock (1889)
* Opera: Le marchand de Venise (1935); The Merchant of Venice (1982)
* Musical: Shylock (1987)

Adaptations|

* Serenade to Music (1938)
* The Merchant (1976)
* Shylock (1996)
* Yasser (2001)
* The Maori Merchant of Venice (2002)

Related|

* "All that glitters is not gold"
* "Between you and I"
* "The quality of mercy"

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