Synopsis
Parasakthi is a 1952 Tamil-language satirical drama film directed by Krishnan–Panju and written by M. Karunanidhi.
The movie stars Sivaji Ganesan in his acting debut, alongside S. V. Sahasranamam, S. S. Rajendran (also making his debut), Sriranjani Jr., and Pandari Bai.
The film depicts the misfortunes befalling a Tamil family during World War II, including the youngest sister becoming widowed after her husband's death in the war, an attempted rape by a temple priest targeting her vulnerability following another tragedy (the burning of her house), and Sivaji Ganesan's character succumbing to madness due to these combined adversities.
The film is based on Pavalar Balasundaram's play of the same name and was initially planned for production at Central Studios, but the idea was dropped after T. S. Natarajan objected. The film rights were later bought by P. A. Perumal of National Pictures, with the patronage of A. V. Meiyappan.
The soundtrack was composed by R. Sudarsanam, cinematography was handled by S. Maruti Rao, and Panju edited the film under the alias "Panjabi". Filming began in mid-1950, but took over two years to complete.
