| Kaakum Karangal | |
| Director: | A. C. Tirulokchandar |
| Story: | A. C. Tirulokchandar |
| Producer: | M. Murugan M. Kumaran M. Saravanan M. Balasubramanian |
| Starring: | S. S. Rajendran C. R. Vijayakumari |
| Cinematography: | T. Muthusamy |
| Editing: | R. G. Gop |
| Music: | K. V. Mahadevan |
| Studio: | Murugan Brothers |
| Distributor: | AVM Productions |
| Runtime: | 140 minutes |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Tamil |
Kaakum Karangal is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. Inspired by British writer W. Somerset Maugham's 1925 novel The Painted Veil, it was produced by Murugan Brothers, a subsidiary of AVM Productions. The film stars S. S. Rajendran and C. R. Vijayakumari, with Nagesh, L. Vijayalakshmi, S. V. Subbaiah, Sivakumar (in his acting debut) and Revathi playing supporting roles. It was released on 19 June 1965, and failed at the box office.
Shankar's father dies due to lack of medical assistance. His mother, with great difficulty, educates him to be a surgeon. One day, his visit to treat Mahalakshmi develops love for each other. Subbaiah, a rich man and father of Mahalakshmi, objects to this, but finally agrees, saying that she must leave his house. After some time, Mahalakshmi begets a child, but the child dies in a fire accident. This causes a misunderstanding between Shankar and Mahalakshmi. Shankar feels that his hands cannot perform surgery any more. He opts for a service with tribals at Senjipuram. There, he gets affected by viral fever. What happens from there is the rest of the film.
The film marked the acting debut of Sivakumar, then known by his name at birth Palaniswamy. He had already signed a film titled Chithrapournami, but that was shelved. Its directors Krishnan–Panju recommended him to AVM Productions for their film Kaakum Karangal.[1] Tirulokchandar, who was searching for the second lead actor to pair with Vijayakumari, selected Palaniswamy, who was rechristened Sivakumar by AVM founder A. V. Meiyappan.[2] The film was produced by Murugan Brothers, a subsidiary of AVM. Saravanan revealed he had to reduce Sivakumar's portions because the actress who played his love interest him could not do justice to the acting.[3]