Sevasadanam or Seva Sadan is a 1938 Tamil film

Tamil cinema

Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...

 directed by K. Subramanyam

K. Subramaniam

Krishnaswami Subramaniam was a renowned Tamil film director of the 30s and 40s. He is the father of popular Indian danseuse Padma Subramanyam.-Biography:...

 . It is one of the early Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting and to advocate reformist social policies. This was the first film for M. S. Subbulakshmi

M. S. Subbulakshmi

Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi , also known as M.S., was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. She is the first Indian musician to receive...

.

Production

After the success of Balayogini

Balayogini

Balayogini is a 1937 film made in Tamil and Telugu. It was directed by K. Subramanyam. It is one of the earliest Tamil films to be set in a contemporary social setting and to advocate reformist social policies. This film is considered to be first children's film of South...

(1937), director Subramanyam was encouraged to make more socially oriented films. In 1938 he decided to make a film version of Premchand's novel Bazaar-e-Husn

Bazaar-e-Husn

Bazaar-e-Husn i.e The Red Light Area, Hindi title Seva-sadan is a Hindi/Urdu novel by Munshi Premchand. Originally written in Urdu under the title Bazaar-e-Husn but first published in Hindi under the title Seva-sadan Bazaar-e-Husn i.e The Red Light Area(Red-light district), Hindi title Seva-sadan...

. While Balayogini was about the travails of widows, Sevasadanam dealt with domestic abuse, prostitution and women's liberation. Subramnyam wrote the screenplay himself and made the film under his Madras United Artists Corporation Banner. The completed film was 18,900 feet in length with a run time of 210 minutes.

Plot

Sevasadanam (lit. The house of Service) tells the story of an abused wife Sumathi (M. S. Subbulakshmi) who is driven out of her house by husband and into prostitution. Later she reforms her ways and devotes her life to running an institution for the children of prostitutes.

Cast and crew

• M. S. Subbulakshmi
  M. S. Subbulakshmi
  Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi , also known as M.S., was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. She is the first Indian musician to receive...
  
   - Sumathi
• F. G. Natesa Iyer
• S. Varalakshmi
  S. Varalakshmi
  Saridey Varalakshmi, popularly known as Telugu: ఎస్. వర లక్ష్మిS. Varalakshmi was a veteran Telugu and Tamil actress and singer...
  
  
• S. G. Pattu Iyer
• Kumari Kamala
  Kumari Kamala
  Kumari Kamala is an Indian dancer and actress. Initially featured as a child dancer, Kamala appeared in almost 100 Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films throughout her career...
  
  
• "Jolly" Kittu Iyer
• Jayalakshmi
• Ram Pyari
• Premchand - Story
• K. Subramanyam
  K. Subramaniam
  Krishnaswami Subramaniam was a renowned Tamil film director of the 30s and 40s. He is the father of popular Indian danseuse Padma Subramanyam.-Biography:...
  
   - Screenplay and Director
• Papanasam Sivan
  Papanasam Sivan
  Papanasam Sivan was a prominent composer of Carnatic music and a singer.A famous composer, Sivan was also known as Tamil Thyagayya. Using Classical South Indian as a base, Sivan created numerous hits popularised by M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and M. S...
  
   - Music, Lyrics
• Rajagopal Iyer - Music, Lyrics
• Sailen Bose - Cinematographer
• Ellappa - Cinematographer
• Ramarao - Cinematographer
• K. R. Sharma - Art Director
• Dharam Veer Singh - Art Director

Reception

Sevadanam was released on 2 May 1938. It was a critical and commercial success. Ananda Vikatan

Ananda Vikatan

Ananda Vikatan ஆனந்த விகடன் is the leading Tamil language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. It is part of the Vikatan group which also publishes Junior Vikatan , Chutti Vikatan , Aval Vikatan , Naanayam Vikatan , Sakthi Vikatan , Motor Vikatan and Pasumai Vikatan Ananda Vikatan ஆனந்த...

favourably reviewed the film on 8 May 1938:
As was the case with Balayogini, conservative Hindus were upset with Sevasadanam.