Puthiya Varpugal (1979)

A newly arrived village teacher (Bhagyaraj) becomes the rival of the local elder and feudal bully (Srinivasan) for the beautiful Jyothi (Agnihotri), the daughter of a temple musician. The elder frames the teacher for murder and gets his factotum, Amavasai (Goundamani), to marry Jyothi so as to have access to her. She, however, knifes him and is caught in the act by both the teacher and Amavasai, who has an instant change of heart: he disposes of the corpse in a village ritual bonfire, lit by the dead man’s son, and releases Jyothi to escape with her true love. The film is typical of Bharathirajaa’s work, featuring his trade-mark scene of a group dance of white-clad women and following his set narrative structure: a new arrival in a rural location, love at first sight, rivalry with the socially powerful villain and resolution against the background of a village ritual. The locations around Mysore provide a convincing setting.