‘Neeyum bommai naanum bommai'

 

Bommai, in Tamil (meaning "doll") refers to traditional Indian figurines, most notably those used in the South Indian festival of Navaratri Golu. These dolls are crafted from materials like clay, paper-mache, and wood and are arranged on tiered steps (padis) to depict mythological stories, everyday village life, and divine presence. 

During Navarathiri golu festival, every day, people invite their near and dear.  People visit the houses of relatives, neighbours and friends for seeing the Bommai Golu and for exchanging pleasantries.  Gifts are also given to visitors ~ the famous being ‘blouse bit’ which could go in circulation around…… 

Saw this beautiful bommai made of earthen sand at MA  Narasimhan’s house – standing in the middle with many idols and others made of metals / wood /porcelain and more .. ..  this reportedly is more than 150 years antique and so any resemblance to a modern time Tamil State leader is not correct !!! 

Moving away, S Balachandar’s 1964 movie Bommai was a much acclaimed one.  The film was based on Alfred Hitchcock's 1936 British film Sabotage (an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 1907 novel The Secret Agent).  Hitchcock has been a source of inspiration to many filmmakers in several parts of the world, including India. Influenced by his style of filmmaking and onscreen narration, S. Balachandar, the multifaceted Tamil filmmaker, adapted Sabotage in Tamil, suitably changing the storyline for the local market. His movie was titled Bommai, the reason being that, as in the original British movie, the central character is a baby doll which a terrorist uses to plant a bomb and sends it through a boy.  For the Tamil audiences, Balachandar had a walking baby doll in which the bomb was concealed. It was taken in a car and exploded, killing all the villains and saving the hero (Balachandar), for whom the bomb was intended. 

Balachandar wrote the story and screenplay, while the dialogue and lyrics were written by his close associate Vidwan Ve. Lakshmanan. Of course, the music was composed by Balachandar.  The background music for this movie was by DB Ramachandran, who lived in TP Kovil Street, Triplicane.    The song ‘Neeyum bommai naanum bommai',  filmed on an old roadside beggar was sung by K Jesudoss.  Bommai was  a box office hit, scoring the much-coveted hundred-day run in many cinemas, winning critical appreciation. Today it is treated as a classic in the rare genre of suspense movies in Tamil. 

Interesting Bommai !!!

Regards – S Sampathkumar
2.4.2026