Thyaga Bhoomi () is a 1939 Indian Tamil-language film directed and produced by K. Subramanyam. Starring K. J. Mahadevan and S.D.Subbalakshmi, the film was produced at the height of India's freedom movement and glorified Mahatma Gandhi and his ideals in no mean terms. The story for the film was based on a novel written by Kalki Krishnamurthy and was financed and distributed by S. S. Vasan before he created Gemini Studios. Thyagabhoomi is the only Indian film to be banned after release by the British government. The film's only existing print is now at an archive store in Pune. The story was serialized in Ananda Vikatan (Kalki was still with the magazine at the time and S.S. Vasan was the financier-distributor of the film) simultaneously when the film production was going on with stills from the film being published. This was the first time ever something like this had ever been attempted in the world and garnered great success both in India and across other Tamil populations across the world (Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Burma etc.) and British Empire.
Plot
Sambu Sastrigal is a compassionate landlord who belongs to a conservative Brahmin community in the village Nedungarai. His only daughter Savitri is married to Sridharan, who works in Calcutta. Savitri leads a life of devotion and piety while Sridharan is fashionable, has his own secret inclinations of leading a licentious life and whiles away his time with his Anglo-Indian girlfriend Susie in Calcutta.
In his anxiety to ensure that his daughter starts her marital life, Sambu sells his properties and pays a huge dowry to Sridharan's father for taking Savitri into their household. Savitri starts living at Calcutta. Time passes and she becomes pregnant. But Savitri's life becomes sorrowful with a disgruntled mother-in-law and an indifferent husband. She writes letters to her father seeking help, which are intercepted by her stepmother and hence she receives no help.
Sambu Sastri shelters Harijans in his home when they are rendered homeless by a cyclone, thus inviting social ostracism from the community. The orthodox Hindu society gets agitated and excommunicates him. Having lost everything, Sambu Sastri goes to Madras hoping to find employment as a music teacher. But he fails in his efforts. Savitri, who was thrown out of her husband's house, returns to her village and learns that her father has left for Madras. She goes in search of him. In the meantime she gives birth to a girl child. She finds her father but he was in a state of trance. As she doesn't want to be a burden to him, she leaves the child with him and goes away.
Sambu wakes up and hears the cries of the child. When he does not find anyone around and nobody claims the child, he decides to bring her up himself in his own way and goes to Nallan, his erstwhile servant, who has settled down in Chavadikuppam, a suburb of Madras. With the presence of Sambu and the child, Chavadikuppam becomes an important colony. Sambu devotes all his time and energy for the upliftment of his poor neighbours and embarks on Gandhian social upliftment programmes, including picketing of liquor shops.
Sambu brings up Charu who grows to be a girl with many talents, more specifically dance. She is very popular among her schoolmates, but is always in the bad books of the headmistress. In the meanwhile, Uma Rani, a rich woman from Bombay, donates 500,000 for the development of Madras and is felicitated for the gesture. Uma Rani is none other than Savitri, who has inherited the wealth of her aunt who died in Bombay She tries to trace her father and child and lives in Madras incognito as Uma Rani.
Charu has a pet dog, which accompanies her to the school. The headmistress throws the dog out and it gets fatally injured. Charu takes it to the hospital and the matron of the hospital does not attend to it immediately. Uma Rani arrives there and Charu seeks her help to get the dog treated. The very sight of Charu strikes a chord in Uma Rani's heart; she immediately orders the matron to treat the dog. When the dog dies, Charu blames the doctor and runs away.