Deiva Magan (/ðɛɪvə məɡən/ transl. Divine Son) is a 1969 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by A. C. Tirulokchander. An adaptation of the Bengali novel Ulka by Nihar Ranjan Gupta, it stars Sivaji Ganesan in three roles and Jayalalithaa, with Sundarrajan, M. N. Nambiar, Nagesh, V. Nagayya and Pandari Bai in supporting roles. The film is about a scarred man who attempts to reconnect with his estranged family.

Following the 1957 film Ulka, Thayi Karulu (1962), Meri Surat Teri Ankhen (1963) and Thayin Karunai (1965), Deiva Magan is the fifth film adaptation of the novel. Its screenplay was written to be largely different from those of the earlier films, most of which were poorly received. The film was produced by Periyanna of Shanthi Films, photographed by Thambu and edited by B. Kanthasamy, and the dialogues were written by Aaroor Dass.

Deiva Magan was released on 5 September 1969; it received critical acclaim, primarily for Ganesan's performance, and was a commercial success, running for more than 100 days in theatres. It won the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Third Best Film and Best Actor (Ganesan), and was the first Tamil film to be submitted by India in contest for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Shankar is a successful businessman who has an inferiority complex due to his scarred face. When his wife Parvathi gives birth to a son who is also scarred, Shankar asks the doctor Raju to kill the child to prevent him from experiencing the same pain Shankar has experienced throughout his life. Rather than kill the baby, Raju takes him to an ashram, where he is raised by its Baba and named Kannan. Shankar and Parvathi are oblivious to Kannan's existence.

Kannan receives little affection growing up at the ashram. Meanwhile, his younger twin brother Vijay is raised with much fondness and pampering. Vijay falls in love with a girl named Nirmala, who rejects him. Vijay's friend Ananth regularly extracts money to construct a hotel, which Vijay manages to get for him. When Baba is dying, he tells Kannan he is not an orphan and to meet Raju to learn more about his past. Nirmala is revealed to be Raju's daughter.

Kannan meets Raju, who is shocked to see his resemblance to Shankar. At first, Raju refuses to tell Kannan about his parents but consents after Kannan guarantees he will only see his parents without revealing his identity. Kannan enthusiastically goes to see his parents at night but Shankar shoots him, thinking he is a thief. Nirmala later reciprocates Vijay's love. Kannan has a chance meeting with Parvathi at a temple, but she does not recognise him.

Parvathi tells Shankar what happened at the temple; Shankar believes it must be his firstborn and meets Raju, who confirms it. Shankar meets Kannan; he offers Kannan a large amount of money so he can live prosperously but does not invite him to live with them. Kannan rejects the money, saying he is content to know his parents. Vijay comes and asks his father for money; Kannan, who is hiding in a cupboard, gestures Shankar to give the rejected money to Vijay.

In the meantime, Ananth wants more money from Vijay, so he kidnaps Vijay and demands a large ransom from Shankar. When Shankar is about to leave with the ransom money, Kannan asks to go instead. Shankar refuses so Kannan knocks him out and goes to the planned meeting disguised as Shankar. Kannan rescues Vijay and kills Ananth but is mortally wounded in the process. Shankar, Parvathi and the police arrive at the scene of the shooting. Kannan dies in the arms of his mother, who accepts him as her son.

• Sivaji Ganesan as Shankar, Kannan and Vijay
• Jayalalithaa as Nirmala^[1]
• Sundarrajan as Raju^[1]
• M. N. Nambiar as Ananth^[1]
• Nagesh as Boopathy
• V. Nagayya as the Baba^[1]
• Pandari Bai as Parvathi^[1]
• Vijayasree as Julie^[2]

The soundtrack to Deiva Magan was composed by M. S. Viswanathan and the lyrics were written by Kannadasan.^[12] The song "Deivame Deivame Nandri Solven" is Ganesan's homage to politician C. N. Annadurai, which is evident when it is played over a scene where Kannan screams "Anna".^[5] Kannadasan wrote the pallavi for a song. Tirulokchander and the others liked it, so Kannadasan completed writing the song and had a meeting where they listened to it. When an office boy came to serve them coffee, Kannadasan asked him whether he liked the song. The boy said though the song sounded good, he did not understand the meaning. Immediately, Kannadasan told Viswanathan to compose a different tune so he could write different lyrics. Despite those present objecting, Kannadasan persisted, resulting in the creation of the song "Kettadhum Koduppavane Krishna".^[13] The song, like many of Kannadasan's other songs, praises the Hindu god Krishna as "a simple god that responds to a poor man's prayer".^[14] The songs "Kaadhal Malar Kootam" and "Kaathalikka Katrukollungal" also became popular.^[15][16]

Deiva Magan was released on 5 September 1969.^[6] Despite being released just four weeks after another Ganesan film, Nirai Kudam, it was a critical and commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres. The release of Ganesan's films Thirudan and Sivandha Mann in the following months also did not affect Deiva Magan's theatrical run.^[5]

Kamal Haasan has acknowledged various films as influences on Michael Madana Kama Rajan (1990), namely Deiva Magan along with Nadodi Mannan (1958) and Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973).^[20]

• List of submissions to the 42nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film