Kaadhal Mannan

Kaadhal Mannan
VCD Cover
Directed by Saran
Produced by V. Sudhir Kumar
Written by Saran
Starring Ajith Kumar
Maanu
M. S. Viswanathan
Vivek
Karan
Music by Bharathwaj
Cinematography A. Vijay Kumar
Edited by Ganesh Kumar
Production
company
Venkateswaralayam
Release date
 6 March 1998
Running time
 136 mins
Country India
Language Tamil

Kaadhal Mannan (English: King of Love) is a 1998 Tamil romance film directed by Saran, which features Ajith Kumar and Maanu in the lead roles. The film also saw prominent music composer M. S. Viswanathan make his debut in a supporting role, whilst Vivek, Karan and Girish Karnad also played other roles. The film, which had a successful soundtrack composed by Bharathwaj, was released in March 1998 to positive reviews and became a profitable venture at the box office.

Plot

Rudran (Girish Karnad), a very strict disciplinarian father of two daughters, hates the word 'Love'. The very mention of this word makes him punish himself to unimaginable heights. He disowns his elder daughter Menaka because she elopes with her lover. The strictness is doubled for the younger daughter Thilottama (Maanu) and a marriage alliance is fixed for her. She stoically accepts her father's decision till she meets a local mechanic Shiva (Ajith). Shiva lives with his friend Oyya (Vivek) in a mansion owned by Mess Viswanthan (M. S. Viswanathan), Shiva is always ready to accept dares. When he is dared to go to Delhi by a woman to deliver a letter to her soon-to-be-engaged sister, Thilothama, Shiva ends up falling in love with Thilothama. But Tilottama is unable to reveal her love to Shiva and to her father, as she fears the consequences. Are the lovers able to declare their love for each other and get united? Does Rudran take to it kindly?

Cast

Production

Saran describes that he "was wondering what would happen if a girl, who is engaged to a particular person, falls in love with someone else" and this formed the basis of his plot for the film. The film saw veteran music composer M. S. Viswanathan make his acting debut in a supporting role, whilst the lead actress Maanu from Assam and music composer Bharathwaj also debuted.[1] The film's soundtrack gained rave review prior to release.[2] Viswanathan had initially waded away the approach but actor Vivek later convinced him to partake in the film.[3]

Soundtrack

Kaadhal Mannan
Soundtrack album by Bharathwaj
Released 1998
Recorded 1998
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Length 22:20
Label Magnasound
Sa Re Ga Ma
Producer Bharathwaj
Bharathwaj chronology
Pooveli
(1998)Pooveli1998		 Kaadhal Mannan
(1998)		 Amarakallam
(1999)Amarakallam1999

The soundtrack of the film was composed by Bharathwaj with lyrics written by Vairamuthu. The music was highly well received by the audience. The track Unnai Paartha Pinbu Naan still remains an all-time favourite cult melody. The highlight of the track is its freshness, the excellent composition with breezy lyrics and beautiful picturisation of Ajith Kumar and Maanu with their cute on-screen chemistry.

Track-list
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Unnai Paartha"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 
2."Vaannum Mannum"Hariharan, K. S. Chithra 
3."Thilothamma"Bharathwaj, Annupamaa 
4."Mettu Thedi"M. S. Viswanathan 
5."Marimuthu Marimuthu"Deva 
6."Kanni Pengal"Febi, Ada Ali Azad 

Release

The film released in 108 screens worldwide. It won positive reviews from critics, with a reviewer praising the film for tackling a taboo subject. The critic claimed that Ajith Kumar "was back at his best", whilst also crediting success to Bharathwaj's soundtrack.[4][5] Despite winning plaudits for her portrayal, Maanu quit the film industry for over a decade before resurfacing as a promoter for the 2010 Singaporean film Gurushetram – 24 Hours of Anger and later as an aide to Rajinikanth during his health-related visit to Singapore in 2011.[5]

The film was commercial success at the box office as it released during a period of crisis in the film industry where the FEFSI strikes were ongoing and thus the distributors refused to pick the film up outright and insisted on distribution only. The first copy was worth Rs 22 million, but was only sold for Rs 16 million. Still, it ran for 100 days and re-established Ajith Kumar's market after a string of failures.[6][7]

References

  1. ↑ A-Z (Iii). Indolink.com. Retrieved on 8 August 2015.
  2. ↑ Time to Rock! – The Times of India. Articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com (4 January 2010). Retrieved on 8 August 2015.
  3. ↑ What Vaali borrowed from Rajini – Behindwoods.com – Vasanth TV Daily Thanthi MS Viswanathan YMCA Royapettah Vivek Kadhal Mannan Viswanathan Rajinikanth Balachander tamil movie news images picture gallery images. Behindwoods.com. Retrieved on 8 August 2015.
  4. ↑ Kaadhal Mannan: A Movie Review. Indolink.com. Retrieved on 8 August 2015.
  5. 1 2 Ajith's Heroine Helps Rajnikanth – Rajini – Manu – Tamil Movie News. Behindwoods.com (14 July 2011). Retrieved on 8 August 2015.
  6. ↑ Rediff On The NeT, Movies: Director Saran on matters close to his heart. Rediff.com (10 February 2000). Retrieved on 8 August 2015.
  7. ↑ Ajith says he does not interfere in screenwriting & remains a director's actor
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