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Punnagai Mannan

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Punnagai Mannan
Theatrical release poster
Directed byK. Balachander
Written byK. Balachander
Produced by
  • Rajam Balachander
  • Pushpa Kandaswamy
Starring
CinematographyR. Raghunatha Reddy
Edited byGanesh–Kumar
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Release date
  • 1 November 1986 (1986-11-01)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Punnagai Mannan (transl. King of smiles) is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Revathi in the lead roles, with Srividya, Rekha, Delhi Ganesh, Sudarshan and Sundar Krishna Urs in supporting roles. Its plot revolves around a dance instructor whose student falls in love with him.

Haasan initially pitched to Balachander a sequel to Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981). The pitched project was not made but Balachander used elements of its plot to make Punnagai Mannan, a separate project. The film was released on 1 November 1986, Diwali day, and ran for over 25 weeks in theatres, becoming a silver jubilee hit.

Plot

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Lovers Sethu and Ranjani arrive at a cliff, where they plan to commit suicide due to opposition to their planned marriage from Ranjani's parents, who rejected Sethu, the son of a drunkard cook, as groom. Ranjani's parents threatened they would kill Sethu or commit suicide. Both Sethu and Ranjani jump from the cliff; Sethu becomes trapped in a tree and survives while Ranjani dies. Despite Ranjani's father's attempts to have Sethu jailed by framing him for having killed Ranjani, there is no evidence to prove it. Sethu is arrested for having attempted suicide.

A year later, Sethu is released. His well-wisher Padmini, who owns a dance school, provides him a job of dance instructor. Sethu regularly visits the cliff in remembrance of Ranjani. On his way there, he sees a girl who attempts suicide and stops her. He later meets the girl in a gallery; when where she introduces herself as Malini, Sethu ignores her. Malini again meets Sethu at a tourist spot where she photographs him without his knowledge. Sethu realises this and destroys her camera. Malini chases Sethu to his school as his student. Sethu repeatedly insults Malini but she falls in love with him.

Malini coincidentally meets Sethu's uncle "Chaplin" Chellapa, who dresses like Charlie Chaplin, and learns of Sethu's failed relationship, which increases her affection for Sethu. Chellapa helps her to win Sethu's affection. Malini is Sinhalese, because of which she faces trouble from her classmates, from which Sethu rescues her. Though Sethu regularly humiliates Malini, he begins to like her, and later realises he has started to love her. At the cliff, Sethu takes a sign of blessing from Ranjani for his new love from Ranjani, and confesses his love for Malini and proposes to her.

Malini continues to spend time with Chellapa, whose sense of humour she enjoys. This makes Sethu jealous so he attempts to mimic Chellapa's mannerisms but injures himself. Sethu finds out about Chellapa's own failed relationship, which he tried to forget by wearing a mask of Chaplin. Sethu and Malini unite Chellapa with his former lover Padmini, who never married. Sethu again experiences pressure from Malini's father because Malini is Sinhalese and Sethu is Tamilian. Malini travels from Sri Lanka to Tamil Nadu to join Sethu. Understanding the tight bond between Malini and Sethu, Malini's father approves their marriage.

Ranjani's father hears about Sethu's marriage and intends to kill him. On the day of Sethu's engagement, he gives Sethu's father a basket of apples in which a time bomb is placed, pretending it is a gift for his son. Sethu's father places the basket in Chellapa's car, in which Sethu and Malini leave to visit Sethu's cliff. Learning of the bomb's presence, Sethu's father and Chellapa try to stop Sethu and Malini but the explosion kills the couple. Chellapa later places flowers on the cliff, the place of their deaths.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Athirappily Falls, where many scenes were shot.

After the success of Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981), its lead actor Kamal Haasan pitched to the director K. Balachander a sequel that would begin from the predecessor's climax but take a detour from the suicides of the lead characters; only the female lead would die and the male's suicide attempt would fail.[5] The sequel was not made but Balachander used these plot elements for a new film titled Punnagai Mannan.[6] By contrast, R. Sundaramoorthy said the film began production in 1978 with Poornima Jayaram but was subsequently dropped.[7] Balachander described Punnagai Mannan as a contrast to Ek Duuje Ke Liye because it "was in response to people who argued why lovers should commit suicide".[8]

Casting and filming

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Haasan was cast in two roles; Sethu, and his uncle "Chaplin" Chellappa.[9] Revathi was cast as Malini, a Sinhalese girl,[10] and her voice was dubbed by Sulakshana.[11] Rekha's character was named Ranjani after the Carnatic raga of the same name.[12] G. M. Sundar made his feature-film debut as a dance student.[13] Ramesh Aravind was cast as Malini's lover in flashbacks, but his scenes did not make the final cut.[14][15]

Many scenes of Punnagai Mannan were filmed at Athirappilly Falls at Chalakudy, Kerala in 27 days.[5][16] Balachander suggested Kala as a dance choreographer to fill in for Raghuram, her brother-in-law who was busy.[17] Suresh Krissna, who worked as an assistant director, said of the picturisation of the song "Mamavukku", Haasan had the novel idea of lip sync being perfect while dance movements are fast. Krissna later used this idea in one of the song sequences in his film Annaamalai (1992).[18] Stills Ravi worked on the production as a stills photographer.[19]

The film includes a scene in which Haasan and Rekha, who was 16 years old at the time, kiss.[20][21] In a 2019 interview, Rekha stated she was not told of the kiss before filming the scene. During the filming, Haasan suddenly grabbed and kissed Rekha on her lips. After the shoot, Rekha protested and asked producers to remove the scene but the crew did not comply.[22] After Rekha's revelation, many people, including singer Chinmayi Sripaada, considered Haasan's actions and act of sexual harassment.[23][24]

Soundtrack

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Main article: Punnagai Mannan (soundtrack)

Ilaiyaraaja composed the soundtrack for Punnagai Mannan and Vairamuthu wrote the lyrics for most of the songs.[25][26] A. R. Rahman, who was then known as Dileep, played synthesizer on the soundtrack. Punnagai Mannan was one of the earliest Tamil films in which a sequencer was used.[27][28][29] According to Ilaiyaraaja's son Karthik Raja, a Yamaha CX5M system was used around the time of the making of the film.[30]

Release and reception

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Punnagai Mannan was released on 1 November 1986, Diwali day.[31] The film faced issues with the censor board, who cut roughly 500 feet (150 m).[32] On 14 November, The Indian Express wrote; "though the film was captivating, it did not seem to have much value as a thing of the past, as memory. And that is because both the plot and character are one-dimensional."[33] Jayamanmadhan of Kalki negatively reviewed the film, particularly the climax, comparing it unfavourably with Balachander's earlier films.[34] Despite competition from other Diwali releases including Maaveeran,[35] Palaivana Rojakkal,[36] Aruvadai Naal and Kannukku Mai Ezhuthu,[37] Punnagai Mannan became a silver jubilee hit, running for over 25 weeks in theatres. On the film's 25th-week celebrations, Balachander called Haasan Puratchi Mannan (Revolutionary king).[38]

Other versions

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Punnagai Mannan was later dubbed into Telugu as Dance Master and into Hindi as Chacha Charlie.[39][40]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Punnagai Mannan | Cast and Crew". Moviefone. Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  2. ^ Joseph, Raveena (21 February 2016). "All in the family". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  3. ^ Rajitha (21 September 2000). "Thenali: A Kisstory!". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  4. ^ "என் பாடல்கள் அளவுக்கு முகம் தமிழ் ரசிகர்களுக்குப் பரிச்சயமானதில்லை: கல்பனா ராகவேந்தர்!" [My face is not familiar to Tamil fans as my songs are: Kalpana Raghavendar!]. Dinamani (in Tamil). 16 March 2018. Archived from the original on 25 November 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  5. ^ a b பாலச்சந்தர், கே. (26 February 1995). "நினைவலைகள் - 30" (PDF). Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 58–60. Retrieved 25 April 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ Jha, Subhash K (25 January 2017). "Ek Duuje Ke Liye remake on the cards?". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  7. ^ ரஜினிக்கு எப்படி முடி போச்சுனு தெரியுமா? - மேக்கப் மேன் சுந்தரமூர்த்தி (in Tamil). Cinema Vikatan. 14 July 2019. Event occurs at 24:46. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Ashok Kumar, S. R. (10 February 2006). "At 100, going strong". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  9. ^ "கமலும், கதாபாத்திரங்களும் – பிறந்தநாள் ஸ்பெஷல்!" [Kamal and his characters – Birthday Special!]. Dinamalar (in Tamil). 7 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  10. ^ "இயக்குநர்களின் இதயம் தொட்ட காதல்". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 13 February 2015. Archived from the original on 12 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Did You Know?". Chennai Times. 30 April 2011. p. 38. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  12. ^ "Did You Know?". Chennai Times. 13 February 2011. p. 38. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  13. ^ AP (12 October 2001). "At last". Screen. Archived from the original on 7 December 2001. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  14. ^ Ramachandran, Avinash (18 July 2020). "A rare talent for spotting talent, Actor Ramesh Aravind on K Balachander". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  15. ^ Menon, Neelima (9 September 2014). "Sunny Side Up: The Ramesh Aravind Interview". Silverscreen.in. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  16. ^ Menon, Hari (11 July 2014). "Kerala's Rainforest". Outlook Traveller. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  17. ^ Umashanker, Sudha (6 October 2003). "In her footsteps". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 January 2004. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  18. ^ Krissna & Rangarajan 2012, pp. 35–36.
  19. ^ Ravi, Stills (19 July 2017). "A photographer's delight". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  20. ^ Ramesh, Deepika (23 January 2013). "Should they kiss and tell?". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  21. ^ "Kamal Haasan should say sorry to Rekha for unplanned kiss". The New Indian Express. Indo-Asian News Service. 25 February 2020. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  22. ^ வாய்ப்புக்காக கதாநாயகர்கள் வீட்டு வாசலில் நிற்க முடியாது – Rekha Special Interview [Heroes cannot stand outside houses seeking chances] (in Tamil). Touring Talkies. 6 August 2019. Event occurs at 12:14. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2021 – via YouTube.
  23. ^ Sampath, Janani (10 March 2020). "When violation cannot be justified as artistic manipulation". The Federal. Archived from the original on 30 January 2024. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Chinmayi on Rekha's revelation about Punnagai Mannan kissing scene". The Times of India. 25 February 2020. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  25. ^ "Punnagai Mannan (1986)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  26. ^ "Punnagai Mannan Tamil Film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  27. ^ Kamini 2009, pp. 53–54.
  28. ^ Maderya, Kumuthan (7 December 2021). "Once Upon A Time in Kollywood: Ilaiyaraaja And The Electro-Synth Pop Revolution In Tamil Film Music". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  29. ^ "Tamil film music director Illaya Raaja goes hi-tech". India Today. 15 April 1986. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
  30. ^ Naig, Udhav (1 November 2013). "The reign of Raja". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 August 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  31. ^ "Punnagai Mannan". The Indian Express. 1 November 1986. p. 7. Retrieved 21 October 2017 – via Google News Archive.
  32. ^ Rangan, Baradwaj (9 July 2020). "'KB Sir Used To Say That This Is Not The Rajinikanth I Found': Kavithalaya Krishnan". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  33. ^ "Glossy, classy, jazzy". The Indian Express. 14 November 1986. p. 14. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024 – via Google News Archive.
  34. ^ ஜெயமன்மதன் (23 November 1986). "புன்னகை மன்னன்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 31. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  35. ^ Ramachandran 2014, pp. 111–112.
  36. ^ "Rajinikanth turns 67: More than moondru mugam". The New Indian Express. 11 December 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  37. ^ "ஒரே நாளில் வெளியான 2 திரைப்படங்கள்.. மணிவண்ணன் - சத்யராஜ் சம்பவங்கள்!". News18 (in Tamil). 8 February 2023. Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  38. ^ "Did You Know?". Chennai Times. 7 July 2013. p. 42. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
  39. ^ "Kamal Haasan to return to work in November". Deccan Chronicle. 14 September 2016. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 21 October 2017.
  40. ^ Sing, Bobby (13 June 2021). "CinemaScope: The lesser known sequel of Ek Duuje Ke Liye". The Free Press Journal. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.

Bibliography

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