''Idhayakkani'' () is a 1975 Indian Tamil-language

action thriller The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

film directed by A. Jagannathan and produced by

R. M. Veerappan R. M. Veerappan (9 September 1926 – 9 April 2024), also referred to as RMV or Rama Veerappan, was an Indian film producer, screenwriter and politician from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He was the founder and leader of the MGR Kazhagam par ...

, starring M. G. Ramachandran in the lead role, with

Pandari Bai Pandari Bai (18 September 1928 – 29 January 2003) was an Indian actress who worked in South Indian cinema, mostly in Kannada cinema during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She is considered Kannada cinema's first successful heroine. She has acted ...

, R. S. Manohar and Radha Saluja among others enacting supporting roles. It was released on 22 August 1975 and became a major success. ''Idhayakkani'' was notably the only Indian film to be screened at the Tashkent International Film Festival in 1978.

Plot

Mohan is a kind-hearted man whose theory of life is equality. He puts it into practice by sharing equally the income of his estate with his labourers. He has another passion – he wants to serve the country – and for that, he has joined the police force as an officer. He meets a needy, innocent, uneducated, village girl, Lakshmi, and on the advice of an elderly domestic help, he permits her to stay in his house. Tongues start wagging, rumours spread and to remove the stigma now associated with her name, Mohan decides to marry the girl with her and his mother's consent. He joins duty. However, his happiness is short-lived. He is surprised when he discovers his wife's photo in the file of the case he is assigned to investigate which involves the murder of a leading scientist, as the main suspect. He is shocked but decides to do his duty and begins to investigate by first checking if his wife is really as innocent as she looks. He then takes the battle to other side by infiltrating the gang and in the end, finds the truth.

Cast

;Guest appearances * S. V. Subbaiah as Ponnuswamy * P. S. Veerappa as Uncle John * V. S. Raghavan as The judge * Shakti Prasad as Dharma Prakash, an atomic power scientist * Rathna as Kamala, a picker from Mohan's Sathiya Coffee Estate Mohan, Neega Nallairukkanu

Production

''Idhayakkani'' is the debut of

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

actress Radha Saluja in Tamil.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by M. S. Viswanathan. The songs "Inbame Undhan Per" and "Neenga Nalla Irukkanum" became chartbusters. Vijay Antony remixed the former song for the film '' Mariyadhai'' (2009).

Release and reception

''Idhayakkani'' was released on 22 August 1975. '' Ananda Vikatan'' praised the film for depicting Mercara's greenery and the horror of the Pichavaram backwaters, along with the music and colour cinematography. Kanthan of ''

Kalki Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...

'' praised the writing by Veerappan, and the direction of Jagannathan. The film became a major success, and a breakthrough for Jagannathan.

References

External links

* {{A. Jagannathan 1970s action thriller films 1970s Indian films 1970s Tamil-language films 1975 films Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police Films directed by A. Jagannathan Films scored by M. S. Viswanathan Indian action thriller films Tamil-language Indian films