Thottal Poo Malarum

''Thottal Poo Malarum'' () is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language romantic musical film written and directed by P. Vasu, starring his son Sakthi Vasu and Gowri Munjal, two newcomers. Rajkiran, Sukanya, Nassar, Vadivelu and Santhanam played supporting roles. The music was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The film was released on 3 August 2007 and became an average grosser. The film's title is based on a song from ''Padagotti'' (1964). The film's plot is loosely inspired from Telugu film '' Sahasame Jeevitham'' which was co-directed by Vasu.

Plot

Ravi Thiagarajan, a charismatic youngster, falls head over heels for Anjali, his college mate. Anjali's mother, Periyanayagi, a wealthy and assertive entrepreneur, keeps a close eye on her daughter, even escorting her to college in a car. To win Anjali's heart, Ravi showcases his singing talents, and Anjali, intrigued, attends his performance in disguise. However, Ravi surprisingly recognizes her and serenades a song hinting at his discovery. Anjali is impressed by Ravi's perceptiveness and talent. Ravi further impresses Anjali by boldly participating in a wrestling match, where he defeats the two-time champion despite being a newcomer. Anjali begins to reciprocate Ravi's interest through subtle hints. She challenges Ravi to decipher her phone number, encoded in a series of pincode numbers. Ravi takes on the task and, after considerable effort, successfully deduces the number. Anjali is delighted and, as promised, agrees to confirm their relationship. Ravi publicly confesses his love for Anjali in front of their college peers.

Meanwhile, Ravi's paternal uncle, Kabaaleeswaran "Kabali Khan," returns from Bombay, where he's built a reputation as a gangster. Upon his return, Kabali gets entangled in a series of misadventures, including a car accident and being mistaken for a terrorist. Ravi's father, Thiagarajan, bails him out. Periyanayagi discovers Anjali's relationship with Ravi and warns Thiagarajan to keep his son away from Anjali. Ravi, determined to fight for his love, refuses to back down. In retaliation, Periyanayagi kidnaps Ravi's sister, forcing Thiagarajan to ask Ravi to distance himself from Anjali for the family's safety. However, Thiagarajan later motivates Ravi to pursue his love, revealing that he refused Periyanayagi's bribe and challenged her, vowing that Anjali would be his daughter-in-law. Anjali stands firm in her love for Ravi, while Periyanayagi arranges her marriage to her brother, Varadharaja Vaandaiyar's son, Rajasekar, in Mumbai. Unbeknownst to Periyanayagi, Ravi learns of the plan through her secretary and decides to intervene.

In Mumbai, Ravi meets his paternal uncle, Kabali Khan, and together they devise a plan to stop the marriage. Ravi kidnaps Vaandaiyar's granddaughter and then "rescues" her, gaining Vaandaiyar's trust and entry into his house. Ravi wins over Vaandaiyar's confidence and that of his family members, positioning himself to thwart the planned marriage and be with Anjali. Ravi executes his plan, "kidnapping" Anjali and informing Vaandaiyar, who rushes to rescue her. However, Anjali escapes and makes Vaandaiyar believe it was a false alarm. Ravi and Anjali secretly romanticize within the house, avoiding detection. With the marriage date approaching, tensions rise, and Vaandaiyar's rival gang, led by Balram Seth, plans an attack. During the sangeet night, Anjali attempts suicide, but Ravi stops her, promising to reveal their relationship to the family. The attack by Balram Seth's goons creates chaos, and Anjali inadvertently calls out Ravi for help and Vaandaiyar begins to suspect a connection between her and Ravi.

After defeating the goons, Vaandaiyar confronts Ravi. Anjali rushes to Ravi's aid, revealing their love to the entire family. With their relationship out in the open, Ravi confesses their love story to Vaandaiyar, including Periyanayagi's fake heart attack. Periyanayagi arrives in Mumbai and opposes the relationship, citing Ravi's student status and lack of financial stability. Vaandaiyar advises Ravi to focus on his education and career, promising that Anjali won't be married off until Ravi returns with a stable future. Ravi accepts the challenge and leaves to pursue his studies. Years later, Ravi returns to Chennai as an MBA graduate, expecting to marry Anjali. However, he's shocked to find Anjali's baby shower function underway. The truth is finally revealed: Ravi's parents and Anjali's family had planned a surprise, and the function is actually for Ravi and Anjali's wedding. In the end, Ravi and Anjali tie the knot, surrounded by their loved ones.

Cast

Soundtrack

For the music of the film, P. Vasu teamed up with composer Yuvan Shankar Raja for the first time. The soundtrack was released on 23 June 2007 by Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. Vaali wrote the lyrics for all the songs, except for "Kadatharen Naan Unnai", whose lyrics were written by Snehan. The song "Arabu Naade" became immensely popular and a chartbuster.

Critical reception

TSV Hari of ''Rediff.com'' described the film as "very ordinary fare," adding that "Sakthi certainly deserved better." M Bharat Kumar of '' News Today'' called it a "mediocre offering" with "predictable sequences," noting that "the son seems to have delivered the goods well, while the father has failed as a director." Malathi Rangarajan of ''The Hindu'' wrote "When the sole mission is to promote the son, everything else pales into insignificance. Only that P. Vasu could have been more subtle in his campaign."

Chithra of ''Kalki'' praised the acting of Sakthi but felt his acting in serious scenes seems casual damaging the seriousness of the scenes while also panning Gowri's acting as wooden but praised the acting of Rajkiran and other actors and Vadivelu's humour and Akash's cinematography and added if first half was a snail train then second half was Shatabdi. Malini Mannath of ''Chennai Online'' wrote, "The script offers nothing new. It's yet again the routine love story with predictable happenings .But not much excitement here either. With the hero following his girl to Mumbai, and trying to worm his way into the don's household and heart, it's again a sense of déjà vu. Surely, the director-father could have planned a better proposition for his son's debut".

Legacy

The dialogue "Varum Aanaa Varaadhu" spoken by Ennathe Kannaiah became popular. The dialogue also inspired a song in '' Seemaraja'' (2018).

References

External links

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{{P. Vasu

2000s Indian films
2000s romantic musical films
2000s Tamil-language films
2007 films
2007 musical films
Films directed by P. Vasu
Films scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja
Indian romantic musical films
Tamil-language Indian films