Thulladha Manamum Thullum
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''Thulladha Manamum Thullum'' () is a 1999 Indian
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...
-language romantic drama film directed by debutant
Ezhil Ezhilmaaran known as Ezhil is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He has won 2 Tamil Nadu state awards. He made his directorial debut with the 1999 romantic film ''Thulladha Manamum Thullum'' starring Vijay and Si ...
. It stars Vijay and
Simran Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ; hi, सिमरण, सिमरन ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Sanskrit word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of ...
, while
Manivannan S. Manivannan Rajagopal (31 July 1953 – 15 June 2013), better known by his mononym Manivannan, was an Indian film director, actor and activist who worked mainly in Tamil cinema and also worked in a few Telugu & Malayalam films. In a car ...
,
Dhamu Dhamu is a retired Indian actor and comedian who mainly acts in Tamil films. He is known for his role as Otteri Nari in ''Ghilli'' (2004). He was a part of Gaana Galata Group, a popular touring and acting comedy troupe. Since then, he has appe ...
and
Vaiyapuri Vaiyapuri (born 23 October 1968 as Ramakrishnan) is an Indian actor who has worked in Tamil-language films. He rose to fame by appearing in supporting roles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, often portraying supporting comedic characters. His ...
among others play supporting roles. The film is produced by
R. B. Choudary Ratanlal Bhagatram Choudary is an Indian film producer who has worked in several film industries, predominantly in Tamil and Telugu along with a few films in Malayalam and Hindi. He is the founder of the production company Super Good Films. C ...
and has its score and soundtrack composed by
S. A. Rajkumar S. A. Rajkumar is an Indian composer and lyricist. He has made music for all South Indian language films in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada. Early life Rajkumar's father was a vocalist performing in stage shows conducted by popular mu ...
and cinematography performed by R. Selva. The film released on 29 January 1999 and became a commercial success.


Plot

Kutty is an aspiring but struggling singer who works for a local cable provider Mani. He is unable to get recognition and a stage to exhibit his musical talent. Rukmini "Rukku", a college student, is new to the locality where Kutty stays, and on hearing Kutty's voice, she becomes his fan and decides to seek him and encourage his talent as his voice resembles that of her late father. However, Rukku always catches Kutty in negative situations and, not knowing that he is Kutty, develops a hatred for him as she feels that he is a rowdy. Once, when Kutty is pickpocketed, he pursues the pickpocket to Rukku's college. In the process, he accidentally drops a bottle of acid to the ground, which causes Rukku, who is present at the spot where the acid bottle fell, to become blind. Kutty is horrified when he finds out that he is the reason Rukku had become blind. To make amends, he decides to become her close companion and help her in every way possible. Soon, love blossoms between the two. When Kutty's mother dies, Kutty finds out that her eyes had been donated. He decides to arrange the operation to restore Rukku's eyesight with his mother's eyes, but as the price of the operation turns out to be very high, he accepts an offer from a
Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
man to donate a kidney for his
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
-based father for 40,000. Having paid for Rukku's surgery, Kutty leaves for Pune to donate his kidney. While waiting at the
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
to return to
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, he is framed as a terrorist and is jailed in Pune prison. Seven years later, Kutty is released from prison and returns to Chennai, only to find out that Rukku has moved out of their locality and is now a collector, her eyesight having been restored as well. But Rukku, on seeing Kutty and not knowing that he is Kutty, orders for him to be arrested, in revenge for his "rowdy activities" in the past and for making her blind. But when Kutty begins to sing, Rukku realises that the "rowdy" she had arrested is none other than Kutty. She apologises for misunderstanding him, and they happily embrace, rekindling their relationship.


Cast


Production


Development

The film saw director
Ezhil Ezhilmaaran known as Ezhil is an Indian film director who works in the Tamil film industry. He has won 2 Tamil Nadu state awards. He made his directorial debut with the 1999 romantic film ''Thulladha Manamum Thullum'' starring Vijay and Si ...
, an erstwhile assistant to
Robert–Rajasekar Robert–Rajasekar was an Indian filmmaking duo consisting of Robert Asirvatham and S. Rajasekar. They were active in film direction and cinematography in Tamil cinema of the 1980s. The duo are regarded to have ushered a "new wave" in Tamil cin ...
, Panneer and
Parthiban R. Parthiban (born 14 October 1958) is an Indian actor and filmmaker who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He has directed 15 films, produced 13 films and acted in more than 70 films. He started his career as assistant director for K. Bhagyaraj in ...
, make his debut as a filmmaker under
R. B. Choudary Ratanlal Bhagatram Choudary is an Indian film producer who has worked in several film industries, predominantly in Tamil and Telugu along with a few films in Malayalam and Hindi. He is the founder of the production company Super Good Films. C ...
's production house Super Good Films. The film's concept was inspired from
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
's '' City Lights'' (1931) that Ezhil had watched during a film festival. An earlier version of the script showed the lead character as a painter. The initial title for the film was ''Rukmanikkaga'' but Choudary later changed it to ''Thulladha Manamum Thullum''.


Casting

Ezhil initially wanted comedian
Vadivelu Kumaravadivel Natarajan (born 12 September 1960), known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and playback singer, having acted in supporting and lead roles in Tamil cinema. He gained widespread acclaim in Kollywood in the 2 ...
to play the lead role. Vadivelu, who was impressed with the story, told Ezhil that the storyline was too good and he did not know whether it would work with him in the lead. Vadivelu asked Ezhil to wait for six months, and if he did not find anyone else by then, he would take the role. Vadivelu was ultimately replaced by Vijay. Murali was also considered for the lead role before Vijay was selected. On the suggestion of his friends, Ezhil decided to make the film with a commercial hero and changed the entire script retaining only the emotional core of ''City Lights''. Prior to its release, the role of Vijay's mother in the film was kept under wraps with the media speculating who would play the role. Eventually, no actress played the role although the character played a pivotal part in the film. Rambha was initially supposed to do the project, but as the project underwent changes, the actress opted out before she was replaced by
Simran Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ; hi, सिमरण, सिमरन ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Sanskrit word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of ...
.


Filming

Principal photography began with the "Dhuddu" song as the director felt it would give the team some time to gel. This was the first Vijay song which
Raju Sundaram Basuva Raju Sundaram is an Indian dance choreographer, actor and director, who works primarily in Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films. He appeared as an actor in films such as but not limited to: '' Jeans'' (1998), '' 123'' (2002), '' I Love Yo ...
choreographed. The story takes place in
Triplicane Triplicane, known in the vernacular as Thiruvallikeni, is one of the oldest neighbourhoods of Chennai, India. It is situated on the Bay of Bengal coast and about from Fort St George. The average elevation of the neighbourhood is 14 metres ...
because Ezhil had lived there for a while in his uncle's house. The team scouted for a long time to find a suitable location that fit the story's requirements however a chance visit to the set of a
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
film at Murugalaya Studios convinced Ezhil that erecting a set would be far more cost-effective and thus set resembling Triplicane was erected.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by
S. A. Rajkumar S. A. Rajkumar is an Indian composer and lyricist. He has made music for all South Indian language films in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada. Early life Rajkumar's father was a vocalist performing in stage shows conducted by popular mu ...
, while lyrics were written by
Vairamuthu Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953) is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first ...
and Muthu Vijayan. Rajkumar agreed to compose the music for this film after learning that Ezhil had assisted Robert–Rajasekar, the duo who introduced him in films. The song "Meghamaai Vandhu" which was supposed to be the theme song of the film, was inspired from Urdu song "
Sayonee ''Sayonee'' ( ur, ) is a song by the Pakistani sufi rock band Junoon, released in April, 1997. It is the first track from the band's fourth album, '' Azadi'' (1997), released on EMI Records. Written by lead guitarist and founder of the band Sal ...
" sang by the band Junoon in 1997 in Pakistan; Ezhil wanted a Tamil version of it. After the song was recorded, he learned that
Deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...
had used the same tune for "Salomiya" from '' Kannedhirey Thondrinal''. Rajkumar told him not to worry and gave him the tune of "Innisai Paadi Varum".


Release

''Thulladha Manamum Thullum'' was released on 29 January 1999. The film received positive reviews and became a commercial success (ran over 200 days at the box office).


Reception

Lakshmy from ''
Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Printe ...
'' mentioned that "the experience of seeing the film is simply thrilling", mentioning that the success comes from "the naivete, the simplicity, the absolute lack of sophistication, and from the delightful hero (Vijay)". Rajitha of
Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...
praised the "unusual premise" and wrote that Ezhil "makes a strong debut with this film". Sandya Krishna wrote for ''Indolink'', "A typical R.B.Choudhri production with a debutante director, Ezhil at the helm. If you don't carry huge expectations to the theater or to the video store, you might actually enjoy this film. But mind you... You have to be a Vijay and Simran fan first!" ''
Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History and profile ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...
'' rated the film 41 out of 100.


Accolades

The film won three awards at the
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...
, which include second prize for Best Film (R. B. Choudary),
Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...
(Simran), and the MGR Honorary Award (Vijay).


Legacy

The success of ''Thulladha Manamum Thullum'' led to more offers for Simran, who with ''Thulladha Manamum Thullum'' and '' Vaali'', established herself among the leading actresses in Tamil films. Vijay and Simran were also paired together in several other films after the film's success, with projects titled ''
Priyamaanavale ''Priyamaanavale'' () is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by K. Selva Bharathy. The film stars Vijay and Simran, with S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Vivek and Radhika Chaudhari in supporting roles. The film revolve ...
'' (2000) and ''
Udhaya ''Udhaya'' is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action drama film which was directed by Azhagam Perumal which released on 26 March 2004. The film stars Vijay and Simran, while Vivek, Nassar and Rajesh play supporting roles. The soundtrack for the ...
'' (2004) launched weeks after the film's release. The film went on to be remade in
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
as ''
Nuvvu Vastavani ''Nuvvu Vastavani'' () is a 2000 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language romance film, directed by V. R. Prathap, written by Ezhil, and produced by R. B. Choudary. It stars Nagarjuna (actor), Nagarjuna Akkineni and Simran (actress), Simran in le ...
'', in
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
as '' O Nanna Nalle'', in Indian
Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
as '' Sathi'', in Odia as '' I Love You,'' in Manipuri as Angaobasu Thamoi Palli, in Bangladeshi Bengali as Prio Shathi and in
Bhojpuri Bhojpuri (;Bhojpuri entry, Oxford Dictionaries
, Oxford U ...
as Pyar Jab Kenhu Se Hoi Jala.


References


External links

* {{Authority control 1990s romantic musical films 1990s Tamil-language films 1999 directorial debut films 1999 films 1999 romantic drama films Films about blind people in India Films directed by Ezhil Films scored by S. A. Rajkumar Indian romantic drama films Indian romantic musical films Tamil films remade in other languages Super Good Films films