''Idhayakkani'' () is a 1975 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, na ...

-language

action thriller Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include lif ...

film, starring

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

in the lead role, with

Pandari Bai Pandari Bai (1930 – 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 as both heroi ...

, R. S. Manohar and Radha Saluja among others enacting supporting roles. The film was directed by A. Jagannathan, produced by

R. M. Veerappan R. M. Veerappan (also referred to as RMV or Rama Veerappan) is an Indian politician, an early Dravidian Leader, and a movie producer and screenwriter from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is the founder and leader of the MGR Kazhagam party. ...

under his banner Sathiya Movies and had musical score by

M. S. Viswanathan Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan (24 June 1928 – 14 July 2015), also known as M.S.V., was an Indian music director, singer and actor who predominantly worked in Tamil film industry. He was popularly known as ''Mellisai Mannar''. He compose ...

. The film was the highest-grossing Tamil film of the year, running for 150 days in theatres. It was 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 girl, Lakshmi, and on the advice of an elderly domestic help, he permits her to stay in his house. Tongues start wagging, and Mohan decides to marry the girl. However, his happiness is short-lived. He is surprised when he discovers that his wife is involved in the murder of a leading scientist.

Cast

as Mohan (Red) * Radha Saluja as Lakshmi, alias Mala *

Manohar Manohar is a surname and given name. Notable people with the name include: ;given name * Manohar Ajgaonkar, Indian politician * Manohar Das, 17th century Indian Hindu painter * Manohar Joshi, politician * Manohar Lal Chibber, soldier * Manohar L ...

as Albert *

Thengai Srinivasan Thengai Srinivasan (21 October 1937 – 9 November 1987) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil-language films and plays from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was given the prefix ''Thengai'' (coconut) after his role as a coconut-seller in th ...

as Rangarajan (Julie) * C. R. Parthiban as Inspector * K. Kannan as Kannan * V. Gopalakrishnan as Madhavarao * S. V. Ramdas as Dass, a hired man *

Isari Velan Isari Velan was an Indian actor, politician and former Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu. His daughter Azaghu Tamil Selvi is a doctor who is also an educationist. His son Ishari K. Ganesh is an educationist who acted in few fil ...

as Isari, Mohan's personal secretary *

Vennira Aadai Nirmala Vennira Aadai Nirmala (born as A. B. Shanthi in Kumbakonam) is an Indian actress who has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She was a prominent lead actress from 1960s and 70s. She is credited as Ushakumari in Malayalam film indust ...

as a female singer in Hello lover', Thotta idam *

as Mohan's mother *

Rajasulochana Chittajallu Rajeevalochana (15 August 1935 – 5 March 2013), better known as Rajasulochana, was an Indian classical dancer and actress. She has acted in more than 300 Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi language films. Early life She w ...

as Lily *

Shanmugasundari Shanmugasundari (23 September 1937 – 1 May 2012) was a Tamil actress. she acted in more than 750 films. Her daughter T. K. Kala is also an actress and playback singer. She also appeared in comedy roles along with Vadivelu in many films. Care ...

as Mohan's relative * Shamugasundaram as Nattamai's son *

Karikol Raju Karikol Raju was a Tamil film veteran actor who appeared in Tamil-language films. He acted in more than 500 films in a career spanning over five decades. He had started his career as a dramatist and stage actor and went on to act as a charact ...

as Panchayat leader * Peeli Sivam as Hotel manager *

Usilai Mani Usilai Mani (உசிலை மணி) was an Indian film actor. He worked predominantly in Tamil movie industry. He has acted over 1000 films and stage plays. His popular movies include ''Enga ooru Kavalkaran'' and '' Ayul Kaithi''. His dial ...

as Astrologer * Ennatha Kannaiya as Tour guide *

T. K. S. Natarajan T. K. S. Natarajan (23 July 1933 – 5 May 2021) was an Indian actor and folk singer. Natarajan debuted as a film actor in the 1954 film Ratha Paasam. Since then, he has acted in more than 500 films. The song 'Ennadi Muniyamma Un Kannula Mai' ...

as Iyer * Trichy Soundararajan as C.I.D officer ;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, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

actress Radha Saluja in Tamil.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

. The songs "Inbame Undhan Per", "Neenga Nalla Irukkanum" became chartbusters.

Vijay Antony Vijay Antony (born 24 July 1975) is an Indian music composer, playback singer, actor, film editor, lyricist, audio engineer, and filmmaker working predominantly in Tamil cinema. He made his debut as music composer in 2005. He is the first India ...

remixed the former song for the film ''

Mariyadhai ''Mariyadhai'' () is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language drama film starring Vijayakanth in a dual role as father and son. Meena and Meera Jasmine are the heroines, while Ambika also plays a significant role. Directed by Vikraman, the film was released ...

'' (2009).

Release and reception

''Idhayakkani'' was released on 22 August 1975. ''

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 ...

'' praised the film for depicting

Mercara Madikeri is a hill station town in Madikeri taluk and headquarters of Kodagu district in Karnataka, India. Etymology Madikeri was known as ''Muddu Raja Keri'', which meant Mudduraja's town, was named after the prominent Haleri king Muddura ...

's greenery and the horror of the

Pichavaram Pichavaram is a village near Chidambaram in Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located between the Vellar estuary in the north and Coleroon estuary in the south. The Vellar-Coleroon estuarine complex forms the Killai backwater and t ...

backwaters, along with the music and colour cinematography. Kanthan of ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

'' 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 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