''Manasellam'' () is a 2003 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

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

written and directed by Santhosh. Produced by

V. Ravichandran Veeraswamy Ravichandran (born 30 May 1961), known mononymously as Ravichandran, is an actor, director, producer, music director, lyricist and editor in the Kannada Film Industry. He is the son of film producer N. Veeraswamy. As producer, Ravi ...

, it stars

Srikanth Srikanth or Sreekanth is a common Indian first name. * Srikanth (Tamil actor, born 1940), Tamil film actor active in films from 1965 * Srikanth (Tamil actor, born 1980), Tamil actor active in films after 2002 * Srikanth (Telugu actor), Telugu act ...

and Trisha, while

Cochin Haneefa Muhammed Haneefa (22 April 1951 – 2 February 2010), better known by his stage name Cochin Haneefa, was an Indian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He started his career in the 1970s mainly portraying villainous roles, before going on t ...

plays a major supporting role. The film score and soundtrack were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. It was released on 20 March 2003 and failed both critically and commercially. It got dubbed as ''Manasantha'' in Telugu.

Plot

On his way to Chennai, Bala's bag and certificates get stolen in the train. But he has a look about him that endears him to a petty shop owner Sundaram, who provides him accommodation along with a few bachelors in the top portion of his house. Malar stays opposite this house, and the bachelors are crazy about her. They are scared if the handsome and cheeky Bala will try to woo her, so they hatch a plot and frame him so that Malar's two brothers beat him up black and blue. Three strangers, who claim to be his true friends from Hyderabad, save an unconscious Bala. Now, the true identity of Bala is told in a flashback by these friends, that he is a rich son of an industrialist. Malar saves Bala from an accident, and soon they are in love. But her brothers take her back to Chennai, as their sister had already eloped with someone. The brothers do not want her to commit the same mistake and make her promise that she will only marry someone of their choice. Also, it is revealed that Malar is suffering from some brain disease and will die soon. Knowing this only, Bala has come to stay opposite her house with the hope of seeing and making her happy till the end. Malar's health condition worsens, and she gets admitted to hospital with minimal chances of survival. Bala leaves the hospital crying as he does not want to see Malar die in front of him. The movie ends there.

Cast

as Bala * Trisha as Malar *

as Sundaram *

Nizhalgal Ravi Ravichandran Samanna (born 16 April 1956), known professionally as Nizhalgal Ravi, is an Indian film, television and voice actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He has performed in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films and television series. He s ...

as Malar’s elder brother * Anand as Malar’s elder brother * Rajeev as Bala's father * Fathima Babu as Bala's mother *

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 ...

as Bachelor * Shyam Ganesh as Bachelor * Sukran as Bachelor *

Chandra Lakshman Chandra Lakshman is an Indian actress. She debuted in the 2002 Tamil film ''Manasellam'' and has since then appeared in various Malayalam and Tamil films and TV series. She is probably best known for her performances as Sandra Nellikadan, Rini ...

* Chaplin Balu as Murugan *

Scissor Manohar Scissor Manohar is an Indian comedian and actor. Career Manohar began to work as a production assistant working on films such as '' Puthiya Vaarpugal'' (1979). Manohar earned the name Scissor for his character in '' Gokulathil Seethai'' (199 ...

* Baby Akshaya *

Besant Ravi Besant Ravi (born R. Ravi Kumar; 1 June 1970) is an Indian actor and stunt choreographer. He has played antagonistic supporting roles in Tamil, Hindi and several other Indian language films. Early life Besant Ravi, who was born and brought up ...

Ilavarasu Ilavarasu is an Indian cinematographer and actor, who works in the Tamil film industry. He started his career as a cinematographer and worked for 13 films, winning a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for one of them. He, however, became better kno ...

* Laxmi Ratten as Doctor

Production

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fi ...

was initially selected to play the heroine but was subsequently replaced by Trisha. Shooting took place at Vijaya Vauhini Studios in Chennai.

Soundtrack

Reviews

Nanjilonline wrote: "On the whole Manasellam leaves you with a migraine". Bizhat praised the performances: "Trisha, snatches everyone's attention with her flashing smile. Srikanth has delivered his role very comfortably and carries the movie elegantly proving to find his hand over all type of roles and now rolling to reels". Hindu wrote: "Manasellam has the ingredients of an entertaining fare — but the worn-out storyline and trying sequences are stumbling blocks".

Box office

The film opened in 2 screens in inner Chennai.

References

{{reflist 2003 films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Indian romantic drama films 2000s Tamil-language films 2003 romantic drama films