''Manithan Maravillai'' () is a 1962 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 comedy drama film written, co-produced and directed by

Chakrapani Chakrapani may refer to: People with the surname * Aluri Chakrapani (1908–1975), Indian film multilingual writer, producer and director * Chuck Chakrapani, Indian research methodologist, educator, and author * M. G. Chakrapani (1911–1986), I ...

and produced by

Nagi Reddi Bommireddy Nagi Reddi (2 December 1912 – 25 February 2004) was an Indian film producer and director mainly in Telugu cinema. He set up Vijaya Vauhini Studios in Chennai, which was then Asia's biggest film studio. As his elder brother (who was ...

under

Vijaya Productions Vijaya Vauhini Studios was one of the premier motion picture movie studios in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the combination of Vijaya Productions and Vauhini Studios. B. Nagi Reddy (Bommireddy Nagi Reddy) was the founder of Vijaya Produ ...

. It is a remake of the Telugu film ''

Gundamma Katha ''Gundamma Katha'' () is a 1962 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film directed by Kamalakara Kameswara Rao and co-produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani under their banner Vijaya Productions. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Ra ...

'', which itself is based on the 1958

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 ...

film ''Mane Thumbida Hennu''. The film starred

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...

Akkineni Nageswara Rao Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1923 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became on ...

, Savitri and Jamuna, with Sundari Bai, S. V. Ranga Rao, K. Sarangapani, L. Vijayalakshmi, Lakshmi Prabha Raja and T. K. Ramachandran in supporting roles. It revolves around the story of a proud mother, Subbamma, and the way she handles her two sons-in-law. ''Manithan Maravillai'' was released on 8 June 1962.

Plot

Subbamma (Sundari Bai) is a wealthy widow with a daughter, Saroja (Jamuna); a son, Prabhakar (Raja), and a stepdaughter, Lakshmi (Savitri). Although the girls are beautiful and intelligent, Saroja is spoiled and Lakshmi is treated like a servant. Chithambaranar (S.V. Ranga Rao), a good friend of Subbamma's late husband with two sons, is searching for suitable brides. Subbamma is interested in Chithambaranar's son for Saroja, and sends word through an intermediary. She wants to marry Lakshmi off to just anyone to avoid accusations of neglecting her stepdaughter. Kuppusamy (K. Sarangapani), Subbamma's brother, wants Saroja to marry his son Boopathy (T. K. Ramachandran)—who is in prison. Chithambaranar and his sons, aware of Subbamma's greed and her treatment of her daughters, teach her a lesson. After deciding that Lakshmi will make a suitable match for his older son Panjacharam (Gemini Ganesan) and Saroja for his second son Raja (Akkineni Nageswara Rao), Chithambaram asks his sons to play roles. Panjacharam enters Subbamma's house as Panji, a homeless servant who wins her heart (and a job). Raja—with the aid of his cousin, Padma (L. Vijayalakshmi)—enters as Prabhakar, woos her and wins her heart. Panji, with his humility and wit, wins Lakshmi's heart and asks Subbamma for her daughter's hand in marriage. Subbamma agrees, and Panji marries Lakshmi. Subbamma is impressed by Prabhakar for Saroja, and plans for the wedding. She receives a letter from Chithambaram that he is no longer interested in the alliance because Subbamma allegedly poisoned her husband, but Saroja wants to marry Prabhakar. Subbamma obliges, after Panji convinces her that a son-in-law in her home will be no problem and she can enjoy the company of her beloved daughter even after her marriage. After Saroja's marriage, Prabhakar (Raja) is fascinated by Padma and wants to marry her instead; Panji convinces Subbamma. Subbamma and Saroja soon realise that Prabhakar is a drunkard and a thief, and Subbamma opposes his marriage to Padma (which happens anyway). Prabhakar intensifies his acting as a drunkard, and pretends that he is not Chithambaram's son but a vagabond who is wanted for theft. As Subbamma's problems accumulate, Padma's paternal Aunt Kaveri (Lakshmi Prabha) appears. Prabhakar leaves Saroja and writes, asking her to join him. Saroja obliges, and leaves Subbamma's house against her wishes. Kuppusamy's son Boopathy, just released from prison, torments Subbamma. Without Prabhakar, Subbamma is confined to her

outhouse An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may also be used ...

by Padma's boisterous aunt and Kuppusmay's prison-educated son. Panji also leaves the house with Lakshmi, installing her in Chithambaram's bungalow as mistress of the house and his daughter-in-law. Living a better life, she is still concerned about Subbamma and Saroja. Saroja is introduced as a gardener by Prabhakar, and is treated like a servant by Chithambaram. Saroja's conceit and arrogance evaporate, changing her personality, and Subbamma is humbled by the chaos. Lakshmi visits the despairing Subbamma, evicts Kaveri and Boopathy with Panji's help and brings Subbamma to Chithambaram's house. Saroja leaves Chithambaram's house and encounters Lakshmi, who tells her that they are Chithambaram's daughters-in-law; Prabhakar's drunkenness and theft were an act by his sons (now their husbands). Subbamma, happy to see them both married into a good family, continues to live with Chithambaram's family.

Cast

as Panjacharam *

A. Nageswara Rao Akkineni Nageswara Rao (20 September 1923 – 22 January 2014), widely known as ANR, was an Indian actor and producer, known for his works majorly in Telugu cinema. He starred in many landmark films in his seventy five-year career, and became on ...

as Raja * Savitri as Lakshmi (Subbamma's Step daughter) * Jamuna as Saroja (Subbamma's Daughter) * Sundari Bai as Subbamma * S. V. Ranga Rao as Chithambaranar (Panji& Raja's father) * K. Sarangapani as Kuppusamy (Subbamma's Brother) * L. Vijayalakshmi as Padma (Raja & Panji's Cousin) *

Raja ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...

as Prabhakar (Saroja's Brother) * Lakshmi Prabha as Kaveri (Padma's Anuty) *

C. T. Rajakantham C. T. Rajakantham (1917–2002) was a Tamil stage and film actress. She was the mother-in-law of playback singer Tiruchi Loganathan and grandmother of playback singers and popular music show judges T. L. Maharajan and Deepan Chakkravarthy ...

as Chokki (Kuppusamy's Wife) * T. K. Ramachandran as Boopathy (Kuppusamy's son) *

Nagesh Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 fil ...

as Cameo appearance *

Serukalathur Sama Swaminathan Vaidyanathan (26 June 1904—11 January 1963), known by his stage name Serukulathur Sama, was an Indian stage and film actor who was primarily known for playing the role of the Hindu god Krishna in Tamil language Hindu mythological ...

Production

''Manithan Maravillai'' is a remake of the Telugu film ''

'', itself based on the

film ''Mane Thumbida Hennu'' (1958). The screenplay was written by

, who also co-produced the film with Nagi Reddi under

; Chakrapani and Reddi also produced the Telugu original.

, who appeared as one of the male leads in ''Gundamma Katha'', reprised his role in ''Manithan Maravillai'', which was his 100th film as an actor, while

was cast as the other male lead, reprising the role originally played by

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as List of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh fo ...

. Cinematography was handled by Marcus Bartley.

Release and reception

''Manithan Maravillai'' was released on 8 June 1962. ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

'' lauded the film, particularly Chakrapani's screenplay and direction, and the performances of Ganesan, Nageswara Rao, Savitri and Jamuna. Despite that, it failed commercially.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Ghantasala and the lyrics were written by Thanjai N. Ramaiah Dass and

Kannadasan Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was an Indian philosopher, poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in India. Freq ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1960s Tamil-language films 1962 comedy-drama films 1962 films Films about brothers Films about siblings Films about sisters Films based on The Taming of the Shrew Films based on works by William Shakespeare Films scored by Ghantasala (musician) Films set in 1962 Indian black-and-white films Indian comedy-drama films Tamil remakes of Kannada films Tamil remakes of Telugu films