''Neengal Kettavai'' () is a 1984 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 masala film written and directed by Balu Mahendra. It stars

Thiagarajan Thiagarajan Sivanandam (born 21 June 1946) is an Indian actor, director and producer in Tamil cinema. Beside Tamil, he has also acted in several Malayalam and Kannada films and a few Telugu films. He is the father of Tamil actor Prashanth and ...

Bhanu Chander Bhanu Chander (Madduri Venkatasatya Subramanyeswara Bhanuchander Prasad; born 2 July 1952) is an Indian actor, director and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu and Tamil cinema. He is the son of veteran music composer Master Ve ...

, Archana and Silk Smitha in major roles, while

Jaishankar Jaishankar (12 July 1938 – 3 June 2000) was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a very popular lead actor in the 1960s and 70s. He was credited onscreen with title of ''Makkal Kalaingnar'' (people's artiste) or '' ...

had an extended cameo as the antagonist. The film was released on 28 June 1984, and was commercially successful.

Plot

Poornima Bhagyaraj, a widow living in

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and ...

, leads a peaceful life with her two sons. Jaishankar, a tourist who visits the place rapes her. In the act, Poornima dies leaving her two sons who witness the murder. The eldest son (Bhanu Chander) is raised by his maternal uncle while the younger brother (Thiagarajan) joins a blind music teacher as he has great interest in music. Years later he becomes a great singer. Meanwhile, his brother is trained effectively by his uncle learning martial arts with the intention of avenging the death of his mother as he very well remembers the culprit's face. With a turn of events leading to both sons joining together and take revenge for their mother's death forms the rest of the story.

Cast

as Arun *

as Ramu * Archana as Radha * Smitha as Arun's girlfriend * Poornima Bhagyaraj as Ramu and Arun's mother * Y. G. Mahendran as James *

Vanitha ''Vanitha'' () is an Indian magazine published fortnightly by the ''Malayala Manorama'' group. It is the largest magazine in India by circulation according to Audit Bureau of Circulations, with average qualifying sales of 687,915 copies (as of ...

* Somayajulu as music teacher *

Balan K. Nair Balakrishnan Nair, more popularly known as Balan K. Nair (4 April 1933 26 August 2000) was an Indian actor known for his roles in Malayalam cinema. Although he appeared as a villain in most films, he was also noted for his performances in stron ...

as Stunt Master's friend./Uncle of Ramu and Arun * Senthamarai as Stunt Master, Radha's father. * Thengai Srinivasan as Director (Cameo) *

as Muthulingam

Production

Archana made her Tamil cinema debut with the film. The film, unlike Balu Mahendra's previous offbeat ventures, was an "outright commercial picture". He later claimed that he made the film to prove his critics that he could make commercial films. Hence he titled the film ''Neengal Kettavai'' (What you asked for). A few scenes were shot at the VGP golden beach. The song "Oh Vasantha Raja" was shot at Brihadisvara Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The song "Kanavu Kaanum" is based on "Kasme Vaade" from '' Upkar'' (1967). For the dubbed Telugu version ''Kodama Simhalu'', the lyrics were written by L. Aathma Rao and

Rajasri Rajasree (Rajasree Thota Panchajanyam, Kusuma Kumari, born 31 August 1945), also known as Rajasri or Rajashri, is an Indian actress active from 1956 to 1979. She is particularly famous for her portrayal as a princess in several folklore Telug ...

Release and reception

''Neengal Kettavai'' was released on 28 June 1984. '' Kalki'' caustically commented, "Balu Mahendra, idhaiyaa kettom?" (Balu Mahendra, did we ask for ?). Despite the film's box-office success, Mahendra opted to continue making offbeat films.

References

External links

* {{Balu Mahendra 1980s masala films 1980s Tamil-language films 1984 films Films directed by Balu Mahendra Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Films shot in Ooty Indian films about revenge