''Annai'' () is a 2000 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by

Manobala Balachandar (8 December 1953 – 3 May 2023), known by his stage name Manobala (), was an Indian actor, film producer, director, comedian, and YouTuber who predominantly played supporting roles in Tamil-language films. He worked predominantly i ...

. The film stars

Bhanupriya Bhanupriya (born Manga Bhanu; 15 January 1967) is an Indian actress and dancer. In a four decade old career, she has appeared in 155 feature films, predominantly in Telugu cinema, Telugu and Tamil cinema, Tamil, and a few in Malayalam cinema, M ...

Nassar Nassar (), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer, or Nacer. People with the surname include: People with th ...

and Baby Sadhika while

Ramesh Khanna Ramesh Khanna (also spelt as Ramesh Kanna) is an Indian actor and film director who has worked in Tamil cinema. He has acted in a number of supporting and comedian roles. Early life Ramesh Khanna was born on 30 November 1955 in Chennai and th ...

, Manobala, and

Mayilsamy Mayilsamy (2 October 1965 – 19 February 2023) was an Indian actor and comedian who primarily played supporting roles. Appearing in many Tamil films, he was also a regular guest judge for ''Asathapovathu Yaaru'' on Sun TV in Chennai. He was ...

among others form an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to the po ...

. Music for the film was composed by

Dhina Dhina (also credited as Dheena) (; born on 15 January 1966) is an Indian film and television series composer from Tamil Nadu, India. Biography and career Dhina first worked as an assistant musician under popular composer G. K. Venkatesh, later ...

and the film was released on 11 February 2000.

Plot

A wealthy widow named Kanagamahalakshmi, who loses her husband and unborn child in a car crash, opts to look after an orphan child for a period of one month every year. Her decision operates smoothly for a few years. However, when the child, Anjali, returns to the house for a third year, problems begin to arise. She expresses her distaste at the various deficiencies of Kanagamahalakshmi's household, including her foster parent herself. How Anjali makes the members in the house behave properly forms the rest of the story.

Cast

Production

The film was shot on a budget of 33 lakh rupees within 14 days.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

Reception

Krishna Chidambaram of ''

Kalki Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...

'' criticised the director for treating the theme of adoption half-heartedly. S. R. Ashok Kumar of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' appreciated Kannan's cinematography, the dialogues by Kavitha Bharathi and Rajprabhu, and Manobala's writing and direction, but felt Dhina's music "at times drifts away" from the main story.

References

External links

* 2000 drama films 2000 films 2000s Indian films 2000s Tamil-language films Films directed by Manobala Films scored by Dhina Indian drama films Tamil-language Indian films {{Improve categories, date=March 2024