''Anthimanthaarai'' () () is a 1996 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

historical drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film directed by

Bharathiraja Bharathiraja ( born 17 July 1941) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor who works mainly in the Tamil film industry. Making his debut in 1977 with ''16 Vayathinile'', he is known for realistic and sensitive portrayals of ...

. The film stars Vijayakumar and Jayasudha. It is produced by Chandraleela Bharathiraja and Thilaka Ganesh. The film won the National Award for the Best Feature Film in Tamil. The music for the film is scored by

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967), also known by the initialism ARR, is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and philanthropist known for his works in Indian cinem ...

, marking his third collaboration with Bharathiraja after '' Kizhakku Cheemayile'' and '' Karuthamma''. The film had a brief run lasting for a week in major cinemas and fared poorly at the box office despite its accolades and critical acclaim.

Plot

An aged man Kandaswamy Iyer at his retirement pursues a relationship that he could not experience when younger. He was once a freedom fighter and activist, but as time passes by, his efforts become gradually forgotten. Towards the end of his life, he grapples to financially support himself and loses his respect and identity in society. His desires to lead a peaceful retirement with his companion Thangam is tragically taken away from him by the ungrateful and ignorant community.

Cast

Production

Radhika was initially supposed to star in the film but her busy schedule meant that the role went to Jayasudha.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was composed by

and was a promotional audio since the film featured just a few snatches of these songs in the background. It has 4 songs including a Carnatic song written in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and 3 instrumental themes. The lyrics were written by

Vairamuthu Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953) is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he firs ...

Reception

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 ...

'' called ''Anthimanthaarai'' a film lacking trademark elements of Bharathiraja and praised him for narrating the plot within two hours by lessening the dialogues and expressing with small movements and montage shots. D. S. Ramanujam 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 ...

'' wrote, "The tragic tale of a freedom fighter, a firm believer in old values, gets the deft and poignant Bharathiraaja touches, heightening the value of the character in Mega Movies, ''Anthimantharai''". ''Anthimanthaarai'' won the National Award for the Best Feature Film in Tamil. According to Vijayakumar, he was a strong contender for the Best Actor award, but lost by a single vote.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1990s historical drama films 1990s Indian films 1990s Tamil-language films 1996 films Best Tamil Feature Film National Film Award winners Films directed by Bharathiraja Films scored by A. R. Rahman Films with screenplays by Bharathiraja Indian historical drama films Tamil-language Indian films