''Mettukudi'' ( ) 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

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Sundar C Vinayagar Sundar Vel (born 21 January 1968), known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani#2009, Kalaim ...

, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Karthik,

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 as Kaadhal Mannan (King of Romance) for his romantic roles in films. G ...

Goundamani Subramaniyan Karuppaiya (born 25 May 1939), known by his stage name Goundamani, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Tamil cinema. He is known for his comic duo partnership in Tamil language, Tamil films with fellow actor Senthil. The p ...

Nagma Nagma Arvind Morarji (born Nandita Arvind Morarji; 25 December 1974), known mononyomusly as Nagma. is an Indian politician and former actress. She gained prominence as a leading actress in the 1990s and appeared in films across various India ...

and

Manivannan Manivannan (31 July 1953 – 15 June 2013) was an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, voice artist, playback singer and social activist who worked in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning three decades, he went from being a story and ...

. The music was composed by

Sirpy R. Narayanan Sirpy, known by his stage name Sirpy, is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer. He has predominantly scored music for Tamil films apart from working in Telugu and Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languag ...

with cinematography by

U. K. Senthil Kumar U. K. Senthil Kumar is an Indian cinematographer, who has worked in the Tamil cinema, Tamil and Malayalam film industries. Career A native of Coimbatore, Senthil Kumar belongs to the 1989-92 batch of the Government Film Institute, Chennai, and ...

and editing by P. Sai Suresh. The film was released on 29 August 1996. It is a remake of the 1990 Malayalam film ''

His Highness Abdullah ''His Highness Abdullah'' is a 1990 Indian Malayalam-language musical drama film written by A. K. Lohithadas and directed by Sibi Malayil. It stars Mohanlal, Nedumudi Venu, Gautami, Sreenivasan, Thikkurissy Sukumaran Nair and Mamukkoya. The ...

''.

Plot

The story starts in the 9th century. King

Raja Raja Chola Rajaraja I (Middle Tamil: ''Rājarāja Cōḻaṉ''; Classical Sanskrit: ''Rājarāja Śōḷa''; 3 November 947 – January/February 1014), also known as Rajaraja the Great, was a Chola Empire, Chola emperor who reigned from 985 to 1014. He ...

presents his valuable sword to his commander-in-chief, for playing a vital role in winning a war. It is preserved by his family's descendants. In the present, an archaeologist plans to steal the sword due to its monetary value. Presently, a landlord Shanmugam is charged with the care of the sword. The archaeologist plans to send Raja to steal the sword. He enters into the palace as the son (who ran off from the family in his childhood) of Kumarasamy, Shanmugam's son-in-law. Initially, everything goes smoothly. However, Indhu, Shanmugam's granddaughter, falls in love with Raja. The situation called for Raja to marry her. Later, Indhu discovers the truth and confronts him about stealing the sword. In the meantime, Shanmugam, not knowing Raja for what he came there for, gives the sword to him and asks him to look after it. This makes Raja realise his mistake and promises him to protect it. The climax occurs when Raja manages to protect the sword from the archaeologist, and the family accepts Raja after learning the truth.

Cast

Production

The film was predominantly shot at Lalitha Mahal,

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

. Thilakan was the director's only choice for the role he played.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack was composed by

and lyrics were written by

Palani Bharathi Palani Bharathi or Pazhani Bharathi ( or ) is an Indian writer and lyricist who works in Tamil cinema. Early life Palani Bharathi was born in Karaikudi to Sami Palaniappan, a poet, and Kamala. He has a brother and four sisters. Palaniappan w ...

Reception

R. P. R. 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 ...

'' praised the performances of Gemini Ganesan and Thilakan but panned the editing for having kept the scenes lengthy and found the stuff revolving around sword unbelievable.

References

External links

* * 1990s Indian films 1990s Tamil-language films 1996 comedy films 1996 films Films directed by Sundar C Films scored by Sirpy Films shot in Mysore Indian comedy films Tamil remakes of Malayalam films Tamil-language comedy films Tamil-language Indian films {{Improve categories, date=August 2024