''Middle Class Madhavan'' is a 2001 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, nati ...

-language

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...

film written and directed by T. P. Gajendran. The film stars

Prabhu ''Prabhu'' means master or the Prince in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to God. The term is also used by devotees of the Hindu God Lord Krishna/Vishnu as a title and form of address. It is also appended ...

and

Abhirami Abhirami may refer to: * Abhirami (actress) Abhirami () (née Divya Gopikumar; July 1983) is an Indian actress and television host. She has acted in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. Early life and education She was born as Divya in ...

, while

Vadivelu Kumaravadivel Natarajan (born 12 September 1960), known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and playback singer, having acted in supporting and lead roles in Tamil cinema. He gained widespread acclaim in Kollywood in the ...

, Vivek,

Manivannan S. Manivannan Rajagopal (31 July 1953 – 15 June 2013), better known by his mononym Manivannan, was an Indian film director, actor and activist who worked mainly in Tamil cinema and also worked in a few Telugu & Malayalam films. In a care ...

and others in supporting roles. The film explores the travails of newlyweds who are forced to live in a joint family. The film was remade in Telugu as ''Mee Intikoste Yem Istaru Ma Intikoste Yem Testaru''. The music was composed by Dhina, and the film released on 18 May 2001.

Plot

The story is set in the middle-class home of Madhavan (

), a budding lawyer who works for

Visu Meenakshisundaram Ramasamy Viswanathan (1 July 1945 – 22 March 2020), best known by his stage name Visu, was an Indian writer, director, stage, film and television actor and talk-show host. Visu initially worked as an assistant to director K ...

. His retired and irresponsible father (

Delhi Ganesh Delhi Ganesh is an Indian actor who mostly acts in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He has acted in more than 400 films from 1976 to present. Before films, he was a member of the Delhi-based theatre troupe, ''Dakshina Bharata Nat ...

) is more interested in playing cards than looking for grooms for his two unmarried daughters. Circumstances force Madhavan to marry Abhirami (

), even before his sisters are wed, a situation quite unthinkable in middle-class homes and the couple unable to have their first night and desperate for it. Meanwhile, Madhavan's sisters find their match in an auto driver named Kuzhandaivelu (

) and an unemployed man named Manimaran ( Vivek), who claims to have a royal background. Madhavan then conducts the weddings of both his sisters, but in the struggle to keep the rest of his family happy, he and Abirami are unable to enjoy even the basic pleasures of married life. How they unite with each other, have they finally celebrated their first night? and convince their family about it (sometimes with comical results) forms the rest of the story.

Cast

as Madhavan *

as Abhirami *

as Kuzhandaivelu * Vivek as Manimaran *

as House Owner *

as Madhavan's boss *

as Madhavan's father * Revathi Sankaran as Madhavan's mother *Tharani as Leela Kuzhandaivelu (Madhavan's sister) *

Radhika Chaudhari Radhika Chaudhari is an Indian actress, who has worked in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu film industries, predominantly in the early 2000s. In 2010, she made a comeback as a film director in the US, winning an award at the Las Vegas Film Festival. ...

as Neela Manimaran (Madhavan's sister) *

Ennatha Kannaiya Ennathe Kannaiah (1925 - 7 August 2012) was a comedian who appeared in Tamil-language films. In the Ravichandran-Jayalalita starrer Naan, as he spoke his dialogues, he frequently used the word Ennathe and this became his nickname. Decades later, ...

as Kuzhandhaivelu's father *

Shanmugasundari Shanmugasundari (23 September 1937 – 1 May 2012) was a Tamil actress. she acted in more than 750 films. Her daughter T. K. Kala is also an actress and playback singer. She also appeared in comedy roles along with Vadivelu in many films. Care ...

as Kuzhandhaivelu's mother *

Kaka Radhakrishnan T. V. Radhakrishnan, better known as Kaka Radhakrishnan ( – 14 June 2012) was an Indian actor who acted in Tamil language films from the year 1940. He is also notable for having introduced his childhood friend, Sivaji Ganesan, into films. Car ...

as Manimaran's grandfather *

Jyothi Lakshmi Jyothi Lakshmi (2 November 1948 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian actress who appeared in more than 130 movies. In the early 1970s, she was well noted for her leading roles and songs in movies. She also acted in female-oriented movies and was a ...

as Manimaran's grandmother * Shyam Ganesh * Seeman * T. P. Gajendran as Wayfarer (special appearance)

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Dhina with lyrics written by Vaali. *"En Success Theriyadha" —

Harini Harini may refer to: * Harini (singer), South Indian film playback singer * Harini (Kannada actress), actress in Indian Kannada film, active 1950–1968 * Genelia D'Souza Genelia Deshmukh (née D'Souza; born 5 August 1987) is an Indian actr ...

*"Hamma Hamma" —

Srinivas Srinivasa (Sanskrit ) is a Hindu name. The term Srinivasa is Vaishnava in origin, the combination of two Sanskrit words, ''Shri'' (श्री) and ''nivasa'' (निवास). It is a name for males in India as well as a family surname. Shrini ...

, Harini *"Ammamma Thaankaadhu" — Hariharan,

Sujatha Mohan Sujatha Mohan (credited as Sujatha) is an Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu movies. She has also sung for Kannada, Badaga, Hindi and Marathi movies. In a career spanning 48 years, she has record ...

*"Pakkam Nikkum Nila" —

Mano Mano may refer to: People * Mano people, an ethnic group in Liberia * Mano (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Mano (Mozambican footballer) (born 1984), real name Celso Halilo de Abdul * Mano (Portuguese footballer) ...

Anuradha Sriram Anuradha Sriram (born 9 July 1970) is an Indian carnatic and playback singer and child actress who hails from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. She has sung more than 700 songs in Tamil, Telugu, Sinhala, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Hindi ...

, Pushpavanam Kuppusamy *"Maappillai Otta" —

Malaysia Vasudevan Vasudevan (15 June 1944 – 20 February 2011), known as Malaysia Vasudevan, was a Malaysian-Indian playback singer and actor in Tamil cinema. Early life Malaysia Vasudevan's parents were from Palakkad. Chattu Nair of Ottappalam and Ammal ...

, Revathi Sankaran, Mano,

Swarnalatha Swarnalatha (29 April 1973 – 12 September 2010) was an Indian playback singer. She is considered to be as Humming Queen Of India and Nightingale Of Tamil Cinema. In a career spanning almost 22 years (from 1987 until her death), she recorded ...

Reception

The movie received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Balaji Balasubramaniam of thiraipadam.com gave a mixed review and wrote, "Prabhu looks old but the role is no stretch for him. Abirami, last seen in Vaanavil, plays the homely role well. Visu shows up in another of his trademark, advise-giving roles while director T.P.Gajendran himself makes an appearance at several spots in various roles. Songs by Dhina are not particularly memorable. Comedy occupies a major portion of this movie too with Vadivelu and Vivek. Vadivelu surprises us with his initial softness but reverts to his usual loud ways soon. Vivek has some funny lines with his royal heritage." Savitha Padmanabhan of The Hindu gave a mixed review and wrote, "The plot gets too predictable after a point, but that is true of most films today. Prabhu's cherubic smile and effortless acting are plus points. Abhirami looks pretty as the homely wife. Delhi Ganesh flits in and out while Visu is at his didactic best. Vadivelu and Vivek do what they are adept at... raising a few laughs. But after a point they get quite tiresome, and even interfere with the main story. Music by Dhina is below average. In fact, the songs stick out like a sore thumb. The director has tried to raise a pertinent issue, but it could have been handled with finesse." Tamilmovienow.com gave a positive review and wrote, "Prabhu is a favorite actor for director TP Gajendran and he handles such simple roles with ease. Abhirami is calm, subtle yet delivers what the character demands. The buried emotions of an obedient wife have been skillfully displayed by the actor. TP Gajendran seldom directs a movie without comedy and in Middle Class Madhavan, it reaches phenomenal heights with the two veterans Vadivelu and Vivek sharing screen space. The duo is equally competent when it comes to making you laugh uncontrollably. Despite being high on emotions and sentimental sequences, Middle Class Madhavan is enjoyable for its serene comedy and its authentic backdrop of a household."

References

{{reflist 2001 films Tamil films remade in other languages 2000s Tamil-language films Indian comedy-drama films Films directed by T. P. Gajendran 2001 comedy-drama films