''Mounam Sammadham'' () is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language

legal thriller The legal thriller genre is a type of crime fiction genre that focuses on the proceedings of the investigation, with particular reference to the impacts on courtroom proceedings and the lives of characters. The courtroom proceedings and legal a ...

film written by S. N. Swamy, directed by K. Madhu and produced by Kovai Chezhiyan. The film stars

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (; born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada ...

(in his Tamil film debut) and

Amala Amala may refer to: People * Amala Akkineni, South Indian actress * Amala Chebolu, playback singer in the Telugu film industry, also known as Tollywood * Amala Paul (born 1991), South Indian actress * Amala Shankar (1919–2020), Indian dancer ...

. It revolves around a lawyer representing a wrongfully convicted man. The film was released on 15 June 1990. The film went on to become a commercial and critical success. This film along with '' Azhagan'' (1991), '' Thalapathi'' (1991), ''Kilipetchu Ketkava''the (1993) and '' Makkal Aatchi'' (1995) established Mammootty as a superstar in Tamil Nadu. This film was dubbed into Telugu as ''Lawyer The Great'', released on 15 February 1991.

Plot

The plot revolves around the wrong conviction of a business man and the efforts taken by a lawyer to find the truth.

Cast

as Adv. K.C. Raja M.A.,

B.L. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

, Bar-at-law *

as Dr. Hema (Sundaram's sister) *

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 '' ...

as Sundaram *

Nagesh Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 Cine ...

as Paramasivam * Sarath Kumar as Balu (Sundaram's brother) * Sathyapriya as Savitri, Sundaram's wife * Sukumari as Sundaram's mother-in-law * Kumarimuthu as Munusamy *Srikanth as public prosecutor chandran *

Y. G. Mahendran Y G Mahendran (born 9 January 1950) is an Indian Actor, dramatist, actor, singer, playwright and comedian from the state of Tamil Nadu. He has acted in a number of plays and films. He is the son of Y. G. Parthasarathy, one of the pioneers of mo ...

as Adv. J.Shekar * Thyagu as Gundan, Raja's friend Cameo role *Suresh Chakravarthy as Raja's friend Cameo role * Charle as Mani, Servant * Jai Ganesh as Kalyanam Sundaram's Partner * R. S. Shivaji as Guest House Caretaker *

Sreeja Sreeja is an Indian actress who acts mostly in Malayalam movies. Her lead roles in Indrajaalam as Mohanlal's heroine and Cheriya Lokavum Valiya Manushyarum are well noted. She had acted only in few movies. Early life Sreeja is born to theater a ...

as Vijayalakshmi *

M. S. Thripunithura Madathilparambil Seshan Venkitaraman (26 May 1943 – 8 March 2006) known by his stage name M. S. Thripunithura was an Indian actor who worked in Malayalam film Industry. He was born in Thripunithura in the erstwhile Cochin State. He died in Sho ...

as Palghat, Paramasivam's Manager *

Prathapachandran Prathapachandran (1941–2004) was an Indian actor, who worked predominantly in Malayalam film industry, though he acted in a few Tamil and Telugu movies as well. He known for the portrayal of villainous and character roles in over 300 movies. ...

as Sessions Court Judge Srinivasan *S. R. Veeraraghavan as Madras High Court Sr Judge * Peeli Sivam as Circle Inspector * Nagarajacholan as Muthu, Vijayalakshmi's Bro * T. S. Raghavendra as Makkal Kural Editor *

Cochin Haneefa Muhammed Haneefa (22 April 1951 – 2 February 2010), better known by his stage name Cochin Haneefa, was an Indian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He started his career in the 1970s mainly portraying villainous roles, before going on t ...

as Kallupatti Rangan, Paramasivam's Henchman *Appa Haja as Natarajan * Y. Vijaya as Prostitute Rani *S. K. Rajavelu as High Court Judge *Vani as Janaki, Vijayalakshmi's Mother

Production

''Mounam Sammadham'' was the first Tamil film of

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

actor

. It took inspiration from his own film ''Oru CBI Diary Kurippu''.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and the lyrics were written by

Pulamaipithan Pulavar Pulamaipithan (6 October 1935 – 8 September 2021) was an Indian scholar, poet and lyricist who got recognition through the song "Naan yaar nee yaar" which was featured in the Tamil film ''Kudiyirundha Koyil'' in 1968. He briefly serve ...

and Gangai Amaran. “Kalyaana Thaen Nilaa" is set in

Darbari Kanada Darbari Kanada, or simply Raga Darbari, (pronounced darbāri kānada), is a raga in the Kanada family, which is thought to have originated in Carnatic music and brought into Hindustani classical music by Miyan Tansen, the legendary 16th-c ...

raga. ;Telugu version Lyrics for the dubbed Telugu version ''Lawyer The Great'' were written by Rajasri.

Reception

N. Krishnaswamy of ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Limited, Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, ...

'' praised the film, particularly Mammootty's performance. C. R. K. of ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exis ...

'', however, was less positive, saying the film was like an ordinary novel. The film was both a critical and commercial success.

References

External links

* {{S. N. Swamy 1990 films 1990s Tamil-language films Films about capital punishment Films directed by K. Madhu Indian courtroom films Indian legal films Legal thriller films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Films about miscarriage of justice