''Poottaatha Poottukkal'' () is a 1980 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 Mahendran. It is an adaptation of the novel ''Uravugal'' by Ponneelan. The film stars

Jayan Krishnan Madhavan Nair (25 July 1939 – 16 November 1980), better known by his stage name Jayan, born as the son of Madhavan Pillai (Kerala title), Pillai and Bharathiyamma in Kollam district, Kollam, was an Indian actor, Officer (armed forc ...

and Charulata. It was released on 9 May 1980, and failed at the box-office.

Plot

Fissures occur in a married couple's relationship when they are unable to conceive a child. The wife is later enamoured by a young man who gives her attention. What happens next forms the rest of the story.

Cast

Production

''Poottaatha Poottukkal'' is based on the novel ''Uravugal'' by writer Ponneelan.

Panchu Arunachalam Panchanathan Arunachalam (22 March 1941 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian writer, director, producer and lyricist who worked in the Tamil cinema. He was mentored by poet Kannadasan who was his uncle. He also worked as a lyricist in the Tami ...

approached Mahendran to make a film based on this novel; despite initial reservations to direct due to its concept, he agreed after reading the end of the novel. Mahendran felt

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

actors

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He was notable in Indian parallel cinema and has starred in various international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfa ...

and

Smita Patil Smita Patil (17 October 1955 – 13 December 1986) was an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi films. Regarded among the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she was known for her ...

would be the perfect choice for this story, but Arunachalam felt Patil would create confusions in call sheets and insisted Mahendran to use local actors.

Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, ...

was featured in initial publicity material but did not appear in the finished film; he had reportedly been offered to act but declined. Charulatha who earlier acted in Mahendran's previous film ''

Uthiripookkal ''Uthiripookkal'' () is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language drama film, written and directed by Mahendran. Based on the short story "Chitrannai" () by Pudhumaipithan, it stars Vijayan, Ashwini and Madhu Malini. The film focuses on a sadistic man w ...

'' portraying

Vijayan Vijayan is a South Indian name and may refer to: Given name *Pinarayi Vijayan (born 1944), Indian politician * Vijayan (actor) (1944–2007), Tamil & Malayalam film actor * Vijayan (stunt coordinator), action choreographer for South Indian films * ...

's second wife was chosen as the lead actress while Arunachalam wanted

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

actor

for husband's character; he was eventually chosen. The filming was primarily held at Nagercoil.

Themes

According to Ram Chander of ''

Film Companion Anupama Vinod Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist and film critic who served as the festival director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival from 2015 to 2023. She is also the founder and editor of the now-defunct digital platform Film Compani ...

'', the film is a "subtle meditation on the invisible forces of societal expectations that weigh on married couples".

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...

, with lyrics by Panchu Arunachalam.

Release and reception

''Poottaatha Poottukkal'' was released on 9 May 1980. According to Mahendran,

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 ...

and Ilaiyaraaja bought the distribution rights and released the film in Madurai and Ramanathapuram. However the film ran only for three weeks and failed at the box-office. Mahendran said the film's failure made him learn a lesson that he should not make films on such stories. Ponneelan said, "When an artist's work is translated into a film or drama, it is important that the spirit be maintained. Though a lamp is beautiful, it is the flame which is its spirit. If you can't bring it out, better not venture into that arena".

References

Bibliography

External links

* 1980 drama films 1980 films 1980s Indian films 1980s Tamil-language films Films based on Tamil novels Films directed by Mahendran (filmmaker) Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Films with screenplays by Mahendran (filmmaker) Indian drama films Tamil-language drama films Tamil-language Indian films {{Improve categories, date=March 2024