''Samundi'' is a 1992 Tamil-language action film directed by

Manoj Kumar Harikrishan Goswami (born 24 July 1937), better known by his screen name Manoj Kumar, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, lyricist and editor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is known for acting and making films with patriotic themes ...

. The film stars

R. Sarathkumar Sarathkumar Ramanathan (born 14 July 1954) is an Indian actor, politician, filmmaker, and singer. He has acted in more than 130 Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. He has won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and three Filmfare Awards ...

and Kanaka. The film, produced by Mogannadarajan and V. Shanmugam, had musical score by Deva and was released on 18 September 1992.

Plot

Samundi, his mother and his little sister Lakshmi move into their new house in a little village. Ponnuthayi, a washerwoman, sympathizes with Samundi's family and she eventually falls in love with Samundi. Rajangam and his brother spread terror among the villagers. One day, the ringing of temple bells and the heralding of the festival throws Samundi into an uncontrollable fit of rage. Ponnuthayi asks the reason for his rage and Samundi tells her about his tragic past. In the past, Samundi prepared his sister Rasathi's wedding and he took her to the temple. There, he clashed with some thugs. In the confrontation, Rasathi was pushed into the lake and drowned. The wedding was cancelled and Samundi's family left his village. Samundi cannot tolerate anymore the oppression of Rajangam's henchmen so he beats them. The villagers then acclaim Samundi, and Rajangam feels ridiculed. At Samundi's wedding, a police officer, who is under Rajangam's order, arrests the innocent Samundi. Samundi is then released after the villagers' pressure. The angry Samundi enters in Rajangam's house with a machete and kills Rajangam and to his surprise, he finds his sister Rasathi alive and wearing a white saree (widow's clothes). What transpires later forms the crux of the story.

Cast

as Samundi * Kanaka as Ponnuthayi *

Meera Meera, better known as Mirabai and venerated as Sant Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. Mirabai was born into a Ratho ...

as Rasathi *

Sangita Sangita (Devanagari: , IAST: ), also spelled Samgita or Sangeeta, refers to "music and associated performance arts" in the Indian traditions. According to Guy Beck, the root "saṃ-" implies "combining, coming together, convergent wholesome blend ...

as Lakshmi *

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 films with fellow actor Senthil. The pair dominated ...

* Mansoor Ali Khan as Rajangam *

Uday Prakash Uday Prakash (born 1 January 1952) is a Hindi poet, scholar, journalist, translator and short story writer from India. He has worked as administrator, editor, researcher, and TV director. He writes for major dailies and periodicals as a freelancer ...

*Varalakshmi as Samundi's mother *

Ponnambalam Ponnambalam or Ponnampalam ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம்) is a Tamil male given name. Due to the Tamil tradition of using patronymic surnames it may also be a surname for males and females. Given name * Ponnambalam (actor) (born 1963), ...

*Swamikannu as Ponnuthayi's father *

Thideer Kannaiah ''Thideer'' Kannaiah was an Indian film and stage actor. He has acted in more than 500 films. His debut film was Aval Oru Thodarkathai. He is notable for his comedian roles along with actors Goundamani and Vadivelu. While he was in the drama, ...

* Sethu Vinayagam *Rocky *S. N. Vasanth *Ravishankar *Mohana Priya *Magima *Sharmili *Premi *Shanthi *Prathiba *Asha Priya *

Joker Thulasi ''Joker'' Thulasi (15 March 1950 – 10 May 2021) was an Indian actor, who worked in Tamil film and television industry. Thulasi made his acting debut in the Tamil film ''Ungalil Oruthi'' directed by Devaraj-Mohan released on 11 April 1976, and ...

*Narayanan *

Singamuthu Singamuthu (born 8 December 1958) is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films as a comedian. Career Singamuthu has primarily appeared in comedy roles in films as a supporting actor debuting in ''Neram Nalla Irukku'' (1987). He ...

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

*Theni Panneerselvam

Production

The film's shooting was held in

Gobichettipalayam Gobichettipalayam () is the Selection grade municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Gobichettipalayam taluk. It is situated at the center of the South Indian Peninsula, from the district headqu ...

, a small town near Coimbatore, which became famous after the tremendous success of

Chinna Thambi ''Chinna Thambi'' () is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by P. Vasu. The film stars Prabhu as the titular character, an uneducated village simpleton and Khushbu as Nandini, a homeschooled wealthy girl. ...

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by Deva. The soundtrack, released in 1992, features 5 tracks, lyrics written by Vaali.

Reception

Malini Mannath of ''

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...

'' said : "The film offers nothing new in terms of entertainment nor can it keep viewers glued to their seats for long". Despite negative reviews, the film completed a 100-day run at the box-office.

References

{{reflist 1990s Tamil-language films 1992 films Films scored by Deva (composer)