| Nandha | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Bala |
| Produced by | Ganesh Raghu Karthik Radhakrishnan Venky Narayanan Rajan Radhakrishnan |
| Written by | Bala |
| Starring | Surya Laila Rajkiran Saravanan Rajshree Karunas |
| Music by | Yuvan Shankar Raja |
| Cinematography | R. Rathnavelu |
| Editing by | Suresh Urs |
| Studio | Aparajeeth Films |
| Release date(s) | 14 November 2001 |
| Running time | 180 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Nandha (Tamil: நந்தா) is a 2001 Indian Tamil film written and directed by Bala, starring Surya, Laila, Rajkiran, Saravanan, Rajshree in lead or other pivotal roles. This film marks the debut of comedian Karunas, whilst its music was scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja and cinematography by R. Rathnavelu. The film released on 14 November 2001 and received critical acclaim. Ten years after its original release, the telugu dubbed version is being released.
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Nandha is a movie about a young man from a juvenile jail coming back to a society and his family he had left many years ago. It is about a battle of love and life this once upon a misfit tries to fight to fit into the usual social circus, a fight to earn his mother's love and a fight to live the second chance he has given himself. Surya who plays the key role is sent to a rehabilitation center for murdering his father as a boy. He returns home to a mother, who is deaf and mute, and a sister who are still in a state of shock after what has happened to their family.
He decides to get a new life by trying to give himself a college education. Having the record of being an ex-convict he finds it difficult to get a seat in a college. He meets Raj Kiran a disciplinarian, a college principal who runs his college with an iron hand. Raj Kiran develops a soft corner for Surya and guides him like his own son. Laila, a Tamil exile from SriLanka meets Surya and both fall in love. Seeing Laila without a smile and make-up is quite different and sometimes depressing too. Meanwhile the villain Saravanan asks Raj Kiran who also helps Sri Lankan students in his college a lot to aid an anti-social element, but Raj Kiran refuses outright.
But Raj Kiran's son-in-law agrees to help Saravanan. Meanwhile Raj Kiran falls sick and gets admitted in the hospital, Surya stays around to look after Raj Kiran his mentor and guide. Fearing what he has done might be out in the light, the son-in-law pulls out the oxygen tube of Raj Kiran in the hospital when Surya is not around and blames Surya for murdering his father-in-law. Surya having to deal with the pain of losing the only man, who gave him a second chance to live, also struggles the fray of being of being convicted of murder once again chooses to kill Raj Kiran's Son-in-law in the court campus. The case is dismissed due to the lack of evidence. Finally he is acquitted, as there are no eyewitnesses to the murder.
Surya has aptly displayed his yearning to be loved by his mother. Scenes where he asks his mother to feed him are quite moving. After being acquitted for Raj Kiran son-in-law's murder he returns home. His paranoid mother who still believes that her son still has murder instincts waits at home to feed a meal, which she has poisoned herself. He finds out that the food is poisoned when he eats it, but continues to do so with a satisfaction that he is being fed by his mother. He dies in his mother's lap and when his sister and Laila come out to see what has happened, they realise that both mother and son are dead.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Surya Sivakumar | Nandha |
| Laila | Kalyani |
| Rajkiran | Periyavar |
| Karunas | Lodukku' Pandi |
| Saravanan | Periyavar's son-in-law, Durai |
| Rajshree | Nandha's mother |
| Sheela | Nandha's sister |
The movie initially received lot of positive reviews from the critics and turned out to be a super hit at the box office, as confirmed by Director Bala himself. It also became Surya's turning point in his career.
The title role was initially offered to Ajith Kumar, who rejected the film citing that Bala had not fully developed the story and screenplay before narrating the terms to him.[1]
| Nandha | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Yuvan Shankar Raja | ||||
| Released |
21 October 2001 (India)
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| Recorded | 2001 at Kalasa Studio (Chennai) | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Label | Five Star | |||
| Producer | Ganesh Raghu | |||
| Yuvan Shankar Raja chronology | ||||
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The soundtrack was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, son of noted composer Ilaiyaraaja, who usually scores the music for a Bala film. The soundtrack was released on 21 October 2001 at Hotel Connemara, Chennai by actor Kamal Haasan and director Bharathiraja. It features 6 tracks, out of which two were sung by Ilaiyaraaja. Interestingly, the lyrics of five songs were written by five different lyricists, the lyrics of "Maayane Andha" being derived from the Thiruppavai written and sung by Aandaal.
| Track | Song | Singer(s) | Duration | Lyricist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Mun Paniyaa" | S. P. Balasubramaniam charan, Malgudi Subha | 5:47 | Pazhani Bharathi | |
| 2 | "Or Aayiram Yaanai" | Unnikrishnan | 3:35 | Na. Muthukumar | |
| 3 | "Engengo Kaalgal Sellum" | Ilaiyaraaja | 4:09 | Pulamaipithan | |
| 4 | "Maayane Andha" | Rajalakshmi, Madhumitha & Chorus* | 2:49 | Aandaal | Based on Aandal's Thiruppavai |
| 5 | "Kalli Adi Kalli" | Anuradha Sriram, Madhumitha & Chorus* | 4:06 | Thamarai | |
| 6 | "Amma Endralle" | Ilaiyaraaja | 4:32 | Pa. Vijay |
The movie received mostly positive reviews, but only turned to be a hit, unlike Sethu (Bala's earlier film, which was a blockbuster). Nandha was a turning point in Surya's career. It was declared a "above average" grosser but was regarded with high critical acclaim.
| Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards[2] | Best Film (Special Prize) | Nandha | Won |
| Best Actor | Surya Sivakumar | Won | |
| Best Cinematographer | R. Rathnavelu | Won | |
| Best Supporting Actor (Male) | Rajkiran | Won |
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