Kaadhal Mannan

Kaadhal Mannan
VCD Cover
Directed by	Saran
Produced by	Sudhir Kumar
Written by	Saran
Starring	Ajith Kumar Maanu M. S. Viswanathan Vivek Karan
Music by	Bharathwaj
Cinematography	A. Vijayakumar
Edited by	Ganesh Kumar
Release dates	6 March 1998
Running time	136 mins
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Kaadhal Mannan (English: King of Love) is a 1998 Tamil romance film directed by Saran, which features Ajith Kumar and Maanu in the lead roles. The film also saw prominent music composer M. S. Viswanathan make his debut in a supporting role, whilst Vivek, Karan and Girish Karnad also played other roles. The film, which had music composed by Bharathwaj, was released in March 1998 to positive reviews and became a profitable venture at the box office.

Plot

Rudran (Girish Karnad), a very strict disciplinarian father of two daughters, hates the word 'Love'. The very mention of this word makes him punish himself to unimaginable heights. He disowns his elder daughter Menaka because she elopes with her lover. The strictness is doubled for the younger daughter Thilottama (Maanu) and a marriage alliance is fixed for her. She stoically accepts her father's decision till she meets a local mechanic Shiva (Ajith). Both hopelessly fall in love with each other. Tilottama is unable to reveal her love to Shiva and to her father, as she fears the consequences. Are the lovers able to declare their love for each other and get united? Does Rudran take to it kindly?

Cast

• Ajith Kumar as Shiva
• Maanu as Thilothama
• M. S. Viswanathan as Mess Viswanthan
• Vivek as Oyya
• Karan as Ranjan
• Girish Karnad as Rudran, Black Dog security service MD
• Rathan as Ranjan's father
• Dhamu
• Kanal Kannan as Taxi Driver
• Tharini as Menaka

Production

Saran describes that he "was wondering what would happen if a girl, who is engaged to a particular person, falls in love with someone else" and this formed the basis of his plot for the film. The film saw veteran music composer M. S. Viswanathan make his acting debut in a supporting role, whilst the lead actress Maanu from Assam and music composer Bharathwaj also debuted.^[1] The film's soundtrack gained rave review prior to release.^[2] Viswanathan had initially waded away the approach but actor Vivek later convinced him to partake in the film.^[3]

Release

The film released in 108 screens worldwide. It won positive reviews from critics, with a reviewer praising the film for tackling a taboo subject. The critic claimed that Ajith Kumar "was back at his best", whilst also crediting success to Bharathwaj's soundtrack.^[4][5] Despite winning plaudits for her portrayal, Maanu quit the film industry for over a decade before resurfacing as a promoter for the 2010 Singaporean film Gurushetram - 24 Hours of Anger and later as an aide to Rajinikanth during his health-related visit to Singapore in 2011.^[5]

The film was commercial success at the box office as it released during a period of crisis in the film industry where the FEFSI strikes were ongoing and thus the distributors refused to pick the film up outright and insisted on distribution only. The first copy was worth Rs 22 million, but was only sold for Rs 16 million. Still, it ran for 200 days and re-established Ajith Kumar's market after a string of failures.^[6]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was composed by Bharathwaj. Lyrics written by Vairamuthu was well received by the audience.

References