Manjapai

Manjapai
Poster
Directed by	N. Ragavan
Produced by	N. Subash Chandrabose Nandha Kumar
Starring	Vimal Lakshmi Menon Rajkiran
Music by	N. R. Raghunanthan
Cinematography	Masani
Edited by	Deva
Production company	Thirupathi Brothers A Sarkunam Cinemaz
Distributed by	Thirupathi Brothers[1]
Release dates	6 June 2014 (2014-06-06)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Manjapai (Tamil: மஞ்சப்பை, English: Yellow Bag) is a 2014 Indian Tamil comedy drama film directed by N. Ragavan. Produced by Thirupathi Brothers and A Sarkunam Cinemaz, it stars Vimal, Rajkiran and Lakshmi Menon. The film saw its worldwide release on 6 June 2014. The film was remade in Telugu as Errabus with Vishnu Manchu and Dasari Narayana Rao.

Plot

The film starts with Tamil (Vimal) who is raised single-handedly by his grandfather, Venkatasamy(Raj Kiran) in a village, as his parents had committed suicide after eloping and giving birth to him. 25 years later the boy is working in a Chennai-based IT company, staying in an modern upmarket apartment. Tamil meets Karthika (Lakshmi Menon) a medical student using tricks to get to the front of the traffic signal. They fall in love at first sight, and end up being so engrossed in each other that they don't realise that the signal had gone green. The way Karthika tricks the police officer and gets away with it endears Tamil to Karthika. He follows her and in no time she reciprocates.

Meanwhile, at work, Tamil is selected to go to US in three-month project and he brings Venkatasamy to the city to spend quality time before he leaves for US. Venkatasamy, coming from a rustic background, is unfamiliar with the urban lifestyle of people in a modern city.

He even bathes and washes his clothes at a fountain causing much embarrassment to Tamil which he does not share with Venkatasamy. He causes further hardship by disturbing Tamil during his date with Karthika, causing a breakup between them. Venkatasamy infuriates Tamil further by slapping Karthika's father, an Assistant Commissioner of Police, for allowing his daughter wear short clothes in public. Tamil pleads with Karthika and finally she forgives him.

Tamil spends many a sleepless night working on a project on his laptop. Venkatasamy assumes the laptop to be a sandwich grill and without knowing how to use it, he puts it on the stove causing the laptop to explode into pieces, thus destroying the project work. Tamil gets fired from his job resultantly but he hides his anger and frustration from Venkatasamy,

Karthika motivates Tamil to complete the project on her computer. The old man feels really guilty of destroying the laptop, and buys him a new one by selling his ancestral and invaluable wedding ring. Tamil thanks his grandfather and starts working on the project. He successfully finishes the project and gets his job back.

Meanwhile, the old man helps a couple elope and get them married the same way he did with Tamil's parents. While Tamil is leaving to attend an interview to go to the US, Venkatasamy mocks the US flag at the US embassy and thinks that the whites are conquering India again. He creates nuisance and both of them are arrested. When they come out of the station, Tamil goes for a second interview but his Visa gets rejected and scolds his grandfather amidst a large crowd in public.

Pooja (Darshini) a girl thinks that a piece of sweet laced with rat poison is the sweet that the old man gave her and faints after eating it. She was brought to the hospital and the old man was scolded in public for the second time by the girl's parents. However, they discover that the girl is cured thanks to the mixture of salt and tamarind water Venkatasamy gave Pooja before she was taken to the hospital, helping her to nauseate and get rid of ingested poison in the body.

When everyone wants to apologise and thank the old man, he goes missing and everyone starts to search for him. The old man is finally located but in a mentally challenged state. The film ends with Tamil regretting scolding his grandfather and crying while hugging him tightly.^[2]

Cast

• Vimal as Tamil
• Lakshmi Menon as Karthika
• Rajkiran as Venkatasamy
• Kadhal Saravanan as Saravana
• Yuvina Parthavi as Pooja

Production

Initially, when first reported in June 2012, it was said that the film starring Vimal would be directed by A. Sargunam simultaneously with his other project Naiyaandi.^[3] Though he quickly denied reports, citing that his assistant Naveen Raghavan would make his directorial debut with the project, while he would co-produce the film with his brother Nandha Kumar.^[4] In December 2012, Lakshmi Menon and Rajkiran were added to the cast.^[5] In January 2013, Thirupathi Brothers acquired the rights of the film to produce the film on "first copy basis".

The film began shooting schedules in March 2013.^[6] On 2 April 2014, the shooting was wrapped up by filming a song sequence in Chettinad Health City, Kelambakkam.

Soundtrack

M. Ghibran was first signed to compose the soundtrack and score for the film but he opted out of the project due to conflicting schedules.^[7] He was replaced by N. R. Raghunanthan. And Yugabharathi penned all songs.

Release

The satellite rights of the film were sold to Zee Thamizh. ^[8]

Critical Reception

Baradwaj Rangan wrote, "We’ve heard of movies that push the audience’s buttons. Manjapai grabs a live wire and gooses the audience’s behind — so desperate is it to evoke a reaction that it even has a little girl munching on rat poison".^[9] The Times of India gave 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Manja Pai is a good film with a solid message but if you aren't in the mood for gyan, then this movie might not be to your liking".^[10] Sify.com wrote, "Simplistic and sincere, Manja Pai has an old-fashioned plot and characters. It's got its heart in the right place, but sometimes that's not enough entertainment for today’s audience".^[11] Rediff gave it 2 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Manjapai, with its cliched plot, has absolutely nothing new to offer", calling it "a very predictable and overemotional tale".^[12]

Deccan Chronicle gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "The movie is watchable for its clean content and sincere effort by debutant director Raghavan".^[13] Behindwoods gave the film 2.25 stars out of 5 saying "Manja Pai is a crude term that refers to rural migrants arriving to take on the big city. While there was an opportunity for director N. Raghavan to present them as is, focusing on their ability to adapt, the director resorts to stereotypes instead, not just with these sons of the soil, but also with city dwellers. This may evoke sympathy but its certainly far from a confidence building measure for other ‘old school’ migrants".^[14] Indiaglitz.com gave it a score of 2.25 out of 5 and wrote, "Manjapai is definitely not on the lines of the previous films of the prestigious Thirrupathi Brothers banner. But it will not disappoint you if you go to the movie halls expecting some unadulterated entertainment filled with humor and sentiment".^[15]

Remakes

Dasari Narayana Rao bought the Telugu remake rights of the film, he himself directed and acted in the main character of grandfather with Vishnu Manchu playing his grandson.^[16] The remake titled Errabus was released to negative reviews and became an average grosser. Raghavan will direct the Kannada remake titled Mr. Mommaga with Ravi and Oviya in lead roles with Rangayana Raghu playing the grandpa's character.^[17]

References

External links

• Manjapai at the Internet Movie Database