Muthu (film)
| Muthu | |
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| Directed by | K.S. Ravikumar |
| Produced by | Rajam Balachander Pushpa Kandaswamy |
| Written by | K.S. Ravikumar Priyadarshan (original story) |
| Starring | Rajinikanth Meena Sarath Babu Raghuvaran Radha Ravi Senthil Vadivelu |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
| Cinematography | Ashok Rajan |
| Editing by | M. Asif Khan |
| Distributed by | Kavithalayaa Productions |
| Release date(s) | October 23, 1995 (India) April 3, 1998 (Japan) |
| Running time | 140 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Muthu (Tamil: முத்து; English: Pearl) is a 1995 Tamil film directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The film's score and soundtrack is composed by A. R. Rahman. The film stars Rajinikanth, Meena, Raghuvaran, Sharath Babu, Radharavi, Senthil and Vadivelu. It is a remake of Malayalam film Thenmavin Kombathu with some suitable changes for Rajanikanth and Tamil audiences.
The film was dubbed in Telugu under the same title. It was later released in Japanese as Muthu Odoru Maharaja (ムトゥ 踊るマハラジャ) which means Muthu - The Dancing Maharaja. The film was also dubbed in Hindi as Muthu Maharaja and was distributed by Eros Labs.
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[edit] Plot
A lavish Zamindar (Rajinikanth) lived with his sister-in-law and cousin Rajasekhar (Raghuvaran), helping people incessantly. His sister-in-law has a son, to whom the Zamindar bequeaths a major portion of his property. At this juncture, a new baby is born to the Zamindar. His wife dies soon after. Brother Rajasekhar cheats the Zamindar as he fears that his son's property might be taken back and given to the Zamindar's own son. When the cheating comes to light, the Zamindar hands over all his property and his baby to his sister-in-law and brother and goes to the Himalayas, making his sister-in-law promise him that the baby should be brought up as a servant, not as a Zamindar. This baby is named Muthu (also Rajinikanth).
According to the promise tendered to the Zamindar, the son of the Zamindar's sister-in-law - Ejama becomes a Zamindar(Sarath Babu) and Muthu works as his servant. A huge fan of drama, Ejama regularly takes Muthu along with him wherever he goes. One day Ejama falls in love with a drama actress Ranganayaki (Meena). But Ranganayaki's heart lies with Muthu. Amidst all this, Ejama's Uncle (Radha Ravi), tries to capture all the property by killing everyone. But Muthu saves all and it is finally revealed that Muthu is the real Zamindar.
[edit] Cast
- Rajnikanth as Muthu and Zamindar, Muthu's father
- Meena as Ranganayaki
- Raghuvaran as Zamindar's stepbrother Rajasekhar
- Sarath Babu as Raghuvaran's son, Zamindar Malayasimman
- Senthil as Thennappan
- Vadivelu as Valayapathy
- Kantimathi as Poongavanam
- Radha Ravi as Ambarathar, Zamindar's uncle
- Ponnambalam as Kaali
- Vichithra as Rathithevy
- K. S. Ravikumar as Kerala Village President (Special Appearance)
[edit] Reception
Muthu was the first Indian film to be dubbed into Japanese as Mutu: Odoru Maharaja[1]) and grossed a record $1.6 million in 1998.[2] Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a special note about the reach of this film among the Japanese in his speech at the National Diet of Japan on 14 December 2006.[3][4] The movie is characterised by location shots in Kerala and was shot in numerous palaces. The Zamindar's palace in which the movie was shot is the Lalitha Mahal Palace in Mysore.
After release, this film banged the theaters grossing a very successful revenue and was officially declared a hit film.
[edit] Soundtrack
| Muthu | ||||
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| Soundtrack album by A. R. Rahman | ||||
| Released | 1995 (India) 1998(Japan) |
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| Recorded | Panchathan Record Inn | |||
| Genre | Film soundtrack | |||
| Label | Pyramid | |||
| Producer | A.R. Rahman | |||
| A. R. Rahman chronology | ||||
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The soundtrack features six songs composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Vairamuthu. Muthu is the first Rajinikanth film for which Rahman wrote music. The soundtrack for this movie turned out to be a major hit and Rahman gained popularity in Japan when the movie was released in Japanese. The Hindi version is titled Muthu Maharaja and had lyrics penned by P. K. Mishra. "Omanathinkal Kidavo" portion of "Kuluvalilae" is written and tuned by famous Malayalam poet Irayimman Thampi.
The video for the hit song "Thillana Thillana" became famous for the belly dance of Meena featuring a lot of closeup shots of her navel.[5] [6]
This soundtrack was selected as the most popular foreign soundtrack in Japan.[7]
Original version (Muthu)
| # | Song | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Kuluvalilae" | Udit Narayan, K. S. Chithra, Kalyani Menon |
| 2 | "Thilana Thilana" | Mano, Sujatha |
| 3 | "Oruvan Oruvan" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam |
| 4 | "Kokku Saiva Kokku" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Theni Kunjaramma, Febi Mani, Ganga |
| 5 | "Vidu Kathaiya" | Hariharan |
| 6 | "Theme Music" | Instrumental |
Telugu version (Muthu)
The soundtrack features six songs composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics Penned by Bhuvanachandra.[8]
| # | Song | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Thilana Thilana" | Mano, Sujatha |
| 2 | "Kalagalile Prema" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra, G. V. Prakash |
| 3 | "Konga Chitti Konga" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Ila Arun |
| 4 | "Virisinada Vidhi Galam" | Hariharan |
| 5 | "Okkade Okkadu" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam |
| 6 | "Theme Music" | Instrumental |
Hindi version (Muthu Maharaja)
| # | Song | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Ooperwala Malik Hai" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Chorus |
| 2 | "Phoolwali Ne Loota Mujhko" | Udit Narayan, K. S. Chithra, G. V. Prakash |
| 3 | "Koi Samjhade" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Ila Arun |
| 4 | "Rangeela Rangeela" | Mano, Sujatha |
| 5 | "Chhod Chala Nirmohi" | Hariharan |
| 6 | "Theme Music" | Instrumental |
[edit] Awards and nominations
- Won
- Nominated
- Rajinikanth - Filmfare Best Actor Award (Tamil) in 1996
[edit] References
- ^ Mutu: Odoru Maharaja
- ^ Gautaman Bhaskaran (January 6, 2002). "Rajnikanth casts spell on Japanese viewers". The Hindu. http://www.hinduonnet.com/2002/01/06/stories/2002010601320900.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-10.
- ^ "It's India-Japan Friendship Year". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 15 December 2006. http://www.hindu.com/2006/12/15/stories/2006121506571400.htm.
- ^ http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=1&theme=&usrsess=1&id=140002
- ^ Rise of the Navel - 'Bollywood navel fashion has led to re-emergence of sari' - India Today
- ^ Meena's exposure
- ^ http://www.screenindia.com/old/fullstory.php?content_id=5670
- ^ http://www.telugufm.com/modules/music/moviedetail.aspx?mid=10643
[edit] External links
- Muthu at the Internet Movie Database
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