Pillai Nila
| Pillai Nila | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Manobala |
| Written by | P. Kalaimani |
| Produced by | Perumal |
| Starring | Mohan Raadhika Jaishankar Nalini Baby Shalini |
| Music by | Ilaiyaraaja |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Pillai Nilla (transl. Moon Child) is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language horror film directed by Manobala,[1] and written by P. Kalaimani. The film stars Mohan, Raadhika, Jaishankar, Nalini, and Baby Shalini. It was released on 14 April 1985 and emerged a commercial success.
Plot
Dolly is the young sister of a widowed rich man named David. She falls in love with Mohan, who works in her office. When she tries to express her love, she flies abroad for an office matter. Meanwhile, in India, Mohan's mother arranges his marriage with his cousin Bhuvana, and he marries her. When Dolly returns from abroad on her birthday, she expresses her love to Mohan, but he rejects her because his wife is pregnant. Dolly's obsession causes her to commit suicide in front of him at the hospital. At the same time, as his wife is giving birth. Their daughter, Shalini, is imbued with Dolly's evil spirit as Dolly takes revenge. What happens next is the rest of the story.
Cast
- Mohan as Mohan[2]
- Raadhika as Dolly[2]
- Jaishankar as David (Dolly's brother)
- Nalini as Bhuvana
- Baby Shalini as Shalini[2]
- Sathyaraj as the exorcist (guest appearance)[3]
- Janagaraj as Dolly's secretary
- Thengai Srinivasan as Kanagasabapathy Principal
- Chinni Jayanth as Sekar
- Peeli Sivam
- Pasi Narayanan as Oomaithurai
Production
Pillai Nila took inspiration from various horror films such as Christine (1983), Poltergeist (1982), The Omen (1976) and The Exorcist (1973). The makers sought to avoid clichéd horror film tropes such as haunted houses, "sex-charged teenagers" and "unrealistic monsters in rubber masks".[2]
Soundtrack
The music was composed by Ilayaraja with lyrics by Vaali, Vairamuthu, Muthulingam and Mu. Metha.[4] It took Ilaiyaraaja six days to finish the film's re-recording.[5]
| No. | Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Raja Magal Roja Malar" | P. Jayachandran and S. Janaki | Valli | 04:13 |
| 2 | "Raja Magal Roja Malar" (in child & adult voice version) | S. Janaki | Valli | 02:08 |
| 3 | "Raja Magal Roja Malar" (Unnodathan Pinnodathan) (in adult voice version with wind) | S. Janaki | Valli | 01:55 |
| 4 | "Azhage Azhage" | Malaysia Vasudevan and S. Janaki | Vairamuthu | 03:14 |
| 5 | "Unnodu Thaan" | S. Janaki | 01:15 |
Release and reception
Pillai Nila was released on 14 April 1985, Puthandu. Despite facing competition from other films released in the same week such as Udaya Geetham and Deivapiravi,[6] it emerged a commercial success.[7]
References
- ^ Maderya, Kumuthan (31 October 2014). "Tamil Horror Films: Madness, Modernity and of Course, Misogyny". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d Balakrishnan, Ravi (13 December 2008). "Homegrown horror movies at its best". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ^ Ravi, Stills (28 September 2017). "Sathyaraj: More than a villain". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ "Ilaiyaraaja – Pillai Nila". Discogs. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ^ Saravanan, T. (9 January 2011). "Always in reckoning". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ^ ராம்ஜி, வி. (19 April 2020). "'உதயகீதம்', 'பிள்ளைநிலா', 'தெய்வப்பிறவி'; ஒரேநாளில் ரீலீஸ்; மூன்றுமே செம ஹிட்டு; 35 வருடங்களாச்சு!" [Udaya Geetham, Pillai Nila and Deivapiravi released on the same day; all three were big hits; 35 years have passed!]. Hindu Tamil Thisai. Archived from the original on 14 July 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
- ^ Narayanan, Sujatha (22 August 2016). "Just wait...ghosts will catch up!". The New Indian Express. p. 2. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
External links
- Pillai Nila at IMDb