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Mannan (film)

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Mannan
Theatrical release poster
Directed byP. Vasu
Written byP. Vasu
Based onAnuraga Aralithu
Produced byPrabhu
Starring
CinematographyAshok Kumar
Edited byP. Mohanraj
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Release date
  • 15 January 1992 (1992-01-15)
Running time
153 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Mannan (transl. Monarch) is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language masala film[1] written and directed by P. Vasu. The film stars Rajinikanth, Vijayashanti and Khushbu. It is a remake of the 1986 Kannada film Anuraga Aralithu.[2][3]

Plot

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V. Shanthi Devi, owner and CEO of Devi Industries in Madras is announced as the number one young industrialist in India. She is a rich and arrogant woman who rules her company with an iron fist. She lives with her father Viswanathan, whom she replaced five years ago as the CEO, and her maid Kannamma, as she had lost her mother 20 years ago. Krishnan, a kind-hearted mechanic working in Bombay, comes home to Madras to see his mother.

Krishnan and Shanthi Devi meet at the airport and their first meeting ends on a bitter note. Krishnan learns that his mother has paralysis. Krishnan quits his job in Bombay and decides to stay in Madras to take care of his ailing mother. His family doctor recommends Krishnan to meet a renowned businessman for his job. Krishnan goes to meet the businessman and on the way, Viswanathan is beaten by thugs. Krishnan helps him and takes him to a hospital and discovers that Viswanathan is the businessman whom he was going to meet. Krishnan is asked to go to the factory only to discover that it belongs to Shanthi Devi. She refuses to hire Krishnan, but later due to her father's compulsion she recruits Krishnan as Senior mechanic.

Krishnan befriends Meena, Shanthi Devi's secretary. Meena, unlike her boss, is sweet and warm, and instantly falls in love with Krishnan. Once Krishnan saves Shanthi Devi from a falling structure by lifting her, but she slaps him. He returns to her room and slaps her in private. She then realises the incident and promotes him as Section chief mechanic. In the meantime Krishnan is elected as the union leader, defeating the office staff candidate supported by Shanthi Devi. Shanthi Devi is not very happy about him as they have different views and ideas. They have frequent clashes due to this.

Meena decides to marry Krishnan and reveals it to him. Krishnan likes Meena but advises Meena to discuss it with his mother first. Shanthi Devi, on the hand, decides to marry Krishnan, to take revenge on him. She somehow convinces Krishnan's mother to get her married and Krishnan obliges his mother. Krishnan's mother is not aware of Shanthi Devi's plan. Shanthi Devi expects Krishnan to stay at home post marriage but her plan backfires as Krishnan continues as the union leader even after marriage.

Shanthi Devi changes a policy in her company which agitates all the workers and they go on an indefinite hunger strike, which is headed by Krishnan. Viswanathan realises that his company's image is at stake and takes over as the chairman. Shanthi Devi is angered by this move and begins destroying her house, humiliated at having lost to Krishnan. Krishnan's mother learns of their bitter relationship and, despite recovering from paralysis, immediately dies of guilt. An assassination attempt is made on Shanthi Devi by her business rival Sathish, but Krishnan kills him and saves her and ultimately she realises her mistake. Meena is later appointed as the new CEO of Devi Industries and Shanthi Devi is a housewife.

Cast

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Production

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Mannan is a remake of the 1986 Kannada film Anuraga Aralithu,[4] which in turn was based on the novel Anuragada Anthapura by H. G. Radhadevi.[10] Pandari Bai reprised her role from Anuraga Aralithu.[1] Vijayashanti received ₹40 lakh (equivalent to ₹3.1 crore or US$370,000 in 2023) for acting in the film,[11] and Rajinikanth was paid ₹9 million (equivalent to ₹69 million or US$830,000 in 2023). When Goundamani was approached, he asked a figure higher than Rajinikanth; he ultimately received ₹7.5 million (equivalent to ₹58 million or US$690,000 in 2023).[7] The scene where their characters struggle to buy tickets at a cinema theatre was inspired from P. Vasu's real-life experience at Shanti Theatre.[12] During the filming of another scene where Goundamani's character says "Naan inga vandhu ukaandhadhe thappu" (I made a huge mistake by sitting next to him), in reference to Rajinikanth's character, Rajinikanth could not control his laughter, resulting in the scene going through 21 retakes; it was ultimately filmed with Rajinikanth's mouth covered.[13] Many scenes were shot in Ooty.[14]

Themes

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Writing for PopMatters, Kumuthan Maderya said, "At the heart of Mannan is the conceit that domestic violence, physical and emotional, is a civil war of attrition that inevitably hemorrhages both parties".[1] In a separate article for the same website, Ranjani Krishnakumar viewed it differently, as "a fight between a woman in power and a man of the people, who is reluctant to take power into his own hands, but wants to steer his people towards whom he believes deserves that power, which certainly isn't her".[8] The company where Rajinikanth's character initially works is named Ramoji Rao Ranoji Rao Shivaji Rao Jijabai Pvt Ltd., using the names of Rajinikanth's parents Ramoji Rao and Jijabai, as well as his birth name Shivaji Rao.[15]

Music

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The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and lyrics were written by Vaali.[16][17] Rajinikanth made his debut in playback singing with this film,[18] through the song "Adikkuthu Kuliru".[5] The song "Amma Endru" is set in Kalyani raga.[19][20] The song become a frequent Mother's Day special song in Tamil Nadu.[21] The song's lyrics were engraved in an Ayyappan temple located in Trichy.[22] The same song was sung by Tamil Nadu governor R. N. Ravi in a Mother's Day function celebration in 2023.[23]

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Rajathi Raja"Swarnalatha, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam5:00
2."Sandi Raaniye"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam2:02
3."Adikuthu Kuliru"S. Janaki, Rajinikanth5:16
4."Amma Endru"K. J. Yesudas4:54
5."Kumthalakadi"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam5:05
6."Mannar Mannaney"S. Janaki, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam2:42
Total length:24:59

Release and reception

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Mannan was released on 15 January 1992, during the Pongal holiday.[24][25] Sundarji of Kalki felt the story and visuals were not fit for Rajinikanth, and Vijayashanti's rage was a negative, bringing her performance down a certain amount.[26] The film ran for over 25 weeks in theatres,[1] and Yesudas won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer.[27]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Maderya, Kumuthan (31 January 2017). "Hardline Feminism and Unfettered Capitalism in the Action-Masala, 'Mannan'". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Inspiration for remakes". Deccan Herald. 29 November 2009. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  3. ^ "Dr Rajkumar's 18th Birth Anniversary: When His Film Anuraga Aralithu Was Remade in 7 Languages". 24 April 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Ramachandran 2014, p. 141.
  5. ^ a b Ramachandran 2014, p. 142.
  6. ^ a b c d e f "Mannan". Apple TV. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  7. ^ a b "At a time when Goundamani charged on a par with Rajini". DT Next. 3 April 2021. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b Krishnakumar, Ranjani (24 April 2017). "Tamil Film 'Mannan' Presses the Limits of Using Violence on a Female Nemesis". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  9. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (28 January 2005). "The Prabhu magic always works". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 September 2014. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  10. ^ "ರಾಜ್‌ ಹಬ್ಬ: ವರನಟನ ಕಾದಂಬರಿ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳ ಕನ್ನಡಿ". Udayavani (in Kannada). 24 April 2019. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  11. ^ Nikam, Girish (31 August 1992). "Southern superstars Chiranjeevi, Rajnikant and Vijayashanti are paid more than Amitabh Bachchan or Sridevi". India Today. Archived from the original on 13 March 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  12. ^ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (5 March 2015). "The way to Shanti". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2018.
  13. ^ "P. Vasu Talks About 'Sivalinga' And Goundamani's Actions In 'Mannan' Which Made Rajini Go For 21 Takes". Iflicks. 3 January 2017. Archived from the original on 22 June 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  14. ^ Thomas, Annie (12 December 2005). "Surprise party beats Rajnikanth to 56". Daily News and Analysis. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  15. ^ Siva (2 April 2022). "ரஜினி தன் அம்மா அப்பா பற்றி சொல்லிய ஒரே தமிழ் படம்.. விசுவையே குழப்பிய பெயர்கள்". Cinemapettai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Mannan". Gaana. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Mannan Tamil Film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraaja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 4 July 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  18. ^ "Rajini mania". The Hindu. 2 August 2016. Archived from the original on 2 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  19. ^ Saravanan, T. (20 September 2013). "Ragas hit a high". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  20. ^ Mani, Charulatha (14 October 2011). "A Raga's Journey: Kinetic Kalyani". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Mother's Day tribute: Here are 5 evergreen Tamil songs on moms". India Today. 8 May 2016. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  22. ^ "Superstar Rajini's evergreen song is engraved in a temple ..." Behindwoods. 25 August 2012. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  23. ^ "'அம்மா என்றழைக்காத உயிரில்லையே'; அன்னையர் தின நிகழ்ச்சியில் பாட்டு பாடிய ஆளுநர் ஆர்.என்.ரவி". The Indian Express (in Tamil). 14 May 2023. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Mannan". The Indian Express. 15 January 1992. p. 15. Retrieved 8 March 2019 – via Google News Archive.
  25. ^ "Baashha to Darbar: Here is a list of Rajinikanth's Pongal releases that turned super hits". Asianet News. 8 January 2020. Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  26. ^ சுந்தர்ஜி (16 February 1992). "மன்னன்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 17. Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  27. ^ "Film city to be ready soon: Jaya". The Indian Express. 19 January 1994. p. 3. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2021 – via Google News Archive.

Bibliography

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