Naan Mahaan Alla (1984 film)

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Naan Mahaan Alla
Theatrical release poster
Directed byS. P. Muthuraman
Screenplay byA. L. Narayanan
Story bySubhash Ghai
Produced byRajam Balachander
Pushpa Kandaswamy
StarringRajinikanth
Radha
M. N. Nambiar
CinematographyBabu
Edited byR.Vittal
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Release date
  • 14 January 1984 (1984-01-14)
Running time
138 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Naan Mahaan Alla (transl. I am not a saint) is a 1984 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by S. P. Muthuraman. The film stars Rajinikanth, Radha and M. N. Nambiar. It is a remake of the Hindi film Vishwanath (1978). The film was released on 14 January 1984, Pongal day and emerged a commercial success.[1]

Plot[edit]

Viswanath, a famous lawyer, stays with his widowed mother and physically disabled sister. He sends Jagan, a rich magnate's son and Lokaiya, two criminals to jail on the charge of rape and murder of an innocent girl. Jagan's father GMK uses his influence and starts creating trouble in Viswanath's life. GMK succeeds in getting Viswanath imprisoned on a trumped up charge. His heartbroken mother dies. Once out of jail, Viswanath sets out to punish the culprits when he temporarily loses his eyesight.

Cast[edit]

Production[edit]

Rajinikanth initially wanted to star in a Tamil remake of the Hindi film Vishwanath (1978) with S. Ravi producing, but as Ravi did not like the film, they decided to collaborate on a different project, eventually choosing to remake the Kannada film Premada Kanike (1976) as Polladhavan (1980).[2] Nonetheless, Vishwanath would still be remade in Tamil,[3] with S. P. Muthuraman directing and Rajinikanth starring.[4] The remake was originally titled Naan Gandhi Alla (transl. I am not Gandhi) but, following a court order, was retitled Naan Mahaan Alla.[5][6] As a result, the lead character's final dialogue was changed to match the new title, although the lip syncing to the original dialogue "Naan Gandhi Alla" was not changed.[7]

Soundtrack[edit]

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and lyrics were written by Vaali.[8][9]

Title Singer(s) Length
"Maalai Soodum Vaelai" S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki 4:28
"Um Mele Oru Kannu" Malaysia Vasudevan, S. Janaki 4:08
"Kalyanam Vaipogum" S.P. Balasubrahmanyam & S. Janaki 4:29

Reception[edit]

Jayamanmadhan of Kalki felt the first half had the smell of cashews but the second half had old rice grains.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "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 February 2021.
  2. ^ "கடன்காரன் ஆக்கிய ரஜினி!". Patrikai (in Tamil). 6 December 2015. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  3. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (2014) [2012]. Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography. New Delhi: Penguin Books. p. 109. ISBN 978-0-14-342111-5.
  4. ^ "Naan Mahaan Alla (1984)". LetsOTT. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  5. ^ Rangan, Baradwaj (28 August 2010). "Between Reviews: Sophomore Blues". Baradwaj Rangan. Archived from the original on 7 October 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  6. ^ "கமல் நடிப்பில் உருவான துரோகி, டாப் டக்கர் படங்கள் என்ன ஆனது என தெரியுமா?". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 20 September 2016. Archived from the original on 22 November 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2016.
  7. ^ Nambiar, M. N. Dipak (2019). Nambiarswami: The Good, the Bad and the Holy. HarperCollins. pp. 62–63. ISBN 9789353028442.
  8. ^ "Naan Mahaan Alla Tamil Film EP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  9. ^ "Naan Mahaan Alla (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Spotify. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2023.
  10. ^ ஜெயமன்மதன் (12 February 1984). "நான் மகான் அல்ல". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 63. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.

External links[edit]