Maha Prabhu

Maha Prabhu is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by A. Venkatesh, making his directorial debut. The film stars R. Sarathkumar, Sukanya and Vineetha. It was released on 26 January 1996.^[1]

Maha Prabhu
DVD cover
Directed by	A. Venkatesh
Written by	A. Venkatesh Pattukkottai Prabakar (dialogues)
Produced by	Janaki Devi
Starring	R. Sarathkumar Sukanya Vineetha
Cinematography	D. Vijayagopal
Edited by	B. Lenin V. T. Vijayan
Music by	Deva
Production company	Sri Sai Theja Films
Release date	26 January 1996 (1996-01-26)
Running time	144 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Dhamodaran sells black cinema tickets alongside his friends Sedhu and Vicky. Dhamodaran is known to be an angry man, thus he promises his mother Vellaiyamma that he will avoid violence. Jothi, Dhamodaran's cousin, is deeply in love with Dhamodaran.

Shanmugavel, a corrupt politician, is an influential man whom even the police cannot arrest for his crimes. His son Bhaskar spreads terror among the college students. Eswarapandiyan, an honest police officer, is determined to arrest Shanmugavel. Later, Uma, Eswarapandiyan 's wife, is killed by Shanmugavel, and Eswarapandian is left for dead.

Thereafter, Mahalakshmi, an orphan, moves into the house opposite to Dhamodaran's house. Mahalakshmi soon becomes a college lecturer. Dhamodaran falls in love with Mahalakshmi, but she advises him to first become a decent man. Dhamodaran then becomes a mechanic and changes his behaviour. In the meantime, Bhaskar loses the college's chairman election mainly due to Mahalakshmi, who supported the other contestant. After seeing Mahalakshmi and Dhamodaran's love, Jothi sacrifices her love and decides to marry another man.

Soon, Dhamodaran clashes with Bhaskar's henchmen to save his lover Mahalakshmi. When Bhaskar tries to undress Mahalakshmi, Vellaiyamma interferes and is pushed into a sewer. Mahalakshmi then sets herself on fire. Dhamodaran comes too late and discovers their dead bodies. He then turns berserk and kills Bhaskar. Dhamodaran is later arrested by the police, and Shanmugavel challenges Dhamodaran to kill him. Eswarapandiyan then saves Dhamodaran from the police. What transpires later forms the crux of the story.

Cast

• R. Sarathkumar as Dhamodaran aka Dhamu
• Sukanya as Mahalakshmi
• Vineetha as Jothi
• Manorama as Vellaiyamma, Dhamodaran's mother
• Sarath Babu as Inspector Eswarapandiyan
• Goundamani as Sedhu
• Senthil as Vicky
• Rajan P. Dev as Shanmugavel
• Vaishnavi as Uma, Eswarapandiyan's wife
• Shiju as Bhaskar (credited as Vishal)
• Ennatha Kannaiya as Mahalakshmi's father
• Ajay Rathnam as Inspector
• Raviraj
• Krishnamoorthy
• K. K. Soundar as Jothi's father
• Kumarimuthu as Gnana Kannan
• Judge Rajagopal
• Kovai Senthil
• Master Mahendran
• Nellai Siva as Local politician
• Vikram Krishna (cameo)

Production

Despite the film I Love India (1993) failing at the box-office, star Sarathkumar decided to collaborate again with the same producer for another film which eventually became Maha Prabhu.^[2] The film marked the directorial debut of A. Venkatesh and it was reported to be based on a real life event which happened when he worked as a reporter for Maalai Malar.^[3]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Deva, with lyrics written by Vaali.^[4][5]

Song	Singer(s)	Duration
"Baava Vaa"	S. Janaki, Shahul Hameed	4:39
"Jackie Chan"	K. S. Chithra, Mano	6:02
"Kadalai Enna"	Gangai Amaran, S. Janaki	4:43
"Myna, Myna"	S. Janaki, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, G. V. Prakash Kumar	4:55
"Missy Missy Dol"	Mano, Swarnalatha	4:20
"Sollavaa"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sunandha	4:03

Critical reception

D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "The action sequences are tightly edited (Lenin and V. T. Vijayan) and framed (camera: T. Vijayagopal) right from the start and the screenplay of the director, backed by his dialogue, make it worth the time".^[6]

Legacy

Senthil's dialogue "No Comments Simbly Waste" entered Tamil vernacular, often used by people when tired of responding to questions.^[7]