Mani Rathnam (film)

Not to be confused with Mani Ratnam.

Mani Rathnam is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. Jayabalan. The film stars Napoleon, Anand Babu, Mohana and newcomer Chandini, with Vadivelu, Babloo Prithiveeraj, Jafar Azad and Vittal Prasad playing supporting roles. It was released on 2 November 1994. The film failed at the box office.^[1][2]

Mani Rathnam
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	K. Jayabalan
Written by	K. Jayabalan
Produced by	A. Suresh
Starring	Napoleon Anand Babu Mohana Chandni
Cinematography	K. Hanumaan
Edited by	M. Thirunavukarasu
Music by	Sirpy
Production company	Trax Creations
Release date	2 November 1994 (1994-11-02)
Running time	135 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Rathnam is a potter in his village and he is a short-tempered person. He has a sister Kavitha studying in the city. Rathnam finally marries his relative Thangamani who has been in love with Rathnam since her childhood.

Sivalingam is a wealthy and wicked man in his village, his son Nadarajan is mentally ill. Sivalingam wants absolutely to build a factory in the village. Sivalingam already bought all the lands he needed in his village, he needs only one land : Rathnam's land which is near the temple. Rathnam refuses : he does not want to see the village temple being demolished by Sivalingam. When Sivalingam sends his henchmen to demolish the temple, Rathnam intervenes and beats them all. In the meantime, Kavitha and Mani fall in love with each other in the city. Actually, Nadarajan is in love with Kavitha since school days and Sivalingam asks Thangamani to marry his mentally ill son to Kavitha but Thangamani rejects and insults him.

Later, Rathnam picked his sister up at the railway station, and at their return to home, they see Thangamani hanged. What transpires later forms the crux of the story.

Cast

• Napoleon as Rathnam
• Anand Babu as Mani
• Mohana as Kavitha
• Chandini as Thangamani
• Vadivelu as Chappani/Chappani Samiyar
• Babloo Prithiveeraj as Nadarajan
• Jafar Azad as Sivalingam
• Vittal Prasad as Kanakku
• Loose Mohan
• K. K. Soundar as Thangam's father
• Raja as Raja
• Thillai Rajan
• Idichapuli Selvaraj as wine shop customer
• Vellai Subbaiah
• Karuppu Subbiah as wine shop customer
• Oru Viral Krishna Rao
• Kullamani
• Vichithra
• Anuja
• Thayir Vadai Desigan as Armstrong, wine shop customer
• Premi as Thangam's mother
• Pasi Sathya
• Ramya
• Kovai Senthil as conductor
• Mahendran
• Marthandan as Chinna Thambi
• Dhamu (uncredited role)
• Vaiyapuri (uncredited role)

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Sirpy.^[3]

Song	Singer(s)	Lyrics	Duration
"Adi Aatti"	Swarnalatha, Malgudi Subha	Thamizhmani	4:31
"Kadhal Illaathathu"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra	Vairamuthu	4:40
"Oh Rasa"	Malgudi Subha		4:16
"Dingu Dakka"	Mano, Vinoth	Ravi	5:29
"Neerodai Thaalampottu"	Arunmozhi, Sujatha	Neeraja	4:30
"Kuzhanthaikku Pasiyeduthal"	Arunmozhi, Sujatha	Vairamuthu	5:03

Critical reception

Malini Mannath of The Indian Express gave the film a positive review and called the film "fairly engaging".^[4]