Veettoda Mappillai

Veettoda Mappillai (transl. Son-in-law who lives in his wife's house) is a 2001 Indian Tamil language comedy drama film written and directed by V. Sekhar.^[1] The film stars Napoleon and Roja, while Vijayakumar, Kalpana, Kovai Sarala, Charle, Vaiyapuri, and Thalaivasal Vijay play supporting roles. It was released on 14 September 2001.^[2][3]

Veettoda Mappillai
Title card
Directed by	V. Sekhar
Written by	V. Sekhar
Produced by	S. S. Durai Raju K. Parthiban
Starring	Napoleon Roja
Cinematography	P. S. Selvam
Edited by	A. P. Manivannan
Music by	Deva
Production company	Thiruvalluvar Kalaikoodam
Release date	14 September 2001 (2001-09-14)
Running time	140 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Kandaswamy, a restaurant owner, has a son, Muthupandi, and three daughters: Meena, Jamuna, and Rani. When Muthupandi was young, he fought with his father, cut the latter's hand with a knife, and ran away to Mumbai. Kandaswamy brings up his daughters alone. Jamuna and Rani marry Kandaswamy's relatives Ganga and Dhamu, two jobless and lazy sons-in-law. Manikkam, a jobless young graduate, is hired by Kandaswamy. Manikkam works sincerely, and Kandaswamy decides to marry Meena to him. He requests to Manikkam that the couple must stay with him. Manikkam accepts, and then he and Meena get married. Meanwhile, Ganga and Dhamu begin a company with their wives' jewels, but it is bankrupt. Muthupandi, a hotel owner in Mumbai, comes back with his wife and children. Muthupandi's hotel was also bankrupt, and he lost everything. Muthupandi, with Ganga and Dhamu's support, brings out Meena and Manikkam. Manikkam opens a restaurant in front of Kandaswamy's restaurant. Muthupandi changes his father's restaurant into a bar while he was absent. Muthupandi's former henchmen blackmailed him to give them money. Back home, Kandaswamy is humiliated by his son and attempts to commit suicide. Muthupandi's former henchmen beat him, and he is taken hostage by them. Ganga and Dhamu then save Muthupandi, and the three of them apologise to Kandaswamy. They live happily together.

Cast

• Napoleon as Manikkam
• Roja as Meena
• Vijayakumar as Kandaswamy
• Kalpana as Jamuna
• Kovai Sarala as Rani
• Charle as Ganga
• Vaiyapuri as Dhamu
• Thalaivasal Vijay as Muthupandi
• Shanmugasundari as Manikkam's mother
• Bonda Mani as Mani
• Sonia as Muthupandi's wife
• Kumarimuthu as Hotel Server
• Bayilvan Ranganathan as Rowdy
• Suryakanth as Rowdy
• K. Rajan as Producer

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Deva.^[4]

Song	Singer(s)	Lyrics	Duration
"Ayira Meena"	Jayalakshmi, Krishnaraj, Sabesan	Kalidasan	5:24
"Mannukketha Machane"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra	Arivumathi	5:39
"Mapillaiyae"	Krishnaraj		5:03
"Pombalai Enna Ambalai"	K. S. Chithra, Krishnaraj, Sabesan	Muthulingam	4:35
"Vaada Malare Vaada"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra		5:06

Reception

S. R. Ashok Kumar of The Hindu said : "too much of dialogue it makes the viewer restless at times".^[5] Malini Mannath of Chennai Online felt the film "is only the pale imitation of his [Sekar] earlier works", in regards to the performances she found Napolean "remains silent and sober most of the time" and called Vijayakumar "earns one's admiration as the sensible and doting father-in-law of Manickam" but felt "the character's confusion after the return of the son, robs it of its intensity and dignity and the performance goes wasted".^[6] Cinesouth wrote "Of late, we have been witnessing many wonderful films revolving round the merits of good families. Everything shines by contrast and on comparison, our minds say no to 'Veettoda Mappillai', another family film. V.Sekhar has proved many a time in the past that he is adept in dishing out family entertainers with the due share of high-class comedy. But the trick has not worked well this time. Something has gone wrong somewhere".^[7]