Madha Yaanai Koottam
Madha Yaanai Koottam (transl. Group of mad elephants) is a 2013 Indian Tamil language thriller film written and directed by Vikram Sugumaran who was a former assistant of Balu Mahendra and dialogue writer of Aadukalam.[1] The film produced by G. V. Prakash Kumar features newcomer Kathir and Oviya in the lead roles.[2] The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by N. R. Raghunanthan.The movie was a Sleeper hit success.[3]
Madha Yaanai Koottam | |
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Directed by | Vikram Sugumaran |
Produced by | J. Satish Kumar (Presenter) G. V. Prakash Kumar N. P. K. S. Logu Go. Venkatesh |
Written by | Vikram Sugumaran |
Starring | |
Music by | N. R. Raghunanthan |
Cinematography | Ragul Dharuman |
Edited by | Kishore Te. |
Production company | |
Distributed by | JSK Film Corporation |
Release date |
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Country | India |
Language | Tamil |
Budget | ₹5 crore (US$700,000) |
Box office | est.₹15 crore (US$2.1 million) |
Plot
The film revolves around the family of Jayakkodi Thevar (Muruganji), who has two wives. Jayakkodi is a respected landowner whose family has helped develop the village for generations. However, his first wife Sevanamma (Viji Chandrasekhar), and her elder brother Veera (Vela Ramamoorthy) control the local gangs and are feared by the villagers. As a result, Jayakkodi prefers to live with his second wife and her children, Parthiban (Kathir) and Ammu (vinitha). Because of her husband's preference of his second wife, Sevanamma dislikes the second wife and her children. Veera blames his brother-in-law's second wife and her children of destroying his sister's life, and he hates them, too. The only member of the first wife's family that accepts the second wife's family is Jayakkodi's drunkard eldest son, Boologarasa (Kalaiyarasan). However, he is often powerless against his mother and maternal uncle.
Parthiban develops affection for a Malayali girl named Ritu (Oviya), who he first meets at his sister's nursing college and later convinces her to stay at his house due to ragging issues at the college hostel. However, she stays silent when he confesses his love for her and leaves the village. Jayakkodi dies unexpectedly after a heart attack, a day after Ammu's marriage daughter from his second marriage. Boologarasa invites his stepmother and half-siblings to pay their respects, but his uncle Veera threatens to have the entire village boycott the funeral if they attend. As a result, the second wife and her children are kept away from the rituals.
Boologarasa is guilt-suck that his stepmother and half-siblings are excluded from his father's funeral. He invites Parthiban to the 16th day ritual in honor of their father. After initial procrastination, Parthiban decides to attend the ritual. Boologarasa teases Veera's sons for not being able to do anything to stop him from bringing his brother to their home. Angered, Boologarasa's cousins attack him. This eventually escalates into a fight. As one of Veera's sons tries to stab Boologarasa, Parthiban pushes him away, and the man lands on a sharp knife, dying at the spot. Parthiban flees as his brother holds back his surviving cousins. In order to avenge his son's death, Veera and his surviving sons plan to kill him. Sevanamma initially understands that Parthiban is not at fault and he did this to save her only son. She helps to protect Parthiban's mother and arranges for him to escape to Kerala. Parthiban lives with Ritu's family for a few days but is forced to live on the streets after his stepmother's nephews track him down.
Sevannamma, confronted by his brother, helps him lure Parthiban out by poisoning Parthiban's mother, who currently lives with her. This brings Parthiban to his dead mother, where he is being killed after he performs his last rites for her. The film ends with a scene where Sevannamma is shown crying out loud with guilt soaked in Parthiban's blood.
Cast
- Kathir as Parthiban
- Oviya as Ritu
- Vela Ramamoorthy as Veera Thevar
- Viji Chandrasekhar as Sevanamma
- Muruganji as Jayakkodi Thevar
- Vinitha as Ammu (Parthiban sister)
- Kalaiyarasan as Boologarasa
- Sreejith Ravi as Ponram
- Anju as Deepa
- Virumandi as Seeraalan
- Jenish as Thennarasu
- Ilavarasu as Ilavarasu
- P. Gopalakrishnan
- Theni Mahalakshmi
- Vaigai Siva Vijay Thevar
Production
After associating Ravi K. Chandran for five years, Ragul Dharuman made his debut as an independent cinematographer in this film. The film started in March 2013 in Periyakulam and the second schedule of shooting was underway in April.[4]
Soundtrack
Madha Yaanai Koottam | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 2013 | |||
Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
Language | Tamil | |||
Label | Sony Music | |||
Producer | N. R. Raghunanthan | |||
N. R. Raghunanthan chronology | ||||
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No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) |
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1. | Kona Kondakari | Yegathasi | G. V. Prakash Kumar |
2. | Unnai Vanangaatha | Yegathasi | Velmurugan |
3. | Kombu Oothi | Yegathasi | Pushpavanam Kuppusamy, Anand Aravindakshan & Vikram Sugumaran |
4. | Enga Pora | Yegathasi | Thanjai Selvi |
5. | Yaro Yaro | Yegathasi | Haricharan & Monali Thakur |
6. | Mukkulathu | Yegathasi | Thiruvudaiyan |
Reception
The film received generally positive reviews from critics.
Rediff wrote "Vikram Sukumaran’s Madha Yaanai Koottam reveals in great detail the rites and rituals followed after death and how pride, anger and vengeance can only lead to senseless violence and death".[5] International Business Times wrote "Commendable Effort by Director Vikram Sugumaran", while Sify wrote, "Vikram Sugumaran has made a decent first film. He is a good writer."[6] Behindwoods wrote, "MYK has tense and gripping sequences. Vikram Sugumaran’s debut isn’t a bad watch".[7] Indiaglitz wrote, "Madha Yaanai Koottam is a heavy story, with intermediate dark comedy relief on a different genre of entertainment; the film, on the whole, is commendable." The Hindu wrote, "The film is hopelessly dark".[8] The movie has received good rating from the viewers on the opening week.
References
- "Now Tamil composer GV Prakash Kumar turns a producer". CNN-IBN. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "GV Prakash's dons the hat of a producer". IndiaGlitz. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "GV Prakash turns producer". Sify. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- "G V's production venture titled 'Madha Yaanai Koottam'". The Times of India. 13 April 2013. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-madha-yaanai-koottam-shows-senseless-violence-south/20131226.htm
- http://www.sify.com/movies/madhayaanai-koottam-review-tamil-pcmbhnhhdhceg.html
- http://behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/madha-yaanai-koottam/madha-yaanai-koottam-review.html
- http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/madhayaanai-koottam-herd-mentality/article5511986.ece