Moondru Mudichu
Moondru Mudichu (transl. The Three Knots) is a 1976 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed and written by K. Balachander. The film stars Sridevi, Kamal Haasan (in an extended guest role) and Rajinikanth (as villain). The film revolves around a university freshman Selvi (Sridevi) and two men: Prasath (Rajnikanth) and Balaji (Haasan), who fall in love with her. The film marked Sridevi's first leading adult role at the age of 13. This is a remake of Telugu film O Seeta Katha.
| Moondru Mudichu | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | K. Balachander |
| Produced by | R. Venkataraman |
| Story by | K. Viswanath |
| Starring | Kamal Haasan Sridevi Rajinikanth |
| Music by | MS Viswanathan |
| Cinematography | B. S. Lokanath |
| Edited by | N. R. Kittu |
Production company | RMS Productions |
Release date |
|
| Language | Tamil |
It was a critical acclaimed and super hit movie. And was a breakthrough for both Sridevi and Rajinikanth.
Plot
Balaji (Kamal Haasan) and Prasath (Rajinikanth) are roommates in a city. Balaji falls in love with Selvi (Sridevi) who lives in the same apartment complex. Prasath, who has his eyes on Selvi, pretends to back Balaji's love while secretly hoping to create a divide between them. Selvi realizes Prasath's evil intentions when she finds out that he has seduced an innocent girl living in the same apartment complex. However, she is unable to convince Balaji, who hero-worships Prasath.
Things come to a head when Balaji and Selvi go for a picnic by the lake and Balaji decides to invite Prasath along. As the three of them head to the middle of the lake on a boat, Balaji topples over by mistake. Prasath refuses to jump in and save Balaji, on the pretext that he does not know swimming. A devastated Selvi returns home to another shock — her sister (Y. Vijaya), who plays small roles in movies, has been in a fire accident which has left her face permanently scarred. Overnight, Selvi's life undergoes a drastic change.
Prasath becomes kind towards Selvi and she comes to his house and lives as a maid. Prasath lives with his father (Calcutta Viswanathan) and his younger siblings. His father wants Selvi to marry Prasath. In an attempt to salvage her life, Selvi decides to marry Prasath's father in the absence of Prasath. After her marriage to Prasath's father, she decides to use her 'mother' status to exact revenge on Prasath and gives him a shock when he returns.
The movie ends with lines in Tamil, roughly translating to: "When it is time for a seed to sprout, if the conscience cannot empathise; and only after the incident, is the conscience present! When conscience grapples with oneself for selfish ends; in the evildoer's eyes, his madness will be his conscience!"
Cast
- Kamal Haasan as Balaji[2]
- Sridevi as Selvi[2]
- Rajinikanth as Prasath[2]
- Y. Vijaya as Subhadra[2]
- N. Viswanath as the unnamed widower[3]
Soundtrack
The music for the film is scored by M. S. Viswanathan and lyrics by Kannadasan.
| No | Title | Singers | Duration (mm:ss) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aadi Velli | Jayachandran, Vani Jairam | 03:46 |
| 2 | Naanoru Kadhanayagi | P. Susheela, L. R. Eswari | 03:07 |
| 3 | Vasantha Kaala | Jayachandran, Vani Jairam, M. S. Viswanathan | 03:20 |
Production
Moondru Mudichu is a remake of the 1973 Telugu film O Seetha Katha,[2] and was Rajinikanth's first major role in Tamil.[4] Sridevi was paid ₹5000, Kamal was paid ₹30,000 and Rajinikanth was paid ₹2000.[5]
References
Bibliography
- Ramachandran, Naman (2014) [2012]. Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography. New Delhi: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-81-8475-796-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)