Thenmavin Kombath
Thenmavin Kombath (transl. On the Branch of Honey Sweet Mango Tree) is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan. It was produced and edited by N. Gopalakrishnan. The film stars Mohanlal, Shobana, and Nedumudi Venu, with Kaviyoor Ponnamma, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Sukumari, Kuthiravattam Pappu, Sreenivasan, Sankaradi, and Sharat Saxena in supporting roles. The background score was composed by S. P. Venkatesh, while the Berny-Ignatius duo composed the songs. K. V. Anand was the cinematographer.
| Thenmavin Kombath | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Priyadarshan |
| Produced by | N. Gopalakrishnan |
| Written by | Priyadarshan |
| Starring | Mohanlal Shobana Nedumudi Venu |
| Music by | Songs: Berny-Ignatius Score:S. P. Venkatesh |
| Cinematography | K. V. Anand |
| Edited by | N. Gopalakrishnan |
Production company | Prasidhi Creations |
| Distributed by | Surya Cini Arts Sudev Release |
Release date |
|
Running time | 157 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
The film performed well at the box office and became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year.[2][3] The film won two National Film Awards—Best Cinematography for Anand and Best Production Design for Sabu Cyril, and five Kerala State Film Awards (including Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value).[4] Thenmavin Kombath is now considered by audiences and critics to be among the best comedy films in Malayalam cinema.[5]
The film was remade in Tamil as Muthu (1995), in Hindi as Saat Rang Ke Sapne (1998) by Priyadarshan himself and in Kannada as Sahukara (2004). The sub plot of a man becoming a stranger amidst people speaking in a language unknown to him went on to inspire the core plot of the 2013 Hindi movie Chennai Express.[6]
Plot
The story revolves around Manikyan (Mohanlal), Sreekrishnan (Nedumudi Venu) and Karthumbi (Shobana) and the love triangle between them. Initially, Manikyan and Karthumbi don't get along and get into intense arguments. But they fall in love as time goes on. Manikyan works for Sreekrishnan and Sreekrishnan sees him as a brother. Appakkala (Sreenivasan) is a servant of Sreekrishnan. Appakala is a jealous swindler who has a rivalry with Manikyan
Once when they both are returning from a fair after shopping, Sreekrishnan sees Karthumbi and gets attracted. But then a fight erupts there and they all have to flee. Sreekrishnan flees alone, while Manikyan has to take Karthumbi with him. At night, he flees in the opposite direction and so loses his way. Karthumbi knows the way back, but she pretends she does not know it and enjoys the fun. Manikyan has to struggle to get out of that place. Manikyan says crude words to a shop owner, an old lady and peeked into a room with two married spouses without consent. He was tied to a tree but then untied. It was Karthumbi who caused Manikyan to land in trouble because he didn't understand what the word meant. Karthumbi later revealed that she has no house and her sister was murdered by a Mallikettu Policeman (Sharat Sexena). During that time, they fall in love.
Upon returning to Manikyan's village, Sreekrishnan proposes to her and plans to marry her. Manikyan can not resist because Sreekrishnan is like an elder brother to him. But Karthumbi opposes it. When Sreekrishnan gets to know about this, he gets angry, Manikyan becomes his enemy and he tries to take revenge. One day, The Mallikettu policeman arrived and attacked Sreekrishnan. But Manikyan interfears and so he and the Mallikettu policeman engage in a fight in which Manikyan wins. The Mallikettu policeman fainted and Manikyan would chop his limbs off next time.
Another day, Appakala spreads lies about Manikyan murdering Sreekrishnan when his slipper and towel was in the pond. Manikyan had to prove his innocence to his father and mother. But they don't believe him. Karthumbi feels sympathetic to Manikyan. Manikyan runs into Appakala and is furious with Appakala spreading lies about him. Manikyan engages in a fight with Appakala. Then, the townspeople chased Manikyan and Karthumbi through the woods and the water and through the dusty road. Finally, Sreekrishnan appeared and everyone stopped chasing. Everyone in town realized that Appakalan tricked them all. He is punished by doing sit ups in front of everyone. Sreekrishnan realized his mistakes and married the woman who loved him for so long while Manikyan unites with Karthumbi.
Cast
- Mohanlal as Manikyan, a cattle farmer
- Shobhana as Karthumbi, Manikyan's love interest
- Nedumudi Venu as Sreekrishnan Thampuran
- Kaviyoor Ponnamma as Yeshodhamma, Sreekrishnan's elder widowed sister
- KPAC Lalitha as Karthu, Sreekrishnan's lover
- Sukumari as Ginjimooda Gandhari, Yeshodhamma's sister-in law
- Sreenivasan as Appakala, a jealous servant of Thampuran
- Sankaradi as Kannayyan, Manikyan's father
- Kuthiravattom Pappu as Chakkutty, Karthumbi's annoying uncle
- Geetha Vijayan as Chinnu, Manikyan's younger sister
- Nandhu as Thimmayan, the village astrologer
- Sonia as Kuyilu
- Khadeeja as Aadivasi
- Sharat Saxena as Mallikkettu, a ruthless policeman and murderer of his wife
Soundtrack
| Thenmavin Kombath | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 13 May 1994 (India) | |||
| Genre | Film soundtrack | |||
| Label | Magnasound, Sony Music India | |||
| Berny-Ignatius chronology | ||||
| ||||
R. D. Burman was initially signed in as the music composer for the film, as revealed by Burman himself in an interview to journalists in Cochin, during his visit to the city, just a few weeks before his death. But he died before he could complete the compositions of the film and was later replaced.
Berny-Ignatius was accused for plagiarism for at least three of the songs in the film. The song "Ente Manasinoru Naanam" is said to be an adaptation of the popular Hindi classic "Piya Milanko Jaana", sung by Pankaj Mullick. Another song in the film, "Nila Pongal" is accused to be an imitation of a Bengali song, "Sun Mere Bandhu Re". The "Manam Thelinje vanne" song is a copy of the Ilayaraja song "Aasai athigam vechu" from the Tamil movie "Marupadiyum". Berny-Ignatius were awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director despite the allegations, which created a controversy. Veteran music director G. Devarajan returned three of the four state awards he had won claiming that the government was honouring pirates in film music.[7]
All lyrics are written by Girish Puthenchery; all music is composed by Berny-Ignatius.
| No. | Title | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nila Pongal" | Malgudi Subha | 03:31 |
| 2. | "Karutha Penne" | M. G. Sreekumar, K. S. Chitra | 04:47 |
| 3. | "Maanam Thelinge" | M. G. Sreekumar, K. S. Chitra | 04:04 |
| 4. | "Kallipoonkuyile" | M. G. Sreekumar | 04:17 |
| 5. | "Ente Manasinoru" | M. G. Sreekumar, Sujatha Mohan | 04:11 |
Production
Actress Divya Bharti was initially considered for the role of Karthumbi and she was supposed to make her Malayalam debut through this film.
Reception
The film ran for more than 250 days in theatres and was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year. The film is remembered as one of the best comedy films in the history of Malayalam cinema.[8] Film critic Kozhikodan included the film on his list of the 10 best Malayalam movies of all time.[9]
Awards
Remakes
The film was remade in Tamil as Muthu (1995),[12] in Hindi (1998) by Priyadarshan as Saat Rang Ke Sapne (1998),[13] and in Kannada as Sahukara.[14]
References
- "Thenmaavin Kombathu - MSIdb". MSIdb.org. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- "Feel blessed to get a memento from Mohanlal: Jayasurya". The Times of India. 10 April 2014.
- "Aamayum Muyalum-First Look".
- Malayalamcinema.com, Official website of AMMA. Malayalamcinema.com (1985-10-26). Retrieved on 2012-02-02.
- "Dileep is 50 percent of Mohanlal: Priyadarshan". Sify.com.
- https://madaboutmoviez.in/2013/08/11/chennai-express-movie-review-express-cliched-run/amp/
- "Music award enmeshed in row" (PDF). The Times of India. Bombay: cscsarchive.org. 24 May 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- "10 Mollywood films that ran for the longest time". The Times of India. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
- Kozhikodan (2001). മലയാള സിനിമയിലെ എക്കാലത്തെയും മികച്ച പത്ത് ചിത്രങ്ങൾ [Malayala Cinemayile Ekkalatheyum Mikacha Pathu Chithrangal: 10 Best Films of All Time in Malayalam Cinema]. Calicut, India: Poorna Publications.
- 42nd National Film Award(1994) Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- "STATE FILM AWARDS-1994". prd.kerala.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Cite journal requires
|journal=(help) - "Birthday Special: The Many Avatars of Rajinikanth". CNN-IBN. 12 December 2014.
- https://www.livemint.com/Consumer/0H98x8dlPbNnCh2ksqY8TN/Ten-times-south-Indian-filmmakers-remade-their-own-films-in.html
- http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mp/2004/08/23/stories/2004082301590200.htm