do you remember that car - entry of Radharavi in Muthu

Prescript:  though this post contains lot on movies – the central theme is a jeep that I saw at Marina beach this morning !  I am no great movie-buff – cinema is a mode of entertainment – it is also the ‘dream industry’ where one can reach very great heights by speaking some dialogues – and for some it also paves way for political outreach !!

Thenmavin Kombath (lit. On the branch of honey-sweet) is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy adventure film written and directed by Priyadarshan, produced and edited by N. Gopalakrishnan, starring Mohanlal, Shobana, Nedumudi Venu, and others.  K. V. Anand and Sabu Cyril won National Film Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Production Design respectively.  The film is considered among audiences and critics to be among the best comedy films in the history of Malayalam cinema… … when it was remade in Tamil, it was still a good comedy but had some political tinge as well .. .. and .. the hero would throw out all his riches for the poor, walk away, keeping  nothing for his son – who would toil and be contented with whatever was earned by thyself !

In my school days, came – ‘Gaayathri’ directed by R. Pattabhiraman, starring Rajinikanth and Sridevi in the lead roles. In that  Rajini played a cruel husband of Sridevi. Jaishankar plays a guest role in this movie.  Later when it was aired on a Sunday in Doordarshan, I saw it because it was a movie  based on the story "Gayathri",  written by favourite  Sujatha Rangarajan. According to Panchu Arunachalam, this was the movie that turned Rajini's fortunes as seeing the audience's favorable response to Rajini (Villain) over Jaishankar (hero).  Years later, the tables were to turn in Murattu Kaalai ( Raging Bull) released in 1980.  It was  produced by AVM Productions, directed by S. P. Muthuraman, had  Rajinikanth, Jaishankar, Rati Agnihotri  in the prominent roles.  It film boasts of the highest budget ever for a Rajini starrer at that time – and this time, Rajni was the hero and famed bond Jayashankar turning villain for the first time. 

This morning paper has the news that - ‘Mrinal Sen, who along with Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak formed the very disparate troika of film directors who brought global critical acclaim to Indian and Bengali cinema, passed away at his Bhowanipore home on Sunday morning. He was 95.   Sen, the director of path-breaking films like ‘Padatik’ (The Guerrilla Fighter), ‘Akash Kusum’ (Up in the Clouds), ‘Kolkata 71’ and ‘Bhuvan Shome’, is survived by Chicago-based son Kunal and daughter-in-law Nisha. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee was one of the first to offer her condolences.

The social media is flooded with rave reviews after the release of the  trailer of Ajith’s upcoming film, Viswasam, on Sunday. The film is his fourth collaboration with filmmaker Siva. Starring Ajith and Nayanthara in the lead, the film’s music has been composed by D Imman. The film is set to release for Pongal 2019.  The trailer shows Ajith playing the role of Thookudurai, a local don from Theni. Clad in a white veshti and shirt, he is seen being greeted by the folks in town, suggesting he may also be a respected local leader. With the Madurai-accented Tamil and the moustache twirling, the makers seem to have made it clear that the film is directed towards what the industry calls ‘B and C centres’. The trailer also plenty of farmer sentiment, family feud and violence. Nayanthara, the female lead, makes a fleeting appearance as a rural belle romanced by Ajith, with some help from Yogi Babu.

Interestingly, Viswasam makers are planning to release the film in Russia and Ukraine as well. Seventh Sense Cinema, who had released Rajinikanth’s 2.0 recently in Russia, will be taking care of the release of Viswasam in these two countries and the film is scheduled to release in more than eight cities. That takes memory back to Muthu (remake of Thenmavin Kombath), that hit the screens in 1995 – Directed by KS Ravikumar, it had Rajnikanth and Meena.  Released during Deepavali 1995, it was a grand hit.   The film became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films at the time, running for over 175 days in theatres across Tamil Nadu. A dubbed Japanese version released in 1998 , by the distributor Xanadoux, as Muthu Odoru Maharaja (ムトゥ 踊るマハラジャ) which means Muthu – The Dancing Maharaja and completed a 182-day run.   

Now to the original subject matter – saw this vehicle at Marina – had an acrylic bison on its front and a bow and arrow in its back .. .. the driver with a big mush got down with two black Labrador puppies as well ..  I was amused – when asked – what was the significance, the man said, ‘jeeps are rugged – and it is for the looks that I have this bison (acrylic made at a cost of 40000 approx by the same person who made it for the vehicle in which Radha Ravi would appear dramatically in Muthu)

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

31^st Dec 2018.