''24 Mani Neram'' (read as "Irupatthi Naalu Mani Neram"; ) is a 1984 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

-language

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

written and directed by

Manivannan S. Manivannan Rajagopal (31 July 1953 – 15 June 2013), better known by his mononym Manivannan, was an Indian film director, actor and activist who worked mainly in Tamil cinema and also worked in a few Telugu & Malayalam films. In a care ...

, starring Mohan,

Sathyaraj Rangaraj Subbiah (born 3 October 1954), professionally known as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, producer, director and a media personality who has predominantly appeares in Tamil cinema and Telugu cinema, Telugu Cinema. His 240 films also includ ...

, Nalini, and

Jaishankar Jaishankar (12 July 1938 – 3 June 2000) was an Indian actor known for his work in Tamil cinema. He was a very popular lead actor in the 1960s and 70s. He was credited onscreen with title of ''Makkal Kalaingnar'' (people's artiste) or '' ...

. The music was composed by

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...

with editing by B. Kandasamy and cinematography by A. Sabapathi. The film released on 18 July 1984 and is considered by critics as one of the best thriller films of

Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywood' ...

. The film was commercially successful and ran for 27 weeks.

Plot

X. W. Ramarathinam is a billionaire womaniser who rapes and kills the girls he likes. One day, he sees Janaki with her husband Raj on their wedding day in his own grand hotel. He initially indirectly tries to pursue Janaki to be his concubine. He complaints to his husband who is a reporter. Ramarathinam learns of this and rapes and kills Janaki. He also frames Raj for this. Raj swears to kill Ramarathinam within 24 hours. When Ramarathinam kills his own PA, Swapna's brother, who is his henchmen for not finishing off Mohan. She swears revenge. But somehow, Ramarathinam discovers this. Instead of killing her first, he first rapes her and then kills her. Finally, Raj kills Ramarathinam within 24 hours as revenge.

Cast

* Mohan as Raj *

as X. W. Ramarathnam * Nalini as Janaki *

as Vijay *

Vadivukkarasi Vadivukkarasi is an Indian actress. She made her acting debut in the Tamil film ''Sigappu Rojakkal'' (1978) and has acted in more than 350 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam and 40 television serials in Tamil. Film director A. P. Nag ...

as Lakshmi, Raj's mother *

Swapna Swapna may refer to: * Swapna (philosophy) the dreaming aspect of the Hindu philosophy of consciousness. * ''Swapna'' (1942 film), a 1942 Bollywood film * ''Swapna'' (1981 film), a 1981 Telugu film * ''Swapna'', the title of the Sinhala dubbed ve ...

as Swapna *

Ilavarasi Ilavarasi is an Indian actress. She has appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam Kannada and Hindi cinema. She was one of the prominent lead actresses from 1982 to 1992. Her popular lead roles are ''vatsalyam'' along with Mammootty and Visu' s ''S ...

as Rekha *

Chinni Jayanth Chinni Jayanth (born Krishnamurthy Narayanan on 26 July 1960) is an Indian film director, producer, comedian, actor and mimicry artist who has appeared in many main, character and supporting roles in Tamil films. He is also a popular televisio ...

as Seenu *

Senthil Senthil (born 23 March 1951) is an Indian comedy actor who works in Tamil cinema. He is famous for his comedian roles along with fellow actor Goundamani. The pair dominated the Tamil industry as comedians in the 1980s and 90s.Jyothi Lakshmi Jyothi Lakshmi (2 November 1948 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian actress who appeared in more than 130 movies. In the early 1970s, she was well noted for her leading roles and songs in movies. She also acted in female-oriented movies and was a ...

in a special appearance *

Jayamalini Jayamalini (or Jaya Malini) is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi movies. Career She was introduced to Tollywood in 1975 by Vittalacharya in the movie he produced, ''Aadadani Adrustam ...

in a special appearance * Anuradha in a special appearance *Bayilvan Ranganathan as Marutha Muthu

Production

retained the three lead actors of his ''

Nooravathu Naal ''Nooravathu Naal'' () is a 1984 Indian Tamil-language mystery thriller film written and directed by Manivannan. The film stars Vijayakanth, Mohan and Nalini, with Thengai Srinivasan, Janagaraj and Sathyaraj in supporting roles. It is an unof ...

'' – Mohan,

and Nalini – for this film.

Soundtrack

Lyrics were written by

Pulamaipithan Pulavar Pulamaipithan (6 October 1935 – 8 September 2021) was an Indian scholar, poet and lyricist who got recognition through the song "Naan yaar nee yaar" which was featured in the Tamil film ''Kudiyirundha Koyil'' in 1968. He briefly serve ...

and composed by

Release and reception

''24 Mani Neram'' was released on 20 July 1984. Jayamanmadhan of ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

'' said the story was old fashioned, but praised the manner in which it was told. The film was a success, and is considered among the most significant projects for Mohan, Sathyaraj and Nalini.

References

External links

* {{Manivannan 1980s Tamil-language films 1984 thriller films 1984 films Films directed by Manivannan Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Indian thriller films