''Mani Magudam'' is a 1966 Indian

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...

film, directed by

S. S. Rajendran Sedapatti Suryanarayana Rajendran, also known by his initials SSR (January 1928 – 24 October 2014), was an Indian actor, director, producer and politician who worked in Tamil theatre and cinema. Film career Rajendran made his acting de ...

and written by

M. Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...

. The film stars Rajendran,

C. R. Vijayakumari C. R. Vijayakumari is an Indian actress in the Tamil film industry from 1953 to 2003. Film career Vijayakumari is known for her ability to convincingly transform herself into the characters she portrays. She is noted for her Tamil diction an ...

Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...

,and

M. N. Nambiar Manjeri Narayanan Nambiar (7 March 1919 – 19 November 2008) was an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Tamil cinema, known mostly for his villain roles in an eight decade long career. He has also appeared in a few Malayalam films. ...

. Based on Karunanidhi's play of the same name, it was released on 9 December 1966.

Plot

A group of revolutionaries from Manimagudapuram raise a revolt against their king and try to establish democracy in their kingdom. However, they do not know that their king is a kindhearted man.

Cast

as King Mani Maaran/Puthumai Pithan *

as Alli *

Jayalalitha Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...

as Poongodi/Kalarani *

as Raja Guru/Veera Mahendran * S. A. Natarajan as Diwan Gunaselar * Manorama as Vanchi * A. Karunanidhi as Ulagappan, Vanchi's brother *

O. A. K. Thevar O. A. K. Thevar (1924–1973) was an Indian actor. He acted in over 200 films and stage plays. He is known for his antagonistic roles. In 1955 he acted his debut movie ''Maman Magal''. His notable movie are Mahadhevi, Thaikkupin Tharam, Utha ...

as Ponnazhagan, *"En Thangai" Natarajan *R. V. Udayappa as Marutheeran *N. S. K. Kolappan as Azhangappan *

S. V. Sahasranamam Singanallur Venkataramana Iyer Sahasranamam (29 November 1913 – 19 February 1988), also known as S. V. S., was an Indian actor and director. Primarily a theatre actor, he also worked in over 200 films, mainly in Tamil cinema. Early lif ...

in Guest appearance *

Nagesh Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 film ...

as Anandhan in Guest appearance

Production

''Mani Magudam'' is based on Karunanidhi's play of the same name. While Rajendran, the lead actor of the play, reprised his role in the film adaptation, Manorama was replaced by Vijayakumari as the lead actress.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

R. Sudarsanam Ramakrishna Sudarsanam (26 April 1914 – 26 March 1991) was an Indian music composer who had worked in Tamil, Hindi, Kannada Malayalam, Telugu and Sinhala film industry Career Ramakrishna Sudarsanam entered the Tamil film industry wit ...

Reception

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 ...

'' noted that, among the three roles portrayed by Rajendran, only the insane one was worth applauding.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 2043915 1960s Tamil-language films 1966 films Films scored by R. Sudarsanam Films with screenplays by M. Karunanidhi Indian films based on plays