''Manu Needhi'' is a 2000 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 film directed by

Thambi Ramaiah Thambi Ramaiah is an Indian actor, director and comedian who works in the Tamil film industry. He has also worked occasionally as a lyricist. He directed three films, ''Manu Needhi'' (2000), '' Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan'' (2008) and '' Mani ...

. The film stars Murali and

Prathyusha Prathyusha (29 August 1981 – 23 February 2002) was an Indian actress who appeared in Telugu and Tamil language films. Early life and film career Pratyusha was born in Bhongir of present-day Telangana into a middle-class family. Her mother, M ...

, while

Vadivelu Kumaravadivel Natarajan (born 12 September 1960), known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and playback singer, having acted in supporting and lead roles in Tamil cinema. He gained widespread acclaim in Kollywood in the ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and

Nassar Nassar ( ar, نصار, lit=helper, protector, supporter, victory-maker), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer ...

play other supporting roles. The film has music by

Deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...

, cinematography by B. Balamurugan, and editing by Pazhanivel. The film released on 23 December 2000.

Plot

Chinnakkannu ( Murali) lives in a village with his maternal uncle Vellaiyan (

). Vellaiyan asks Chinnakkanu to woo Poongodi (

), the only daughter of Muthuraja (

), a rich Zamindar of a nearby village. Chinnakannu succeeds in his attempt to woo Poongodi, but on the day of wedding between Chinnakkannu and Poongodi, Vellaiyan interrupts and takes away Chinnakannu with him cancelling the wedding. A flashback is shown where Muthuraja is widely respected by everyone in his village. One day, he gets drunk and rapes a girl without consciousness. The victim is Vellaiyan's fiancé (Priyanka), who happens to be Chinnakannu's sister. Muthuraja realises his mistake and marries the victim. However, she dies during her delivery, and Poongodi is born to her. Vellaiyan plans to revenge Muthuraja by using Chinnakannu. Finally, after many events, Chinnakannu marries Poongodi.

Cast

* Murali as Chinnakannu *

as Poongodi *

as Sevalai *

as Muthazhagu Thevar *

as Vellaiyan *Priyanka as Vellaiyan's fiancé *

as Dharmalingam, marriage broker * Sithara as Poongodi's mother *

Mahanadi Shankar Mahanadi Shankar is an Indian stage, film and television actor, who has appeared in Tamil language films and serials as supporting actor and negative roles. He has appeared in films including ''Mahanadi'' (1994), ''Baashha'' (1995), ''Ratchagan ...

Thalapathy Dinesh Thalapathy Dinesh (also spelled Thalapathi Dinesh) is an Indian action choreographer who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He started his career in the cinema as an extra fighter in '' Naan Sigappu Manithan'' and later he became as a stunt master and ...

* G. Ramachandran as Chittappa

Soundtrack

Music was composed by Deva and lyrics were written by Kalaikumar,

Snehan Snehan (born Sivaselvam) is a Tamil poet, politician, lyricist, and actor who has worked in the Tamil film industry. In the year 2018 he entered politics with Makkal Needhi Maiam and contested in the Lok Sabha election. In 2021 Tamil Nadu Legi ...

and Lakshmi Priyan.

Release

The film received positive reviews upon release and many appreciated

's comedy. ''ChennaiOnline'' wrote "The screenplay is well etched with the right dose of humour, action and sentiment. It is only in the second half that the director gets a bit distracted and includes new characters .. A critic BBThots noted "strong performances by a couple of senior artistes and the occasionally funny comedy sequences prevent this otherwise familiar village story from being too boring". ''The Hindu'' wrote "Manuneedhi has nothing new to offer. Just the same old plot handled in just about the same old way!". ''New Straits Times'' wrote "Catch this movie if you like countryside-based stories".''Kalki'' review
/ref>

References

2000 films 2000s Tamil-language films Indian drama films Films scored by Deva (composer) 2000 directorial debut films {{2000s-Tamil-film-stub