''Maru Malarchi'' (), also spelled as ''Marumalarchi'', is a 1998 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

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Bharathi. The film stars Mammootty, Devayani, Ranjith and Mansoor Ali Khan, with Manorama,

Kalabhavan Mani Kunnisseri Veettil Raman Mani (1 January 1971 – 6 March 2016), better known by his stage name Kalabhavan Mani, was an Indian actor and singer. Mani started his career as a mimicry artist with the Kalabhavan comedy troupe. He had starred in ove ...

, R. Sundarrajan,

Major Sundararajan Srinivasan Sundarrajan (17 March 1925 – 28 February 2003), popularly known as Major Sundarrajan, was an Indian actor and director who performed predominantly in Tamil language films and plays. He was well known for his sophisticated and ...

Vivek Vivek (or Bibek/Bivek in some regions) (विवेक in Devanagari script) is a masculine given name that is popular in South Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. It is of Sanskrit origin and means "wisdom" and/or "conscience". Vivek may refe ...

and Pandu playing supporting roles. The film, produced by ''

Bharathi Kannamma ''Bharathi Kannama'' is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Cheran, starring R. Parthiban and Meena. The film marks Cheran's debut as a director and screenwriter. It was well-received upon its commercial release. Prabhu Solomon ...

'' fame

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

, had musical score by

S. A. Rajkumar S. A. Rajkumar is an Indian composer and lyricist. He has made music for all South Indian language films in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada. Early life Rajkumar's father was a vocalist performing in stage shows conducted by popular mu ...

and was released on 14 January 1998 and become a huge success. The film was remade in Telugu as ''

Suryudu ''Suryudu'' (), also spelled as ''Sooryudu'', is a 1998 Indian Telugu-language drama film directed by Muthyala Subbaiah. The film stars Rajasekhar, Soundarya, Charan Raj and Srihari, with Annapoorna, Ali, Narra Venkateswara Rao, Jeeva, V ...

, ''in Kannada as ''

Soorappa ''Soorappa'' is a 2000 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Naganna and produced by Super Hit Films. The film stars Vishnuvardhan in his 175th film along with Charan Raj, Shruti and Anu Prabhakar in prominent roles. The film ...

'' and in Hindi as ''Phool Aur Aag''''.

Plot

Rasu Padayachi ( Mammootty) is the chief of his village Gunavasal, he is a kind-hearted person who is highly respected by the villagers, he is so respected that the people even erect his statue in the village. Rasu Padayachi has dedicated his life for the welfare of the village people. When the Muslim peoples of the surrounding villages wanted to buy one of his lands to build a

Mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

there, Rasu Padayachi refuses their money and he gives them his land for free. In the village Sundarapuram, Manimaran ( Ranjith) is a respected village chief who lives with his parents ( M. N. Rajam and K. K. Soundar). Manimaran and his cousin Mannaru ( Mansoor Ali Khan) are known for being short-tempered persons. Rasu Padayachi is invited to open a rice shop in a remote village. After the ceremony, Rasu Padayachi and his car driver Velu are on their way home to their village Gunavasal. Rasu Padayachi then stops the car in order to buy some fruits in Sundarapuram's market. In his village, nobody would not take money for his shopping which makes him uncomfortable so he prefers to do shopping in surrounding villages. At the market, Rasu Padayachi pulls the village belle Jayanthi's ( Devayani) hand to save her from an approaching snake. Unfortunately, only Velu and Rasu Padayachi seem to have noticed the snake. Jayanthi makes a big fuss of the event by assuming Rasu Padayachi to be a rogue. Manimaran and Mannaru beat him up in public without taking notice of his defence. The land broker and family friend Shanmugasundaram (

Shanmugasundaram Shanmugasundaram was an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil films. He began his career as an actor by starring in '' Ratha Thilagam'' (1963) and '' Karnan'' (1964), and continued his career for seven decades. He is also a dubbing artist. He ...

) sees the injured Rasu Padayachi in that village, Rasu Padayachi says it was just a misunderstanding. The angry Shanmugasundaram goes to that market and he makes the villagers understand that they have done a huge mistake, he warns that this incident may lead to serious consequences if Gunavasal's villagers come to know the truth. Manimaran and Mannaru realize their mistake and regret the incident. In the meantime, Rasu Padayachi warns his driver not to talk about the humiliating incident to anyone and pretends the injuries were due to an accident. Once back home, the man of honour Rasu Padayachi lies to the villagers that he had a car accident. Velu, who was frustrated and angry of the incident, finally disclose the matter to the villagers that same night. Meanwhile, as per his father's advice, Manimaran goes on horseback to Gunavasal on the very night to seek an apology. When he discloses the incident to Rasu Padayachi's mother, she beats him but Rasu Padayachi stops her. Manimaran falls at Rasu Padayachi's feet and begs for an apology, the kind Rasu Padayachi forgives him and Manimaran returns to his village. Gunavasal's villagers get angry after knowing about the incident and they all go to Sundarapuram with Aruvals (Billhooks) without warning Rasu Padayachi. They create a mess in Sundarapuram, and set fire on their houses. The riot causes the death of many villagers including Manimaran's parents and Jayanthi's mother. The next morning, Manimaran finally comes to his village, he notes the damage and deaths. The district collector and the police arrive at Rasu Padayachi's village to tell him to be safe, and that they will now handle the issue between the two villages. Rasu Padayachi becomes furious with his driver and his village people when he learns about the previous night's riot. Manimaran feels betrayed by Rasu Padayachi and he sees the destruction of Sundarapuram as Rasu Padayachi's cunning plan, an angry Manimaran then destroys Rasu Padayachi's statue in front of Gunavasal's villagers. The trio Jayanthi, Manimaran and Mannaru vow to take revenge on Rasu Padayachi in a similarly cunning fashion. Later, Rasu Padayachi wants to help financially the victims but they refuse his money. Rasu Padayachi offers to marry Jayanthi, as she has nobody left in her life to live with but she sees this as an opportunity to destroy Rasu Padayachi. Both Manimaran and Mannaru are also convinced so. After the marriage, Jayanthi discovers Rasu Padayachi's true nature: a golden-hearted man and she becomes a good wife. On the other hand, Manimaran and Mannaru still seek revenge on Rasu Padayachi. What transpires next forms the rest of the story.

Cast

* Mammootty as Rasu Padayachi * Devayani as Jayanthi * Ranjith as Manimaran * Mansoor Ali Khan as Mannaru *

as Velu * Manorama as Rasu Padayachi's mother * R. Sundarrajan *

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 ...

as Nagaraj * Pandu as Azhagu *

Vasu Vikram Vasu Vikram is an Indian actor and stage director who has worked on Tamil-language films and in television dramas. Career Vasu Vikram is the son of actor M. R. R. Vasu, and the grandson of M. R. Radha. Several other members of his family are ...

as Madhavarayan *

Bala Singh Bala Singh (7 May 195227 November 2019) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil language films. After making his debut in Nassar's '' Avatharam'' (1995), he appeared as the antagonist in over a hundred films. Early life and career Bala Sin ...

as Kalingarayan *

Vaiyapuri Vaiyapuri (born 23 October 1968 as Ramakrishnan) is an Indian actor who has worked in Tamil-language films. He rose to fame by appearing in supporting roles in the late 1990s and early 2000s, often portraying supporting comedic characters. His ...

as Palli * M. N. Rajam as Manimaran's mother *

S. N. Lakshmi Sennalkudi Narayana Lakshmi (1927 – 20 February 2012) was an Indian actress, who appeared in supporting roles, often playing roles of a mother or grandmother in films. A recipient of the state government's Kalaimamani and Kalaiselvam awards, ...

*Ramyasri *

Shakeela C. Shakeela, known mononymously as Shakeela, is an Indian actress and politician who has predominantly acted in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. She is a member of Indian National Congress. Shakeela debuted in the film ''Playgirls ...

as land broker *K. K. Soundar as Manimaran's father * Pasi Narayanan *Bayilvan Ranganathan as Kasinathan *Anwar Ali Khan *Tirupur Ramasamy *A. K. Veerasamy as Mariappan *John Babu in a guest appearance * Bharathi as Snake charmer *

Appukutty Sivabalan, better known as Appukutty, is an Indian actor and comedian, who mainly appears in Tamil films. He became recognized following his performance in ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu''. His role as Azhagarsami in ''Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai'' was prai ...

as Tea seller (uncredited role) * Soori as Audience member (uncredited role)

Production

The producers of the film initially approached

Vijayakanth Narayanan Vijayaraj Alagarswami (born 25 August 1952), better known by his stage name Vijayakanth, is an Indian politician and former actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Leg ...

to portray the lead role, but his busy schedules meant that Mammootty was selected. A village set costing close to 25 lakhs was built near

Tiruvannamalai Tiruvannamalai ( Tamil: ''Tiruvaṇṇāmalai'' IPA: , otherwise spelt ''Thiruvannamalai''; ''Trinomali'' or ''Trinomalee'' on British records) is a city, a spiritual, cultural, economic hub and also the administrative headquarters of Tiruva ...

for the film. Moreover, a huge mosque set was also built for the climax of the film.

Awards

The film has won the following awards since its release :

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

1998 * Best Film Award (2nd Place) *

Best Villain Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation ...

— Ranjith *Best Dialogue Writer — Bharathi

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by

. The soundtrack, released in 1998, features 7 tracks with lyrics written by Vaali and V.C. Vijayshankar.

Reception

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' wrote "The strength of ''Marumalarchi'' lies in its story which improves upon the cliche of the virtuous village patriarch. The story-telling is straight forward and wavers only occasionally." The film was the best performer at the box office from six Tamil film released on 14 January 1998. ''Screen India'' writes, "Mammootty’s sterling performance as Rasapadiyachi, the zamindar, and his excellent rendering of the native dialect aided by a gripping screenplay, have made the film a superhit with the masses."

Possible sequel

The director of the film announced a sequel to the project in 2020.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1998 films Tamil films remade in other languages 1990s Tamil-language films Indian drama films Films scored by S. A. Rajkumar 1998 directorial debut films