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''Minsara Kanna'' () is a 1999 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, na ...
-language
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...
film written and directed by
K. S. Ravikumar K. S. Ravikumar (born 30 May 1958) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, primarily working in Tamil films. Career 1990–1997 Ravikumar worked as co-director on R. B. Choudary's production ''Pudhu Vasantham'' direct ...
. The film stars Vijay,
Monica Castelino Monica Castelino is an Indian actress, who has primarily appeared in the Hindi film industry. After portraying the lead role in the Tamil film ''Minsara Kanna'' (1999), Monica appeared in glamorous roles in Hindi films throughout the 2000s. In ...
,
Khushbu Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian actress, politician, film producer and television presenter. She is known for her works predominantly in Tamil, besides Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. She is a rec ...
and Rambha, while an ensemble supporting cast includes
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 car ...
, Mansoor Ali Khan, R. Sundarrajan, Karan and
Kovai Sarala Kovai Sarala is an Indian actress and comedian, who prominently plays supporting roles in Tamil and Telugu films. She has won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Comedian three times, for her performances in '' Sathi Leelavathi'' (1995), '' ...
. The film's title was derived from the song of the same name in ''
Padayappa ''Padayappa'' is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth, Ramya Krishnan and Soundarya with Abbas, Lakshmi, Radha Ravi and Nassar playing supporting roles. The ...
'', which was also directed by Ravikumar. The film saw Vijay and Rambha sharing the screen together for the third and final time after ''
Ninaithen Vandhai ''Ninaithen Vandhai'' () is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by K. Selva Bharathy and produced by Allu Aravind. The film stars Vijay, Rambha and Devayani, with Charle, Ranjith, Senthil, and Vinu Chakravarthy in suppo ...
'' (1998) and '' Endrendrum Kadhal'' (1999). Kushboo appeared as one of the main lead actress of the film. The story is about how Vijay enters her house and developing his romance towards Monica, Kushboo's sister. The music is composed 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 ...
. The film released on 9 September 1999 and became an commercial success at the box office.


Plot

The story is about a rich business tycoon, Indra Devi who has a troubled past. She lives alone in a huge mansion with her assistant. She does not have any male staff as she has extreme hatred for the opposite sex. One day, Kannan goes to Indra Devis house to take refuge to escape the cops. There he finds Indra Devi and her assistant being harassed by goons. He fights the goons and chases them away. After a few weeks, Indra Devis younger sister, Ishwarya comes to Ooty to pursue her studies. There she meets Kannan and the two are at odds from their very first meeting. In a series of comic events they both try to undermine the other in the household while Kannan’s popularity increases among the staff. Indra Devi strictly opposes Ishwarya’s relationship with men explaining her difficult past life to her and hopes that her sister never marries just like her. Once Kannan makes a place in Ishwaryas life he brings his family to Ooty to meet the love of his life. To get a place to live for a few days, Kannan and his family stay in Indra Devis house disguised, as cook, cleaners, drivers, gardens and etc. It is later revealed that Kannan are billionaires based in Germany and he is Ishwarya’s lover. The two along with Kannan’s family had arrived in India in order to convince Indira Devi that not all men are evil. When Indra Devi finds out about this she mistakes Kannan and his family for con men trying to use her sister to become rich. She attempts to marry her sister off to a suitor of her choice and has Kannan, his father and brother beaten up. As Ishwarya attempts to leave with them, she threatens to kill herself. Kannan and his family leave and go back to Germany, telling Indira Devi that they’d rather forget their love and live with its memories than have Ishwarya spend the rest of her life mourning her dead sister. As the family arrives home, they find Indira Devi and Ishwarya waiting for them there, indicating that the former has accepted Kannan.


Cast


Production

Following the success of ''
Padayappa ''Padayappa'' is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. It stars Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth, Ramya Krishnan and Soundarya with Abbas, Lakshmi, Radha Ravi and Nassar playing supporting roles. The ...
'' (1999), producer K. R. Gangadharan signed on
K. S. Ravikumar K. S. Ravikumar (born 30 May 1958) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, primarily working in Tamil films. Career 1990–1997 Ravikumar worked as co-director on R. B. Choudary's production ''Pudhu Vasantham'' direct ...
to direct a film and was insistent that the title should be ''Minsara Kanna'', after the popular song from Ravikumar's earlier film. The story and script of the film was then subsequently worked on by Ravikumar and co-written by M. A. Kennedy, who had previously worked in the film ''
Pistha Pistha may refer to: * Pistha (1997 film), an Indian Tamil-language comedy film * Thoranai ''Thoranai'' () or ''Pistha'' () is a 2009 Indian action drama film written and directed by Sabha Ayyappan, who previously worked as an associate direct ...
''. The film was launched at the Kavithalaya Studio, with Rajinikanth, Vijay, Ravikumar and K. Balachandar attending the inaugural event and the filming began in April 1999. The film saw the first and only collaboration to date between
K. S. Ravikumar K. S. Ravikumar (born 30 May 1958) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, primarily working in Tamil films. Career 1990–1997 Ravikumar worked as co-director on R. B. Choudary's production ''Pudhu Vasantham'' direct ...
and Vijay, with the actor mentioning he was delighted with the pace and commitment that the director injected into production. It was initially reported that Vijay would play a dual role but this proved to be untrue. For the female lead role, Simran was approached by Vijay, but the actress refused the offer due to the role has not much importance than the second lead and the antagonist which is played by
Khushbu Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian actress, politician, film producer and television presenter. She is known for her works predominantly in Tamil, besides Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. She is a rec ...
.
Priya Gill Priya Gill is a former Indian actress. She appeared mainly in Hindi films, along with a film each in Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil, Bhojpuri and movies in Telugu. She was the second runner-up in Miss India 1995. Film career Gill began her Bollywoo ...
was approached before debutant
Monica Castelino Monica Castelino is an Indian actress, who has primarily appeared in the Hindi film industry. After portraying the lead role in the Tamil film ''Minsara Kanna'' (1999), Monica appeared in glamorous roles in Hindi films throughout the 2000s. In ...
got the opportunity to feature. Furthermore, Roja was supposed to play the second lead in the film before Rambha was confirmed. Actress Bhawana was signed on to play Vijay's sister in the film. Shooting took place in and around
Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and ...
, ECR area in
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
and some scenes were shot predominantly in
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
where other few scenes were shot in
Interlaken Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss A ...
which is located in
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, with two songs being canned in the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
area.


Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was composed 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 ...
, was well received by the audience. The lyrics were written by Vaali, Kalaikumar,
Na. Muthukumar Nagarajan Muthukumar (12 July 1975 – 14 August 2016) was a Tamil poet, lyricist, and author. Best known for his Tamil language film songs, he received the most Filmfare Awards for Best Lyricist in Tamil and was a two-time recipient of the Nat ...
.


Release

The film released on 9 September 1999. The film opened to average reviews, with the critic of Indolink.com claiming the film "jogs along easily before becoming enmeshed in sentiments and cinematic cliches which make the last part of the movie all but watchable".
The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...
criticized Vijay's performance claiming "greatest actor", and that "film drags on aimlessly" though praised Deva's soundtrack. ''
Deccan Herald ''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Print ...
'' also gave the film a negative review labelling that Vijay "is painful to watch and even worse to listen to", labelling it is "an exercise in how to waste a good movie". ''
Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History and profile ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...
'' rated the film 37 out of 100. Post-release, the film garnered attention after video recording equipment was found at Suriyan Theatre in Chennai which had been showing the film. The equipment was found out to be a unit of a group known as Saravanas Video, who had been hired by a TV production company owned by director K. Balachander. Vijay's father
S. Chandrasekhar Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (; ) (19 October 1910 – 21 August 1995) was an Indian-American theoretical physicist who spent his professional life in the United States. He shared the 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics with William A. Fowler for "... ...
intervened, seized the equipment and alleged that Balachander was potentially involved in piracy activities. Balachander subsequently stepped down as president from the trade union body
FEFSI The Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) is an Indian organisation consisting of technicians from the Tamil film industry in Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 23 unions belonging to different trades in the film and television industry ...
, complaining that he was being harassed by Chandrasekhar. As a result, members of the film industry threatened to ban Vijay and Chandrasekhar from working on Tamil films. During the unofficial ban, actor
Ajith Kumar Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tami ...
notably spoke out in favour of Vijay. The parties later reconciled and Balachander withdrew his resignation. In February 2020, producer
P. L. Thenappan PL. Thenappan is an Indian film producer and actor who works predominantly in the Tamil film industry. He owns the production company Shree Rajalakshmi Films (P) Ltd. He debuted as a producer with the Tamil film '' Kaathala Kaathala''. He is ...
, who had bought the film's rights from K. R. Gangadharan, announced plans to sue the makers of the Korean film ''
Parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson h ...
'' for plagiarism.


References


External links

* {{K. S. Ravikumar 1999 films 1990s Tamil-language films Films scored by Deva (composer) Films directed by K. S. Ravikumar Films shot in Switzerland Films shot in Germany