''Naina'' () is a 2002

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 ...

comedy horror Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary genre, literary, television genre, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three ty ...

film directed by

Manobala Manobala (born 8 December 1953) is an Indian film director, producer, actor and comedian who predominantly plays supporting roles in Tamil-language films. He started his career in Tamil cinema in the early 1970s and with Kamal Haasan's referen ...

. The film stars

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam,Tamil films, along with a few Telugu films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasiona ...

in a dual role and Manya, with

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 2 ...

Ramesh Khanna Ramesh Khanna (also spelt as Ramesh Kanna) is an Indian actor and film director who has worked in Tamil cinema. He has acted in a number of supporting and comedian roles. Early life Khanna was born on 12 June 1954 in Chennai and third child to ...

Bhanupriya Bhanupriya (born Mangabhanu; 15 January 1967) is an Indian actress, Kuchipudi dancer, and voice artist. In a career spanning over 4 decades, Bhanupriya has appeared in 155 feature films- predominantly in Telugu & Tamil, in addition to occasiona ...

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), '' ...

, and

Rajan P. Dev Rajan P. Dev (20 May 1951 – 29 July 2009) was an Indian film and stage actor. He was born in Cherthala in the Alappuzha district of the former state Thiru-Kochi (present day Kerala). He had acted in over 500 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu ...

playing supporting roles. The film, produced by V. Santhakumar, had musical score by

Sabesh–Murali Sabesh–Murali is an Indian music director duo, who have jointly composed for many Tamil films in Chennai, India. Sabesh and Murali are siblings who began their careers working under their brother, the music director Deva, as assistant composer ...

and was released on 30 August 2002.

Plot

The film begins with Annamalai (

), a ghost, trying to talk to his son Pasupathy (Jayaram), but nobody has been able to see or hear him since his death. Pasupathy is a taxi driver, and he is in love with the lawyer Vaanathi ( Manya). Aavudaiyappan (

), a con medium, becomes the only one who can hear Annamalai. After being annoyed by Annamalai, Aavudaiyappan finally decides to help him. They meet Pasupathy, but Pasupathy seems to hate his deceased father. In the past, the widower Annamalai was a wealthy man and womanizer. Every time there was a good news in his village, he tonsured Pasupathy's head. He later got married a second time with Azhagu Nachiyar (

), and they had a daughter. During a ceremony, a person pushed from behind in

Yajna Yajna ( sa, यज्ञ, yajña, translit-std=IAST, sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering) refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras.SG Nigal (1986), Axiological Approach to the Vedas, Northern Book ...

. The villagers thought that the innocent Pasupathy killed his father, so he ran away. Annamalai does not know the person who killed him. Pasupathy decides to go back to his village. He wants to prove his innocence at all costs and wants to find the one who killed his father. When Azhagu Nachiyar meets Velu (

), who is Annamalai's brother, she becomes unconscious. Annamalai regains her consciousness and makes her overhear Velu's conversation. It turns out that Velu had killed Annamalai to grab his property and blamed the murder on Pasupathy. In the climax, Pasupathy will performs the last rites of his father, while Velu tries to disrupt the rites. Velu gets burned and also becomes a ghost. In the end, Pasupathy joins his father's position in the village.

Cast

as Annamalai and Pasupathy * Manya as Vaanathi *

as Aavudaiyappan *

as Pichu *

as Azhagu Nachiyar *

as Angayarkanni *

as Velu *

Delhi Ganesh Delhi Ganesh is an Indian actor who mostly acts in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He has acted in more than 400 films from 1976 to present. Before films, he was a member of the Delhi-based theatre troupe, ''Dakshina Bharata Natak ...

as Sambu *

Venniradai Moorthy Vennira Aadai Moorthy (born 25 July 1936) is an Indian actor and comedian in Tamil cinema. He has starred in many Tamil films and television serials as a comedian and also played supporting roles. He is a lawyer by education, and holds a B.L. ...

as Mathrubootham *

Charle Velmurugan Thangasamy Manohar (born 6 March 1960), professionally credited as Charle, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. He has acted in more than 800 Tamil films as a comedian and supporting actor. He was named after the English co ...

as Pazhani *

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 ...

Thalaivasal Vijay Thalaivasal Vijay is an Indian actor and dubbing artist. He was born on 4 August 1962 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India. He has acted predominantly in numerous Tamil and Malayalam films. Career Vijay's debut film was '' Thalaivaasal'' (1992), ...

Pandu In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Pandu ( sa, पाण्डु, Pāṇḍu, pale) was a king of the Kuru Kingdom. He was the foster-father of the five Pandava brothers, who were the boons bestowed upon his wife Kunti by a number of deities ...

as Pandu and Pundu *

Thyagu Thozhar Thiyagu (born 30 January 1950), also known as Comrade Thiyagu, is a social activist, politician, writer from Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is also the General Secretary of Tamil National Liberation Movement and is well known for his ...

as 'Vedigundu' Muthu *

Madhan Bob S. Krishnamoorthy (born 19 October 1953) professionally known as Madhan Bob, is an Indian actor and comedian, appearing in many Tamil films in supporting roles. Madhan Babu is known for his amusing facial expressions, laughter and protruding ey ...

as Annamalai *

Chelladurai Chelladurai (1941 - 7 February 2015) was an Indian comedian who worked in Tamil-language films. He acted in over 350 films. Career Chelladurai made his film debut with ''Thooral Ninnu Pochchu'' (1982). He is known for his comic sequences w ...

as Chelladurai *

Bonda Mani Bonda Mani is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. He has worked in comedy and supporting roles in over 270 films. Career Bonda Mani has described that his stage name is derived from his diet of bondas, when he was a stru ...

as Mani *Jayamani *

Master Bharath Bharath Kumar (born 9 April 1995), professionally known as Master Bharath, is an Indian actor who works prominently in Tamil and Telugu films. He entered the film industry through his first film '' Naina'' (2002) starring Jayaram. Since then he ...

as young Pasupathy *

as voice from heaven *

Aruldoss Aruldoss is an Indian actor who has appeared in supporting roles in predominantly Tamil language films. Prior to focusing on an acting career, he worked as a cinematographer for several films. Career After completing school, Aruldoss worked a ...

as man who scolds Aavudaiyappan (uncredited)

Soundtrack

The film score and soundtrack were composed by

. The soundtrack, released in 2002, features 6 tracks with lyrics written by P. Vijay,

Viveka ''Viveka'' ( sa, विवेक, viveka) is a Sanskrit and Pali term translated into English as discernment or discrimination. Viveka is considered as first requirement for the spiritual journey. The next requirement in the joureny in Vedanta, ...

, and

K. Subash K. Subash (1959 – 23 November 2016), was an Indian director and screenwriter who directed Tamil and Hindi films. He is the son of R. Krishnan. Career K. Subash started his career as an assistant to Mani Ratnam in ''Nayakan''. He made his di ...

Reception

''Sify'' wrote "Naina starring Jayaram in a dual role and supposed to be a comedy is a torture inflicted on the helpless audience by director Manobala." ''Chennai Online'' wrote "The film probably would have turned out better, if the director was clear as to whether he wanted the film to be a comic caper or a sentimental, suspense thriller. An injudicious blending of both, has resulted in a film that fails to satisfy".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt13986556 2002 films 2000s Tamil-language films Indian comedy horror films Indian films about revenge Films directed by Manobala