'' Ponnumani'' is a 1993 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 R. V. Udayakumar, starring Karthik,

Soundarya K. S. Sowmya (18 July 1972 – 17 April 2004), better known by her stage name Soundarya, was an Indian actress who worked predominantly in Telugu films and has also worked in Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam films. She was regarded as one o ...

(in her Tamil film debut) and Sivakumar. It was released on 16 April 1993.

Plot

Ponnumani and Chinthamani are sweethearts who spend their childhood together in a village. Chinthamani goes off to pursue an education, but she and Ponnumani remain devoted to each other. Kathirvel, who dotes on Ponnumani wants to see them happily married. It is decided that they would marry once Chinthamani's exams are over. Ponnumani, who has been waiting all his life for this moment sets off eagerly to receive Chinthamani at the station. He is shocked to find her in a mentally unbalanced state. Later on he learns that Chinthamani has been brutally molested by Uday Prakash and is pregnant, which results in Kathirvel's death. Though overwhelmed with grief, he tries to arrange Chinthamani's marriage with the rapist. When the latter shows no remorse for his act, and tries to kill Chinthamani, Ponnumani kills him and is sentenced for 5 years. He is reunited with childlike Chinthamani and her daughter.

Cast

* Karthik as Ponnumani *

as Chinthamani * Sivakumar as Kathirvelu *

Goundamani Subramaniyan Karuppaiya (born 25 May 1939), known by his stage name Goundamani, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Tamil cinema. He is known for his comic duo partnership in Tamil films with fellow actor Senthil. The pair dominated t ...

as Nachi * Senthil *

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 ...

* Manorama as Kathiravelu's Mother * G. M. Sundar

Production

''Ponnumani'' is the Tamil debut for Soundarya. The film was entirely shot at Sethumadai near Pollachi.

Music

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Lyrics were written by R. V. Udayakumar. The song "Adiye Vanjikodi" was composed by

Karthik Raja Karthik Raja is an India composer based in Chennai, India. He made his debut as film composer in the Tamil film ''Pandiyan'' (1992) and went on to score music for many critically and commercially acclaimed feature films. Personal life Karthik ...

. The song "Nenjukulle Innarunu" is set in Keeravani raga. According to

Charulatha Mani Charulatha Mani (born 21 January 1981) is an Indian-born Australian Carnatic and playback singer. She has been performing Carnatic concerts since 1999. She has also sung for movies. Charulatha has appeared in numerous TV shows and radio progra ...

, the song brought out "emotion of sadness in love very effectively". For the dubbed Telugu version ''Muddula Baava'', all songs were written by

Rajasri Rajasree (Rajasree Thota Panchajanyam, Kusuma Kumari, born 31 August 1945), also known as Rajasri or Rajashri, is an Indian actress active from 1956 to 1979. She is particularly famous for her portrayal as a princess in several folklore Telug ...

Release and reception

''Ponnumani'' was released on 16 April 1993. Malini Mannath of ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...

'' wrote, "The film is an average entertainer with Karthik getting enough scope to emote". K. Vijiyin of '' New Straits Times'' appreciated Karthik's performance and the music, but criticised the overuse of songs and the film's length. ''

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 ...

'' praised Udayakumar's direction for making even little sequences poetic while also pointing out the flaws. Karthik won the

Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil The Filmfare Best Actor Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil people, Tamil film lead actors. The Filmfare Awards South Awards were extended to "Best Actor" in 1972.#Film world, Film world, p 43 Th ...

References

External links

* {{R. V. Udayakumar 1990s Tamil-language films 1993 films Films about mental health Films directed by R. V. Udayakumar Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Indian drama films