''Theertha Karaiyinile'' () is a 1987 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, nati ...

-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-g ...

directed by

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 care ...

. The film stars Mohan and

Rupini Komal Mahuvakar, better known by her stage name Rupini, is an Indian actress who has appeared in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Telugu language films during the late 1980s and early 1990s. She started as a child artist in the Hindi film ...

. It was released on 11 September 1987. The film was remade in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

as '' Varasudochadu'' (1988).

Plot

Ganesan an unemployed man, once met with an accident and was admitted to the hospital. There, he meets a TB patient, Raghu, who is going to die in few days; both of them become good friends. Raghu tells Ganesan regarding his past that he is the son of his mother Chellathayee , a major landlord in a village. Raghu used to do a lot of mischief in his childhood; one day his friend Seenu died because of his mistake and he ran away from home. After listening to his story, Ganesan tells him to go back to his village, but since he will not live for many days, he sends Ganesan in his place. Ganesan reaches the village as Raghu, everyone accepts him as Raghu expect Ammiraju and Subba Raju sons-in-law of Mom chellathayee, who are eagerly waiting for their mother-in-law's property. They try in many ways to eliminate Raghu / Ganesan but fail, finally, they want to make their daughters Bujji and Baby's marriage with him. Meanwhile, Raghu / Ganesan falls in love with a girl Pooncholai, sister of Seenu, whom Raghu killed in childhood. In the beginning, she hates him but after knowing the truth, but she also loves him. Arulvakku aiyasami, who knows the entire story regarding Ganesan and Raghu comes to the village and starts blackmailing Raghu / Ganesan. At the same time, the original Raghu also enters the village to spend his last days with his mother. Meanwhile, Ammiraju and Subba Raju start torturing Pooncholai, to remove her from Raghu / Ganesan's life. Simultaneously, Raghu is in his last minutes, even then he sends Ganesan to protect Pooncholai. Mom listens to everything and learns who is her original son. Finally, Ganesan saves Pooncholai, reveals the truth to everyone, Mom accepts Ganesan also as her son and Raghu dies, leaving his mother's responsibility to Ganesan.

Cast

* Mohan as Ganesan (Raja) *

as Poonjolai *

Senthil Senthil (born 23 March 1951) is an Indian comedy actor who works in Tamil cinema. He is famous for his comedian roles along with fellow actor Goundamani. The pair dominated the Tamil industry as comedians in the 1980s and 90s.Janagaraj Janagaraj is an Indian actor who has appeared in over 200 films predominantly in Tamil cinema as a comedian or in supporting roles. He also starred in few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films. Early life Janagaraj was born to Vadivelu and Muthul ...

as Panchayat *

Vinu Chakravarthy Vinu Chakravarthy (15 December 1945 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and director who is known for acting in more than 1000 movies in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Badaga and Malayalam mostly as a comedian, supporting actor or in ...

as Sarasu's Husband *

Malaysia Vasudevan Vasudevan (15 June 1944 – 20 February 2011), known as Malaysia Vasudevan, was a Malaysian-Indian playback singer and actor in Tamil cinema. Early life Malaysia Vasudevan's parents were from Palakkad. Chattu Nair of Ottappalam and Ammalu ...

as Kova Sarala's husband *

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 'Arul Vaakku' Ayyasamy *Vasanth as Ganesan *

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 Village President *

Ganthimathi Ganthimathi (30 August 1940 – 9 September 2011) was a Tamil stage and film actress. She acted in over 500 films. Early life Kanthimathi was born in Manamadurai in the then Ramanathapuram district of India. She started acting in dramas and ...

as Chellathayi *

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), '' ...

as Sarasu's sister *Vijaya Chandrika as Sarasu

Production

During filming, Rupini, who is not a native Tamil speaker, had difficulties with the lengthy dialogues, but managed to Manivannan's satisfaction.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...

. The title song is set to the raga

Shubhapantuvarali Shubhapantuvarali (pronounced , meaning ''the auspicious moon'') is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 45th '' melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is ...

Reception

N. Krishnaswamy 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 betw ...

'' called the film "well told". Jayamanmadhan of ''

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 ...

'', however, reviewed the film more negatively.

References

External links

* {{Manivannan 1980s Tamil-language films 1987 drama films 1987 films Films directed by Manivannan Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Indian drama films Tamil films remade in other languages