Kudumbam Oru Kadambam
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''Kudumbam Oru Kadambam'' () is a 1981 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-g ...
directed by S. P. Muthuraman. Based on
Visu Meenakshisundaram Ramasamy Viswanathan (1 July 1945 – 22 March 2020), best known by his stage name Visu, was an Indian writer, director, stage, film and television actor and talk-show host. Visu initially worked as an assistant to director K ...
's play of the same, the film stars Pratap,
Suhasini Suhasini Maniratnam (born 15 August 1961) known mononymously as Suhasini, is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her ...
,
Sumalatha Sumalatha (born 27 August 1963) is an Indian actress, politician who is the current Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Mandya, Karnataka. She has acted in more than 220 films in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi. She gained ...
, S. Ve. Shekher and Visu reprising his role from the play. It was remade in
Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
as ''Ananda Sagara'' (1983), 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 ''Manishiko Charithra'' (1984), in
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
as '' Aaj Ka Daur'' (1985), and in
Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
as '' Oru Sandesam Koodi'' that same year.


Plot

The film opens on an ordinary day in the lives of the families in a large apartment house in Chennai. Each family represents a different slice of early 1980s middle-class society. Kannan and Uma are a working couple. Kannan's father, retired from Government service, lives with them. They enjoy the comforts of dual income, but their general lament is that their long work hours compel them to send their five-year-old daughter Priya to boarding school. The second couple comprises real estate agent Paramasivam and his homemaker wife Parvathi. Real estate in the early 1980s is not very profitable or progressive. Paramasivam and Parvathi enjoy a happy marriage, but Paramasivam's limited (and sporadic) income is barely able to meet household costs. The third couple is Srinivasa Raghavan and Lakshmiammal. Fifty-five-year-old Srinivasa Raghavan is a worthless wastrel. In spite of a college education, he has never worked a day in his life. He chooses to roam about the city and engage in pointless banter with anyone he can find. Lakshmiammal works as a cook to earn a meager wage, but they frequently have to pawn their valuables to get by. Their son Madhu is an aspiring actor with dreams of making it big, and their daughter Mythili is still in high school. Their everyday lives have ups and downs. Kannan and Uma work all through the week. Uma takes German lessons in the evenings. Their overburdened schedule permits them to see their daughter only on weekends, and as a result they gradually drift away from the needs of their child. As for Paramasivam, his income is squeezed by the down market or by crafty tenants (who collude with the owners and ultimately do not pay his commissions). Lakshmiammal works long hours in hot kitchens, and worries that her declining health might just give out one day. There are some new arrivals. The first is Parvathi's brother Kumar. Kumar has recently graduated from college, and he arrives 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 ...
to start a new job. He plans to stay with Parvathi for a few days until he finds a new place. The second arrival is Anandan, a mild-mannered young man. He used to work at a rice mill in
Nagapatnam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...
, but when the mill was destroyed in a
cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
, his employer transferred him to another job 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 ...
. Anandan is happy to find another job, but despairs because he is away from his wife and children in
Nagapatnam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...
. He is not able to afford weekly trips to see his family. Lakshmiammal recognises an opportunity and proposes a boarding arrangement. Anandan is happy to accept; Lakshmiammal's home cooked food is healthier and cheaper than eating out every day. The families are faced with various crises. Kannan's father discovers that Lakshmiammal has been visiting a hospital to treat an emerging tuberculosis ailment caused by long exposure to cooking flames. Kannan's father discreetly informs Mythili that Lakshmiammal must not continue working. Mythili drops out of school and starts working at a palatial mansion in the city. (Her job is not revealed, but it is strongly suggested that she may be working as an escort for a rich man.) The job, however, pays quite well and Mythili anonymously sends a portion of the money to her mother. Srinivasa Raghavan remains oblivious or apathetic to the whole situation. Kannan and Paramasivam are also faced with trouble. Uma receives a promotion at work. Kannan is unable to accept that his wife makes more money. Priya continues to drift away from her parents, and refuses to come home for Diwali. When Parvathi suddenly becomes pregnant, she is forced to abort because of their strained financial situation. Paramasivam is stricken cold by the fact that he did not have cash for the cab to bring his wife to the hospital. Uma, Parvathi and Lakshmiammal individually ponder the central questions of the film – the role of money and the role of working women in the new society order. Their troubles escalate. Kannan dreams that Uma is seduced by her German boss, and that she will eventually leave him. Paramasivam is compelled to borrow money, at exorbitant interest, from a loan shark. Parvathi is deeply grieved to learn this. Lakshmiammal follows Mythili and assumes the worst when she sees that a car is sent to fetch Mythili every day. She breaks down in tears before Srinivasa Raghavan. When Srinivasa Raghavan angrily question Mythili, she retorts that he, having never provided for the family, has no fatherly rights to ask about her business. The men set about evaluating their situation. Kannan and Uma decide that their child is a higher priority than additional income, and Uma accordingly resigns from her job. Kannan's father provides additional support by way of his retirement income. Paramasivam finally agrees to let Parvathi get a real job. And Srinivasa Raghavan, stung by his daughter's criticism, sets off to find work. Undaunted by rejection from various offices, he finally earns a day's wages by working on the docks. He returns home with dignity. Now that he has restored his station as a father, he claims the right to question Mythili. He bluntly asks if she has been prostituting herself. Mythili takes him to the palatial mansion. She reveals that the lady of the house has been stricken with a paralysing disease and that Mythili's job is to help her with her daily duties. Mythili breaks into sobs, saying she has not done anything to dishonor the family. Harmony is restored to just about everyone. Anandam, in tragicomic irony, is suddenly transferred away to
Dindigul Dindigul, also spelt Thindukkal (), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Dindigul district. Dindigul is located southwest from the state capital, Chennai, away from Tiruchirappalli, away ...
just as he has found a job for his wife 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 ...
. His wife now takes his place in the apartment and writes to him every week. The film ends with the missive that money is required for life but life must not be entirely consumed by money.


Cast

* Pratap as Kannan voice-over by
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 ...
*
Suhasini Suhasini Maniratnam (born 15 August 1961) known mononymously as Suhasini, is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her ...
as Parvathi *
Sumalatha Sumalatha (born 27 August 1963) is an Indian actress, politician who is the current Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from Mandya, Karnataka. She has acted in more than 220 films in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi. She gained ...
as Uma * S. Ve. Shekher as Paramasivam *
Kamala Kamesh Kamala Kamesh is an Indian actress in Tamil movies. She was one of the prominent supporting actress in late 1960s, 1970s and 1980s in Tamil movies. She has acted nearly 480 movies in Tamil. She is often seen in all of Visu's movies. Biography S ...
as Lakshmiammal * Nithya as Mythili * Bhoopathi *
Samikannu Samikannu (15 April 1923 – 3 June 2017) was an Indian actor who had acted in over 400 Tamil-language films in supporting and comedy roles. He is capable of doing whatever role is best. He is notable movie acted Character as 'Payapulla' in Mullu ...
as the matchmaker *
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 Chettiar *
Visu Meenakshisundaram Ramasamy Viswanathan (1 July 1945 – 22 March 2020), best known by his stage name Visu, was an Indian writer, director, stage, film and television actor and talk-show host. Visu initially worked as an assistant to director K ...
as Srinivasa Raghavan * 'Kuriakose' Ranga as Anandan *
Omakuchi Narasimhan Narasimhan (c. 1936 - 12 March 2009), popularly known as Omakuchi, was an Indian stage and film actor. He acted in over 1,500 films in 14 Indian languages, predominantly in Tamil. Early life Born in Kumbakonam in 1936, Narasimhan made his ...
as Mathrubootham * Baskar as Kumar


Production

''Kudumbam Oru Kadambam'' was a play written by
Visu Meenakshisundaram Ramasamy Viswanathan (1 July 1945 – 22 March 2020), best known by his stage name Visu, was an Indian writer, director, stage, film and television actor and talk-show host. Visu initially worked as an assistant to director K ...
who also starred. S. P. Muthuraman saw the play and, impressed, decided to adapt it for the screen; Visu was chosen to reprise his role, making his debut as a film actor. Visu's brother-in-law 'Kuriakose' Ranga also made his film debut with this; he also wrote the dialogue "Paithiyakaara aaspathirila paithiyangalukku vaithiyam pakkara oru paithiyakaara vaithiyarukke paithiyam pudicha, andha paithiyakara vaithiyar endha paithiyakara haspathirila paithiyangalukku vaithiyam pakara oru paithiyakara vaithiyar kitta than paithiyathukku vaithiyanm pathupaar?" ().


Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by
M. S. Viswanathan Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan (24 June 1928 – 14 July 2015), also known as M.S.V., was an Indian music director, singer and actor who predominantly worked in Tamil film industry. He was popularly known as ''Mellisai Mannar''. He compose ...
. Lyrics were written by
Kannadasan Kannadasan (; 24 June 1927 – 17 October 1981) was an Indian philosopher, poet, film song lyricist, producer, actor, script-writer, editor, philanthropist, and is heralded as one of the greatest and most important lyricists in India. Freq ...
and Vaali.


Release

''Kudumbam Oru Kadambam'' was released on 5 December 1981. The film was a commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres.


References


External links

* {{S. P. Muthuraman 1980s Tamil-language films 1981 films Films directed by S. P. Muthuraman Films scored by M. S. Viswanathan Films with screenplays by Visu Indian films based on plays Tamil films remade in other languages