''Mannathi Mannan'' (; ) is a 1960 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

swashbuckler film Swashbuckler films are a subgenre of the action film genre, often characterised by swordfighting and adventurous heroic characters, known as swashbucklers. Real historical events often feature prominently in the plot, morality is often clear-cu ...

directed and produced by M. Natesan. The film stars

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

Anjali Devi Anjali Devi (; 24 August 1927 – 13 January 2014) was an Indian actress, model and producer in Telugu and Tamil films. She was well known for her role as the Devi Sita in '' Lava Kusa'' as well as for the titular roles in movies like Chench ...

and Padmini. The film, 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 ...

, had musical score by

Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy were an Indian music composing duo composed of M. S. Viswanathan and T. K. Ramamoorthy. They worked together on over 100 films, from 1952's '' Panam'' to 1965's '' Aayirathil Oruvan''. After their split, Ramamoorthy wo ...

and was released on 19 October 1960, during

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

Plot

Dancer Chitra and prince of Uraiyur Manivannan fall in love with each other after meeting in a dance competition. However, Chola King Kanikannan also desires Chitra. Meanwhile, Manivannan's father, the Cheran King sends his minister, seeking the hand of Karpagavalli, daughter of King Karigala, for his son. But the King thwarts this proposal, talking ill of the heredity of Manivannan's mother. Unable to bear his mother being insulted, Manivannan goes to the Chola kingdom and abducts Karpagavalli. In the meantime, a dacoit, played very cleverly by Kanikannan, forces Manivannan to marry Karpagavalli.

Cast

Cast according to the opening credits of the film ;Male Cast * M. G. R. as Manivannan * P. S. Veerappa as Kanikannan *

M. G. Chakrapani Maruthur Gopalan Chakrapani (13 January 1911 – 17 August 1986), commonly known as Ettan ("elder brother" in Malayalam), was an Indian actor and producer based in the Tamil film industry. He was the elder brother of actor-politician M. G. ...

as Karikala Chozhan * Kula Deivam V. R. Rajagopal as Balaraman * N. S. Narayana Pillai * Azhwar Kuppusami * P. S. Venkatachalam * R. M. Sethupathi * Thirupathisami * T. V. Sivanantham ;Female Cast * Anjali as Karpagavalli * Padmini as Chithra * Ragini * G. Sakunthala as Mangayarkarasi * Lakshmiprabha ;Dance *

Lakshmi Rajyam C. Lakshmi Rajyam or shortly Lakshmirajyam (1922–1987) was a South Indian film and drama actress and film producer in 1930s to 1970s.Nata Ratnalu, Mikkilineni Radhakrishna Murthy, Second edition, 2002, pp: 594–96 She is a native of Owk. She ...

, Rita, T. S. Jayanthi,
T. S. Kamala, D. Madhuri, T. K. Rajeswari,
Revathi, Sakunthala, C. R. Mohana, G. Bala,
G. Sundari, Leela, N. Meera, B. Shantha,
K. Rajeswari, Rajamma, Vittoba, J. N. Rajam,
G. Kamala, Nagu and P. T. Saroja.

Soundtrack

The music composed by

, with lyrics by

and A. Maruthakasi. The song "Aadatha Manamum" is based on Latangi raga.

Release and reception

''Mannathi Mannan'' was released on 19 October 1960, during

. It was previously scheduled for 30 September. ''

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 story could have been very well developed in a different way .Anyway the picture is replete with romance, dance and fight" and praised the performances of star cast including Padmini. Kanthan 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 ...

'' called it a very ordinary film, but good by Ramachandran standards. Despite facing competition from ''

Kairasi ''Kairasi'' () is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. Shankar and produced by N. Vasudeva Menon. The film stars Gemini Ganesan (credited as Ganesh) and B. Saroja Devi. It revolves around a doctor whose father is wrongfully convict ...

'', ''

Petra Manam ''Petra Manam'' () is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language film directed by A. Bhimsingh and produced by National Pictures. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Pushpavalli, S. S. Rajendran and Padmini. It is the Tamil version of the 1953 Telugu film '' Pem ...

'', and ''

Paavai Vilakku ''Paavai Vilakku'' () is a 1960 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. Somu and written by A. P. Nagarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Sowcar Janaki, Pandari Bai, M. N. Rajam and Kumari Kamala. It is based on Akilan's novel of ...

'', released on the same day, the film became a commercial success. Historian

Randor Guy Madabhushi Rangadorai (born 8 November 1937), better known by his pen name Randor Guy, is an Indian lawyer, columnist and film and legal historian associated with the English language newspaper ''The Hindu''. He is also the official editor of the ...

wrote the film "achieve cult status and remembered for the melodious music, meaningful lyrics and dialogue, the dances by Padmini, Ragini and Anjali Devi and the impressive performance by MGR, and the opening song, 'Acchham Enbathu' helped MGR become a cultural icon".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0390211 1960 films 1960s Tamil-language films Films scored by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy Indian swashbuckler films