''Muthu Kaalai'' is a 1995

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

Gokula Krishnan Gokula Krishnan was an Indian film director, who has directed Tamil films. He was primarily active in the 1980s and early 1990s and is most noted for his work on films featuring actor Karthik. He also extensively worked with Malayalam director ...

. The film stars Karthik and

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_cinema, Telugu films and has also worked in Kannada, Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam f ...

. The film, produced by Raadhika Reddy, had musical score 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 ...

and was released on 24 February 1995 to above average reviews.

Plot

The film begins with Poochi (

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 ...

) announcing bad news to Muthu Kaalai ( Karthik). Muthu Kaalai first refuses to see Poonjolai (

) in her deathbed, but he finally accepts. In the past, Poonjolai was from a rich family in her village, while Muthu Kaalai was a poor herdsman who worked for Raakayi ( Manorama). Since their first meeting, Poonjolai hated him and put him in a lot of troubles. Muthu Kaalai wanted to marry Poonjolai, but her uncles Sakthivel (

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

), Sangaiah ( Vijayakumar), and Rathnavel (

Chandrasekhar Chandrasekhar, Chandrashekhar or Chandra Shekhar is an Indian name and may refer to a number of individuals. The name comes from the name of an incarnation of the Hindu god Shiva. In this form he married the goddess Parvati. Etymologically, the nam ...

) were determined to wipe out his wish.

Cast

* Karthik as Muthu Kaalai *

as Poonjolai *

as Sakthivel * Vijayakumar as Sangaiah, Poonjolai's uncle *

as Rathnavel, Poonjolai's father *

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 Pattayakarar *

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.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 ...

as Poochi * Manorama as Raakayi *

Vadivukkarasi Vadivukkarasi is an Indian actress. She made her acting debut in the Tamil film ''Sigappu Rojakkal'' (1978) and has acted in more than 350 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam and 40 television serials in Tamil. Film director A. P. Nag ...

as Deivanai * Vaishnavi as Maheshwari *

Disco Shanti Santha Kumari (born 28 August 1965), famously known as Disco Shanti, is an Indian actress who was particularly famous in South India for her appearances in item numbers. She has appeared in more than 900 films in different languages of India, ...

Periya Karuppu Thevar Periya Karuppa Thevar (1936 - 18 September 2012) was a Tamil film character artiste and folk singer who appeared in Tamil-language films. Film career PKT was part of the drama troupe floated by veteran Sankaradoss Swamigal more than fifty year ...

Singamuthu Singamuthu (born 8 December 1958) is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films as a comedian. Career Singamuthu has primarily appeared in comedy roles in films as a supporting actor debuting in ''Neram Nalla Irukku'' (1987). He ...

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by

. The soundtrack, released in 1995, features 5 tracks with lyrics written by Vaali.

Production

The dialogue writer Gokula Krishnan made his directorial debut. He has already worked with Karthik in ''

Varusham Padhinaaru ''Varusham 16'' (read as "Varusham Padhinaaru"; ) is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by Fazil. The film stars Karthik and Khushbu, with Sukumari, V. K. Ramasamy, Janagaraj, Charle and Vadivukkarasi in supporting roles. It is a r ...

'', ''

Gopura Vasalile ''Gopura Vasalile'' () is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language black comedy film directed by Priyadarshan, starring Karthik and Bhanupriya. It relies on various subplots from the Malayalam film ''Pavam Pavam Rajakumaran'' (1990) and the Hindi film '' ...

'' and ''

Ponnumani '' Ponnumani'' is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by R. V. Udayakumar, starring Karthik, Soundarya (in her Tamil film debut) and Sivakumar. It was released on 16 April 1993. Plot Ponnumani and Chinthamani are sweetheart ...

''. Karthik and Soundarya paired for second time after ''

''.

Reception

The film won above average reviews with K. Vijayan of ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...

'' stating : "Good acting, characterisation and the director's skills at telling a run-of-the-mill story make this in an above-average movie".

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0317935, Muthu Kaalai 1995 films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja 1990s Tamil-language films