''Udaya Geetham'' (; ) is a 1985 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

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

K. Rangaraj K. Rangaraj is an Indian film director and screenwriter and producer who was active in Tamil cinema mainly in the 1980s. Career Rangaraj was born in a village near Kovilpatti. While searching for job in Chennai, he decided to join Tamil film in ...

. The film stars Mohan,

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

and

Revathi Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films. She has won several ...

, with

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 ...

, Senthil,

Anand Babu Anand Babu is an Indian actor who was known for his works in Tamil films. He is the son of legendary comedy actor Nagesh. Career He first entered the film industry with Tamil films and also played leading roles in Telugu as well as supporting ...

, and

Prathapachandran Prathapachandran (1941–2004) was an Indian actor, who worked predominantly in Malayalam film industry, though he acted in a few Tamil and Telugu movies as well. He known for the portrayal of villainous and character roles in over 300 movies. ...

in supporting roles. It revolves around a singer who is facing a death sentence for a murder he did not commit, and the efforts of a young girl to clear his name. The film was released on 13 April 1985 and was a commercial success, running for 148 days in theatres and thereby becoming a silver jubilee film.

Plot

Arun is a singer sentenced to death. He meets Shanthi, a fan, during one of his concerts and she follows him on many occasions both within and outside prison. Arun shows deep animosity towards Shanthi's behaviour and continuously shuns her, but a persistent Shanthi refuses to give up. Maari, an inmate, attempts a prison escape but is stopped by Arun. He tells Arun about his sick daughter, and his inability to pay for her operation. A sympathetic Arun promises to raise funds for the sick child through his next concert, which he also plans shall be his final one. Leela Chowdhry is the newly appointed

Superintendent of Police Superintendent (Supt) is a rank in the British police and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries, the full version is superintendent of police (SP). The rank is also used in most British Overseas Territories ...

for the Madras Central Jail, where Arun is imprisoned. Shanthi talks her into getting her married to Arun, who also agrees to it after deeply thinking and deliberating. The wedding takes places in Leela's house. During their

wedding night In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the consummation of a marriage, often called simply ''consummation'', is the first (or first officially credited) act of sexual intercourse between two people, following their marriage to ...

, Shanthi stabs Arun and reveals herself as the sister of Anand, for whose murder Arun was convicted. Anand was Arun's musical partner in their troupe before his murder. Arun claims he was wrongfully convicted and Shanthi, believing him, promises to clear his name. Leela allows Shanthi and Arun to go to a nearby temple, but sends policemen along with them to prevent Arun from escaping. Shanthi outsmarts them and takes Arun to her home where she imprisons him, much to his dislike. She makes it seemingly impossible for him to escape, until she is able to prove his innocence. Leela is later punished for having let Arun "escape", and simultaneously realises that Arun is her long lost son, becoming heartbroken. However, she remains bound to her duty of capturing Arun, and a manhunt for him begins. Shanthi later meets Shankar, the real killer of Anand. He admits to the murder, but states that did so because he witnessed Anand sleeping with his wife. Shanthi, knowing that Shankar's wife is promiscuous (it was she who seduced the reluctant Anand), takes him to her and Shankar is angered on seeing his wife with another man in bed. He kills her, but not before she mortally wounds him. Arun, having escaped, is confronted by Leela who he realises is his mother. She allows him to perform his final concert, but has to have him hanged to death him after that. Right after he finishes his concert he is arrested, but Shanthi and Shankar finally arrive and tell the truth about Anand's death, after which Shankar succumbs. Arun's death sentence is revoked.

Cast

* Mohan as Arun *

as Leela Chowdhry *

as Shanthi *

as Balaji, the fake

swami Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eit ...

as Anand *

as Shankar * Kallapetti Singaram * Senthil as Senthil, an inmate * J. Lalitha as Shankar's wife *

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, ...

* T. K. S. Natarajan *

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 a police officer's daughter * Shekhina Shawn as the sick child

Production

The comedy subplot involving Goundamani and Senthil was written by

A. Veerappan A. Veerappan (21 June 1933 2005) was an Indian comedian, screenwriter, and film director. While having worked in more than 100 films. He is notable for his comedian roles along with fellow actor Nagesh in the 1960s. He wrote comedy tracks ...

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, this being his 300th film. The song "Thene Thenpaandi" is set in the Carnatic raga known as Sankarabharanam, "Paadu Nilavae" is set in the Kusumadharini raga, and the title song is set in

Dhenuka In Hindu mythology, Dhenuka, also known as Dhenukasura, is an asura (demon) killed by Balarama, the elder brother of Krishna. The ''Harivamsa'' states that Dhenuka, with his host of attendant demons, all in the form of donkeys, as ruled over a for ...

Release and reception

''Udaya Geetham'' was released on 13 April 1985, a day before

Puthandu Puthandu (), also known as Puthuvarudam, and the Tamil New Year, is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar, traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamil Hindus. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu cal ...

. Despite facing competition from other Mohan films released in the same week such as '' Pillai Nila'' and '' Deivapiravi'', the film became a commercial success, with a theatrical run of over 148 days, thereby becoming a silver jubilee film. ''

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 ...

'' criticised the film for numerous plotholes, but praised Ilaiyaraaja's music and Rangaraj's direction.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0320677 1980s Tamil-language films 1985 films 1985 thriller films Films about miscarriage of justice Films about music and musicians Films about widowhood in India Films directed by K. Rangaraj Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Indian thriller films