Mani Osai Explained

Mani Osai
Director:P. Madhavan
Producer:A. L. Srinivasan
Starring:Kalyan Kumar
M. R. Radha
R. Muthuraman
C. R. Vijayakumari
Kumari Rukmini
Music:Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Cinematography:M. Karnan
Editing:R. Devarajan
Studio:ALS Productions
Runtime:168 minutes
Country:India
Language:Tamil

Mani Osai is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by P. Madhavan, his directorial debut. The film was produced by A. L. Srinivasan under ALS Productions and written by Pasumani. The film, inspired by Victor Hugo's French novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, stars Kalyan Kumar, M. R. Radha, R. Muthuraman, C. R. Vijayakumari, V. Nagayya, Nagesh, Pushpalatha and Kumari Rukmani. Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy composed the music for the film.[1]

Plot

An egotistical rich man (M. R. Radha) abandons his elder son (Kalyan Kumar) because of his physical imperfections. He tells his wife (Kumari Rukmini) that the baby was born dead. The man has another son (R. Muthuraman) who leads a lazy life, often getting into trouble. He falls in love with his cousin (C. R. Vijayakumari), who is very close to the hunchback, treating him like a brother. The hunchback becomes a hero who sacrifices everything, taking the blame for others' wrongdoing. He finally restores sight to the hero and dies. Only after the hunchback's death does the father tell the world that he was his firstborn.

Cast

Production

Mani Osai is the directorial debut of P. Madhavan, and was inspired by French writer Victor Hugo's 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. It was produced by A. L. Srinivasan under his company A. L. Productions.

Reception

The film received critical acclaim, but did not perform well at the box office; according to film historian Randor Guy, this was due to its lack of a handsome hero.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy, with lyrics by Kannadasan.[2] Some of the film's songs, such as "Payuthu Paayuthu", "Devan Kovil Mani Osai" and "Aattukkutti Aattukkutti Mammavai" became popular.

Song Singer Length
"Paayuthu Paayuthu" 05:04
"Aattukkutti Aattukutti" L. R. Eswari 04:10
"Devan Kovil Mani Osai" 04:52
"Katti Thangam Rajavukku" K. Jamuna Rani, L. R. Eswari 04.32
"Varusham Maasam Thedi" 04:35
"Varusham Maasam" (Sad) P. Susheela 02:48
"Varusham Ponne" 03:41

Notes and References

  1. News: Guy . Randor . Randor Guy . 27 October 2012 . Blast from the Past — Mani Osai 1963 . . live . 21 June 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140320120735/http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/mani-osai-1963/article3874020.ece . 20 March 2014.
  2. Web site: Mani Osai . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160911012851/http://shakthi.fm/ta/album/show/b785472a . 11 September 2016 . 21 June 2016 . shakthi.fm.