Mysskin directed ‘Psycho’ featured Udhayanidhi Stalin as a visually challenged man. Interestingly, there are many Tamil films in the past that featured the protagonist with vision disorders.
This week, as part of its Friday special articles series, Mykollywood.com revisits those Tamil movies which had its lead character as visually challenged.
PAALUM PAZHAMUM
‘Paalum Pazhamum’ is a 1961 film directed by A Bhimsingh, featuring Sivaji Ganesan, M R Radha, B. Saroja Devi and Sowcar Janaki. The film, produced by G N Velumani under Saravana Films, had musical score by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy and was released on 9 September 1961.
The film was a super hit at the box office. It was remade in Kannada as ‘Beratha Jeeva’, and in Hindi as ‘Saathi’. Sivaji is a doctor searching for a cancer cure. Saroja Devi is Sivaji’s nurse who assists him in his research. Sivaji offers to marry her after her father’s death.
After putting in enormous efforts, Sivaji emerges successful in formulating a new drug but Saroja Devi is diagnosed with tuberculosis. Sivaji begins to neglect his duties as a doctor, focusing on Saroja Devi’s health. Saroja Devi flees on a train as she does not wish to divert him from his research.
The train crashes and Saroja Devi is believed to be dead. Sivaji is heartbroken but vows to complete his research. Sivaji’s family forces him to marry Janaki, but they do not have a happy home life, as he is more oriented towards his research than his family. Janaki and Sivaji fight, and in one of these fights Sivaji loses his eyesight.
Meanwhile, Saroja Devi escapes the train crash and goes to Switzerland to cure her tuberculosis. Saroja Devi returns from Switzerland to find that her husband has lost his eyesight. She offers to nurse Sivaji; Sivaji finds her voice familiar but does not recognize her, and confides in her that he is still fond of his ex-wife.
RAJA PAARVAI
‘Raja Paarvai’ is a 1981 film directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao. The story was written by Kamal Haasan, for whom the film was his 100th as an actor, and first as producer.
The score and soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film was simultaneously made and released as ‘Amavasya Chandrudu’ in Telugu. Despite being a box office failure, the film received critical acclaim, and Kamal Haasan’s performance won him the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor.
Raghu(Kamal) is a blind violinist oppressed since infancy by his stepmother. Nancy, a Christian, is keen on chronicling Raghu’s inspiring life as a visually impaired but independently living person.
Their relationship blossoms into a romance that is supported by Nancy’s grandfather. Nancy is eventually due to be married to another man selected by her father, but aided by her grandfather, leaves the church and elopes away with Raghu.
SABHASH
‘Sabhash’ is a 2000 mystery thriller film directed by K Subash featuring R Parthiepan, Divya Unni and Ranjith and was released on 1 September 2000. The film was remade in Hindi as ‘Vaadaa’ (2005).
The two people in focus are Cheenu (Parthiepan) and his good friend Dharan (Ranjith). Seenu is a loving husband of Shanti (Divya Unni), and Dharan is Shanti’s ex-lover. Life is going great for Shanti and Seenu until Seenu loses his eyesight in an accident.
One day, Cheenu and Dharan find that Shanti has died by hanging herself in their house. The police closes the case as a suicide. Evidence surfaces which point to Dharan’s guilt, but he resolutely maintains that he is innocent, while Cheenu too believes him. It keeps the suspense alive successfully: with respect to Dharan’s innocence and the reason behind the happenings. Cheenu seems convinced that his wife has been murdered. One day, Dharan discovers that Seenu is not blind after all.
Who murdered Shanthi? Or was it suicide? Why did Seenu pretend to be blind? The answers to these questions form the rest of the story.
KASI
‘Kasi’ is a 2001 film written and directed by Vinayan. The film has Vikram playing the eponymous character of a blind village singer. A Tamil remake of the director’s own 1999 Malayalam film ‘Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njaanum,’ the film has Kaveri, reprising her role from the original and Kavya Madhavan making her Tamil debut in supporting roles.
The film was produced by Aroma Mani for Sunitha Productions. The score and soundtrack were composed by maestro Ilaiyaraaja. The film was released on 14 November 2001 and won positive reviews from critics upon release. Vikram won the Filmfare Best Actor Award and Cinema Express Award for Best Actor – Tamil.
RAMAN THEDIYA SEETHAI
‘Raman Thediya Seethai’ is a 2008 film written and directed by K P Jagannath. The film features an ensemble cast including Cheran, Pasupathy, Nithin Sathya, Vimala Raman, Remya Nambeeshan, Gajala, Navya Nair, and Karthika.
The music was composed by Vidyasagar with cinematography by Rajesh Yadav and editing by Kola Bhaskar. The film released on 19 September 2008. Pasupathy played a visually challenged man in this film and he won accolades for his performance. In 2012, the film was remade in Kannada as ‘Gowri Puthra’ with Akshay.
THAANDAVAM
‘Thaandavam’ is a 2012 action thriller film written and directed by A L Vijay. The film stars Vikram, Jagapati Babu, Anushka Shetty, Amy Jackson, and Lakshmi Rai in the lead roles
It is produced by UTV Motion Pictures and features music composed by G V Prakash Kumar. Thaandavam was released worldwide on 28 September 2012.
On 31 December 2010, at 11:59pm, a sudden bomb blast occurs in London, killing several people. The scene shifts to the same place after exactly a year, where a blind man named Kenny Thomas (Vikram) lays flowers on the memorial and mourns someone’s death during the bomb blast.
He is then given some secret details by a mysterious woman. Kenny then takes a taxi driven by Sathyan (Santhanam), a comical Tamil guy. He drops Kenny at a place and waits for him to return, but Kenny actually goes inside to kill someone. He kills him and throws him down. Who is Kenny? Whe he did this? ‘Thaandavam’ explains.
CUCKOO
‘Cuckoo’ is a 2014 film written and directed by Raju Murugan and produced by Fox Star Studios. The film stars Dinesh and Malavika Nair as a visually challenged pair, while Aadukalam Murugadoss plays a pivotal role. The film was released on 21 March 2014 and received generally positive reviews.
Tamizh is a visually-impaired young man who works as a singer for an entertainment troupe. During one of the weddings he performs at, he meets Sudhanthirakodi, a young woman who is studying to become a teacher and is also visually-impaired.
Tamizh teases her, causing her to leave him waiting for her as she presents her wedding gift to the newlyweds and leaves. The following day, he bumps into her on the train and asks his friend to mislead her into getting down at a wrong station. As a result, Kodi is late for her first day of teaching practice. What happens next is the crux of ‘Cuckoo’.
By Naveen
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