Mani Osai (transl. Bell Sound) 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]

Mani Osai
Poster
Directed byP. Madhavan
Written byPasumani
Produced byA. L. Srinivasan
StarringKalyan Kumar
M. R. Radha
R. Muthuraman
C. R. Vijayakumari
Kumari Rukmini
CinematographyM. Karnan
Edited byR. Devarajan
Music byViswanathan–Ramamoorthy
Production
company
ALS Productions
Release date
  • 14 April 1963 (1963-04-14)
Running time
168 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot

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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

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Production

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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.[1]

Reception

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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.[1]

Soundtrack

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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.[1]

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

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Guy, Randor (27 October 2012). "Blast from the Past — Mani Osai 1963". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Mani Osai". shakthi.fm. Archived from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
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