Moondrezhuthu (transl. Three letters) is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language crime film, directed by T. R. Ramanna, produced by T. K. Ramarajan and written by T. N. Balu. Music was by T. K. Ramamoorthy.[1] The film stars Ravichandran, Jayalalithaa, Srividya and Sheela. It was released on 10 May 1968.[2]
| Moondrezhuthu | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | T. R. Ramanna |
| Written by | T. N. Balu |
| Produced by | T. K. Ramarajan |
| Starring | Ravichandran Jayalalithaa Srividya Sheela |
| Cinematography | M. A. Rahman |
| Edited by | M. S. Mani |
| Music by | T. K. Ramamoorthy |
Production company | Sri Vinayaka Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 176 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editThe film revolves around a chest filled with valuable items and a handful of people competing for it. One character is a greedy old man Rajarathnam Pillai, whose daughter is Selvi. A manager Meganathan is trusted with the chest which needs to be handed over to its legitimate claimants (Pankajam and her suffering family). In his efforts to deliver the box to the rightful owners, he is forced to murder and is sent to jail. His son Maran, to whom he narrates the events, buries the treasure in a village and writes down the clues to find it on three different pieces of paper, with three different Tamil letters, தி (Thi) மு (Mu) and க (Ka).
After many twists and turns, the three villains decipher that the Tamil letters are a clue to the name of the village where the box is buried and they end up going there. Now, the land is in the possession of a factory coming up in its place, and another villain Karmegam also goes after the treasure by killing the others with heavy equipment. How the hero assisted by Nagesh deals with this forms the rest of the story. At the end, the villains are exposed and the box is handed over to its rightful owners. The lovers, Selvi and Maran, are united too.
Cast
edit- Ravichandran as Maran
- Jayalalithaa as Selvi
- Srividya as Malathi
- Sheela as Suguna/Meera
- Major Sundarrajan as Meganathan
- Sedhupathy as Ramapathran
- Sriranjani Jr. as Pankajam
- Ennathe Kannaiah as Sukadiya Sett
- C. L. Anandan as Muthu
- R. S. Manohar as Tiger
- S. A. Ashokan as Rajarathnam Pillai
- Gandhimathi as Selvi's mother
- O. A. K. Thevar as Somasundaram
- Nagesh as Appu
- Thengai Srinivasan as Kumar/Sankaran Kutti
- Suruli Rajan as Venkateswara Rao
- Master Prabhakar as Ramapathran's son
- Vasanthi
- Kalavathi
Soundtrack
editMusic was composed by T. K. Ramamoorthy and lyrics were written by Kannadasan.[3][4]
| Song | Singer | Length |
|---|---|---|
| "Aadu Paarkalam Aadu" | T. M. Soundararajan | 03:22 |
| "Pettiyilae Pottadaittha" | T. M. Soundararajan & P. Susheela | 03:34 |
| "Iravil Vandha" | T. M. Soundararajan & S. V. Ponnusamy | 03:16 |
| "Aayalottum.... Konjum Kili" | T. M. Soundararajan & L. R. Eswari | 04:52 |
| "Sandai Nadapadhu.... Pachai Kili" | L. R. Eswari | 03:27 |
| "Kaadhalan Vandhan" | P. Susheela & S. V. Ponnusamy | 03:38 |
| "Dheivatthin Kovil" | L. R. Eswari | 03:08 |
Reception
editKalki criticised the film for its outdated storyline and lack of originality.[5] Despite this, it became a success.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Moondrezhuthu". The Indian Express. 24 May 1968. p. 3. Retrieved 15 October 2020 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "ஜெயலலிதா நடித்த திரைப்படங்களின் பட்டியல்". Dinamani (in Tamil). 6 December 2016. Archived from the original on 24 June 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "Moondrezhuthu". JioSaavn. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ "Moondrezhuthu (1968)". Music India Online. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
- ^ "மூன்றெழுத்து". Kalki (in Tamil). 26 May 1968. pp. 20–21. Archived from the original on 16 June 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2022 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Guy, Randor (21 January 2017). "Moondrezhuthu (1968) TAMIL". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2017.