Unnai Charanadaindhen is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Samuthirakani, in his directoral debut starring Venkat Prabhu, S. P. B. Charan and Meera Vasudevan. It was produced by Charan's Capital Film Works and features a soundtrack composed by his father S. P. Balasubrahmanyam. Although the film was made on a small budget and fetched critical acclaim upon release, also winning two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Charan has said that it was not a profitable venture.[1] Samuthirakani later directed the Telugu remake Naalo (2004), with Charan reprising his role.[2][3]
| Unnai Charanadaindhen | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Samuthirakani |
| Written by | Samuthirakani |
| Produced by | S. P. B. Charan |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Rajesh Yadav |
| Edited by | K. Pazhanivel |
| Music by |
|
Production company | Capital Film Works |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editNandha and Kannan are dearest friends. While Kannan is goofy, fun-loving and naïve; Nandha is somber, serious and responsible. He takes the onus of taking care of Kannan and helping him in all ways which makes Kannan absolutely devoted to Nandha. Teja is in love with Nandha and he reciprocates. Enters Bobby, a well-to-do, sophisticated, intelligent and responsible girl who falls in love with Kannan seeing his goodness. Kannan too loves her but Nandha does not approve without which Kannan won't proceed. Nandha starts to punish Kannan subtly at first and overtly later for maintaining relations with Bobby.
Bobby's family and her brother do not approve of Kannan and tries to get rid of him wherein Nandha steps in to save him. A tug of war over Kannan starts between Bobby and Nandha. Is Nandha's intentions for Kannan pure or is he simply unwilling to forgo his control over him seeing him as a slave? Will Bobby be steadfast or is she simply using him to have fun?
Cast
edit- Venkat Prabhu as Kannan
- S. P. B. Charan as Nandha
- Meera Vasudevan as Bobby
- Santhoshi as Teja
- Nizhalgal Ravi
- Ilavarasu as Teja's father
- Riyaz Khan
- Paravai Muniyamma
- Anju
- Hari Prashanth
- Black Pandi
Soundtrack
editThe soundtrack was composed by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Charan's father, and consists of six songs with lyrics penned by Gangai Amaran, Venkat Prabhu's father. Balasubrahmanyam himself lent his voice for three songs, while noted composers M. S. Viswanathan and Ilaiyaraaja co-sang the first song of the album. Aside from Balasubrahmanyam, his sister S. P. Sailaja and his daughter Pallavi had also performed each one song. The score was composed by Srinivasa Moorthy.[citation needed]
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Natpu Natpu" | M. S. Viswanathan, Ilaiyaraaja, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 4:06 |
| 2. | "Kalluri Vazhvil" | S. P. Sailaja | 4:39 |
| 3. | "Ippo Ingge" | Venkat Prabhu | 5:36 |
| 4. | "Kanna Kalakkama" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. P. Pallavi | 5:11 |
| 5. | "Oru Vazhippathai" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 5:20 |
| 6. | "Aala Piranthavanda" | Paravai Muniyamma | 0:32 |
| Total length: | 25:24 | ||
Reception
editCritical response
editMalini Mannath of Chennai Online wrote, "A neatly crafted screenplay with some engaging situations, catchy lines, well etched characters, sensitive treatment and some fine performances, all make debutant director Samuthiraikani's maiden directorial effort Unnai Charanadainthein worth watching.[4] Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote, "It is a pity that the film, racy and absorbing in the first half, gets bogged down and drags in the last forty minutes".[5] Mokkarasu of Kalki praised the acting of Charan, Meera, Venkat Prabhu and Ilavarasu also appreciated humour in first half, Balasubramaniam's music and the film's screenplay for creating tension of whether lovers unite or not but panned characters for speaking lengthy dialogues, double meaning dialogues and Charan's weak reason of separating his friend's love.[6]
Awards
editThe film won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards: Special Prize and Best Story Writer (Samuthirakani).[7]
References
edit- ^ Kamath, Sudhish (2 December 2010). "Double impact". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ "Samuthirakani-Sasikumar film picks up steam". Cinema Express. 3 July 2017. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ Anuradha, B. (10 December 2004). "Naalo Telugu Movie". Nowrunning. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
- ^ Mannath, Malini (19 September 2003). "Unnai Charanadainthein". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 30 March 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (19 September 2003). "Unnai Charan Adainthaen". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 3 January 2004. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ மொக்கராசு (5 October 2003). "உன்னைச் சரணடைந்தேன்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 32. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Tamilnadu State Film Awards – awards for Vikram, Jyotika". Cinesouth. 13 February 2006. Archived from the original on 18 February 2006. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
