Kadal Meengal

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Kadal Meengal
Theatrical release poster
Directed byG. N. Rangarajan
Screenplay byPanchu Arunachalam
Story byT. Damodaran
Produced byR. Shantha
Starring
CinematographyN. K. Viswanathan
Edited byK. R. Ramalingam
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Release date
  • 5 June 1981 (1981-06-05)
Running time
137 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Kadal Meengal (transl.Sea Fishes) is a 1981 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by G. N. Rangarajan, starring Kamal Haasan, Sujatha, Nagesh and Swapna. It is a remake of the 1980 Malayalam film Meen,[1] and also draws inspiration from the Hindi film Trishul (1978).[2] The film revolves around a man seeking revenge on his father for abandoning the former's mother. It was released on 5 June 1981.[3]

Plot

Selvanayakam alias is a poor but hard-working fisherman who is in love with Bhagyam from the same fishing hamlet. After a tiff with the locals, Selvam moves to a neighbouring village for fishing and is feared dead during a cyclone. Selvam returns alive after a while and unable to find Bhagyam, marries another woman. Bhagyam has borne his child but lives in isolation away from the life of Selvam who has grown to be a rich businessman. After several years, Bhagyam's son Rajan finds out about his father whom he despises for having deserted his mother. He vengefully joins his father's rivals and enters into a long confrontation with his father in business and in personal life as well.

Cast

Production

The makeup for old look of Kamal Haasan was done by R. Sundaramoorthy who revealed the look is inspired from a character from the 1980 film Babylon.[5]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.[6][7]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Madini Madini"Gangai AmaranP. Susheela, Malaysia Vasudevan & Chorus 
2."Thaalattudhe Vaanam"KannadasanP. Jayachandran, S. Janaki 
3."Endrendrum Anandhame"Panchu ArunachalamMalaysia Vasudevan 
4."Kalai Maane"KannadasanP. Susheela 

Reception

Sindhu-Jeeva of Kalki praised Kamal Haasan's acting, Viswanathan's cinematography and Ilaiyaraaja's music but felt unit who worked a lot in the idea of taking gold and making jewellery not realising it is just clay and concluded Meen (fish) in Malayalam, Karuvadu (dried fish) in Tamil.[8]

References

  1. ^ Pandian, Avinash (30 June 2015). "The Malabar influence on Tamil superstars". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 9 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  2. ^ Iyengar, Shriram (5 May 2018). "40 years of Trishul: Revisiting two Tamil remakes of Yash Chopra's classic drama". Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  3. ^ "Kadal Meengal (1981)". Screen 4 Screen. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  4. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (9 April 2011). "We will miss you, Sujatha". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  5. ^ "மேக்அப் - கலை" (PDF). Kalki (in Tamil). 2 August 1981. pp. 9–10. Retrieved 20 October 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "Kadal Meengal Tamil Film EP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  7. ^ "Kadal Meengal (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP". Apple Music. 5 June 1981. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  8. ^ சிந்து; ஜீவா (28 June 1981). "கடல் மீன்கள்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 19. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023 – via Internet Archive.

External links