Thanikattu Raja
Poster
Directed byV. C. Guhanathan
Written byV. C. Guhannathan
Produced byD. Ramanaidu
Starring
CinematographyP. S. Nivas
Edited byK. M. Marthand
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Release date
  • 12 March 1982 (1982-03-12)
Running time
153 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Thanikattu Raja (transl.Lonely Forest King) is a 1982 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by V. C. Guhanathan, and Produced by D. Ramanaidu.[1] It stars Rajinikanth, Sridevi and Sripriya, with Jaishankar, Vijayakumar, Sathyakala and Y. G. Mahendran in supporting roles.[2] The film had music by Ilaiyaraaja and cinematography handled by P. S. Nivas.

Plot

Soori is a rebellious young man who works as a mechanic and often lands in trouble fighting for justice. He falls in love with a rich girl Vaani, but Vaani's father plots to break their relationship through his manager Vasu. In the ensuing melee, Soori murders the manager to save Vaani's honour. Soori is about to be sentenced to death and Vaani finds that the only way she can save Soori is by marrying a rich, roguish man Ethiraj who uses his money to get Soori's death penalty commuted to a prison term.

After his release, Soori is distraught at losing Vaani and takes to drinking. He moves to his village where he becomes immensely popular among the villagers due to his righteous work and progressive activities. He offers protection to a village damsel Vidhya to escape from being forced to be a prostitute and later marries her but still remains alcoholic. Vaani meets and advises him to stop drinking and turn over a new leaf. Despite being abused by her husband and falsely accused of hobnobbing with Soori, Vaani maintains the sanctity of her marriage. Whether Soori and Vaani's lives return to normal forms the rest of the story.

Cast

Production

Thanikattu Raja does not credit any actors; instead it features the text "Ungal Abhimana Natchathirangal" (Your favourite stars) due to the film's ensemble cast.[3]

Themes

According to Jump Cut, Thanikattu Raja "explores the connections between landlords and politicians, who together oppress the rural population".[4]

Soundtrack

Tamil

The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and had six songs. "Mullai Arumbe" did not feature in the film but was part of the album. The lyrics for the songs were written by Vaali and Panchu Arunachalam.[5]

Title Lyrics Singer(s) Length
"Naan Thaan Taapu" Vaali S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki 4:32
"Santhana Kaatre S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki 3:47
"Naan Thanda Ippo Devadas" S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 4:23
"Koovungal Sevalgale" S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 4:30
"Rasave Unna Naan Ennithan" S. P. Sailaja 4:29
"Mullai Arumbe" Panchu Arunachalam Malaysia Vasudevan, S. Janaki 4:24
Hindi

Brij Bihari wrote the lyrics for all the songs in the Hindi dubbed version.[6]

Title Singer(s) Length
"Aaj Ka Dada Main Ban Gaya" Shailendra Singh 4:23
"Dafli Baje Kya Kahe" Shailendra Singh 4:30
"Dil Kya Jaan Bhi" S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Vani Jayaram 4:32
"Khilti Kali Yeh Roop Tera" Mahendra Kapoor, Alka Yagnik 3:47
"Saanson Mein Sargam" Alka Yagnik 4:29

Release and reception

The film was released on 12 March 1982.[7] Thiraignani of Kalki felt the plot which spoke about village has been dealt sparsely and also felt Jaishankar, Sripriya and Sridevi were underutilised; however praised the stunt choreography.[8]

References

  1. "மதுரகீதம் படத்தின் மூலம் டைரக்டர் ஆனார் வி.சி.குகநாதன்". Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 22 July 2007. Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  2. "கின்னஸ் தயாரிப்பாளர் டி.ராமா நாயுடு பேரனுக்கு போலீஸ் வலை". Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 5 January 2013. Archived from the original on 8 January 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  3. "நட்சத்திரப் பட்டாளங்களுடன் புதிய 'ஷோலே' வாக வரும் பேட்ட!". a1tamilnews.com (in Tamil). 20 December 2018. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  4. Maderya, Kumuthan (2010). "Rage against the state: historicizing the "angry young man" in Tamil cinema". Jump Cut: 4.
  5. "Thani Kattu Raja Tamil Film LP VInyl Recod by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  6. Arunachalam, Param (2020). BollySwar: 1981–1990. Mavrix Infotech. p. 518. ISBN 978-81-938482-2-7.
  7. "Tani Kattu Raja (1982)". Suresh Productions. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  8. திரைஞானி (4 April 1982). "தனிகாட்டு ராஜா". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 41. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
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