Mullum Malarum

Mullum Malarum
Poster dominantly showing Kali (Rajinikanth) wearing a brown shawl to conceal his lost arm. Theatrical release poster
Directed by	J. Mahendran
Produced by	Venu Chettiar
Starring	Rajinikanth Sarath Babu Fatafat Jayalaxmi Shoba
Cinematography	Balu Mahendra
Edited by	D. Vasu
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Production company	Ananthi Films
Release date	15 August 1978
Running time	135 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Mullum Malarum ([Thorn and Flower or Thorns also Blossom] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a 1978 Indian Tamil drama film directed by J. Mahendran and produced by Venu Chettiar for Ananthi Films. The film, which features Rajinikanth, Shoba, Fatafat Jayalaxmi and Sarath Babu, marked Mahendran's directorial debut and was adapted from writer Umachandran's award-winning novel of the same name, albeit with several changes. It tells the story of Kali, a winch operator who conflicts with his superior Kumaran at a power plant, which eventually leads to the loss of his left arm and job.

The production of the film was deeply troubled; Chettiar was opposed to casting Rajinikanth as the lead protagonist because of his dark skin and tendency to portray villainous characters at the time, but Mahendran refused to direct the film without Rajinikanth and after a vehement dispute between him and Chettiar ensued, the latter eventually capitulated. Mahendran had no prior experience in film directing, and cinematographer Balu Mahendra had significant responsibility, involving himself in all aspects of screenplay, dialogue, camera angles, casting and editing, according to Mahendran's wishes. The film was shot mostly in Sringeri, Ooty, Glenmorgan and Kundha. After Mullum Malarum was completed, Chettiar was upset that the film had less dialogue than visuals, which he did not expect from Mahendran. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

Mullum Malarum was released on 15 August 1978 (India's Independence Day) to a tepid commercial response, but positive critical reviews and favourable word of mouth helped it to become a success. The film was a major breakthrough for Rajinikanth, whose performance as Kali received unanimous praise and is widely considered to be the best performance of his career. Mullum Malarum was a landmark Tamil film in that it focused primarily on the visual medium and realism, without melodrama, fights, duets or excessive dialogue. The film won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film and the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Film, and Rajinikanth won the Arima Sangam Award for Best Actor, as well as a special prize for Best Actor at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. The success of Mullum Malarum led to a Malayalam remake titled Venalil Oru Mazha in 1979, and a Hindi remake titled Pyari Behna in 1985.

Plot

Kali (Rajinikanth) is a winch operator at a village power plant. Although a reputed troublemaker, he occasionally performs good deeds for the local community. Kali and his younger sister Valli (Shoba)—upon whom he dotes—were orphaned during their childhood, and have no close family. They take in poor itinerant Manga (Fatafat Jayalaxmi) and her aged mother, and accommodate both in a neighbouring hut. Manga becomes fond of Kali, but he finds her gluttony disgusting.

The power plant's newly appointed divisional engineer is Kumaran (Sarath Babu), an austere but fair boss. Kali and Kumaran have a difficult relationship, which worsens after Kumaran sees only Kali's negative side during a series of incidents. Kali nicknames Kumaran "Law Point" as he applies rules strictly. Kali develops a liking for Manga, but while he frolics in the river with her when he is supposed to be working, there is an emergency at the power plant while he is absent without leave. Kumaran suspends Kali from his job for dereliction of duty, ignoring his protests and threats.

Kali becomes inebriated and collapses in the middle of the road, where a lorry runs over his left arm. Kumaran pays Kali's hospital expenses, but the injured arm has to be amputated. Since he cannot perform his job one-armed, the power plant dismisses him from his job. Kali is now unemployed; he directs his anger and frustration at Kumaran. Manga feels guilty because she is responsible for the crisis. On Valli's request, she marries Kali and takes care of all his needs.

Kumaran has developed a liking for Valli, and asks Kali for permission to marry her. Kali refuses the proposal due to his hatred for Kumaran, and instead makes arrangements to get Valli married to Murugesa (Venniradai Moorthy)—a local, philandering grocer. Manga challenges Kali's decision, and the entire village rallies around Valli. Manga decides to get Valli married to Kumaran without Kali's approval. On the day of the wedding, the marriage procession passes Kali on its way to the temple. Valli however changes her mind, leaves the wedding party and returns to her brother. Kali then tells Kumaran that although he still dislikes him, he and Valli have his permission to marry.

Cast

• Rajinikanth as Kali, a winch operator
• Sarath Babu as Kumaran/Law Point, the newly appointed divisional engineer
• Fatafat Jayalaxmi as Manga, Kali's wife
• Shoba as Valli, Kali's younger sister and Kumaran's love interest
• Venniradai Moorthy as Murugesa, a grocer and philanderer

Production

File:Mullum malarum crew.jpg

L to R: Shoba, Sarath Babu, Balu Mahendra, J. Mahendran, Rajinikanth and Fatafat Jayalaxmi

Development

Mullum Malarum is based on the novel of the same name, written by Umachandran and published in the Tamil magazine Kalki. The story, about the intimate feelings in the relationship of a brother and sister, won the first prize in Kalki's Novel Short Story Competition held to mark the silver jubilee of Kalki in 1966. J. Mahendran, who was already a successful screenplay and dialogue writer, briefed Mullum Malarum to the producer Venu Chettiar and he was impressed. By adapting Umachandran's novel into a feature film, Mahendran thus made his debut as a director. He also wrote the dialogue for the film.

Mahendran only read a part of Umachandran's novel, but was particularly receptive to the winch operator Kali, his affection towards his sister and the way he loses his arm. From then onwards, the screenplay was developed by him, deviating from the novel's plot. He decided to make a minimalist film without melodrama, overacting, excessive dialogue, or duets, writing a screenplay according to his visualisation of it. Among the differences between the film and the novel, in the novel Kali loses his arm to a tiger, but in the film he loses it due to a lorry.

Casting

Mahendran informed producer Venu Chettiar that he desired Rajinikanth to play the lead role, but the latter deprecated due to Rajinikanth's dark complexion and because he was primarily experienced at portraying villains. Mahendran, however, refused to direct the film if Rajinikanth was not cast in the lead role. A vehement dispute ensued between Chettiar and Mahendran, and the former eventually capitulated. Chettiar was not convinced with the fact that there was no romantic lead for the hero and a villain plays the main role as he felt it was "ridiculous" and "preposterous"; he voiced this opinion whenever he came to the location. Rajinikanth was perturbed with the lack of faith in his acting and vowed to "put his heart and soul into the character Kali". Rajinikanth was paid ₹13,000 (about US$1,579.59 in 1978) for acting in the film.

Shoba was recruited to play Kali's sister Valli and Sarath Babu was selected to play the engineer Kumaran, while Fatafat Jayalaxmi was finalised to play Kali's love interest Manga. Mahendran had decided to characterise Manga as a "foodie who loves fish", after seeing the presence of water bodies and fish in the location. Latha was originally considered for the role, but she could not take it up due to her tight schedule. Ramasamy was recruited as the film's art director, and D. Vasu as the editor. Balu Mahendra was recruited to work as the cinematographer.

Filming

The film was shot using 35mm film, and was colourised using Orwo colour. Balu Mahendra likened typical Indian hero-heroine dancing to "watching two drunken monkeys dancing", stating that this was the reason he "kept music as the background while the screen had lead characters expressing their emotions". The film was intentionally made to defy the customs of traditional Tamil cinema, discarding all of the elements that Mahendran loathed. Because Mahendran had no prior experience in film directing, the cinematographer Balu Mahendra assumed principal responsibility, involving himself in all aspects of screenplay, dialogue, camera angles, casting and editing, according to Mahendran's wishes.

Venu Chettiar decided to freeze the film's production by not providing finance when Mahendran wanted to shoot an important lead scene—the song "Senthazham Poovil" with Sarath Babu and Shoba. As a result, actor Kamal Haasan provided the funds to ensure that it was successfully shot. Mullum Malarum was shot in Sringeri, Ooty, Kundha and Chennai in about 30 days. The winch operating scenes were taken at Glenmorgan, Ooty. Originally, Sarath Babu was supposed to fully lip-sync for the music video of "Senthazham Poovil", that was picturised on him and Shoba. Balu Mahendra told J. Mahendran that after Sarath Babu "sings" one or two lines, the rest of the song can be picturised using the montage technique and Mahendran agreed, much to Sarath Babu's disappointment. After Mullum Malarum was complete, Chettiar was disorientated that the film had very little dialogue; he had recruited Mahendran to direct the film because he was a successful screenplay and dialogue writer. The producer did not expect a film with limited dialogue and more visuals from him.

Themes

The characters of Kali and Valli represent thorn and flower respectively, hence the title of the film

Umachandran's novel and Mahendran's film metaphorically liken the sibling relationship to beautiful flowers which need sharp thorns to protect them. The film depicts the way two siblings of opposite characters can co-exist in the same way that a thorn and a flower can co-exist in the same plant. Its title Mullum Malarum can be seen as a depiction of a brother (the thorn) being over-protective of his younger sister (the flower). The film has been compared to Robert Frost's poem Fire and Ice. Much like in Bairavi, Rajinikanth and his sister have abusive parents in childhood and the brother is held responsible to safeguard his sister. Unlike Bairavi, the siblings in Mullum Malarum are not separated and this leads to Kali's very protective attitude towards his sister Valli, bordering on obsessive love. In one of the scenes, after lashing out at her in a temper during the day, he applies henna to her feet at night when she is asleep.

Going beyond the central theme, the film explores egotism in that Kali is the community's alpha male whose sycophants constantly massage his ego. He plays god when he gives the villagers a ride on the power plant's trolley which he operates, saving them form the exertion of walking. Thus, Kali is shocked when the divisional engineer Kumaran, a presentable and educated male, arrives. Being a subordinate, Kali cannot oppose Kumaran and his frustration threatens to disclose itself several times; it finally does when he is suspended. Kali's feelings manifest themselves in the song "Raman Aandalum" with the lyrics, "It doesn't matter whether Rama or Ravana are reigning, I am the king of my own conscience", a clear reference to Kumaran's authoritarian yoke to which Kali is bound.

When Kali's arm is amputated, he feels helpless and emasculated and the engineer—Kali's bête noire—, becomes an easy target. Kali refuses to see the benefits of his sister marrying into wealth and education, even when his wife Manga explains it to him, or when his sister expresses her desire for the union. Kali's words when Valli abandons her wedding proceedings to be with her brother are revealing: "My sister has shown all of you that I am the most important person in her life. I need only that happiness for the rest of my life. And it is with that pride and arrogance that I give my permission for my sister to marry."

Music

Main article: Mullum Malarum (soundtrack)

The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The lyrics for the songs were written by Panchu Arunachalam, Gangai Amaran and Kannadasan. The soundtrack album, which was released by EMI Records, includes only four of the film's five songs; the song "Maan Iname" was omitted. The film has no duet songs—a notable rarity for Tamil cinema.

The soundtrack and score were positively received. Elements of the song "Raman Aandaalum" were later used in the song "Thambikku Indha Ooru", composed by Dharan for the 2010 film of the same name, and also in the song "Machi Open the Bottle", composed by Ilaiyaraaja's son Yuvan Shankar Raja for the 2011 film Mankatha. A remix of "Raman Aandaalum", composed by Dhina, is featured in the 2010 film Magane En Marumagane. In the 2002 film Baba, the title character is shown listening to "Raman Aandaalum" on a radio.

Tracklisting

Side One

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Senthazham Poovil"	Kannadasan	K. J. Yesudas	4:35
2.	"Adi Penney"	Panchu Arunachalam	Jency Anthony	4:30

Side Two

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Raman Aandaalum"	Gangai Amaran	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, L. R. Anjali and Chorus	5:44
2.	"Niththam Niththam"	Gangai Amaran	Vani Jairam	2:54

Release and reception

"I would not have made the film if Rajinikanth had not been in it. I had a producer who never turned up on the sets; but I had Rajinikanth, Ilaiyaraaja for the background score and Balu Mahendra for the camera. Naturally, the film was a success."

 – J. Mahendran, in August 2013

Mullum Malarum was passed with a "U" Certificate from the Central Board of Film Censors on 4 August 1978. The film's release encountered problems, but Haasan intervened and it was released on 15 August 1978—India's Independence Day.

The film's commercial performance in the first two weeks of its release was poor. Chettiar relinquished hope of the film's success and refused to give anymore publicity for the film, saying "A good product needs no publicity, whereas a bad product cannot be pushed in the market however much you publicise it" and thought he was "doomed". In the third week of release, massive crowds visited theatres after the film received positive reviews in magazines and word of mouth appreciation spread, making it a huge commercial success and the film ran for 100 days in theatres.

Chettiar also apologised to Mahendran and offered him a blank cheque, which Mahendran politely rejected, instead thanking Chettiar for "letting him make a movie with Rajinikanth". Rajinikanth's mentor director K. Balachander, after watching the film, wrote a letter of appreciation to Rajinikanth saying "I'm proud to have introduced you as an actor"; the letter has been described by Sify as Rajinikanth's "most prized moment and possession". Owing to its success, Mullum Malarum was later remade in Malayalam by Sreekumaran Thampi as Venalil Oru Mazha (1979) and in Hindi by Bapu as Pyari Behna (1985). A Telugu-dubbed version, titled Mullu Puvvu, was released on 26 October 1979.

Contemporaneous reviews

The film received positive reviews upon release. A review from The Hindu said, "Mahendran has handled the theme deftly. Rajnikant shows his mature artistry in a portrayal of a turbulent illiterate worker with a blind passion for his sister". It described Balu Mahendra's camera work as a "feast for the eyes". The review also stated that although the first half of the film moves at a "leisurely pace", the second half is "eventful". On 3 September 1978, the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan said, "Mahendran has demonstrated amazing film making skills in this film ... He has told the story in a sharp manner without long dialogues and makes us expect the same quality of films from him in future ... The film exhibits Tamil culture throughout. The characters created history in a village atmosphere. We get the satisfaction of travelling to our village after seeing the film. This flower is one of those rarest Kurinchi flowers in Tamil Cinema." After watching the film, M. G. Ramachandran—the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu—told Mahendran:

I have no words to express my happiness. With this film, you have set a new trend in Tamil Cinema. You have achieved a milestone, which even if l had desired, l could not have achieved. You have demonstrated clearly that Cinema is a visual medium and have succeeded in that also. The films which came till now on brother-sister relationships were full of dramatics, including mine. However, this film stands apart and stands tall in realism. The last scene is new not only to Tamil Cinema but also to Indian Cinema. l felt like getting up and clapping. Rajni has acted wonderfully and realistically and this film will mark a big turnaround in his film career.

Reflective reviews

"When you watch a film, you know the way the shot was taken or the way the narrative was constructed. [Mahendran's] Mullum Malarum, for instance, was so startlingly different from anything that had come before in Tamil cinema. It really stood out. You need not know exactly what it is that stands out, but it would stand out for you. That is the beginning. There was something really special about the direction, Balu Mahendra's cinematography, the characterizations, the costumes, the compositions, the colours, the light, the way it was cut and, of course, the music. The sheer restraint in it is really remarkable. I think the real starting point is the script—the content and the narrative. The way a scene starts, the way it finishes—most of it gets played out there. And then, it's just a question of being able to translate it well onto film."

—Director Mani Ratnam on Mullum Malarum in an interview with film critic Baradwaj Rangan.

Director Dhanapal Padmanabhan informed K. Jeshi of The Hindu that Mullum Malarum "scores on content, craft and extraordinary screenplay". Rajinikanth in particular has been highly praised by critics, and his role as Kali is considered by Naman Ramachandran, the author of Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography to be a highly challenging, complex role, which Rajinikanth effectively pulled off. In October 2010, Amrith Lal of The Times of India stated that Mullum Malarum "revealed the potential of Rajini, the character actor." In December 2012, playback singer Suchitra said, "Rajini's role as Kali in Mullum Malarum is my favourite for the following reasons—one, it is the most honest on-screen depiction of the brother-sister relationship; and two, though it was only his third film, he was brilliant—as the rough-hewn, obstinate winch operator and, in the movie's latter half, as a frustrated individual rendered immobile due to an accident, yet trying to retain his dignity", and called Mullum Malarum her "favourite Rajini movie".

G. Dhananjayan, the author of The Best of Tamil Cinema: 1977 to 2010 said, "If Paasamalar (1961) stood out for brother-sister relationship in a melodramic format, this film stands out for its realistic format for such a fine relationship". Maalai Malar stated that Rajinikanth lived through the role of Kali, praised Shoba's acting and said Balu Mahendra's cinematography is on par with international levels. It also said Mullum Malarum is one of those few films which cannot be destroyed by time. Entertainment website IndiaGlitz praised Mahendran for having "used the novel to the best effects" and called the film as one of his most "precious contributions". In 2002, S. R. Ashok Kumar of The Hindu cited Shoba's performance as the hero's sister "a brilliant performance", and in 2007, Settu Shankar of Oneindia.in called the film "a perfect blend of literature with mass entertainment".

In December 2012, film journalist Sreedhar Pillai stated that Mullum Malarum was Rajinikanth's best performance and the film was among his most "memorable movies". In December 2009, D. Karthikeyan of The Hindu declared that Mullum Malarum would "remain etched in every film lover's memory by showing the best of Rajnikanth's acting skills".

Accolades

Though not entered for any awards by the producer, Mullum Malarum won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film, the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Film, and Rajinikanth won a special prize for Best Actor at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, as well as the Arima Sangam Award for Best Actor. The film was also screened at the Indian Panorama during the Indian International Film Festival in 1979.

Mullum Malarum is often featured on several lists of great films. In December 2012, Aishwarya Bhattacharya of Koimoi included the film in her list of "Top 10 Rajinikanth Movies". In December 2013, Daliya Ghose of Bollywood Mantra ranked the film fourth in her list of "Top 10 movies of Rajinikanth", saying "This film brought out the human side of the actor". In May 2007, K Balamurugan of Rediff ranked Mullum Malarum fifth in his list of "Rajni's Tamil Top 10" films. In June 2005, writer Sujatha included the film in his list of "ten best Indian films", and stated, "Mahendran's triumph was making superstar Rajnikanth act naturally". In December 2013, The Times of India ranked the film fifth in its list of "Top 12 Rajinikanth movies" and said, "with this film, the talented actor dispelled whatever doubts remained about his acting ability". Behindwoods listed Rajinikanth's performance as one of his "Top 12 acting performances". In July 2007, S. R. Ashok Kumar asked eight Tamil directors to list ten of their favourite films. Four of them—K. Balachander, K. Bhagyaraj, Mani Ratnam and K. S. Ravikumar—named Mullum Malarum as one of their ten top Tamil films.

Legacy

In addition to being critically acclaimed and commercially successful, Mullum Malarum was a landmark film in Tamil cinema in that it discarded the traditional melodrama, fights, duet songs or excessive dialogue, focusing on the visual aesthetic and realism. Gayathri Sreekanth, the author of The Name is Rajinikanth states that the film "gave a new dimension to brother and sister relations on screen", and established Rajinikanth as an "actor par finesses [sic]". On Raksha Bandhan in 2007, Behindwoods said, "There might be very few or even no movie that revolves mainly the brother-sister relationship. The relationship [in Mullum Malarum] is shown with lot of respect and dignity." It stated that the characters form one of the best brother-sister relationships on screen. Director Prabhu Solomon has confessed that Rajinikanth's character was the inspiration behind the male lead played by Vikram Prabhu in Kumki (2012). The film's iconic winch inspired director P. V. Prasad to use a winch in a fight sequence in Kadhalil Vizhundhen (2008).

When asked what film of his was most beloved, Rajinikanth told Gayathri that it was Mullum Malarum, and that he considers Mahendran to be his favourite director. Sarath Babu told S. R. Ashok Kumar in 2006, "My grandchildren can watch all my movies. But I would like them to watch the best among the lot —'Nool Veli', 'Mullum Malarum', 'Udiripookal', 'Salangai Oli' and 'Amirthavarshini' (Kannada)". An unrelated television serial of the same title was produced by Venus Studio and was broadcast in September 2007 on Kalaignar TV. In a 2006 interview with Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu, director S. Shankar, known mainly for directing big budget ventures, stated that he "entered with dreams of directing films such as 'Mullum Malarum.'" and had one such script titled Azhagiya Kuyilae ready, although nobody wanted to produce it and after his directorial debut Gentleman (1993), his "well-wishers" advised him against directing small budget films. On 19 August 2013, a day before Raksha Bandhan, film historian/actor Mohan Raman tweeted, "Happy Pasa Malar /Mullum Malarum Day—honour that brother-sister relationship", referencing both the films which received praise for their depictions of a brother-sister relationship.

References

Bibliography

• Dhananjayan, G. (2011). "Mullum Malarum - Thorns Also Blossom". The Best of Tamil Cinema, 1931 to 2010: 1977–2010. Galatta Media. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Ramachandran, Naman (2012). Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-81-8475-796-5. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Sreekanth, Gayathri (2008). The Name Is Rajinikanth. Om Books International. ISBN 978-81-87108-44-3. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Rangan, Baradwaj (2012). Conversations with Mani Ratnam. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-670-08520-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
• Baskaran, Sundararaj Theodore (1996). The eye of the serpent: an introduction to Tamil cinema. East West Books. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

External links

• Mullum Malarum at IMDb
• Mullum Malarum at Upperstall.com