| Nandhaa | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Bala |
| Written by | Bala |
| Produced by | Ganesh Raghu Karthik Radhakrishnan Venky Narayanan Rajan Radhakrishnan |
| Starring | Suriya Rajkiran Laila |
| Cinematography | R. Rathnavelu |
| Edited by | Suresh Urs |
| Music by | Yuvan Shankar Raja |
Production company | Aparajeeth Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 121 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Nandhaa (also referred to asNandha)[1] is a 2001 IndianTamil-languageaction drama film written and directed byBala. The film starsSuriya,Rajkiran, andLaila whileSaravanan andRajshree play other supporting roles. It also marked the acting debut ofKarunas. The music was composed byYuvan Shankar Raja with cinematography handled byR. Rathnavelu and editing bySuresh Urs.
Nandhaa is a story about a young man from aborstal coming back to a society and his family he had left many years ago. It is about a battle of love and life, and how a misfit tries to fight to fit into the usual social circus, a fight to earn his mother's love, and a fight to live the second chance he has given himself. The film was released on 14 November 2001.[2]
The plot opens with a mother and her children arriving atRameswaram. The elder child, Nandhaa, is sent to a rehabilitation centre for murdering his father as a boy after witnessing his father's illicit affair with a prostitute and abuse towards Nandhaa's mother when she finds out about it. He returns home to his mother, who is deaf and mute, and his younger sister, who are still in a state of shock after what has happened to their family.
Nandhaa decides to start life afresh by trying to study in a college. Having the record of being an ex-convict, he finds it difficult to get a seat in the college. He then meets Periyavar, a very rich disciplinarian who runs an arts and science college with an iron hand. Periyavar's forefathers were the kings of theRamanathapuram kingdom and fell in line in with theBritishers. Afterindependence, all of their palaces and titles were taken byIndia's government, but a lot of other material wealth was in their hands. He still thinks himself a guardian of people and helps many poor people. He even goes to the extent of providing justice when the law and police cannot or will not.
Periyavar develops a soft corner for Nandhaa and guides him like his own son. Kalyani, a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee fromJaffna, meets Nandhaa, and both fall in love. Meanwhile, Durai asks Periyavar, who currently helps the students in his college a lot to aid an antisocial element, to but Periyavar refuses outright.
One of Periyavar's betraying sidekicks agrees to help Durai. Meanwhile, Periyavar falls sick and gets admitted in the hospital. Nandhaa stays around to look after his mentor and guide. Fearing what he has done might be out in the light, Durai pulls out Periyavar's oxygen tube in the hospital when Nandhaa is not around and blames Nandhaa for murdering his father-in-law. Nandhaa, having to deal with the pain of losing the only man who gave him a second chance to live, struggles the fray of being convicted of murder once again and chooses to kill Durai in the court campus. However, the case is dismissed due to the lack of evidence. Finally, Nandhaa is acquitted as there are no eyewitnesses to the murder.
After being acquitted for Durai's murder, Nandhaa returns home. However, his paranoid mother, thinks that her son still has murder instincts, so she waits at home to feed him a meal, which she has poisoned herself for him. Nandhaa finds out that the food is poisoned when he eats it, but continues to do so with a satisfaction that he is being fed by his mother. Little does his mother know that it will mean her own death. Nandhaa dies in his mother's lap and when his friend Lodukku Pandi, his sister, and Kalyani come out to see what has happened, they realise that both Nandhaa and his mother are dead, and the former three mourn the latter two's deaths.
The title role was initially offered toAjith Kumar, who rejected the film citing thatBala had not fully developed the story and screenplay before narrating the terms to him.[3][4] Ajith's departure meant that the film's proposed producer,Poornachandra Rao, also backed out.[5]Suriya was selected as his replacement instead.[6] The director also tried to castSivaji Ganesan for a character role in the film, but his poor health led toRajkiran being cast.[7] Despite initial reports thatKiran Rathod would work on the film,[5]Laila was signed on as the lead actress.[8] Because she portrays aSri Lankan Tamil refugee, cinematographerR. Rathnavelu shot her scenes under "normal lighting" to depict her as less glamorous than some of her other Tamil films.[9] It is the acting debut ofKarunas,[10] previously a singer and musician.[11]
The role required Suriya to undergo physical change, so production was delayed until Suriya had finished filming forFriends andUyirile Kalanthathu.[12] The first look of the film created media anticipation, with both Suriya and Rajkiran sporting looks which they had not portrayed before.[13] Post-release, Suriya has stated "whenNandha happened, everything changed. I became a serious actor, and director Bala instilled in me the discipline to work without committing errors."[14] In an interview, Bala mentioned that the Malayalam filmThaniyavarthanam's climax inspired him a lot and based on this climax, the story ofNandhaa was written backwards.[15]
The soundtrack was composed byYuvan Shankar Raja. It was released on 21 October 2001 atHotel Connemara,Chennai by actorKamal Haasan and directorBharathiraja.[16] The songs "Amma Endrale" and "Orayiram" are based on the ragaPantuvarali,[17] and "Mun Paniyaa" is set to Keeravani.[18] The lyrics of five songs were written by five different lyricists, while "Maayane Andha"'s lyrics were derived from theThiruppavai written and sung byAandaal.[citation needed]
| Song | Singer(s) | Lyricist | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Mun Paniyaa" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam,Malgudi Subha | Palani Bharathi | 5:47 |
| "Or Aayiram Yaanai" | P. Unnikrishnan | Na. Muthukumar | 3:35 |
| "Engengo Kaalgal Sellum" | Ilaiyaraaja | Pulamaipithan | 4:09 |
| "Maayane Andha" | Rajalakshmi,Srimathumitha & Chorus* | Aandaal | 2:49 |
| "Kalli Adi Kalli" | Anuradha Sriram,Srimathumitha & Chorus* | Thamarai | 4:06 |
| "Amma Endralle" | Ilaiyaraaja | Pa. Vijay | 4:32 |
S. R. Ashok Kumar fromThe Hindu noted that "powerful performance by the lead artists, a neat screenplay and narration without any deviations in the form of dance or song makeNandhaa worth watching. Bala's direction makes viewing a gripping experience." He added that "Surya as the young rustic man has reached a new milestone in acting. Rajkiran shines in the role of Periyavar. A surprise, however, is Rajashri, who reveals great histrionic skills."[19] In comparison, Tulika ofRediff.com stated the film failed to live up to expectations, likening it toAalavandhan (2001) and stated that "the screenplay is smooth and incident-driven. In the final analysis, it is the climax that may be the main reason why the audience does not lap up this film."[20]Sify criticised the film's "Sethu hangover", but praised the performances of Suriya, Laila and Rajkiran, concluding, "Hankies will not be sufficient, take a towel if you are in the mood to watchNanda".[21]
Visual Dasan ofKalki wrote the director, who has proved that he can deliver a vibrant film without the masala fragrance, is keeping the faith of the fans he earned withSethu withNandhaa.[22] K. N. Vijiyan ofNew Straits Times wrote "This is a moving story from director Bala who gave the runaway hitSethu. If you likedSethu, you'll probably enjoy this new venture".[23] Malini Mannath ofChennai Online wrote "Director Bala re-establishes his credentials again as a film-maker who moves away from the beaten track, and tries to bring in freshness by way of concept and narrative style. His 'Nandha' like 'Sethu', before it, is different from the routine films. The artistes are chosen well, irrespective of their market rating, and the locations have a freshness too. But the director could have avoided repetition of scenes and ambience, which give a sense of deja vu".[24]
| Award | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49th Filmfare Awards South | Best Tamil Director | Bala | Nominated | [25] [26] |
| Best Tamil Actress in Lead Role | Laila | Won | ||
| Best Cinematographer | R. Rathnavelu | |||
| 2001Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | Best Film (Special Prize) | Nandhaa | [27] [28] | |
| Best Actor in Lead Role | Suriya | |||
| Best Cinematographer | R. Rathnavelu | |||
| Best Actor in Supporting Role | Rajkiran | |||
| 3rd Pace Awards | Best Actor | Suriya | Won | [29] |
| Best Actress | Laila | |||
| Best Supporting Actor | Rajkiran | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Rajshree | |||
| Best New Face Comedy Actor | Karunas | |||
| Best Cinematographer | R. Rathnavelu | |||
| Best Male Playback Singer | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | |||
| Best Female Playback Singer | Anuradha Sriram | |||
| Best Dubbing Artiste | Savitha |
In 2004,Nandhaa was to be remade inTelugu starringNandamuri Kalyan Ram andAnu Mehta, but the film was later dropped.[30] Instead it was dubbed and released in the language at least twice; asAakrosham (2006)[31] and asBala-Surya. This version was released by Nagamalla Shankar in 2011, shortly after the release of Bala'sAvan Ivan.[32]
Karunas' character in the film, "Lodukku Pandi", inspired the title of a 2015 film starring him.[33]
 | This articleneeds additional or more specificcategories. Pleasehelp out byadding categories to it so that it can be listed with similar articles.(January 2025) |
