Karakattakkaran

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Karakattakkaran
File:Karakattakkaran poster.jpg


Poster

Directed by Gangai Amaran
Written by Gangai Amaran
Produced by Karumari Kandasamy
J. Durai
Starring Ramarajan
Kanaka
Cinematography A. Sabapathy
Edited by B. Lenin
V. T. Vijayan
Music by Ilaiyaraaja





Country India
Language Tamil
Budget Template:Estimation Template:INR2 million[1]


Karakattakkaran (Template:Translation) is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy dance film written and directed by Gangai Amaran. The film stars Ramarajan and debutant Kanaka, while Santhana Bharathi, Chandrasekhar, Goundamani, Senthil, Shanmugasundaram, Raja Bahadur, Gandhimathi and Kovai Sarala play supporting roles. It revolves around two karakattam dancers who fall in love with each other, but circumstances prevent them from confessing their love for one another. How they overcome these forms the rest of the story.

The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and all the songs were well-received, in particular, "Maanguyilae Poonguyile". The film was released on 16 June 1989 and was a major commercial success, running for over a year in theatres,[2] and won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. It was also Goundamani and Senthil's 100th film as a combo. Goundamani and Senthil's banana comedy sequence from this film remains one of their most popular acts.

Plot

Muthaiya is the lead performer of a karakattam troupe based out of a village. Muthaiya's mother was his dance guru. Similarly Kamakshi is also a karakattam dancer in the nearby village and she performs regularly during temple festival of that village. Chinnarasu is the village panchayat board president and he sets an eye on Kamakshi. But Kamakshi hates Chinnarasu. To take revenge on her, Chinnarasu invites Muthaiya's dance troupe to perform during temple festival instead of Kamakshi's performance.

Muthaiya performs well and is widely appreciated by the villagers. Kamakshi also likes Muthaiya's performance. Kamakshi's father invites Muthaiya to his home. And to his shock, Kamakshi's father understands that Muthaiya is his nephew but does not reveal it to him. Muthaiya and Kamakshi fall in love with each other. Chinnarasu gets to know about Muthaiya and Kamakshi's love affair and plans to separate them.

Balaraman is Kamakshi's innocent brother-in-law who works for Chinnarasu. Chinnarasu persuades Balaraman to challenge a dance competition between Muthaiya and Kamakshi for which both accepts. In the meantime, Chinnarasu plans to kill Muthaiya during the dance program. His assassin, a butcher, throws a knife at Muthaiya, but Kamakshi saves him, thereby getting stabbed in her leg after the dance.

Muthaiya's mother gets furious upon realising that Kamakshi is her niece and takes Muthaiya along with her and also does not permit their wedding to happen. She reveals a flashback that Kamakshi's father is her own brother and he eloped with the jewels that were meant to be sold to meet the medical expenses of Muthaiya's father which led to his death. But Kamakshi's father arrives there and reveals the truth that while he went to sell the jewels, he was caught by the police suspecting him to be a smuggler following which he was jailed for a few years.

Now Muthaiya's mother realises her mistake and unites with her brother. Also she agrees for wedding between Muthaiya and Kamakshi. Chinnarasu accuses that Muthaiya and Kamakshi misbehaved in the temple and orders them to walk on fire in the temple to prove that they are pure. Muthaiya and Kamakshi successfully walk on fire while Balaraman exposes Chinnarasu's true identity before of the villagers. Balaraman pushes Chinnarasu on to the fire but Muthaiya saves him which makes Chinnarasu remorseful. Muthaiya and Kamakshi marry.

Cast

Template:Cast listing

Production

Development

Gangai Amaran wanted to do a film on the life of Karakattam dancers and their art Karagam. When producers Karumari Kandaswamy and J. Durai approached Amaran to do a project for them they agreed to do the film titled Karakattakkaran.[3] Amaran admitted that his film was reversal of Thillana Mohanambal (1968) with a change of backdrop and it was Ramarajan who suggested the story idea for the film while Amaran revealed he "didn't plan anything for the movie and went on scene by scene".[3][4]

Casting

After achieving back-to-back successful films like Enga Ooru Pattukaran (1987) and Shenbagamae Shenbagamae (1988), Ramarajan was the director's only choice for the lead character and it was his 18th project as actor.[3][4] For the lead actress, Kanaka, daughter of Devika made her acting debut with this film.[3] It was Amaran's wife who suggested her for the role.[5] Goundamani and Senthil were chosen to handle comic relief and this film became their 100th collaboration.[5] S. S. Chandran was the original choice for Goundamani's role.[6] The comedy track was written by A. Veerappan.[3] Since Amaran wanted a female dancer for Ramarajan's troupe, Kovai Sarala was cast.[3]

Filming

The filming was completed in 28 days. The crew found the village some distance off of Madurai Pandiyan hotel on the way to Alagar Kovil where the film was shot while the panchayat scene with the banyan tree and the climax were shot in Arunachalam Studios and Ambica Studios, respectively.[5]

Music

The music composed by Ilaiyaraaja. All lyrics were written by Gangai Amaran except "Paattaalae Buddhi", which was written by Ilaiyaraaja.[7][8] The song "Maanguyilae Poonguyile" is set to the Carnatic raga Gourimanohari,Template:Sfn "Mariyamma" is set to Mayamalavagowla,Template:Sfn[9] and "Ooru Vittu Ooru Vandhu" is set to Shanmukhapriya.Template:Sfn[10] The song "Nandhavanathil Oru" was adapted by Ilaiyaraaja's son Yuvan Shankar Raja as "Muttathu Pakkathile" in Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum (2009).[11] "Ooru Vittu Ooru Vandhu" was remixed by Natarajan Sankaran in Kappal (2014).[12] S. Shankar, the producer of that film, did not acquire permission to remix the song, leading to Ilaiyaraaja taking legal action against him.[13]

Template:Track listing

For the dubbed Telugu version Garagatta Gopaiah, all lyrics were written by Rajashri.[14]

Template:Track listing

Release and reception

Karakattakkaran was released on 16 June 1989.[4] The film became a major commercial success, running for over a year in Nadana Theatre at Madurai.[4] However, the producer made little profit because of the low price it was sold to distributors for.[15] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 44 out of 100, calling it a simple, realistic village love story without much grandeur.[16] At the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, Karakattakkaran won the Special Prize for Best Film, and D. K. S. Babu won for Best Choreographer.Template:Sfn

Legacy

Karakattakkaran became a cult film for bringing the art of Karagam into prominence.[17][18] The car Chevrolet Impala, 1960's model used in the film became popular after the film's release.[19] In an interview with The Hindu in 2002, Somasundaram, a real-life Karakattam dancer was critical of the film, stating that it was an "insult to the dance form".[20] In a 2012 interview, Venkat Prabhu was asked if he would ever remake Karakattakkaran, and said "it would be extremely difficult to do justice to the original".[21] In May 2019, Amaran expressed interest in doing a sequel with the original cast,[22] which Ramarajan opposed the following month.[23]

In a comedy scene from Thangamana Raasa (1989), Goundamani who is jailed for a petty crime, dreams of singing under the music of Ilaiyaraja, he sings "Maanguyile" to Vinu Chakravarthy.[24]

Ooru Vittu Ooru Vanthu (1990) also directed by Gangai Amaran was named after a song from the film.[25]

The comedy sequence involving the banana joke still remains a cult classic.[26] In the comedy sequence, Senthil goes to buy two bananas for one rupee.[27] When he returns to Goundamani with one of the two bananas after eating the other one, Goundamani asks him where the other banana is, and Senthil replies to him by saying that the other banana is the one Goundamani is holding in his hand.[28] The sequence was referred to in the films Puthu Paatu (1990),[29] Ponnuketha Purushan (1992),[30] Muthal Seethanam (1992),[31] Pudhayal (1997),[32] Seerivarum Kaalai (2001),[33] and a deleted scene from Thuppakki (2012) where Vijay recreates the dialogues in Hindi.[34]

In Saroja (2008), when the friends witness the car which they are going to travel, the theme music of Karagattakaran is used as background music for the scene.[35]

In a comedy sequence in All in All Azhagu Raja (2013), Chitra Devi Priya's mother (Sriranjani) tells her daughter (Kajal Aggarwal) that she cannot sing well and laments that she hit her head while listening to Chitra Devi Priya sing "Maanguyilae".[36][37]

The 2016 film Jil Jung Juk reveals who had kept Soppanasundari, the previous owner of the pink 1960 Chevrolet Impala according to the Karakattakkaran plot.[38]

References

  1. ↑ "கரகாட்டக்காரன் பட்ஜெட்; எவ்ளோ செலவாச்சு தெரியுமா?"- கங்கைஅமரன் ஃப்ளாஷ்பேக், ராம்ஜி, வி.. Kamadenu(18 June 1989). Retrieved 20 June 2019.
  2. ↑ With Krishnaveni Cinemas, an iconic Chennai landmark gets a much needed image makeover. The Hindu(2 December 2021). Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Celebrating 30 Years of Karagattakaran. The Times of India(16 June 2019). Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 30 years of 'Karagattakaran': actor Ramarajan goes on rewind mode. The Hindu(15 June 2019). Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 30 years of Karakattakaran – Gangai Amaren: The Vazhapazham comedy track was based on a similar sequence in an Adoor Bhasi film. Cinema Express(16 June 2019). Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  6. ↑ Actor Ramarajan: கரகாட்டக்காரன் கட்ட பஞ்சாயத்து; சந்திரனை தூக்க வைத்த அரசியல்; கவுண்டமணிக்கு அடித்த ஜாக்பாட்!- ராமராஜன், S, Kalyani Pandiyan. Hindustan Times(24 May 2024). Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  7. ↑ Karagatakaran (1989). Raaga.com. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  8. ↑ Karagattakkaran Tamil Film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja. Mossymart. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  9. ↑ A Raga's Journey – The magic of Mayamalavagowla. The Hindu(11 November 2011). Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  10. ↑ A Raga's Journey – Sacred Shanmukhapriya. The Hindu(2 September 2011). Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  11. ↑ Music review: Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puraavum (Tamil – Yuvan Shankar Raja), Karthik. Milliblog(24 January 2009). Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  12. ↑ This Kappal doesn't sink. The Hindu(25 December 2014). Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  13. ↑ Ilayaraja sends legal notice on copyright to director Shankar. The Hindu(3 January 2015). Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  14. ↑ Garagatta Gopaiah. JioSaavn. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  15. ↑ பிளாஷ்பேக்: கரகாட்டக்காரனை கவிழ்த்த கங்கை அமரன். Dinamalar(2026-04-29). Retrieved 2026-04-29.
  16. ↑ சினிமா விமர்சனம்: கரகாட்டக்காரன். Ananda Vikatan(7 July 1989). Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  17. ↑ What happens when Lenin, Santhana Bharathi and Gangai Amaren meet?. The Hindu(15 August 2019). Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  18. ↑ A care for Karagattam?. The Hindu(11 June 2014). Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  19. ↑ Cars can be funny too. The Hindu(24 December 2014). Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  20. ↑ Bringing it to center stage. The Hindu(24 October 2002). Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  21. ↑ Venkat on funny mode. The Times of India(3 December 2012). Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  22. ↑ Karakattakaran to get a sequel, Rajendran, Gopinath. Cinema Express(29 May 2019). Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  23. ↑ கரகாட்டக்காரன்-2 எடுக்கக்கூடாது – ராமராஜன். Maalai Malar(22 June 2019). Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  24. ↑ Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Time needed
  25. ↑ Goundamani in Singapore, Yogi Babu in London: 7 hilarious Tamil scenes in foreign lands, Shekar, Anjana. The News Minute(19 October 2020). Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  26. ↑ Comedy is God’s gift to me: Senthil. The Hindu(24 January 2019). Retrieved 5 January 2025.
  27. ↑ வாழைப்பழம் சாப்பிடச் சொன்னா ஏன் சிரிக்கிறீங்க? - மருத்துவர் சொல்லும் முக்கியத் தகவல் #MyVikatan. Ananda Vikatan(22 April 2020). Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  28. ↑ Senthil – The Comedy Legend!. Suryan FM(23 March 2022). Retrieved 26 February 2025.
  29. ↑ Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Time needed
  30. ↑ Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Time needed
  31. ↑ Template:Cite AV media
  32. ↑ Template:Cite AV media
  33. ↑ Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Time needed
  34. ↑ Thalapathy Vijay recreates the epic Goundamani-Senthil comedy in the 'Thuppakki' deleted scene. The Times of India(9 June 2024). Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  35. ↑ Template:Cite AV mediaTemplate:Time needed
  36. ↑ Template:Cite AV media
  37. ↑ All in All Azhagu Raja: What a drag!. The Hindu(5 November 2013). Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  38. ↑ Jil Jung Juk: Quirky, but little else. The Hindu(12 February 2016). Retrieved 28 June 2021.

Bibliography

  • The Best of Tamil Cinema, 1931 to 2010: 1977–2010{{#if:Dhananjayan|, Dhananjayan}. Galatta Media(2011)
  • Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music{{#if:Sundararaman|, Sundararaman}. Pichhamal Chintamani(2007)

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