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Marupadiyum

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1993 film by Balu Mahendra

Marupadiyum
Poster
Directed byBalu Mahendra
Story byMahesh Bhatt
Produced byAshwin Kumar
StarringRevathi
Nizhalgal Ravi
Arvind
Rohini
CinematographyBalu Mahendra
Edited byBalu Mahendra
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company		Ashwin International
Release date
  • 14 January 1993 (1993-01-14)
Running time139 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Marupadiyum (transl. Again) is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language drama film written, filmed and directed by Balu Mahendra. The film stars Revathi, Nizhalgal Ravi, Arvind and Rohini. A remake of the 1982 Hindi film Arth, it focuses on Thulasi, a wife caught up in marital discord, and her life henceforth.

Marupadiyum was released on 14 January 1993. Revathi won the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress for her performance.

Plot

Thulasi, who grew up as an orphan girl and always dreamt of owning a house, becomes insecure when she finds that she and her husband, Muralikrishna, have to leave the apartment they rent. The twist that occurred when Murali gives her the keys of a new house proves to be double-edged, when it is revealed that he is in love with another woman, Kavitha, with whom he earned the money (in the film industry) for the new apartment. While previously giving advice to her maid cheated by her husband, now Thulasi becomes herself involved in a similar situation.

When Murali deserts Thulasi for Kavitha, she chooses to leave the apartment for a women's hostel with only ₹2,000 (equivalent to ₹14,000 or US$170 in 2023) that she had when she got married. She is helped by Gowrishankar, a singer, to surpass the difficulties of life as a single person, to find a job and to rely morally on herself. Gowrishankar and Thulasi become good friends. Gradually, Kavitha's mental instability deepens her fears of insecurity, even after Murali requests Thulasi to sign the divorce papers.

Gowrishankar falls in love with Thulasi and proposes to her. She refuses, saying she is empty and cannot give him anything. Gowrishankar tries to persuade her saying that she cannot spend the rest of her life feeling miserable about the past and that she should try to find a new life for herself. Thulasi promises to think about it.

Thulasi's maid, whose only aim in life is to secure a good education for her daughter, has saved ₹1,000 (equivalent to ₹7,200 or US$87 in 2023) towards her admission fees. She finds out that her drunk husband has stolen the money. Enraged, she searches for him only to find him spending all the money. She murders him, goes to the police station and confesses her crime. Worried about her daughter, she calls Thulasi who promises to take care of the daughter.

After the insistence of Kavitha's mother and her personal doctor, Thulasi personally assures Kavitha that she is not interested in Murali anymore. However, Thulasi's attitude only convinces Kavitha that breaking Thulasi's marriage was a mistake. To escape from her feeling of guilt and insecurity, she breaks up with Murali. The latter tries to revive his relation with Thulasi, but is rejected.

Thulasi continues to live with her maid's daughter and refuses to marry Gowrishankar saying that she has found a new meaning to life in being independent and being a mother to the child and marrying Gowrishankar will only weaken her. Gowrishankar agrees, and wishes Thulasi well as she prepares to lead an independent life.

Cast

Production

Although Marupadiyum is a remake of the Hindi film Arth (1982), director and cinematographer Balu Mahendra described it as being "dangerously close to own life." According to Rohini, he told her not to apply make-up to look fairer because of his preference for dark-skinned heroines who he considered were "more attractive and had different shades". Revathi initially wanted to play the role of the extramarital lover, but ultimately got the role of the wife.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The song "Aasai Athigam" is set in the Carnatic raga known as Sindhu Bhairavi, "Ellorukum Nalla Kaalam" is set in Suddha Dhanyasi, and "Nalam Vazha" is set in Madhukauns. For the Telugu-dubbed version Director Gari Pellam, all songs were written by Rajasri.

Tamil
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Aasai Athigam"Ravi BharathiS. Janaki4:59
2."Ellorukum Nalla Kaalam"VaaliK. J. Yesudas3:32
3."Ellorum Sollum Pattu"VaaliS. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:53
4."Nalam Vaazha"VaaliS. P. Balasubrahmanyam4:59
5."Nallathor Veenai"BharathiyarS. Janaki4:24
Total length:22:47
Telugu
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Ninne Kalavani"S. Janaki5:15
2."Antaanu Okamaata"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam5:10
3."Ee Vela"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam5:16
4."Ide Nizam"K. J. Yesudas3:42
5."Naa Mano Veena"S. Janaki4:42
Total length:24:05

Release and reception

Marupadiyum was released on 14 January 1993. Malini Mannath of The Indian Express wrote that the film "looks more like a second-hand import of another man's experiences, told more beautifully no doubt, but not with equal finesse". K. Vijiyan of New Straits Times wrote that it is "a slow-moving movie, not to be attempted when you are tired or sleepy." Kalki's critic applauded Mahendra's direction and Rohini's hysteria-based performance as new to Tamil cinema, but gave the film an overall mixed review. At the 41st Filmfare Awards South, Revathi won the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actress for her performance. No print of the film is known to survive, but it is still available on home video.

In popular culture

The song "Aasai Adhigam" was featured in the 2019 film Kaithi where it became a trend in Tamil Nadu after its release.

References

  1. ^ Surendran, Anusha; Venkatraman, Janane (4 July 2017). "Tamil films are getting more modern, and more misogynistic". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  2. ^ Mannath, Malini (22 January 1993). "New meaning". The Indian Express. p. 7. Retrieved 3 May 2018 – via Google News Archive.
  3. ^ Vijiyan, K. (20 March 1993). "A tale of infidelity and its sad consequences". New Straits Times. p. 13. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 12 March 2019 – via Google News Archive.
  4. Kumar, P. K. Ajith (26 August 2010). "A life in cinema". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  5. Muralidharan, Kavitha (27 March 2019). "Nayanthara Plays A Dark-Skinned Woman In 'Airaa': Have Dusky Characters Evolved In Tamil Cinema?". Silverscreen India. Archived from the original on 16 February 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  6. Lalwani, Vickey (25 January 2021). "Exclusive! Arth Remake: Shabana Azmi giving inputs and Bobby Deol to sport two looks in a story narrated from a man's point of view". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  7. "Marupadiyum (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP". Apple Music. 1 January 1993. Archived from the original on 22 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  8. Sundararaman 2007, p. 125.
  9. Sundararaman 2007, p. 128.
  10. Sundararaman 2007, p. 145.
  11. "Director Gari Pellam". Spotify. January 1991. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  12. Sundaram, Nandhu (27 June 2018). "From 'Gentleman' to 'Amaravathi' : Revisiting popular films which released 25 years ago". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  13. "மறுபடியும்". Kalki (in Tamil). 31 January 1993. pp. 32–33. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  14. "My Awards". Revathy.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  15. Shekar, Anjana (8 January 2018). "From demure to daring, actor Revathy's multi-faceted film career". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  16. Subramanian, Karthik (7 December 2013). "Aayirathil Oruvan gets digitally enhanced". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 August 2015. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  17. "Marupadiyum." Amazon. January 1993. Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  18. Rao, Subha J (7 November 2019). "Kaithi director Lokesh Kanagaraj reveals plan to expand film into a franchise: 'I have the idea for both a prequel and sequel'". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 26 June 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.

Bibliography

  • Sundararaman (2007) . Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Pichhamal Chintamani. OCLC 295034757.

External links

Films directed by Balu Mahendra
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