Mahanadhi (film)

Krishnaswamy is a widower living with his mother-in-law Saraswathi Ammal, daughter Kaveri and son Bharani in a village near Kumbakonam. Dhanush, a con artist from Madras, lusts for Krishna's prosperity and asks him to join his chit fund business. Krishna is initially reluctant; however, when a rich friend from abroad visits his house, he too wants to be rich like them. Hence he agrees to Dhanush's proposal and arrives at Madras, unaware of Dhanush's tricks. When Dhanush swindles away the chit fund money, the blame is put on Krishna, and he is arrested.

Krishna finds that even his future father-in-law Panjapakesan is also in jail for the same reason, whose daughter is Yamuna, a nurse. He advises Krishna not to be angry if the jailor is cruel, as he might be released sooner if he is submissive in the jail. During Krishna's tenure in jail, Yamuna takes care of his family. Due to unavoidable situations, his mother-in-law dies, and his children go missing. Krishna learns this after coming out from jail suffering unnecessary hardships.

Krishna finds his son with street artists and gets him back. He later learns that his daughter is in Calcutta, at a red-light area called Sonagachi. When Krishna was arrested, Kaveri had attained puberty, and three months later, Saraswathi became sick. Kaveri and Bharani go to Dhanush asking for financial help. Dhanush takes them to his higher boss, so that the virgin Kaveri could sleep with him to get money. Though the boss provides money to Dhanush for Saraswathi's treatment, he chases out Bharani with his dog and keeps the money for himself. It is implied that Kaveri is raped by the boss and is child trafficked, ending up in Sonagachi.

Krishna goes to Calcutta with his father-in-law and tracks down his daughter. Unable to bear the grief, he grabs her and tries to escape, while the pimps there beat him black and blue. The elder sex-workers/madam make a truce and insist that Krishna take Kaveri, while they would work extra hours to pay the pimps for the loss of Kaveri.

After returning from Calcutta, Krishna wants to start a new life with Yamuna, but his friend in the police, Muthusamy tells him that Dhanush has planned to jail Krishna further by plotting a murder case against him, he would be arrested the next day. Also, Krishna overhears his daughter blabbering in her sleep not to rape her. He is heartbroken due to the state of his children, so he decides to curb the root of all sin and grief against Dhanush, and goes to seek revenge.

Krishna comes to know that Dhanush is just a pawn in the big game of cheating. He not only kills Dhanush, but also Venkatachalam, the main person who was behind this game; but at the cost of his left arm. Krishna is sentenced to 14 years of life imprisonment and comes out a contented man, to see his daughter married to Muthusamy's son and having a child, and his son being a grown-up man. The whole family moves back to their native village.

• Kamal Haasan as Krishnaswamy[1]
• Sukanya as Yamuna[1]
• S. N. Lakshmi as Saraswathi Ammal[2]
• Tulasi as Manju[2]
• Shobana as Kaveri (young)[1]
• Dinesh as Bharani[3]
• Poornam Vishwanathan as Panjapakesan[4]
• Rajesh as Muthusamy[5]
• V. M. C. Haneefa as Dhanush[4]
• Mohan Natarajan as Venkatachalam[2]
• Vijay as Mannangkatti[5]
• Sivasankar as Thulukaanam[6]
• Sangita as Kaveri (older, uncredited)[1]

Mahanadhi deals with several issues such as corruption and child trafficking.[4] Baradwaj Rangan said: "Mahanadhi is one of the saddest films ever made, grim north to Singin' in the Rain's blithe south, but it has an extraordinary musical moment in "Peygala Nambaadhey", which Kamal Haasan's character sings, during a power cut, to his children who are scared of the dark. This multifunctional song is (a) a father's moral instruction to his children ("face your fears"), (b) a bit of levity, (c) a sweet stretch showcasing this family's dynamics, and (d) a hint that bad things can come at you from everywhere, whether from the television set (featuring terrifyingly distorted musical performers) or even a doting grandmother (who, jokingly, fashions herself into a demon goddess). That's where the film is headed, into a zone where nothing and no one can be trusted, and this song shapes these themes in a casually understated manner".[17]

Poet Puviarasu stated: "Don't go after the mystic deer, was Kamal's message in the movie Mahanadhi". In the film, Krishna relocates to the city to earn more money, own a Benz and educate his daughter at Church Park Convent. And he faces the consequences of his actions."[18] The film also symbolically references the Kaveri River water dispute, and many of the characters are named after major Indian rivers like Krishna (Krishnaswamy), Yamuna, Kaveri, Thamirabarani (Bharani) and Narmada (Krishnaswamy's late wife).[19] Haasan has stated that the film was influenced by Les Misérables, an 1862 novel by Victor Hugo.[20]

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, and lyrics were written by Vaali. Shobana sang the song "Sri Ranga Ranganathanin",[21] which is set in Hamsadhvani raga.[22]

Mahanadi was released in theatres on 14 January 1994, Pongal day,[23] and opened up against other Pongal releases such as Sethupathi IPS, Amaidhi Padai, Rajakumaran, Veetla Visheshanga, Siragadikka Aasai and Sindhu Nathi Poo.[24] Made on a budget of ₹2.5 crore (equivalent to ₹13 crore or US$1.9 million in 2019), it was commercially unsuccessful, losing the studio up to ₹1 crore (equivalent to ₹5.3 crore or US$740,000 in 2019).[25] The film was screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam six years after its release.[26]

Mahanadhi has often been cited as one of the saddest and most depressing films from Tamil cinema.[31][32] On the centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, Forbes India included Haasan's performance in the film on its list, "25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema".[33]

• Dhananjayan, G. (2014). Pride of Tamil Cinema: 1931 to 2013. Blue Ocean Publishers.

• Mahanadhi at IMDb