Manmadha Leelai

Manmatha Leelai (transl. Cupid's Play) is a 1976 Indian Tamil-language film starring Kamal Haasan in the lead role, as Madhu. The film, directed by K. Balachander also has Aalam (Rekha) as Madhu's wife. A number of actresses debuted through this film, including Hema Choudhary as Madhavi, Jayapradha as Kannagi, Y. Vijaya as Miss Wrong Number, among others. The film was dubbed into Telugu as Manmadha Leela and dubbed in Hindi in 1977 as Meethi Meethi Baatein. Though the film was criticised for its bold content when it released, it has received cult status with passing years[2] and is considered a trendsetter.[3]

Manmadha Leelai
Theatrical release poster
Directed byK. Balachander
Produced byP. R. Govindarajan
J. Duraiswamy
Written byK. Balachander
Starring
Music byM. S. Viswanathan
CinematographyB. S. Lokanath
Edited byN. R. Kittu
Production
company
Kalakendra Movies
Release date
  • 27 February 1976 (1976-02-27)
Running time
161 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot

The film explores the life journey of a womaniser (Kamal Hassan) and his affairs with various women, including those who are married. The main conflict is between Kamal Hassan's character Madhu and his wife Rekha. Balachander's genius lies in objectifying married women of the city whilst creating a loving wife who's torn between accepting her husband and living a separated life after having discovered the travails of her own father.

Cast

Production

M. R. Radha's son Radha Ravi made his acting debut with the film.[4][5]

Soundtrack
Manmadha Leelai
Soundtrack album by
M. S. Viswanathan
Released1976
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length26:39
LanguageTamil
LabelEMI
ProducerM. S. Viswanathan
External audio
Audio Jukebox on YouTube

The soundtrack was composed by M. S. Viswanathan. The song "Naadham Ennum" is set in Shree ranjani raga,[6] while "Hello My Dear" is set in Dharmavati.[7]

Tamil tracklist[8]
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Manaivi Amaivathellam"KannadasanK. J. Yesudas4:29
2."Naathamenum"KannadasanVani Jairam4:12
3."Hello My Dear Wrong Number"KannadasanK. J. Yesudas, L. R. Eswari4:22
4."Manmadha"KannadasanS. P. Balasubramanyam5:02
5."Netru Oru Menagai"KannadasanA. V. Ramanan4:38
6."Sugam Thanaa"KannadasanS. P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela3:56
Total length:26:39
Telugu tracklist[9]
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Hello My Dear"Veturi Sundararama MurthyS. P. Balasubrahmanyam, L. R. Eswari 
2."Kushalamena"Veturi Sundararama MurthyS. P. Balasubrahmanyam, P. Susheela 
3."Manmadha Leela"Veturi Sundararama MurthyS. P. Balasubrahmanyam 
4."Ninnoka Menaka"Veturi Sundararama MurthyS. P. Balasubrahmanyam 
Hindi tracklist[10][11]
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Hello Hello My Dear"Prem DhawanK. J. Yesudas, Vani Jairam 
2."Dil Diwana Bada Mastana"Prem DhawanS. P. Balasubrahmanyam 
3."Kal Koi Menka Aaj Koi Urvashi"Prem DhawanS. P. Balasubrahmanyam 
4."Khush Hai Na O Sajni"Prem DhawanK. J. Yesudas, Vani Jairam 

Reception

The film struggled to get a censor certificate.[12] Even though it stirred up controversies when it was released, it later became a cult classic.[2] Kamal Haasan said about the film, "it was an interesting subject. For that period it was unusual, a breaking down of the fidelity stereotypes".[13] The film was a huge box office success. In 2012, Balachander's daughter Pushpa Kandasamy planned to make a modern-day version of the film.[3] Shanthanu Bhagyaraj too was toying with the idea of remaking the film.[14]

References
  1. Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul, eds. (1998) [1994]. Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema (PDF). Oxford University Press. p. 428. ISBN 0-19-563579-5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2020.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Lakshmi, V (8 July 2012). "New twist to old tales". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  3. Suganth, M (8 August 2012). "The '80s are back!". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  4. Rangarajan, Malathi (8 March 2012). "Refrains, old and new". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  5. Raman, Mohan (3 January 2015). "KB: Kollywood's Discovery Channel". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  6. Mani, Charulatha (26 October 2012). "Six-note splendour". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  7. Mani, Charulatha (9 November 2012). "Twice as nice". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  8. "Manmatha Leelai". Gaana.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  9. "Manmadha Leela". Gaana.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  10. "Meethi Meethi Baatein (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". open.spotify.com. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  11. "Meethi Meethi Baatein (1977)". Bollywood MuVyz. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  12. S, Srivatsan (10 July 2019). "When K Balachander wanted to write for OTT platforms". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  13. Shivkumar, S. (25 August 2005). "Set to score a perfect ten". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 May 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  14. "Old is gold for Kollywood actors". The Times of India. 27 August 2010. Archived from the original on 16 June 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
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