Kaathala Kaathala
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySingeetam Srinivasa Rao
Screenplay byKamal Haasan
Story byCrazy Mohan
Produced byP. L. Thenappan
Starring
CinematographyTirru
Edited byN. P. Satish
Music byKarthik Raja
Production
company
Saraswathi Films
Distributed byRaaj Kamal Films International
Release date
  • 10 April 1998 (1998-04-10)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Kaathala Kaathala (transl. Oh love! Oh love!) is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and produced by P. L. Thenappan. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Prabhu Deva, Soundarya and Rambha. It revolves around two men falling in love with two women, but end up creating a web of lies trying to impress their lovers' fathers.

Kaathala Kaathala was initially expected to be directed by K. S. Ravikumar, but he was replaced by Rao after he refused to sign the film until the Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) strike of 1997 had stopped. The film was released on 10 April 1998, to positive reviews and became a commercial success. It was later loosely remade in Hindi as Housefull (2010).

Plot

Ramalingam and Sundaralingam are orphans who take care of orphaned children. Sundaralingam paints shop banners and calendars. Ramalingam makes money usually by fraudulent means. Sundari, an arts student, falls for Ramalingam. Her friend Janaki falls in love with Sundaralingam. Janaki's father Paramasivam objects to Janaki's wedding since Sundaralingam is poor, prompting Janaki and Sundaralingam to marry with the help of their friends.

Days go by, but Paramasivam still does not agree. This causes Sundari to ask Janaki to lie to Paramasivam that she has given birth to a son. Paramasivam, upon receiving the letter, changes his mind and gets ready to set off to Chennai. Sundari lies to her Chicago-based father Balamurugan that Ramalingam is a rich man. Janaki, to easily convince her parents, also fabricates a story that Sundaralingam has become rich. The girls rent a bungalow for three days; the owner Noorjahan mistakes Janaki and Ramalingam to be a couple.

Balamurugan, who is supposed to come on that day, misses his flight and is unable to come over. Janaki's parents wish to surprise her, and they end up coming on that day. Ramalingam mistakes Janaki's father to be Sundari's father, and a comedy of errors ensues. Unable to tell the truth because of Noorjahan's presence, Janaki and Ramalingam let the mistaken identity stay as such. To keep the tale running, Janaki and Ramalingam introduce Sundari as the maidservant and Sundaralingam as the cook. Sundari borrows a child from a beggar woman, who stays in the house as the woman who supplies milk.

The four of them strive hard to hide the truth from Janaki's parents. While these happenings unfold, Varadhachaari, Paramasivam's friend, who knows the truth, comes over. The couples try to salvage the web of lies they have built, by skilfully getting Varadhachaari and Paramasivam to agree. Unfortunately, they then meet with Janaki's maternal uncle Singaram, a doubting Thomas, who begins to suspect the veracity of the stories of the youths. All the same, he fails to convince his sister and brother-in-law of the possible untruths they have been led to believe.

Now that Balamurugan too is about to meet them, Paramasivam himself steps in to help them build a story involving Balamurugan's daughter, who, to him, is a maidservant in the house. He concocts a complicated tale where Ramalingam is his son, Janaki and Sundaralingam reprise their real relationship and, worse, V. Anand, the former godman Ananda Vikadanantha, to be his cousin. The real reason Anand is at their place, is to hide from the police, as he is wanted for his fraudulent ways. Soon enough, the elders begin to smell something fishy. To end the mess, Sundari reveals the complete truth to everyone. Singaram reveals to all that Anand is a crook and Ramalingam is now forced to prove his innocence.

A chase ensues when Anand is held hostage by his ex-partner Junior Vikadanantha for money which he looted. Inspector Chokkalingam arrives in time to find Ananda Vikadanantha and Junior, and Ramalingam is proven innocent. Paramasivam accepts Janaki and Sundaralingam, and Balamurugan is happy about Ramalingam and Sundari.

Cast

Production

Kaathala Kaathala was initially expected to be directed by K. S. Ravikumar who directed the successful Avvai Shanmugi with Kamal Haasan in the lead earlier, but he was later replaced by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao after he refused to sign the film until the Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) strike of 1997 had stopped.[10] Actresses Meena and Simran's unavailability led to Rambha being cast in a lead role.[11] Nagma also opted against signing the film fearing that a potential clash may arise with actress Rambha, after the pair's alleged fall out on the sets of Janakiraman.[12] After Soundarya's death in 2004, Haasan paid tribute to her when he said, "she came forward to do the movie, when the rest of the industry was unwilling to work with me."[13] Cho Ramaswamy, wanting to express solidarity with Haasan's stand during the strike, asked him for a role in the film and got it.[14]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Karthik Raja and lyrics written by Vaali.[15][16]

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Saravana Bhava"Kamal Haasan, Karthik Raja, Sripriya, Sujatha 
2."Madonna Paadala"Kamal Haasan, Kavita Paudwal 
3."Thakida Thathom Annachi"Ilaiyaraaja, Jack 
4."Kaasumela"Kamal Haasan, Udit Narayan 
5."Madonna Paadala" (II)Hariharan, Bhavatharini 
6."Laila Laila"Hariharan, Bhavatharini, Sripriya, Prasanna 

Release and reception

Kaathala Kaathala was released on 10 April 1998.[17][18] D. S. Ramanujam for The Hindu wrote, "Veteran director Singeetham Srinivasarao (his penchant for comedy is well-known), actor and screenplay writer Kamal Hassan and story and dialogue writer ``Crazy″ Mohan have a large say in sparking fun, Mohan being at his `craziest' best. The pun-laden lines come in such a wave that before one can enjoy one humourous [sic] line, the other just smashes in".[19] R. Mahadevan of Dinakaran noted "writers like [Crazy] Mohan make this celluloid affair of filmy entertainment stand on a more fanciful ground of pure comedy --- with ease and veritable success".[20] Ji of Kalki, however, reviewed the film more negatively, criticising it for lacking the humour of Haasan and Mohan's previous ventures.[21] The film was dubbed in Telugu as Navvandi Lavvandi in late 1998.[22]

In 2010, the producer of the film P. L. Thenappan threatened legal action against the makers of the Hindi film Housefull for remaking scenes from the film without permission. Thenappan revealed he had dubbed the film into Hindi in the late 1990s as Mirchi Masala, but the version did not release.[23][24]

Legacy

The line "Jaanaki enakku wife aagittathaala, Sundari velakkaari aayittaappaa" (Ever since Janaki became my wife, Sundari became a housemaid) became popular, and has since entered Tamil vernacular as a term used by people to "tease friends caught impersonating".[1] The song "Kaasumela" became popular for Prabhu Deva's dance.[25] The title of the song inspired a 2018 film Kasu Mela Kasu.[26]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Vinoth Kumar, N (7 November 2019). "Celebrating 60 years of movie magic that's Kamal Haasan". The Federal. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  2. ^ Krishnakumar, Ranjani (11 June 2019). "Remembering Mohan, a man to whom being crazy came easy". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 June 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  3. ^ "மக்கள் மனங்களை வென்ற குணச்சித்திரங்கள் : டெல்லி கணேஷ்". Dina Thanthi (in Tamil). 6 March 2020. Archived from the original on 17 December 2000. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e கணேஷ், எஸ். (28 June 2017). "சாதனை புரிந்த தமிழ் படங்கள் – 301". Dinamalar. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ Ramanujam, Srinivasa; S, Srivatsan; Kumar, Pradeep; Sunder, Gautam (21 March 2020). "The best Tamil 'comfort films' to watch, while self-isolating". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Cochin Haneefa's 70th birth anniversary: Five memorable roles of the famous South Indian actor". The Times of India. 22 April 2021. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  7. ^ "When Crazy Mohan made word-play humorous in Tamil movies!". Moviecrow. 11 June 2019. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  8. ^ "கமல் - கலையும் கலைசார்ந்த இடமும்! - 05 - காதலா காதலா ஒரு பார்வை!". Trending Online Now (in Tamil). 20 May 2019. Archived from the original on 17 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  9. ^ "வாழ்த்துகள் கிரேஸி, கமல். யூ போத் ஆர் வெரி கிரேஸி! - #20YearsOfKaathalaKaathala". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 16 April 2018. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  10. ^ Krishna, Sandya. "The Strike of 1997". Indolink. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2016.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^ Sandya (18 October 1997). "December Vambugall". Indolink. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  12. ^ Sandya. "Tamil Movie News". Indolink. Archived from the original on 30 April 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. ^ Kannan, Ramya (18 April 2004). "An intelligent top star". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Cho Ramaswamy requested Kamal Haasan". The Times of India. 26 May 2014. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Kaathala Kaathala". JioSaavn. 16 May 2017. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Kadhala Kadhala". AVDigital. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  17. ^ Thomas, K. M. (27 July 1998). "Bollywood battles cable piracy as menace causes huge losses, producers fight back". India Today. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  18. ^ "கமல்ஹாசன் படங்களின் பட்டியல்" [List of Kamal Haasan films]. Lakshman Sruthi (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2023.
  19. ^ Ramanujam, D. S. (17 April 1998). "Film Reviews: Kaathala Kaathala / Ninaithaen Vanthaai". The Hindu. p. 26. Archived from the original on 11 March 2000. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  20. ^ Mahadevan, R. ""Kaathalaa Kaathalaa"". Dinakaran. Archived from the original on 18 May 2004. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  21. ^ ஜி (26 April 1998). "காதலா காதலா". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 81. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  22. ^ Gopalrao, Siddalur (1 January 1999). Zamin Ryot (PDF) (in Telugu). p. 9 https://web.archive.org/web/20160913112242/http://www.zaminryot.com/pdf/1999/Jan/1-jan-1999.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2022. ((cite news)): Missing or empty |title= (help)
  23. ^ Pillai, Sreedhar (11 May 2010). "Housefull, a remake of Kaathala Kaathala?". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 May 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  24. ^ "Madras High Court stays Housefull". Sify. 28 July 2010. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
  25. ^ Kumar, Pradeep (3 April 2020). "Prabhudheva's best dance sequences: From 'Chikku Bukku' to 'Guleba'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  26. ^ Darshan, Navein (7 July 2018). "'Kasu Mela Kasu' movie review: A wannabe comedy filled with objectionable ideas". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2020.

External links

Films directed by Singeetam Srinivasa Rao
Raaj Kamal Films International
Categories