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Minsara Kanna
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Wikipedia article
'Minsara Kanna' is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The film stars Vijay, Monica Castelino, Khushbu and Rambha, while an ensemble supporting cast includes Manivannan, Mansoor Ali Khan, R. Sundarrajan, Karan and Kovai Sarala. The film's title was derived from the song of the same name in 'Padayappa', which was also directed by Ravikumar. The film saw Vijay and Rambha sharing the screen together for the third and final time after 'Ninaithen Vandhai' (1998) and 'Endrendrum Kadhal' (1999).
Kushboo appeared as one of the main lead actress of the film. The story is about how Vijay enters her house and developing his romance towards Monica, Kushboo's sister.[http://www.minsara-kanna.8m.com/ Minsara kanna Tamil Movie][http://www.cinesouth.com/cgi-bin/filmography/filmography.cgi?name=minsara%20kanna Filmography of minsara kanna] The music is composed by Deva. The film released on 9 September 1999 and became an commercial success at the box office.
Plot
The story is about a rich business tycoon, Indra Devi who has a troubled past. She lives alone in a huge mansion with her assistant. She does not have any male staff as she has extreme hatred for the opposite sex. One day, Kannan escapes from jail and goes to Indra Devis house to take refuge to escape the cops. There he finds Indra Devi and her assistant being harassed by goons. He fights the goons and chases them away. After a few weeks, Indra Devis younger sister, Ishwarya comes to Ooty to pursue her studies. There she meets Kannan and falls in love with him. Indra Devi strictly opposes Ishwarya and Kannans relationship explaining her difficult past life to her. Once Kannan makes a place in Ishwaryas life he brings his family to Ooty to meet the love of his life. To get a place to live for a few days, Kannan and his family stay in Indra Devis house disguised, as cook, cleaners, drivers, gardens and etc. When Indra Devi finds out about this she gets mad and throws the family out of the house. Kannan and his family leave and go back to their village. After a few weeks Indra Devi notices how upset and depressed Ishwarya is after Kannans departure. She makes a plan to meet the family. They arrange Kannan and Ishwaryas marriage and get them both married. After the wedding has been concluded, Indra Devi apologizes to Kannans family for her behaviour. The story ends with Kannan and Ishwarya leaving for their honeymoon.
Cast
*Vijay as Kannan (Kasi)
*Monica Castelino as Ishwarya
*Khushbu as Indra Devi
*Rambha as Priya
*Manivannan as Devanathan
*Karan as Ashok, Vedhachalam's son
*Mansoor Ali Khan as Vedhachalam
*R. Sundarrajan as Police inspector Shiva Kumar
*Anu Mohan as Police constable Vijay
*Manobala as Vedhachalam's henchman
*Madhan Bob as Vedhachalam's henchman
*Master Mahendran as Vetri
*B. H. Tharun Kumar as Indra Kumar
*Kovai Sarala as a Flower seller
*Bhavana as Kannan's sister
*Muthukaalai as a Bystander
*Crane Manohar as Police constable
*K. S. Ravikumar as Mahendran (Guest appearance)
Production
Following the success of 'Padayappa' (1999), producer K. R. Gangadharan signed on K. S. Ravikumar to direct a film and was insistent that the title should be 'Minsara Kanna', after the popular song from Ravikumar's earlier film. The story and script of the film was then subsequently worked on by Ravikumar and co-written by M. A. Kennedy, who had previously worked in the film 'Pistha'.[http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2004/07/02/stories/2004070201930500.htm The Hindu : Waiting for a win] The film was launched at the Kavithalaya Studio, with Rajinikanth, Vijay, Ravikumar and K. Balachandar attending the inaugural event and the filming began in April 1999. The film saw the first and only collaboration to date between K. S. Ravikumar and Vijay, with the actor mentioning he was delighted with the pace and commitment that the director injected into production.
It was initially reported that Vijay would play a dual role but this proved to be untrue. For the female lead role, Simran was approached by Vijay, but the actress refused the offer due to the role has not much importance than the second lead and the antagonist which is played by Khushbu. Priya Gill was approached before debutant Monica Castelino got the opportunity to feature. Furthermore, Roja was supposed to play the second lead in the film before Rambha was confirmed. Actress Bhawana was signed on to play Vijay's sister in the film.
Shooting took place in and around Ooty, ECR area in Chennai and some scenes were shot predominantly in Germany where other few scenes were shot in Interlaken which is located in Switzerland, with two songs being canned in the Alps area.[http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article522276.ece The Hindu : Cities / Chennai : Beckoning Indian film-makers][http://www.rediff.com/movies/1999/nov/04spice.htm Rediff On The NeT, Movies: Gossip from the southern film industry]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack of the film was composed by Deva, was well received by the audience. The lyrics were written by Vaali, Kalaikumar, Na. Muthukumar.
Release
The film released on 9 September 1999. The film opened to average reviews, with the critic of Indolink.com claiming the film "jogs along easily before becoming enmeshed in sentiments and cinematic cliches which make the last part of the movie all but watchable".[http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Reviews/articles/Minsaraa_Kanna_16184.html Minsaraa Kanna: Movie Review] The New Indian Express criticized Vijay's performance claiming "greatest actor", and that "film drags on aimlessly" though praised Deva's soundtrack.[http://www.cscsarchive.org:8081/MediaArchive/art.nsf/(docid)/3D74E60B82C3CC9D65256940006200D5 Film Review The New Indian Express] 'Deccan Herald' also gave the film a negative review labelling that Vijay "is painful to watch and even worse to listen to", labelling it is "an exercise in how to waste a good movie". 'Ananda Vikatan' rated the film 37 out of 100.
Post-release, the film garnered attention after video recording equipment was found at Suriyan Theatre in Chennai which had been showing the film. The equipment was found out to be a unit of a group known as Saravanas Video, who had been hired by a TV production company owned by director K. Balachander. Vijay's father S. Chandrasekhar intervened, seized the equipment and alleged that Balachander was potentially involved in piracy activities. Balachander subsequently stepped down as president from the trade union body FEFSI, complaining that he was being harassed by Chandrasekhar. As a result, members of the film industry threatened to ban Vijay and Chandrasekhar from working on Tamil films. During the unofficial ban, actor Ajith Kumar notably spoke out in favour of Vijay. The parties later reconciled and Balachander withdrew his resignation.
In February 2020, producer P. L. Thenappan, who had bought the film's rights from K. R. Gangadharan, announced plans to sue the makers of the Korean film 'Parasite' for plagiarism.
References
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