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Naalaiya Theerpu
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Wikipedia article
'Naalaiya Theerpu' is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language vigilante action film directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar and produced by his wife Shoba Chandrasekhar which marked the debut of their son Vijay as a leading actor. The film which also starred Keerthana and Easwari Rao, with Srividya, Radha Ravi and Sarath Babu in supporting, had music composed by newcomer Manimekalai, cinematography by R. P. and editing by Gautham Raju. The film was released on 4 December 1992 to mostly negative reviews and became a box-office bomb, though Vijay won the Cinema Express Award for Best New Face Actor.
Plot
Mahalakshmi is molested by her husband Arun Mehta, who has affairs with many other women. Mahalakshmi has a son Vijay, whom she raises on her own. However, things change when her son grows up.
Cast
*Vijay as Vijay
*Keerthana as Priya
*Easwari Rao as Rani
*Srividya as Mahalakshmi
*Radha Ravi as Arun Mehta
*Vinu Chakravarthy as Sundaramoorthy
*Gowtham Sundararajan as Rocky
*K. R. Vijaya as a Judge
*Sarath Babu as Priya's brother
*Dhamu as Dhamu, Vijay's friend
*Srinath as Vijay's friend
*Mansoor Ali Khan as an Inspector
*Major Sundarrajan as D.P
*V. Gopalakrishnan as Commissioner of police
*S. S. Chandran as Meenatchisundaram MLA
*Jaiganesh as Rajasekhar, College Principal
*Pandu as Lecturer
*Typist Gopu as Police Constable
*S. N. Surendar as Press Editor
*K. S. Jayalakshmi as Ambika
*Chaplin Balu as Vijay's friend
*Kavitha
Production
Vijay made his debut as a leading actor with the film, aged eighteen. A fan of Rajinikanth, he told Chandrasekhar that he wanted to headline a film. Vijay enacted a scene from 'Annaamalai' (1992), the one in which the title character (Rajinikanth) challenges Ashok (Sarath Babu). Chandrasekhar recalled, "He did it exactly the way it was in the film, especially the line mark this date in your calendar [...] That's when I realised that he had talent, a fierce passion."
Soundtrack
The music was composed by M. M. Srilekha, under the name of Manimekalai at the age of 12. The film featured lyrics written by Pulamaipithan, P. R. C. Balu and Bharani. The latter went on to become a popular music composer.
Release and reception
'Naalaiya Theerpu' was released on 4 December 1992. Ayyappa Prasad of 'The Indian Express' wrote, "Many tongue-in-cheek remarks on the prevailing political and economic climate makes the film worth watching". However, other reviews were mostly negative. The magazine 'Ananda Vikatan' did not publish a review for the film. Despite Chandrasekhar's confidence, 'Naalaiya Theerpu' became a box-office bomb. Chandrasekhar recalled in 2018, "To be honest, I shouldnt have made that film for him especially when he was just 18 [...] I thought now that my son is also becoming an actor, I could continue to practise my style of filmmaking and pass on socially relevant messages to the audience through him. Maybe the timing wasn't right". Despite the film's failure, Vijay won the Cinema Express Award for Best New Face Actor.
References
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