• Ethir Neechal Movie
• Ethir Neechal Songs

1. Singers: Anirudh Ravichander, vivek Siva. Lyricist: Vaali. Singers: Honey Singh, Anirudh Ravichander, Tamizha Adhi. Lyricist: Vaali.
2. Kunjithapatham is embarrassed by his name and has low self-confidence as well. When his lover, Geeta, a schoolteacher, motivates him to prove himself, he runs the Chennai Marathon.

A young man who is embarrassed by his name opts to run a marathon to prove himself. Durai Senthilkumar Producer: Dhanush Music composed by: Anirudh Ravichander.

Edhir Neechal (transl. Swimming against the current)^[1] is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language comedy-drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The film has an ensemble cast including Nagesh, Muthuraman, Sundarrajan, Srikanth, M. R. R. Vasu, Sowcar Janaki, Jayanthi, Manorama and S. N. Lakshmi. It is based on Balachander's play of the same name, itself inspired by Sombhu Mitra's play Kanchanranga. The film was released on 12 December 1968, and became a commercial success. It was remade in Telugu as Sambarala Rambabu (1970) and in Hindi as Lakhon Me Ek (1971).

Plot[edit]

Maadhu is a destitute orphan who performs odd jobs in a multi-family tenancy for his living and education. For the services he renders, he's allowed to sleep under the stairs of the tenancy without any rent. He attends college with the help from one of his college professor and kind people that share roof in that tenancy he lives. Among few people who understand his situation, and are ready to help are Sabapathy and Nair. He overhears one of the tenants speaking to her husband of getting him married to their daughter Paru who is said to be psychologically challenged. He forcefully makes his mind to love their daughter even before they propose a marriage, so as to calm himself that the girl is none other than the girl he loved and not some unknown psychologically challenged girl. How she proves that she's indeed a normal person and also helps Maadhu to prove his worth forms the rest of the plot.

Cast[edit]

• Nagesh as Maadhu^[2]
• Muthuraman as Nair^[3]
• Sundarrajan as Sabapathy^[4]
• Srikanth as Kittu^[4]
• M. R. R. Vasu as Kumaresan
• Sowcar Janaki as Pattu Mami^[4]
• Jayanthi as Paru
• Manorama as Renu
• Thengai Srinivasan (Guest appearance)

Production[edit]

Edhir Neechal was a play written by K. Balachander,^[5][6][7] inspired by Sombhu Mitra's play Kanchanranga.^[8]Nagesh, who acted in Balachander's play,^[9] returned to the film adaptation,^[10] which was written and directed by Balachander, and produced by Kalakendra Movies.^[11]R. Muthuraman played the Malayali cook Nair, reprising the role originally played by Raman.^[9] Balachander considered Sowcar Janaki's role to be 'a total contrast to the parts she was doing then, where she was always in tears.'^[12] Cinematography was handled by N. Balakrishnan, editing by N. R. Kittu and art direction by Ramaswamy.^[11]

Soundtrack[edit]

The music was composed by V. Kumar, with lyrics by Vaali.^[13][14] The song 'Aduthathu Ambujatha Parthela' is set in the Carnatic raga known as Mohanam,^[15] and attained popularity.^[16] Although P. B. Sreenivas' cinematic career was declining in the late 1960s, B. Kolappan of The Hindu described 'Thamarai Kannangal' as 'one of his finer numbers during this period.'^[17]

Release and reception[edit]

Edhir Neechal was released on 12 December 1968.^[11] The following week, The Indian Express wrote, 'The film, which has a few touching scenes and some interesting twists, is on the whole satisfying', though they criticised the music.^[18]Ananda Vikatan, in a review dated 29 December 1968, praised the performances of the cast, particularly Nagesh, Sreekanth and Janaki.^[4] The film was commercially successful.^[16]

Legacy[edit]

Film historian Mohan Raman considered Edhir Neechal to be one of several films where Balachander established Nagesh, a comedian, as a 'serious actor'.^[19] It was remade in Telugu as Sambarala Rambabu (1970),^[9] and in Hindi as Lakhon Me Ek (1971).^[20] The characters Pattu Mami and Maadhu became iconic in Tamil cinema.^[21] Stage actor Maadhu Balaji adopted the prefix 'Maadhu' after the character of the same name.^[22]

References[edit]

1. ^Narwekar, Sanjit (1994). Directory of Indian film-makers and films. Flicks Books. p. 24. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018.
2. ^Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (19 December 2015). 'Uncrowned monarch of humorous actors in Tamil movies'. Daily FT. Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
3. ^'பிளாஷ்பேக்: எதிர்நீச்சல் எந்த கதையின் தழுவல்?' [Flashback: Which story is Edhir Neechal based on?]. Dinamalar (in Tamil). 15 November 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
4. ^ ^abcd'சினிமா விமர்சனம்: எதிர் நீச்சல்'. Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 29 December 1968. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
5. ^Guy, Randor (7 March 2003). 'Dialogue delivery set him apart'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
6. ^'Jayalalitha pays homage to K Balachander'. The Times of India. Indo-Asian News Service. 24 December 2014. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
7. ^Ramachandran, T. M. (30 April 1966). 'K. Balachander does it again!'. Sport and Pastime. Vol. 20. pp. 50–51.
8. ^Gopalie, S. (1969). 'Tamil | (In)significant'(PDF). Enact. No. 25. pp. 13–15.
9. ^ ^abcKrishnamachari, Suganthy (19 May 2016). 'Spotlight on 'Edirneechal' Raman'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
10. ^Nayar, Aashmita (24 December 2014). '7 Must-Watch K Balachander Movies On Youtube'. HuffPost. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
11. ^ ^abc'Edhir Neechal'. The Indian Express. 12 December 1968. p. 5.
12. ^Rangan, Baradwaj (10 September 2006). 'Interview: K Balachander'. Baradwaj Rangan. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
13. ^'Ethir Neechal (1968)'. Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
14. ^'Ethir Neechal (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP'. iTunes. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
15. ^Sundararaman 2007, p. 122.
16. ^ ^abKesavan, N. (26 June 2016). 'Comediennes who made Tamil cinema bright'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
17. ^Kolappan, B. (15 April 2013). 'A singer who evoked pathos, a nonpareil'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
18. ^'Social drama'. The Indian Express. 21 December 1968. p. 5.
19. ^Raman, Mohan (3 January 2015). 'KB: Kollywood's Discovery Channel'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
20. ^Lokapally, Vijay (5 November 2015). 'Lakhon Mein Ek (1971)'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
21. ^Rajasekaran, Ilangovan (18 October 2013). 'The KB school'. Frontline. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
22. ^Saravanan, T. (22 February 2017). 'When quirk and mirth come to party'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.

Bibliography[edit]

• Sundararaman (2007) [2005]. Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Pichhamal Chintamani.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links[edit]

• Edhir Neechal on IMDb

Edhir Neechal (transl. Swimming against the current)^[1] is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language comedy-drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The film has an ensemble cast including Nagesh, Muthuraman, Sundarrajan, Srikanth, M. R. R. Vasu, Sowcar Janaki, Jayanthi, Manorama and S. N. Lakshmi. It is based on Balachander's play of the same name, itself inspired by Sombhu Mitra's play Kanchanranga. The film was released on 12 December 1968, and became a commercial success. It was remade in Telugu as Sambarala Rambabu (1970) and in Hindi as Lakhon Me Ek (1971).

Ethir Neechal Movie

Plot[edit]

Maadhu is a destitute orphan who performs odd jobs in a multi-family tenancy for his living and education. For the services he renders, he's allowed to sleep under the stairs of the tenancy without any rent. He attends college with the help from one of his college professor and kind people that share roof in that tenancy he lives. Among few people who understand his situation, and are ready to help are Sabapathy and Nair. He overhears one of the tenants speaking to her husband of getting him married to their daughter Paru who is said to be psychologically challenged. He forcefully makes his mind to love their daughter even before they propose a marriage, so as to calm himself that the girl is none other than the girl he loved and not some unknown psychologically challenged girl. How she proves that she's indeed a normal person and also helps Maadhu to prove his worth forms the rest of the plot.

Cast[edit]

• Nagesh as Maadhu^[2]
• Muthuraman as Nair^[3]
• Sundarrajan as Sabapathy^[4]
• Srikanth as Kittu^[4]
• M. R. R. Vasu as Kumaresan
• Sowcar Janaki as Pattu Mami^[4]
• Jayanthi as Paru
• Manorama as Renu
• Thengai Srinivasan (Guest appearance)

Production[edit]

Edhir Neechal was a play written by K. Balachander,^[5][6][7] inspired by Sombhu Mitra's play Kanchanranga.^[8]Nagesh, who acted in Balachander's play,^[9] returned to the film adaptation,^[10] which was written and directed by Balachander, and produced by Kalakendra Movies.^[11]R. Muthuraman played the Malayali cook Nair, reprising the role originally played by Raman.^[9] Balachander considered Sowcar Janaki's role to be 'a total contrast to the parts she was doing then, where she was always in tears.'^[12] Cinematography was handled by N. Balakrishnan, editing by N. R. Kittu and art direction by Ramaswamy.^[11]

Soundtrack[edit]

The music was composed by V. Kumar, with lyrics by Vaali.^[13][14] The song 'Aduthathu Ambujatha Parthela' is set in the Carnatic raga known as Mohanam,^[15] and attained popularity.^[16] Although P. B. Sreenivas' cinematic career was declining in the late 1960s, B. Kolappan of The Hindu described 'Thamarai Kannangal' as 'one of his finer numbers during this period.'^[17]

Release and reception[edit]

Edhir Neechal was released on 12 December 1968.^[11] The following week, The Indian Express wrote, 'The film, which has a few touching scenes and some interesting twists, is on the whole satisfying', though they criticised the music.^[18]Ananda Vikatan, in a review dated 29 December 1968, praised the performances of the cast, particularly Nagesh, Sreekanth and Janaki.^[4] The film was commercially successful.^[16]

Legacy[edit]

Ethir Neechal Songs

Film historian Mohan Raman considered Edhir Neechal to be one of several films where Balachander established Nagesh, a comedian, as a 'serious actor'.^[19] It was remade in Telugu as Sambarala Rambabu (1970),^[9] and in Hindi as Lakhon Me Ek (1971).^[20] The characters Pattu Mami and Maadhu became iconic in Tamil cinema.^[21] Stage actor Maadhu Balaji adopted the prefix 'Maadhu' after the character of the same name.^[22]

References[edit]

1. ^Narwekar, Sanjit (1994). Directory of Indian film-makers and films. Flicks Books. p. 24. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018.
2. ^Jeyaraj, D. B. S. (19 December 2015). 'Uncrowned monarch of humorous actors in Tamil movies'. Daily FT. Archived from the original on 23 May 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
3. ^'பிளாஷ்பேக்: எதிர்நீச்சல் எந்த கதையின் தழுவல்?' [Flashback: Which story is Edhir Neechal based on?]. Dinamalar (in Tamil). 15 November 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
4. ^ ^abcd'சினிமா விமர்சனம்: எதிர் நீச்சல்'. Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 29 December 1968. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
5. ^Guy, Randor (7 March 2003). 'Dialogue delivery set him apart'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
6. ^'Jayalalitha pays homage to K Balachander'. The Times of India. Indo-Asian News Service. 24 December 2014. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
7. ^Ramachandran, T. M. (30 April 1966). 'K. Balachander does it again!'. Sport and Pastime. Vol. 20. pp. 50–51.
8. ^Gopalie, S. (1969). 'Tamil | (In)significant'(PDF). Enact. No. 25. pp. 13–15.
9. ^ ^abcKrishnamachari, Suganthy (19 May 2016). 'Spotlight on 'Edirneechal' Raman'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
10. ^Nayar, Aashmita (24 December 2014). '7 Must-Watch K Balachander Movies On Youtube'. HuffPost. Archived from the original on 22 January 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
11. ^ ^abc'Edhir Neechal'. The Indian Express. 12 December 1968. p. 5.
12. ^Rangan, Baradwaj (10 September 2006). 'Interview: K Balachander'. Baradwaj Rangan. Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
13. ^'Ethir Neechal (1968)'. Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
14. ^'Ethir Neechal (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP'. iTunes. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
15. ^Sundararaman 2007, p. 122.
16. ^ ^abKesavan, N. (26 June 2016). 'Comediennes who made Tamil cinema bright'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
17. ^Kolappan, B. (15 April 2013). 'A singer who evoked pathos, a nonpareil'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
18. ^'Social drama'. The Indian Express. 21 December 1968. p. 5.
19. ^Raman, Mohan (3 January 2015). 'KB: Kollywood's Discovery Channel'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
20. ^Lokapally, Vijay (5 November 2015). 'Lakhon Mein Ek (1971)'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
21. ^Rajasekaran, Ilangovan (18 October 2013). 'The KB school'. Frontline. Archived from the original on 26 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
22. ^Saravanan, T. (22 February 2017). 'When quirk and mirth come to party'. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.

Bibliography[edit]

• Sundararaman (2007) [2005]. Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Pichhamal Chintamani.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links[edit]

• Edhir Neechal on IMDb