Rajni on a comeback trail
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Rajnikanth's Telugu fans will be treated to the dubbed version of "Chandramukhi" shortly.
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Rajinikanth flanked by Nayantara and Jyothika.
SOME MOVIES make news, even if they are dubbed ones. When it comes to icons like Kamal Hasan and Rajnikanth, the expectations are on par with any of the top heroes in Telugu films. A Rajnikanth film after three years naturally arouses curiosity. "Chandramukhi" his latest film in Tamil (Sivaji Films 50th venture) is being dubbed into Telugu for a simultaneous release on April 14. The film, based on the book "Aapthmithr" written by P. Vasu is an improvised version of "Manichitra Thazh," which was made in the '90s. Little did he realise that his story would create new box-office records in Kannada cinema and resurrect his own sagging career besides that of two other personalities. Dwarakesh who made the film was at low ebb before the release of "Aapthamithra," But the film went on to revive his fortunes. The film which has now crossed the 200-day mark and is still doing good business in Karnataka also gave a boost to Vishnuvardhan's career.
It was also the last film of versatile Soundarya. She had completed her work and the first copy was out. Dwarakesh invited her to see the preview, but the actress said that she would do so after the election campaign. But that was never to be as fate willed otherwise. The actress perished in a copter crash. She died without watching one of her memorable performances. A performance worth a national award!
Gripping suspense
Soundarya and Vishnuvardhan in the late actress' last film.
Indeed, Sobhana won a national award for her soul-stirring portrayal of Ganga, a newly wed, suffering from hallucinations. The film is based on Fazil's "Manichitra Thazh" produced by Appachan. It is a story of a young couple, Ganga and Nakulan (played by Suresh Gopi) living in Kolkata. Both visit Nakulan's ancestral home in Kerala. . Despite being cautioned, Ganga opens the doors of a supposedly haunted room in the ancestral home. Inside the room she finds, a life-size oil painting of a court dancer and her other personal belongings. But thereafter, unnatural things happen in the house and Ganga behaves as if possessed. Enters Dr. Sunny (Mohan Lal), a psychiatrist friend of Nakulan. He starts analysing the strange behaviour of Ganga. Dr. Sunny enacts a drama with Vinaya Prasad, a cousin of Nakulan to solve the mystery. The head of the family (Nedumudi Venu) invites a tantrik (Tilakan) to perform "pujas" to ward off the "evil spirit." Both work together to solve the mystery.
Told in a flashback, the film narrates the story of a king who abhorred his son's love for a Tamil court dancer. Unable to change his son's mind, the king plots to kill the court dancer and in the process his son too dies. Nakulan is a descendant of the .king. Fed on her grandmother's fantasy tales during childhood, Ganga after opening the room starts hallucinating as the court dancer, the young musician next door as the prince and her husband as the .king. However, the film ends on a happy note.
Incidentally, "Manichitra Tazh" was dubbed by Ganga Chitra in Telugu as "Aathma Raagam."
Sobhana in 'Manichitra Thazh'
True-life incident
It was said that Fazil wrote the scary comedy based on a true incident that took place in the Calicut Medical College women's hostel. If in "Manichitra Tazh" Mohan Lal enters just two minutes before the interval, Vasu brought the psychiatrist Vijay (Vishunvardhan) much earlier in "Aapthamithra." Says Vasu, "In a Rajni starrer, people expect him to be there almost in every frame otherwise they will be disappointed. So I rewrote the story to suit to the superstar's image." It will be interesting to see if "Aathma Raagam" too is released for that triangular clash of dubbed films with similar themes. As Vasu himself agrees, "There is still big money in old themes."
M.L. Narasimham
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