Padayappa

Infobox_Film
name = Padayappa


director = K.S. Ravikumar
writer = K.S. Ravikumar
starring = Rajinikanth
Soundarya
Ramya Krishnan
Sivaji Ganesan
Manivannan Nassar Senthil Ramesh Khanna Abbas Preetha Vijaykumar Vadivvukarasi Lakshmi Radharavi Sitara Anu Mohan Satyapriya K.S. Ravikumar
Vasu Vikram
Prakash Raj
Mansoor Ali Khan
producer = A. M. Rathnam
music = A.R. Rahman
distributor =
released = 1999
runtime = 172 mins
language = Tamil
budget = Rs.23 crores

"Padayappa" (1999) is a Tamil film directed by K.S. Ravikumar. The film stars Rajinikanth, Soundarya, Ramya Krishnan, Sivaji Ganesan and Manivannan among others in this high budgeted multi-starrer. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by A.R. Rahman. This was the second last film of the acclaimed Kollywood actor Sivaji Ganesan before his death in 2001

Plot

Padayappa (Rajinikanth) is an engineer. Padayappa returns to his hometown to attend his sister's wedding. His sister's engaged to the son of his maternal uncle. During this happy occasion, Padayappa's father's foster brother demands a share in the family property. But Padayappa's father (Sivaji Ganesan) gives all of the property to him.His family is forced to leave the family's house. Due to this shock, his father dies at sight and his sister's wedding is cancelled because the groom went for money and married his Uncle's daughter. Also, Nilambiri (Ramya Krishnan), the spoilt daughter of his maternal uncle, is in love with him.Meanwhile, Padayappa finds out that the hill that he owns has granite, and he digs it out and becomes a very famous name in the city as he does a lot of service for the poor. His family, once again, is able to settle down. His sister gets married to an engineer Padayappa hired, and Padayappa maintains his father's position in the village.

He loves Vasundhara (Soundarya), Nilambari's servant. When Nilambari finds this out, she goes crazy. Her parents beg Padayappa's widowed mother to allow Nilambari to marry Padayappa. Padayappa obeys his mother's orders to get married. However, Padayappa's mother becomes wise and tells off her brother in front of the entire village, giving a proposal of marriage to Vasundhara's mother instead of her brother, not letting her brother forget the humiliation he put her through when Padayappa's father died. Nilambari's dad commits suicide in humiliation. Nilambari, meanwhile, tries to kill the servant unsuccessfully.

After the wedding, Nilambari retreats into a room in her brother's house, only having Padayappa in her mind for 18 years. However, when her brother finally wakes her up, she plans her revenge on Padayappa, now a father of two adult daughters. Nelambari's brother also has a son. He studies in the same college as Padayappa's eldest daughter and is told by Nilambari that he should make Padayappa's daughter fall in love with him. At the same time Padayappa plans to get his eldest daughter married to his sisters son.

As a tradition in the their village the groom and bride are asked if they both are not being forced to marry each other. Nilambari's plan is to make Padayappa's daughter say that she doesn't wish to get married to the groom that her parents want her to marry and that she is in love with someone else and in that process get Padayappa humiliated.

Her plan works, but Padayappa retaliates and makes his daughter's lover confess that he really fell in love with her, even though he was told only to act. Padayappa decides to take him to his house for the marriage, with Nilambari chasing behind.

After a dramatic fight scene, the marriage takes place, and Nilambari commits suicide.

Cast

oundtrack

The film has five songs and a background score by AR Rahman:

# En Peru Padayappa - S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
# Minsara kannaa - Srinivas and Nityashree
# Suthi Suthi - S. P. Balasubrahmanyamand Harini
# Vetri kodi - Sriram
# Kicku Eruthey - S. P. Balasubrahmanyam

Box Office

*The film opened big in Tamil Nadu and within a week the producers were looking at profits.
*The film raised approximately 20 crores in chennai alone.
*Actress Ramya Krishnan won hearts all over Tamil nadu for the role "Neelambari" played by her. She also received the Filmfare award for best Actress.
*It was dubbed in Telugu as Narasimha which had a 50 day run in 49 centres and 100 day run in 34 centres. [http://www.idlebrain.com/research/anal/anal-power.html http://www.idlebrain.com/research/anal/anal-power.html]

Trivia

*The producer Thenappan registered the stylised "Padayappa" design as a Class 34 trademark in 1998 for goods like beedis, cigarettes, cheroots and tobacco (raw or manufactured). This is believed to be the first such instance of brand extension in Tamil film industry [http://www.patentoffice.nic.in/tmr_new/tm_journal/journal_1373/CLASS_34.pdf pdf]