K. Bhagyaraj Special 5: Classic Film Review: “Mundhanai Mudichu”

Devan Nair

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K. Bhagyaraj peaked with his 10^th directorial – Mundhanai Mudichu which met with well-deserved box-office success. K. Bhagyaraj plays the lead role opposite Urvashi in her first lead role and her first Tamil film. The supporting cast included Deepa, K.K. Soundar, Master Suresh, Chitti Babu, Kovai Sarala in her first major role, Sathya, Bayilvaan Ranganathan, Nalinikanth and Baby Sujitha. Poornima (Bhagyaraj) also plays an important guest role.

A rural village gets a new teacher (K. Bhagyaraj) and he becomes fair game for the village prankster, Parimala (Urvashi) and her friends. The Vaathiyaar, who arrives with a toddler, struggles to settle in to life in the village, but events take a dramatic turn, forever changing his life.

If one is looking for a perfect screenplay, one would find it in Mundhanai Mudichu where the narrative is expertly crafted and developed with believable characters in believable situations. Bhagyaraj’s focus on sexuality which was underplayed in his earlier films come to the fore in this film and – if one ignores the picturisation of Vaa Vaa Vaathiyare – is quite tastefully done.

The acting performances of the entire cast match the brilliance of the script and screenplay.

K. Bhagyaraj is once again magnificent form, happy to be on the receiving end of many jokes. He excels in the emotional scenes and succeeds in having the entire audience rooting for him.

It is hard to believe that this film was made before Urvashi turned 14, making her essentially a child actress. Her portrayal of Parimala remains one of the most memorable of her very impressive career, scoring high in portraying the various moods and emotions of the role.

Deepa, although typecast in the role as the teacher who appears to be flirtatious, handles the complex character with apparent ease.

K.K. Soundar is also in one his very memorable roles as is Bayilvaan Runganathan – back in the day when he was still likeable.

Ashokkumar’s cinematography shows his magic touch from the opening sequences and this continues throughout the film. Once again, his low light scenes show the greatest creativity.

Illaiyaraja is truly in astounding form throughout the film. The songs are varied, creative and enjoyable, but it is with his background score that he truly shows his mastery of his craft. It is hard to imagine the impact of the film without Illaiyaraja’s contribution.

Mundhanai Mudichu was released theatrically on 22 July 1983 and was the first film to run for 25 weeks in 4 Chennai theatres and 10 others across Tamil Nadu. The film released in 49 centres and crossed 100 days in 43 of them. Made at a cost of Rs 3 million, the film netted Rs 40 million, breaking existing records at the time of its release. The silver jubilee function held on 25 March 1984 was presided over by Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran who hailed Bhagyaraj as his acting heir.

Mundhanai Mudichu was dubbed into Telugu as Vaadante Pelli and then remade into Telugu as Moodu Mullu. The Hindi remake was titled Masterji and the Kannada remake was titled Halli Meshtru.

Even 43 years after its release, the film remains fresh and relatable and deservedly carries the label “Classic”.

Mundhanai Mudichu scores 10 points out of 10.

The full movie is not available on YouTube.

Enjoy this amazing collection of Illaiyaraja’s background music in the film.