Mullum Malarum (; ) is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Mahendran. Produced by Venu Chettiar and V. Mohan, the film stars Rajinikanth, Sarath Babu, Jayalaxmi and Shoba. It marks Mahendran's directorial debut and is partly based on Uma Chandran's novel of the same name, which was serialised in the Tamil magazine Kalki in 1966. Mullum Malarum tells the story of Kali (Rajinikanth), a winch operator of a cable trolley who dotes on his sister Valli (Shoba) since they were orphaned, and clashes with his boss Kumaran (Sarath Babu).
Mahendran read only part of the novel, and developed the screenplay as he wanted, making a visually focused film without formulaic Tamil cinema conventions he disliked such as melodrama, overacting, excessive dialogue and duets. Since Mahendran had no previous directing experience, cinematographer Balu Mahendra, who was already an established director, assisted him with the screenplay, dialogue, camera angles, casting and editing. Principal photography lasted for about 30 days, taking place primarily in Sringeri, Karnataka, though some scenes were also filmed in Ooty, Tamil Nadu. The film was edited by D. Vasu, and the soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.
Mullum Malarum was released on 15 August 1978. Although it opened to tepid box-office earnings, positive reviews from critics and favourable word of mouth in later weeks helped make it a success with a theatrical run of over 100 days. The film received praise primarily for Rajinikanth's performance, Balu Mahendra's cinematography, Ilaiyaraaja's music, Mahendran's writing and establishing Tamil cinema as a "visual medium". It won the Filmfare Award for Best Film – Tamil, the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film and Rajinikanth won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for his performance.
Mullum Malarum became a breakthrough for Rajinikanth as an actor and a milestone of Tamil cinema for focusing prominently on visuals and realism without the formulaic Tamil cinema conventions that Mahendran disliked. He continued following this style in all his later films. The film's success inspired a Malayalam remake titled Venalil Oru Mazha in 1979, a Telugu remake titled Seethamma Pelli in 1984, and a Hindi version titled Pyari Behna in 1985.
Plot Orphaned at a young age, Kali and his sister Valli survived by performing on the streets—Kali on the drums, Valli perched atop a pole balanced by an older boy. Kali frequently gets angry at people whom he thinks lack empathy for the socially or financially deprived. As adults, the siblings live in a hilltop village where Kali works for a powerhouse in the valley below. From a shed in the village, he operates a winch for a cable trolley which ferries employees to work. The powerhouse's new divisional engineer, the rule-abiding but fair Kumaran, notices Kali offering free rides to unauthorised townspeople. When he orders the passengers out, citing rules of operation, Kali becomes angry and stops the trolley half-way downhill. Kumaran shrugs off this act with a knowing smile.
One day, while near the canal, Valli encounters a young woman named Manga, who, along with her mother, has arrived from a drought-stricken town, Ilaiyangudi. The mother is looking for work, and both women are hungry; Manga reveals a ravenous appetite for fish, which quickly becomes a defining trait. Valli feeds and shelters them for the night, and asks Kali about allowing them to use the vacant house next door. Meanwhile, Kali roughs up his fellow employees whom he suspects of snitching on him to Kumaran. Kali is given a final warning by Kumaran as a prelude to serious disciplinary action.
While Kali is at work, Manga appears, picks up his watch and teasingly declares she will run away with it. They chase each other into the woods and end up waist-deep in the river, where Kali finally retrieves the watch and rushes back to the shed. During his absence, a child living in the valley has needed medical attention. After the emergency alarm at the shed has rung for several minutes, a passerby steps in to operate the winch. The child is transported back in the trolley and dispatched to a hospital. The following day, Kumaran suspends Kali from his job for ten days for gross misconduct.
That evening, Kali goes to the nearby Mullimalai to assuage his anger at Kumaran among the Badagas, joining them in singing and dancing. While staggering back home drunk, Kali passes out on an unlit street. A truck drives over his left arm, which is amputated at a city hospital. As a result, Kumaran regretfully fires Kali since he can no longer perform his job adequately with one arm. At Valli's prompting, Kali and Manga agree to marry; they have a simple wedding ceremony held at the local temple. Kumaran attends and brings a present of cash, which Kali rejects, but Manga accepts.
Kumaran becomes attracted to Valli. After determining her willingness for marriage, he requests permission from Kali who asks him to return the following day. Later that day, Kali corners Murgesan, a philandering local grocer, and offers him his sister's hand in marriage. An engagement ceremony for Murgesan and Valli is arranged. At the ceremony, Manga angrily interferes in the main ritual, which makes Kali furious at his wife. He physically assaults her repeatedly, but Manga remains firm in her opposition.
The next day, Manga convinces Kumaran and Valli to marry without Kali's knowledge, but he accosts their wedding party on its way to the temple. Kali accuses his sister of abandoning him because of his handicap. Valli, overwhelmed with guilt, rushes into his arm. Kali holds her close, declaring that no matter what, he remains the most important man in her life. Though he still harbours resentment toward Kumaran, Kali's pride is restored. He offers his blessing.
Cast Rajinikanth as Kali Sarath Babu as Kumaran Jayalaxmi as Manga Shoba as Valli Vennira Aadai Moorthy as Murugesan Samikannu as Mayandi
Production Development Despite the success of his projects in the 1970s including Thangappathakkam (1974) and Aadu Puli Attam (1977), screenwriter Mahendran had become disillusioned with mainstream Tamil cinema, which he criticised for its obsession with commercial success, routine melodrama, excessive dialogues, duets and a typical climax. He decided to take a sabbatical from screenwriting but was under constant pressure from film producers to write for them. It was then that Mahendran began soliciting novels to adapt, one of which was Uma Chandran's Mullum Malarum (1966). First serialised in the Tamil magazine Kalki, it won the first prize in Kalkis novel competition for the magazine's silver jubilee in 1966. While reading the novel, Mahendran was attracted by the protagonist Kali's job as a winch operator and his highly self-respecting character. He read until the chapter where Kali loses his arm to a tiger, and developed the screenplay completely according to his own wish. Unlike the novel, in Mahendran's screenplay Kali loses his arm when it is run over by a truck. Additionally, the novel ends with the deaths of Kali and his wife Manga, which Mahendran did not include in his screenplay.
Upon completion, Mahendran did not immediately pitch his story to investors, but instead "quietly filed it away", as he believed that no producer would want to produce a film that lacked all the formulaic Tamil cinema conventions. It was only after Venu Chettiar of Ananthi Films approached Mahendran with an offer that he pitched Mullum Malarum, describing it as a brother and sister story. Chettiar accepted the story without listening to it fully and wanted Mahendran to both write and direct the film. Under the assumption that Chettiar had only accepted due to his belief that Mahendran would make a melodramatic brother-sister film like Pasamalar (1961), Mahendran refrained from disclosing to him that what he envisioned was radically different, with more focus on visuals than dramatics. The film marked Mahendran's directorial debut, with Chettiar and V. Mohan producing it. Ramasamy was signed as the art director, and D. Vasu as the editor. Ramachandra Babu declined when approached by Mahendran to be the cinematographer, and Ashok Kumar, whom Ramachandra Babu suggested, could not accept to work on the film. Mahendran was unable to find a worthy cinematographer until actor Kamal Haasan introduced him to Balu Mahendra, who agreed to work on the film, making his debut in Tamil cinema. Haasan worked as a production manager on the film.
Casting and filming After the release of Aadu Puli Attam, Mahendran wanted Rajinikanth, who portrayed the film's antagonist, to act as the male lead in his directorial debut film. Though Chettiar remonstrated against the actor's suitability for the role due to his dark skin and typecasting as a villain, he reluctantly capitulated after Mahendran intransigently declared that he could not possibly direct the film without him, believing him to be tailor-made for the part. After directing the Kannada film Kokila (1977), Balu Mahendra wanted its lead actress Shoba to act in his first Tamil film. She was eventually cast as Kali's sister Valli.
Mullum Malarum was filmed on 35 mm ORWO colour film. It was shot primarily in Sringeri, Karnataka, with additional filming in Ooty, Tamil Nadu; principal photography lasted about 30 days. Chettiar initially refused to let Mahendran shoot in Sringeri, citing financial constraints, but Mahendran's friend Pazhaniappan convinced Chettiar and agreed to pay for the Sringeri shooting schedule. Once while passing through Pondicherry, Mahendran witnessed a game of Uriyadi, which inspired him to include two Uriyadi scenes in the film which were not originally part of the script. Mahendran also decided to characterise Manga (Jayalaxmi) as a "meen paithiyam" (meaning a "foodie who loves fish") after being inspired by Sringeri's marine environment.
Balu Mahendra stated that he avoided incorporating the usual hero-heroine dancing into the film because he thought it was like "watching two drunken monkeys dancing". Instead, he allocated music to the background when the lead characters expressed their emotions. Since Mahendran had no previous directing experience, Balu Mahendra, who was already an established director, assumed responsibility and responded to Mahendran's suggestions for screenplay, dialogue, camera angles, casting and editing. He shot the film predominantly using natural light.
According to Mahendran, Chettiar never arrived at the shooting spot; he expected a melodramatic, dialogue-heavy film, and would have shelved the project had he known about Mahendran's filmmaking style. Sarath Babu, who plays the engineer Kumaran, was originally supposed to lip sync the full "Senthazham Poovil" scene, picturised on Kumaran and Valli, but Mahendra and Mahendran agreed on a montage after the actor performed a line or two. During the filming of the climax where Kali lets Kumaran marry Valli despite their enmity, Sarath Babu disputed the part where Kali professes to still dislike Kumaran, leading him to storm off the set. When he was brought back by the producer, he tempestuously confronted Mahendran, who informed him that Kali dislikes Kumaran till the end. He offered the possibility of filming it with Kali saying those words without Kumaran present, but Sarath Babu ultimately appeared.
After watching the film's double positive, Chettiar was perplexed by the lack of melodrama and lengthy dialogues, since he hired Mahendran as director due to his success as a dialogue writer and did not expect such a visually focused film. At that time, Mahendran had yet to film a scene set before "Senthazham Poovil" but Chettiar, discontent with the budget escalating, refused to finance it until he was won over by Haasan who financed the scene, and filming was completed. Mullum Malarum final reel length was .
Themes