Nadodi Mannan () is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language action adventure film directed by M. G. Ramachandran in his debut as a filmmaker. He stars in dual roles alongside P. Bhanumathi, M. N. Rajam and B. Saroja Devi. P. S. Veerappa, M. N. Nambiar, M. G. Chakrapani, T. K. Balachandran and Chandrababu play supporting roles. The film revolves around a king being replaced by a look-alike after getting abducted on the eve of his coronation. The look-alike begins to implement social and economic reforms to uplift the poor which irks the kingdom's high priest, who has kidnapped the very person the look-alike resembles. The rest of the film shows how the look-alike saves the man he impersonates and defeats the high priest.
Made on a budget of 18 lakh, Ramachandran co-produced the film with Chakrapani and R. M. Veerappan under the banner of Em.Gee.Yar Pictures. C. Kuppusami, K. Srinivasan, and P. Neelakantan were in charge of the screenplay. Kannadasan and Ravindar undertook the responsibility of writing the dialogues. The cinematography was handled by G. K. Ramu while K. Perumal and C. P. Jambulingam did the editing. S. M. Subbaiah Naidu and N. S. Balakrishnan composed the film's soundtrack and score. Songs from the soundtrack like "Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey", "Thadukkathey", "Summa Kedandha", and "Senthamizhe" became popular hits.
Filmed in both black and white as well as Gevacolor, Nadodi Mannan was released on 22 August 1958 and garnered positive critical reception. It was a commercial success, grossing 1.1 crore in its lifetime, thereby becoming only the second Tamil film to earn 1 crore after another Ramachandran starrer Madurai Veeran (1956); it became a silver jubilee film. Nadodi Mannan acquired cult status in Tamil cinema, and became a turning point for Ramachandran in terms of both his acting and political career.
Plot The kingdom of Ratnapuri is besieged by food shortages and high unemployment. Since the king's only daughter Ratna is missing and the king dies without naming a successor, Marthandan, a member of the royal family, is chosen by a majority of the imperial council of Ratnapuri to be its new ruler. However, the kingdom's Rajaguru (high priest) Vijayavarman plans to kill Marthandan and make Pingalan, Marthandan's cousin, king. Meanwhile, Veerabahu, a loyal bodyguard of the late king, and his men, including his son Bhupathi and daughter Madhana, are not pleased to see Marthandan as a king and are equally saddened by the situation of Ratnapuri's people.
Violent protests erupt all over the kingdom led by Veerangan, Marthandan's look-alike, with the support of his friend Sagayam. The protestors march to the palace condemning the monarchy and demanding democracy. Veerangan is imprisoned for his actions in Naganathapuram, a nearby town. Madhana is also incarcerated in the same prison on a similar charge. They are pardoned and released on the occasion of Marthandan's coronation. They travel together to Ratnapuri. Sharing the same ideals and revolutionary thoughts, they fall in love.
In the meantime, Marthandan arrives at Ratnapuri. Vijayavarman asks him to stay in an isolated palace on the outskirts and tells him that he should not meet his wife Manohari until the coronation, as the current moment is inauspicious. On entering a hotel in Ratnapuri, Veerangan and Sagayam beat up a gang of rowdies. Hired by Vijayavarman, they mistake Veerangan for Marthandan. Veerangan is chased by palace guards and ends up in Marthandan's room. Marthandan and Veerangan meet face to face. Veerangan tells him of the pathetic state of the people of Ratnapuri, and Marthandan agrees to set everything right as soon as he takes charge.
On the eve of the coronation, Vijayavarman arranges for Marthandan to be poisoned. He carries out his plan with the help of Karmegam, a royal advisor. Marthandan swoons after drinking a few sips of the poisoned beverage, but is soon saved by Veerangan and Ratnapuri's commander-in-chief. However, Marthandan is still unconscious and incapacitated. The commander-in-chief, and one of the ministers, persuade Veerangan to take Marthandan's place to ensure that the coronation takes place as scheduled. A reluctant Veerangan agrees to do so in the interests of the state, and arrives just in time for the coronation. It takes place smoothly and Veerangan, as Marthandan, becomes Ratnapuri's new king. Vijayavarman and Pingalan are taken aback and send men to investigate. They find the unconscious Marthandan and kidnap him.
Veerangan now finds himself saddled with the role of a king for more days than he had initially bargained for because of Marthandan's sudden disappearance. He does not let this setback deter him and puts the opportunity to good use by beginning many reforms, and enacting several measures to uplift the poor. These steps are supported by the people while causing a political upheaval among the elite. However, he is troubled by the fact that he is deceiving Manohari who believes him to be Marthandan. Unable to keep it a secret from her, he tells her the truth. Perceiving his noble character, Manohari accepts him as her brother. Madhana is killed by Pingalan, and a grief-stricken Veerangan vows to avenge her death. He discovers through Veerabahu that both Marthandan and Ratna have been kidnapped and held in custody on an island named Kanni Theevu.
Veerangan sails to Kanni Theevu and comes across Ratna, who falls in love with him; he reciprocates her feelings. Pingalan and Karmegam arrive there only to find that the island's chieftain is none other than Vijayavarman, who has kidnapped Ratna after she was born. Vijayavarman plans to marry Ratna himself, get rid of Pingalan, and declare himself the ruler of Ratnapuri. Pingalan decides to take Ratna back and make himself king legally by marrying her. Ratna does not approve of it. Pingalan takes her away by force. Veerangan saves her from Pingalan's clutches. The duo then frees Marthandan and Karmegam, who had been captured by Vijayavarman and is now reformed. Both Marthandan and Veerangan defeat Vijayavarman. Veerangan marries Ratna, and Marthandan issues a proclamation stating that Ratnapuri is a democracy.
Cast Male actors M. G. Ramachandran as Marthandan and Veerangan P. S. Veerappa as Vijayavarman M. N. Nambiar as Pingalan M. G. Chakrapani as Karmegam T. K. Balachandran as Bhupathi Chandrababu as Sagayam K. R. Ramsingh as Veerabahu
Female actors P. Bhanumathi as Madhana M. N. Rajam as Manohari B. Saroja Devi as Ratna G. Sakunthala as Nandini T. P. Muthulakshmi as Nagamma K. S. Angamuthu as Pappa
Production Development After the release of Naam (1953), M. G. Ramachandran and his brother M. G. Chakrapani, who were its co-producers and shareholders, were keen to make a film under their own production banner. Hence, they established Em.Gee.Yar Pictures and hired M. Karunanidhi to draft a script for their company's debut film titled Vidivelli. The film was shelved after Karunanidhi was imprisoned for participating in the Kallakudi demonstration in July 1953. Ramachandran and Chakrapani then dissolved Em.Gee.Yar Pictures and established the Em.Gee.Yar drama troupe instead, but the idea of producing a film was still on Ramachandran's mind.
Ramachandran had dreamt of making his own film ever since he attended a screening of Frank Lloyd's historical drama, If I Were King (1938) starring Ronald Colman, in Calcutta. This occurred while he was playing a minor role in Maya Machhindra (1939). He wished to make a film that would express his political views and interests to the people of Tamil Nadu. To this end, he assembled a team of three people: R. M. Veerappan, V. Lakshmanan and S. K. T. Sami. He gave them suggestions about the outline of the story and urged them to watch If I Were King and two other films: The Prisoner of Zenda (1937), another Colman film, and Elia Kazan's Viva Zapata! (1952). After several brainstorming sessions, the team came up with a story loosely based on the three films and decided on the title Nadodi Mannan. The trio then helped make it look more Indian.
Nadodi Mannan was produced on a budget of 1.8 million, which was considered approximately two-and-a-half times more expensive than the average Tamil film made at the time. Nearly a year was spent on pre-production and casting. K. Ramnoth, who was initially roped in to direct the film, died before production began, resulting in Ramachandran taking over the position himself, thereby making his directorial debut. This was the second film produced by Ramachandran, and the first under the production banner of Em.Gee.Yar Pictures, which was handled by Ramachandran, Chakrapani and Veerappan. Kannadasan and Ravindar, who assisted Veerappan, Lakshmanan and Sami with the story, wrote the dialogues. The screenplay was written by the trio of C. Kuppusami, K. Srinivasan and P. Neelakantan. G. K. Ramu, K. Nageswar Rao and R. N. Nagaraja Rao were in charge of cinematography, art direction and stills. K. P. Ramakrishnan and Arunachalam acted as stunt doubles for Ramachandran.
Film historian Film News Anandan noticed publicity stills of Nadodi Mannan on Veerappan's office desk when he happened to visit the office of Em.Gee.Yar Pictures. He then offered to distribute them to the press. Veerappan agreed knowing that Anandan was then a member of the South Indian Film Journalists Association. After a few days, stills of the film were published in many magazines. Ramachandran was impressed with Anandan's work and, at Veerappan's suggestion, hired him as the film's public relations officer (PRO). This was Anandan's debut film as a PRO; however, his name does not appear in the opening credits.
Casting During the filming of Alibabavum 40 Thirudargalum (1956), an advertisement for Nadodi Mannan was released describing it as an adaptation of The Prisoner of Zenda. Two days later, Bharani Pictures, the production company co-founded by P. S. Ramakrishna Rao and P. Bhanumathi, released an advertisement for a film whose concept was similar to The Prisoner of Zenda. When Ramachandran and Bhanumathi heard their films were similar, they tried to convince each other to change their film's storyline. After much deliberation, Ramachandran told Bhanumathi that he was keeping "only the section of a commoner switched to king" in the original, while the rest of the film would be different. Ramachandran accepted that they were both confused over what to do next. A few days later, for unknown reasons, Bharani Pictures' planned film was shelved. Bhanumathi informed Ramachandran and told him he could go ahead with his film. She offered Ramachandran her shelved film's script, written by A. K. Velan, and asked him to use it for Nadodi Mannan. Ramachandran thanked her for her generosity, and offered her the role of Madhana; Bhanumathi agreed.
M. N. Rajam was cast as Manohari, the queen of Ratnapuri, and king Marthandan's wife. Ramachandran wanted Rajam for the role to avoid her being typecast as a character-driven by jealousy and malice. For the role of Ratna, B. Saroja Devi was selected after a successful audition. Saroja Devi was not fluent in Tamil at the time, so her dialogues were written in such a way that she would find it easier to pronounce them. P. S. Veerappa, M. N. Nambiar and Chakrapani played the antagonists Vijayavarman, Pingalan and Karmegam. T. K. Balachandran, who was prominent in Malayalam films, was cast as Bhupathi. K. R. Ramsingh was selected for the role of Madhana and Bhupathi's father, Veerabahu, after Ramachandran was impressed by his performance in one of the stage plays he featured in. Chandrababu played Veerangan's friend and sidekick, Sagayam. T. P. Muthulakshmi was cast as Nagamma, a native of Kanni Theevu, who wants a husband. G. Sakunthala played Manohari's lady-in-waiting Nandini and K. S. Angamuthu the restaurateur Pappa respectively.
Filming