Underplayed Gems

Nadodi Mannan (1958)

Nadodi Mannan poster
Original title
நாடோடி மன்னன்
Directed by
M. G. Ramachandran
Genre
action film, historical film
Country
India
Runtime
3h 40m
Rated
U
Rating
6.3 of 10 from 3 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A king is about to be crowned but gets kidnapped. A look-alike takes his place and starts helping the poor. The high priest is behind the plot and the impostor must rescue the real king.

adventurousdramaticfast-pacedupliftingheroiccolorfulaction-packed

What happens

Nadodi Mannan (transl. The Vagabond and the King) 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. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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