Underplayed Gems

Mahanadi (1994)

Mahanadi poster
Original title
மகாநதி
Directed by
Santhana Bharathi
Genre
drama film
Country
India
Runtime
2h 42m
Rated
U
Rating
7.2 of 10 from 12 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A widower and his family suffer a series of hardships caused by a con artist. The film shows how corruption and child trafficking ruin their lives.

tensebleakemotionalsuspensefulmelancholicgrittydisturbingharrowing

What happens

Mahanadhi ( transl. The Great River) is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film directed by Santhana Bharathi and co-written by Kamal Haasan. The film stars Haasan and Sukanya, with S. N. Lakshmi, Tulasi, Shobana Vignesh, Dinesh, Poornam Viswanathan, Rajesh and V. M. C. Haneefa in supporting roles. It revolves around a widower and his family going through many miseries due to the machinations of a con artist. The idea for Mahanadhi originated when Haasan discovered his domestic help's plan to kidnap his daughters for a ransom. After he completed the story, novelist Ra. Ki. Rangarajan provided inputs, and was subsequently credited as the dialogue writer. Cinematography was handled by newcomer M. S. Prabhu, and editing was handled by N. P. Sathish. It was the first film in India to make use of Avid Technology. The film deals with several issues, such as corruption and child trafficking. Mahanadhi was released in theatres on 14 January 1994, Pongal day, and was both critically and commercially successful. The film won two National Film Awards: Best Tamil Feature Film and Best Audiography, and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards: Special Prize (Best Film) and Best Stunt Coordinator (Vikram Dharma). (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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