Recommending "watchable" movies in IR's music - all languages.

"ராசா படத்தைக் கண்ணை மூடிக்கிட்டே பாக்கலாம்" என்று சொல்லி நண்பர் ஒருவர் கல்லூரிக்காலத்தில் பல பாடாவதிப்படங்களுக்கு இழுத்துக்கொண்டு போயிருக்கிறார்,

உண்மையில் அவற்றுள் பலவற்றைக் கண்டிப்பாகக் கண்ணை மூடிக்கொண்டு தான் பார்த்துத் தொலைக்க வேண்டும்

என்றாலும், "குழப்பமில்லை" என்று சொல்லுமளவுக்கு (அதாவது, பெரிய காவியம் / கலை நயம் எல்லாம் அரிய அளவில் இல்லாவிட்டாலும், பார்க்கத்தகுந்த சினிமா என்ற அளவில்) என்னென்ன படங்களைச் சொல்லலாம்?

தனிப்பட்ட விருப்பு வெறுப்புகள் இருந்தாலும், ஓரளவுக்குக் கணிசமான அளவில் ராசா விசிறிகளால் விரும்பப்பட்ட / படுகின்ற படங்கள் என்னென்ன?

வெளிநாட்டவர் அல்லது வேறு தலைமுறையினர் யாராவது நம்மிடம் "இவரை இவ்வளவு கொண்டாடுகிறீர்களே, அந்த அளவுக்கு அவர் இசையமைத்த  / காணத்தக்க படங்கள் சில சொல்லுங்கள்" என்று கேட்டால் என்னென்ன படங்களை நீங்கள் சொல்ல முடியும்?

(உண்மையில் இப்படியொரு கேள்வியை அமெரிக்கர் என்னிடம் கேட்பதாகச் சில நாட்களுக்கு முன் கனவு கண்டேன் என்பது ஒரு வேடிக்கை).

பட்டியல் தொடங்குவோம்!

#1 sAgara sangamam
(Telugu - dubbed as salangai oli in Thamizh)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS2n93wsyNw



One movie that I will recommend to anyone without any hesitation!

Of course, music is very special but this scores in every other department as well - definite 'kAviyam'!

I have watched this in both Telugu (language not known to me) and in Tamil!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAmeHl8UFS4

#2 uthirippookkaL
(Thamizh)

This one is more than a classic!

If you consider from western sentiments, this may probably be called a "musical"  - though not so from purely Indian movie watcher's point of view. No, this is not a musical - but very rich in BGM of course.

I can shamelessly say that each time I watch this movie, I cry / weep in many scenes - with tears flowing just like that! However, this is not really a "tear-jerker" in a typical movie sense - it's just that the emotions are embedded so strongly that I cannot escape.

One thing - this may not be a movie that can be watched sitting together as a crowd or with family - one has to watch alone IMHO.

Only then the real / whole impact can be felt. Also, this may not be a movie for all (e.g. kids) - very mature movie with strong content that is very local / sentimental etc. - at the same time, new age stuff. It cannot be classified one way or other. If you want to view it as a Satyajit Ray kind, it will appeal that way. OTOH, if you are a Sivaji-Bhimsingh fan, this won't disappoint you. Well, not for nothing celebrities like Mani Ratnam rate this as one of the best 10 movies ever!

One of the best characterizations ever in Indian films is the nAvidhar character in this movie - Oh, I love this man! He makes me cry aloud!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I60puvflk8w

#3 moonRam piRai
(Thamizh, later remade in Hindi as sadmA)

It's possible there had been inspirations from English films or old Tamil (or Indian) films for the story writer Balu Mahendra.

However, the way the movie is made is extraordinary! While Sridevi gets to excel in most part of the movie - with her childishness that beautifully suits the character - Kamal is given a golden opportunity to score in the end! Fantastic pair on screen - IMHO the best ever in Indian movies.

Phenomenal BGM & futuristic songs (unmatched to this date in puthumai).

I can keep talking about the movie for hours...however, one important note - it's an "adults only" movie and that way for mature audience only. Not for kids and immature people

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4vJBOmlruM

#4 avaL appadiththAn
(Tamil)

Yet another "adults-only" movie and very critically acclaimed one as well. Director Rudraiah's maiden venture (poor man who died a few years back, didn't have much success after this first one; his second venture, 'grAmaththu athyAyam', with a phenomenal album, didn't click at BO).

This one was definitely not a "musical" but had the fantastic "uRavugaL thodarkathai" song that gets  Also Kamal's 1st week of recording as a singer with IR's music had a song from this movie (panneer pushpangaLE) - possibly recorded the same day as "ninaivO oru paRavai'.

The movie had such sharp dialogs (mostly by Sripriya, her career best role, without question) and Kamal & Rajini playing their characters in excellent / effortless / contrasting / enjoyable styles.

An intellectually satisfying movie

The story / camera  / editing -  all were quite interesting for this B & W movie.

Not just IR fans, no movie-lover should miss this experience called AA.

Our fellow forumer and film critic Jaiganesh Vazhkudai wrote a superb blog post on this movie years back (need to search for the link..)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QezXVHWpeAw

#5 16 vayathinilE
(Tamil)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njEKoSMcJCI



One more Kamal-Rajini movie in our list here, this one with Sridevi in the lead female role.

Actually this was the movie that made all 3 immensely popular across every nook and corner of TN villages (though the cities were somewhat familiar with them thru moonRu mudichchu prior).

Bharathi Raja's first directorial venture - which brought a new wave of movies in Tamil field.

Though there are some technical / technological inadequacies / low points with the movie, from a pure cinematic experience point of view, this was awesome!

BTW, I keep bringing adults-only movies in this thread (4 out of 5 so far - IR's initial period was full of movies of such themes it appears. No wonder I could not watch some of those "A" movies when released...could see them only years later).

Well, that thought also brings a very strong அறச்சீற்றம் inside me - now that I've developed some strong feelings on this matter over the years.

That is, all these famous fellows - Balachandar, Balu Mahendra, Bharathi Raja et al are horrible fellows when dealing with girl children in their work

I don't want to go into details but suffice to say that Sridevi was not even legally eligible to watch this movie in theater - at the time she actually acted as lead in it (the 13 year old acted as a 16 year old, exposing flesh in some scenes of that movie - criminal exploitations in both fiction and real life).

That way, I want to record here my எரிச்சல் for these child-abusers of TF field in this post.

Otherwise, this movie was a sensation. Even before I had a chance to watch this on screen during college days, I had listened to the "olichchithiram" in villages countless times on horn speaker. Also heard people recite the dialogs multiple times during conversations. Also had relatives talk about the movie / story / acting etc countless hours during school days and vacations.

Of course, it had iconic songs! Songs that have documented the TN folk cultural elements for all future, with great melodies and music!

#6 mudhal mariyAdhai
(Tamil)

முதல் மரியாதை - வாழ்க்கையில் நான் பார்த்த ஒரே ஒரு "முதல் நாள் - முதல் ஷோ" படம். (கல்லூரிக்காலம் - பசங்க எப்படியோ டிக்கட் / பஸ் எல்லாம் ஏற்பாடு செய்து இழுத்துக்கொண்டு போனார்கள். ராசா என்றே ஒரே காரணத்துக்காகப் போன ஓரிருவரில் நானும் ஒருத்தன்).

எல்லாவித எதிர்பார்ப்புக்களுக்கும் மேலே மேலே மிக உயர்ந்த தரத்திலான படம்.

முன்னமே உதிரிப்பூக்களுக்குச் சொன்னது போலத்தான் - காவியத்துக்கும் மேல்!

கவிதை கவிதை

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV92Fvry4GA

#7 muLLum malarum
(Tamil, possibly dubbed into other languages)

Mahendran's first directorial venture (prior to this he was writing stories / screenplays in the field, thangappathakkam of Sivaji Ganesan being the most popular of them).

Movie had all the elements of a terrific family drama (aNNan-thangai pAsam especially) but the way it got presented was very fresh and new-age-Tamil cinema. Means, less melodrama / somewhat raw + sufficient poetic or artistic touches. This was based on a novel but adapted in an excellent format for cinema, that gave sufficient scope for music / songs etc.

Oh, those were days of poetic film titles. muLLum-malarum is not just the contrast (of Brother / Sister) but also story telling in one phrase (i.e. "dramatic transformation", of thorn morphing into a flower).

Well, besides the overall quality, it also had fantastic scenes that gave lot of scope for the "actor" in Rajini to perform. Even had the "ketta paya sir" punch dialog.  With a superbly performing Shobha to match! Quite a treat for movie lovers.

Songs and BGM - what a nice partnership the director had with IR for a few years! Together, they changed the way movies were presented  in TF field, one would say!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLl1iy7JaVA

#8 nenjathai kiLLAthE
(Tamil)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx1GaXt8Z-Q



Stylishly made movie that ran a silver jubilee in TN, as this was very fresh in presentation at the time of release.  Pleasant visuals / crisp dialogs / fantastic BGM / very quick building of all characters in the story and keeping them in right measure thru out etc. Except 1 song, others are montage and decently part of story telling / not forced

BTW, what fantastic futuristic songs those were - personally, I could not believe my ears when I first heard uRavenum pudhiya vAnil on radio - unbelievably novel, sophisticated and classy. Unmatched in freshness even today.

Well, the movie itself is not much outdated even now. (Interestingly, people have made very similar movies later on - mouna rAgam / rAjA rANi - and those were box office successes as well.).

Suhasini's intro movie. An important film for both Mohan and Pratap - who had lot of opportunities to be present on screen with IR's songs and music as background over the years

VA Moorthi / Sarath Babu / Charuhasan kind of people were often seen in Mahendran movies of that time period. It's quite interesting to see Sarath Babu being part of many movies that we're documenting in this thread - he had played many interesting characters in many IR movies.

#9 Johny
(Thamizh)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsjCHUo12_M



Perhaps the most "stylish" movie ever in Thamizh

Of course, a musical - in every sense!

Besides having the most fantastic romantic scene ever in the Indian fiim hisotry ("நான் அப்டித்தான் பேசுவேன்"), the movie can boast of many sophisticated scenes that were never seen before in film history! One of the best performances of Sridevi (perhaps her most sophisticated and classy one) and the most stylish performance of Rajini (in both roles, of course). The scene where both Rajini's meet for the first time is another top-notch movie experiences ever in film history.

Now, the movie had its own dragging moments- no questions about that (like the fight scene between Rajinis - unnecessary IMHO). However, that can be given some consideration for the time period it came out.

Otherwise, a very enjoyable film experience, thanks to the IR-Mahendran - Ashok Kumar - Sridevi- Rajini fantastic collaboration!

Perhaps the only movie that I watched both shows on the same day (in college audi) and that too on a day of semester exams While it resulted in one of my worst-ever performances for a math exam in college, it also kind of alerted me early in life and brought me back to senses - to be back on track in academics!

I can watch this movie (yes, need to FF some parts) any number of times!

#10 panneer pushpangaL
(Thamizh, possibly dubbed into other south Indian languages - going by availability of songs in Telugu / Malayalam)

Refreshingly fresh movie, with the beauty of Ooty area!

Of course, among the top features of the movie are songs and BGM. Santhana Bharathi (Kamal's friend who had the privilege of getting the director's credit for iconic movies like mahAnadhi) and P Vasu (very successful commercial director later on, doing blockbuster movies like mannAn etc) debuted with this movie as directors.

Produced by Gangai Amaran and IR reportedly did not charge any money for the phenomenal album or the fantastic BGM for this refreshingly fresh project!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECc-tTu56Wc

Nice topic App.

I can suggest some of the movies from the past (80s to begin), that are watchable. Not sure if all these films are available on YT.

1. Idhayathai Thirudaadhe - one of the earlier decent movie of MR, with some absolutely fantastic BGM and songs. You can expand this.

2. Nayakan - I am sure, it is a truly pathbreaking film from story telling, performance, songs and BGM

3. Mouna Ragam - while you can get tired after a few times with the comedy parts not sticking with the main theme, this movie is a sort of cult classic for background score and songs

4. Kaidhiyin Dairy - very well made and gripping thriller - nice songs and fine BGM (I would not rate the BGM among the top tier of Raja)

5. Raja Paarvai - fantastic musical and bgm.

6. Unnal Mudiyum Thambhi - fantastic treatment of CCM and folk and great BGM

7. Netri Kann - I like the idea of a Lait Motif being introduced in this film for the first time in Indian films. Great tunes as well

ravinat wrote:Nice topic App.

I can suggest some of the movies from the past (80s to begin), that are watchable. Not sure if all these films are available on YT.

1. Idhayathai Thirudaadhe - one of the earlier decent movie of MR, with some absolutely fantastic BGM and songs. You can expand this.

2. Nayakan - I am sure, it is a truly pathbreaking film from story telling, performance, songs and BGM

3. Mouna Ragam - while you can get tired after a few times with the comedy parts not sticking with the main theme, this movie is a sort of cult classic for background score and songs

4. Kaidhiyin Dairy - very well made and gripping thriller - nice songs and fine BGM (I would not rate the BGM among the top tier of Raja)

5. Raja Paarvai - fantastic musical and bgm.

6. Unnal Mudiyum Thambhi - fantastic treatment of CCM and folk and great BGM

7. Netri Kann - I like the idea of a Lait Motif being introduced in this film for the first time in Indian films. Great tunes as well

Sure sir, these all should come up in this thread in course of time

#11 moonnAm pakkam
(Malayalam)

One of those Padmarajan classics of 80's - powered by IR's sweet BGM and songs!

One can simply live as part of this movie - nothing spectacular happening on screen but the viewer gets pulled in effortlessly - sheer magic! Of course, Thilakan is the anchor of the proceedings!

Movies like this are to be simply enjoyed in a very relaxed manner (for that matter any Padmarajan movie should not be "rushed").

Like taking in fine liquor, slowly...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RNvFU-6veA

#12 swAthi muthyam
(Telugu, dubbed into Thamizh as sippikkuL muththu)

Started the thread with sAgara sangamam of the same director K Viswanath and today saw the news that he has passed away

While swAthi muthyam is a very similar KV-IR-Kamal classic, this one is in an entirely different genre. Of course, there are some common sensibilities but the storyline and the focus is entirely different (here is not "art" but "humanity").

Excellent songs and BGM - IR was in top form (though my more preferred songs exist in sAgara sangamam compared to this). So were Kamal and Radhika who acted very well.

The movie was a big success in both states and both versions continue to have a lot of admirers on YT as well, as can be seen from the # of views (means, despite not being a commercial masAlA movie.  No dance / comedy / fight and such "mass" elements):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mrNjfl2lmw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ1jyMs9Dmg

My suggestions:

Olangal (Malayalam)
Dharma Yuddham
Raja Parvai
Ilamai Oonjaladugiradhu
Sigappu Rojakkal
Indru Poi Naalai Vaa
Moodu Pani

app_engine wrote:#8 nenjathai kiLLAthE
(Tamil)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx1GaXt



Stylishly made movie that ran a silver jubilee in TN, as this was very fresh in presentation at the time of release.  Pleasant visuals / crisp dialogs / fantastic BGM / very quick building of all characters in the story and keeping them in right measure thru out etc. Except 1 song, others are montage and decently part of story telling / not forced

BTW, what fantastic futuristic songs those were - personally, I could not believe my ears when I first heard uRavenum pudhiya vAnil on radio - unbelievably novel, sophisticated and classy. Unmatched in freshness even today.

Well, the movie itself is not much outdated even now. (Interestingly, people have made very similar movies later on - mouna rAgam / rAjA rANi - and those were box office successes as well.).

Suhasini's intro movie. An important film for both Mohan and Pratap - who had lot of opportunities to be present on screen with IR's songs and music as background over the years

VA Moorthi / Sarath Babu / Charuhasan kind of people were often seen in Mahendran movies of that time period. It's quite interesting to see Sarath Babu being part of many movies that we're documenting in this thread - he had played many interesting characters in many IR movies.

I relate to your comments.  I was in college when this movie came out and it was such a trendsetting movie... (Another related comment....can people from this generation even imagine or understand that we were gifted to albums from movies like Nenjathai Killadhe, Ninavellam Nitya, Nizhalgal, Moodu Pani, Panneer Pushpangal, Ilamai Oonjaldukiradhu etc. by IR all in rapid succession within months of each other and with not much advertising for the songs...  I cannot help rolling my eyes when ordinary singles are released with such fanfare and people going crazy over mediocre stuff....)

#13 payaNangaL mudivadhillai
(Thamizh)

While some classic-movie-lovers may raise eyebrows with this pick, I won't blink an eye nominating this among IR's top 100 movies - having watched it multiple times

For one thing, this is of historical importance. (Started giving MD the due recognition in the film field, by way of promotions - the very first movie that advertised on posters as "இளையராஜாவின் இன்னிசை மழையில் - பயணங்கள் முடிவதில்லை"! What a lovely way to express the never-ending journey of IR's music. In addition, the movie itself cataloged how film music plays such an interesting / inseparable part in the lives of Thamizh people. (One has to only watch the scenes for the delectable prelude of the song 'Ey AthA' where multiple shots capture the way TN-ers daily live and breathe TFM).

Besides, this is a true musical - with 7 fantastic songs - all SPB / SJ - and a lot of interesting BGM (the title music itself made one sit straight with goosebumps when I first watched in theater - an instrumental + humming version of the evergreen iLaya nilA song). A movie that features the life of a singer with a "rags-to-riches" story, reminding public of the many successful music personnel in TFM.

While those are personal reasons to highlight this movie, even the other things that are important to public (i.e. story / action / dialog / comedy etc.) are not bad either. One can easily rate each of them as "above average" from today's PoV - while they were quite "good" at the time of arrival, making it a silver jubilee movie.

R Sundarrajan's first and he could be credited to transforming Goundamani on screen to an interesting comedian.
(Prior to this, he was mostly acting in villainic roles).

Senthil had his portion as well. One funny scene :

He acts as a helper in a house and misses work one day. The boss questions it and the conversation goes like this :

"ஏண்டா நேத்து வரல?"

"பையனுக்கு மொட்டை போடப்போனேங்க"

"பையனுக்கு எதுக்குடா மொட்டை"

"பொண்டாட்டிக்கு அடிச்சா நல்லாருக்காதுங்க"



Overall, quite an enjoyable movie!
A trend setter in a way (making actor Mohan "mike" Mohan )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8qWj5q-W_U

#14 nAn pAdum pAdal
(Thamizh)

Second movie in the combination of IR-R Sundarrajan-Motherland pictures.

While payaNangaL mudivadhillai was kind of not "well-balanced", this one was a much greater "improvisation" by the director Why do I say that?

For one, PM had all the 5 happy songs before interval and after that it was quite serious. Both songs in the 2nd half were pathos (maNi Osai and vaigaraiyil). That way, "repeat" audience - unless they were fans of IR (quite many those days) or Poonima (few were there then) or Mohan (I doubt if there were any exclusive fan for him) - they would not have that much enjoyed the 2nd half.

OTOH, NPP was a laugh riot right up to the climax - while carefully blending the serious elements thru out! (To me personally, even the so-called serious climax looked funny and Sivakumar looked like a joker. He did well in the movie thru-out in comedy portions).

Perhaps the first movie that took Goundamani as a comedian to great heights! Intelligent and witty dialogs plus terrific body language that uniquely characterized him for years to come

One sample, where he does vakkAlath for drinking habit, says to his wife :

ரஷ்யால குடிச்சுட்டுத்தாண்டி ராக்கெட் விடுறான் - அமெரிக்கால குடிச்சுட்டுத்தாண்டி அணுகுண்டு செய்யுறான்



Of course, the movie was primarily musical - another film with singer in the lead role. Interestingly, the male lead character - a writer in incognito mode - was perhaps the inspiration for later-day Hindi hit called Saajan.

Music-comedy riot that crossed silver-jubilee and the songs were playing everywhere for years to come!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ox4GygFx_8

#15 unnai nAn sandhiththEn
(Thamizh)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCdtxrhIyHo


Another Motherland pictures musical (with enough references to MGR / rettai ilai etc. due to the political allegiance of the producer).

During college days, though I loved the songs, didn't think much of the movie (actually, the comedy element was a little bit less compared to the previous MP movies).

However, the movie overall is quite engaging - watched the whole movie today and it is "good only"

BTW, while there are enough goose bump moments with the songs, this one takes the icing on the cake :

At 1:12:45 in this youtube :
"தாலாட்டும் தெய்வம் வந்தது - பாலூட்டும் அன்னை அன்பிது "
என்று ராசா பாடும் போது உடைந்து அழுவதைத்தவிர வேறு வழியில்லை!

மற்றபடி இந்தப்படத்தில் என்ன காட்சி எப்படி இருந்தாலும், இந்த ஒரு நிகழ்வுக்காகவே இது என்னுடைய சிறப்புப்பட்டியலில் இடம் பெற்றே தீரே வேண்டும்!

Watch the whole movie - especially the last 15-20 minutes are really good, without over melodrama but enough emotional!

#16 udhaya geetham
(Thamizh)

Possibly the last Motherland pictures movie that we'll be documenting in this thread. Like UNS, this one also got directed by K Rengaraj.

Yes, musical with "mike" Mohan. The first half of the movie was very novel (especially considering the time period when the movie came out) and the scenes leading to the stunning / unexpected interval was something very new to TF fans. When we watched it in theater, everyone of us (engg. students, please remember) were shocked - as we weren't prepared for the turn of the events!

Also, the situation of the song 'pAdu nilAvE' was quite unusual and the first half of the song was picturized in a very innovative way! Though the second half can be even categorized as "masAlA" (with that mAnE thEnE kattippudi etc.), overall a very satisfying movie watching experience.

For those watching it for the first time, it could be quite interesting even in this time period (i.e. 2020's).

Gounder's awesome comedy definitely needs honorable mention!

Some dialogs are quite interesting - like, Revathy commenting on the smile of police officer Lakshmi:

"பஞ்சாயத்துத் தேர்தல் மாதிரி ரொம்ப அபூர்வமா தான் சிரிப்பீங்க போலருக்கே"
(despite the movie being made by an ADMK person, this was a critique on their own leader )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKMwG6JQb1U

#17 vaidhEhi kAthirundhAL
(Thamizh)

This movie has to be obviously included in this list Fantastic musical (rAsAthi onna / mEgam karukkaiyilE / azhagu malarAda / inRaikku Enindha...) the songs are extremely popular to this day. These have not stopped playing in the TN country sides for 40+ years and most of us who visit this forum know very well that those were composed and recorded by IR without having any movie or story presented to him. (He simply conceptualized and recorded when he had "free time" during visits outdoor for other movies / albums and wanted a director to make a film using the songs).

R Sundarrajan's best - despite some irritable Radha Ravi portions. The movie presented an entirely different Vijayakanth at that time period, who was then popularly known as the angry young man with red eyes against establishment, fighting etc. As a singer, lover...

Revathy had one of her best roles.

The Goundamani - Senthil combo's comedy is popular to this day. "petromax light" reference has become part of an average TN-er's vocabulary itself many years after it probably ceased to exist. (Oh, those kerosene days).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ipy_WLaOY9Q

#18 sigappu rOjAkkaL
(Thamizh, dubbed into other languages / remade in Hindi etc.)

Going back to 70's and there comes another "A" rated movie Most early BO hits with IR's music had strong adult content and this was no exception. Murders / tension etc.

However, the stylish way Kamal presented the lead character and the fantastic scenes he had with Sridevi are very pleasant (before the movie gets into high-thrill mode). I believe the whole second half happens in one night (in the story) which was somewhat a novelty those days.

IR's BGM was a strong factor in powering the movie (right from title music he gets viewers into the "style" "western" mood and except a brief flash-back where some rustic sounds are used, it was sophi music for the most part). With those two fantastic evergreen songs, the music is still remembered well.

Good thriller, even if one knows the whole story! No wonder this became a runaway hit when arrived & established BR's credentials as a high-class movie maker and not just a "village-lifestyle-presenter".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5VSEBZVFEE

#19 oru kaidhiyin diary
(Thamizh, remade in other languages as well)

Another BR-Kamal movie, quite stylishly presented with fantastic BGM by IR (and some nice songs).

Though there is this irritable element of "3 villains / revenge by hero" (such a repetitive theme of Indian movies in 70's and 80's), the way the screenplay presented the settings and background was quite fresh and very interesting. (Not boring even in multiple watches over the years - those Kamal-Radha - A for apple, B for bed, C for child, D for darkness & old Kamal-Revathy portions are some of the best in Thamizh cinema history).

I believe K Bagyaraj came back to assist BR after a break and that helped as well.

Another big hit for the team and this one came during my college days!

Worth a watch if someone had never seen this film before or even otherwise

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37uqmNJawB8

#20 yAthra
(Malayalam - later remade in Telugu and Thamizh as well I think)

Very popular Malayalam movie of 1985, directed by Balu Mahendra with Mammootty / Shobana. Two honey sweet songs and fantastic BGM by IR powers the movie, enhancing every scene and situation!

I've watched this for the first time today. While I lived in Kerala for more than a decade, it started from Jan 1986 and somehow I never tried to watch this movie. As mentioned in the "last heard song" thread, "yamune ninnude nenjil" song was a rage when I started my trainee engineer job at Palakkad, playing everywhere those days. Palakkad is somewhat like TN in that aspect (of recording centers / tea stalls playing music etc.).

While watching the climax, I became one of the children in that bus Excellent work by Balu Mahendra / Adoor Basi. The dialogs are excellent as well!

Must watch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IxzgGguMMs