Manu Needhi

Manu Needhi
Directed by	Thambi Ramaiah
Written by	Thambi Ramaiah
Produced by	R. P. Poorani
Starring	Murali Prathyusha Vadivelu Napoleon Nassar
Cinematography	B. Balamurugan
Edited by	Pazhanivel
Music by	Deva
Production company	GR Gold films
Release date	23 December 2000
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Manu Needhi is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Thambi Ramaiah. The film features Murali and Prathyusha in the lead roles, while Vadivelu, Napoleon and Nassar play other supporting roles. The film has music by Deva, cinematography by B. Balamurugan, and editing by Pazhanivel. The film released on 23 December 2000.

Plot

Chinnakkannu (Murali) lives in a village with his maternal uncle Vellaiyan (Nassar). Vellaiyan asks Chinnakkanu to woo Poongodi (Prathyusha), the only daughter of Muthuraja (Napoleon), a rich Zamindar of a nearby village. Chinnakannu succeeds in his attempt to woo Poongodi, but on the day of wedding between Chinnakkannu and Poongodi, Vellaiyan interrupts and takes away Chinnakannu with him cancelling the wedding. A flashback is shown where Muthuraja is widely respected by everyone in his village. One day, he gets drunk and rapes a girl without consciousness. The victim is Vellaiyan's fiancé (Priyanka), who happens to be Chinnakannu's sister. Muthuraja realises his mistake and marries the victim. However, she dies during her delivery, and Poongodi is born to her. Vellaiyan plans to revenge Muthuraja by using Chinnakannu. Finally, after many events, Chinnakannu marries Poongodi.

Cast

• Murali as Chinnakannu
• Prathyusha as Poongodi
• Vadivelu as Sevalai
• Napoleon as Muthuraja
• Nassar as Vellaiyan
• Priyanka as Vellaiyan's fiancé
• Thambi Ramaiah as Dharmalingam, marriage broker
• Sithara as Poongodi's mother
• Mahanadi Shankar
• Thalapathy Dinesh
• GR

Soundtrack

Music composed by Deva and lyrics written by Snehan.

• Ele Karuthamma — Krishnaraj, Anuradha Sriram
• Koottam Nalla — Seerkazhi Sivachidambaram
• Engoorukku Mattum — SPB, Chitra
• Mayilaadum Paarai —S.Sathya as debut singer
• Oru roja — Unnikrishnan, Chitra

Release

The film received positive reviews upon release and many appreciated Vadivelu's comedy. ChennaiOnline wrote "The screenplay is well etched with the right dose of humour, action and sentiment. It is only in the second half that the director gets a bit distracted and includes new characters [..]". A critic BBThots noted "strong performances by a couple of senior artistes and the occasionally funny comedy sequences prevent this otherwise familiar village story from being too boring". The Hindu wrote "Manuneedhi has nothing new to offer. Just the same old plot handled in just about the same old way!". New Straits Times wrote "Catch this movie if you like countryside-based stories".