Pudhumai Penn (1984 film)

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Pudhumai Penn
Pudhumai Penn 1984.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Bharathiraja
Screenplay byBharathiraja
Story by R. Selvaraj
Produced by M. Saravanan
M. Balasubramaniam
Starring Pandiyan
Revathi
Cinematography B. Kannan
Edited byV. Rajagopal
Music by Ilaiyaraaja
Production
company
Release date
  • 14 July 1984 (1984-07-14)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Pudhumai Penn (Modern Woman), released as AVMin Pudhumai Penn (AVM's Modern Woman), is a 1984 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Bharathiraja and produced by AVM Productions. The film, starring Pandiyan and Revathi, was released on 14 July 1984.

Contents

Plot

Seetha lives a simple life with her father, a Tamil teacher in a village. When Seetha's elder sister dies by suicide after dowry harassment from her husband's family, Seetha's father struggles to find a suitable groom for her because of his poverty. He meets Ram, a bank employee, and introduces him to Seetha; after a few days, they decide to marry.

Ram's mother dislikes Seetha's financial circumstances, and frequently insults her. Seetha tolerates this treatment because of her love for Ram but her father, unable to bear his daughter's suffering, also dies by suicide.

Ram invites his new boss, Rajasekar, to his home for lunch. Rajasekar is attracted to Seetha, who avoids him.

Ram's sister becomes pregnant by Ram's friend, and their families pressure them to marry. Unable to pay for the wedding, Ram steals money from the bank. He is caught by Rajasekar, who says that if Ram allows him to have sex with Seetha he will not inform the police about the theft. Angered by this suggestion, Ram beats Rajasekar up and leaves home.

Rajasekar is found dead the following day, and Ram is arrested by the police on suspicion of murder. Seetha seeks help from David, a criminal lawyer and friend of her father's, but learns that David has moved away. Seetha finds another lawyer for Ram, and begins modeling for a painter to pay for it and financially assist Ram's mother and sister. Ram's mother insults Seetha, however, accusing her of prostitution.

The painter asks Seetha to pose nude, which angers her; she stops modeling for him. She earns money from jobs such as cooking and doing other household chores.

Seetha sees David, follows him home, and asks him to represent Ram in court. David tells Seetha that he killed Rajasekar for raping his sister, and apologises for Ram's false arrest.

David appears in court and confesses to the murder, leading to Ram's release. Seetha learns that she is pregnant and looks forward to telling Ram, but his mother convinces him that he is not the baby's father. When Ram asks Seetha about the child's paternity, she considers suicide but decides to leave home and live on her own.

Cast

Production

AVM Productions wanted to make a film with Bharathiraja after the success of Puthiya Vaarpugal (1979). Several years later, they collaborated on the project which became Pudhumai Penn. [3] The film's screenplay was by R. Selvaraj, who said this story was initially intended to be filmed as Bharathiraja's debut: Sontha Veedu (transl. Own House), with R. Muthuraman and J. Jayalalithaa, which was shelved. [4] Pudhumai Penn was the acting debut of Dr. Rajasekhar, [5] and Pandiyan's only collaboration with AVM. [6] Revathi was 17 years old when she made the film. [7] The studio's name was added to the film's title (AVMin Pudhumai Penn), [8] and several scenes were filmed at Ooty. [9]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyrics by Vairamuthu. [10] The song "Kasthuri Maane" is a Mohanam raga, and "Kadhal Mayakkam" is a Shuddha Saveri ragam. [11]

SongSingersLength
"Oru Thendral" Malaysia Vasudevan, Chorus4:40
"Kasthuri Mane" K. J. Yesudas, Uma Ramanan 5:09
"Alamara Pondhu" Ilaiyaraaja 4:18
"Kathal Mayakam" P. Jayachandran, Sunanda 6:12

Release

Pudhumai Penn was released on 14 July 1984, [12] and ran for 208 days at Madurai's Mini Priya theatre. The film was a box-office failure during its first run. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran decided to re-release it with a lower ₹3 ticket price, which attracted a larger audience. [3] [13]

Critical reception

Jayamanmadhan of Kalki praised the film's direction and performances, but criticised its plot inconsistencies and was disappointed at Revathi's leaving home. [14] Balumani of Anna praised its acting, dialogue, and Bharathiraja and AVM for the film's revolutionary message. [15]

References

  1. ↑ Shekar, Anjana (8 January 2018). "From demure to daring, actor Revathy's multi-faceted film career". The News Minute . Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  2. ↑ Shivpprasadh, S. (14 June 2012). "Father figure". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 சரவணன், ஏவி.எம். (10 July 2005). "வரி விளக்கிய வள்ளல்!" (PDF). Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 44–47. Retrieved 18 April 2024– via Internet Archive.
  4. ↑ "16 வயதினிலே: 'அவருக்குப் படமெடுக்கத் தெரியுமானு தெரில'- விலகிய ஜெயலலிதா; வென்றுகாட்டிய பாரதிராஜா!". Cinema Vikatan (in Tamil). 15 September 2022. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "'Chennai 28' director Venkat Prabhu to helm project starring Dr Rajasekhar next". The News Minute . 24 May 2017. Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  6. ↑ Saravanan 2013, p. 425.
  7. ↑ Subhakeerthana, S (2 August 2019). "Suriya is my 'Jackpot': Jyotika" . The Indian Express . Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  8. ↑ Saravanan 2013, pp. 282–283.
  9. ↑ "புதுமை பெண்". Anna (in Tamil). 25 May 1984. p. 4. Archived from the original on 23 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025– via Endangered Archives Programme.
  10. ↑ "Pudhumai Penn- Nallavanukku Nallavan Tamil Film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraaja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "இளையராஜா 75". Dinamani (in Tamil). 17 June 2018. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
  12. ↑ Saravanan 2013, p. 278.
  13. ↑ Saravanan 2013, pp. 279–281.
  14. ↑ ஜெயமன்மதன் (29 July 1984). "ஏ.வி.எம்மின் புதுமைப்பெண்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 62. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  15. ↑ பாலுமணி (22 July 1984). "ஏ.வி.எம்.மின் புதுமைப்பெண்". Anna (in Tamil). p. 3. Archived from the original on 24 June 2025. Retrieved 24 June 2025– via Endangered Archives Programme.

Bibliography

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