Mahanadhi 1994

Cast : Kamal Hassan, Sukanya, Cochin Haneefa, Poornam Vishwanath, S.N. Lakshmi

Plot and Summary :

Let me begin by telling that this film is not for the light hearted, Though it is quite old and it was taken at a period where indian directors were not very bold in taking up such delicate issues handled in the film, It is not the subjects spoken about in the film which makes it really hard hitting but the plot and the performance as such. there are some films which will have a lasting effect even the film is over and Mahanadhi comes somewhere at the top. Directed by Santhana Bharathi and Kamal Hassan who is the protagonist also  has the credits for story Screenplay and dialogues. The film begins in a prison where Krishna( Played by Kamal Hassan) meets Panjabakesan ( Played by Poornam Vishwanath) his prison mate and two storyline line run in the film in parallel, one being the life of krishna in the Prison and another his flashback and how he comes to Prison in the first place. The film is basically the life of Krishna, How his life gets changed when he plans to move from his village to the city in search of money, good education and a better life. How he become from an innocent, naive, do- gooder to a person who gains realisation by certain incidents which changes his life forever.

Kamal's role as Krishnasamy is one of the tragic roles which Kamal has ever portrayed till date. Though it begins with much merry in the beginning, the hardship which Krishna undergoes is incomparable. I felt at the beginning of the film that is it really Kamal who is essaying the role? Why is he underplaying it so much? Halfway through the film when he is het by the people who take down his Chit fund Company i realised it, His performance is so subtle that we truly sympathise for the character on screen. Don't get me wrong, Kamal does give his trademark in this film too!.  At the beginning of the film there is a conversation about if he is a believer in God and there is a lot of discussion about the good and the bad in the society.

It is the second of the film that hits you really hard, Krishna life tumbles down and he looses both both his children and his quest to find them after his time in jail is the motive of the screenplay. But it is not the suspense which keeps us on the seats , the evil of the society is the main element of the film which hits us so hard that we forget Kamal's great performance and we begin to sympathise with Krishna as if he is a real character. It is surely one of his best performances.

 I get a feeling that i watched a film by Mysskin's film during the climax of the film when Kamal meets Venkatachalam and Venkatachalam immediately asks him "Which girl's father are you ?", such quirkiness and then the entire dialogue between them is just like any other Mysskin's film. May be Mysskin was inspired from Mahanadhi. Looking at the storyline now, Mahanadhi is just a revenge story, The protagonist takes revenge on the villain but it is much more than that. It is a self realisation that Krishna undergoes through out the film which is beautifully portrayed and it is not as if the evil in the society ends and Krishna's life gets better at the end of the film, Just before the Climax of the film, though Krishna finds both his children after lots of struggle his predicaments become even bigger when his realises that he is suspected for a murder. Again He speaks about God and the need to be self righteous and poses a big question of why to live in a righteous way even though the evil in the society is respected ?

Mahanadhi is till date the most saddest film in tamil. Not because of the gruesome in the film or because of the hardships that Kamal faces in the film. It is because it portrays some of the truths which happens in the society and it is a very bold attempt to handle such a subject , Kudos to the director. They way kamal makes us cry is quite poetic, this is a small instance in the film. His daughter Kaveri has the habit of speaking in the sleep, in the beginning of the film she mumbles about having a Mercedes car , speaking good english and going to London. Near the climax when Krishna brings her home , she mumbles again but this time about the nightmares in the brothal, really poetic, Kamal's cries to his wife saying "She will not forget this nightmare , what will i do".

The way Kamal names this film and all the characters in the film and the geographic location of the film is again trademark kamal, always with another meaning. All his family members have names of rivers - Krishna, Kaveri, Barani and even his wife Yamuna. He begins near Kaveri and then to Cooam and then finally in Calcutta in the banks of Ganga. Truly a remarkable film!. Mahanadhi won 41th National award for Best Feature film and Kamal's performance in the film in listed as one of the 25 best performances in Tamil cinema.