| Muthu | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Muthu_film_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | K. S. Ravikumar |
| Screenplay by | K. S. Ravikumar |
| Based on | Thenmavin Kombath |
| Produced by | Rajam Balachander Pushpa Kandaswamy |
| Starring | Rajinikanth Meena |
| Cinematography | Ashok Rajan |
| Edited by | K. Thanikachalam |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Sivasakthi Movie Makers |
Release date |
|
Running time | 165 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Box office | ¥400 million ($3.06 million)[2] |
Muthu (transl. Pearl)[a] is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language masala film[3] written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar, and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth and Meena, with Sarath Babu, Radha Ravi, Senthil, Vadivelu, Jayabharathi, Subhashri and Ponnambalam all acting in supporting roles. It is a remake of the Malayalam film Thenmavin Kombath (1994). The film revolves around a zamindar and his worker falling in love with the same woman who, unknown to the zamindar, loves the worker exclusively.
After Rajinikanth narrated the outline of Thenmavin Kombath, he told Ravikumar to develop the screenplay of the remake without watching the original film. Although largely written to suit the tastes of Tamil-speaking audiences, the remake retains the core premise of the original, while adding new plot details and characters. Ashok Rajan acted as the film's cinematographer. Principal photography began in June 1995 and took place in Mysore, Madras and Kerala. The film was edited by K. Thanikachalam and the music composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics written by Vairamuthu.
Muthu was released on 23 October 1995, during the Diwali holiday period, and became a silver jubilee hit. Rajinikanth won various awards for his performance, including the Tamil Nadu State Film Award and the Cinema Express Award, both for Best Actor. A dubbed Japanese version titled Muthu Odoru Maharaja (transl. Muthu – The Dancing Maharaja) was released in 1998 and became the highest-grossing Indian film in Japan, a record it held for 24 years. The film sparked a short-lived boom of Indian films released in Japan and helping Rajinikanth gain a large fan following there. The film was remade in Kannada as Sahukara in 2004.
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