Kumbakonam Gopalu

Kumbakonam Gopalu is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by Keyaar, starring Pandiarajan, Mayoori, Janagaraj and Thyagu. It is a remake of the 1991 Kannada film Gauri Ganesha.[1] Child actor Mahendran won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Child Artist.[2][3]

Kumbakonam Gopalu
Title card
Directed byKeyaar
Written byN. Prasannakumar (dialogues)
Screenplay byKeyaar
Based onGauri Ganesha
Produced byA. V. Subba Rao
StarringPandiarajan
Mayuri
Janagaraj
Thyagu
CinematographyB. L. Rao
Edited byShyam Mukherjee
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Prasath Art Productions
Release date
  • 26 November 1998 (1998-11-26)
Running time
135 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot

Gopal is a petty trickster who cheats and lies to make a false living. One day, he turns himself into an hospital, faking an abdominal issue, solely to get free lodging and food, and also his love interest Geetha. At the hospital Gopal comes across a recent patient named Gauri who has died of heart failure. Gopal gets a sudden idea and he decides to take her belongings and make some money of them, but instead finds her diary. He realizes that Gauri has come across 3 men who had significant influence in her life. The first man was her former boss who had proposed indecently to sleep with her. The second man wanted her to pretend that they are married to fool his parents in return for money for her heart treatment. The last man is a friend of the 2nd man, and thought that he had slept with her in a drunken state. The truth is that none of the men had any physical contact with her. Gopal devises a plan to extract money from these men and their families. He writes letters to them stating that Gauri has given birth to their son and named him Ganesh. After a series of funny events, (such as the three booking almost neighbouring rooms on the same floor of the same hotel) all the three come to meet Gopal on the same day, and the film ends when Gopal blackmails them into submission.

Cast

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.[4] The song "Oru Nandhavanam" was reused version of Ilayaraja's own Malayalam song "Manikuttikurumbulla" from the Malayalam film Kaliyoonjal.

SongSingersLyricsLength (m:ss)
"Butter Fly Oh"Swarnalatha, P. UnnikrishnanKamakodiyan04:52
"Enna Genmamo"IlaiyaraajaPonnadiyan05:01
"Golmal Gopal"Karthik Raja, Yuvan Shankar RajaVaasan04:57
"Oru Nandavanam"Ilaiyaraaja04:48
"Super Pattu Mettu"P. Unnikrishnan, Master MukunthMu. Metha04:45

Release and reception

A critic from Deccan Herald wrote "I can't find a word that can aptly describe this film — vulgar, tacky, obscene would all fit, but its worse than all that put together. This is one of those really disgusting films that leaves a stain on your mind".[1] In contrast, a reviewer from The Hindu wrote the director's "approach in the second- half however enlivens the film".[5] Two years after release, the producers were given a ₹5 lakh (equivalent to ₹21 lakh or US$26,000 in 2023) subsidy by the Tamil Nadu government along with several other films.[6]

References
  1. Ramesh, Kala Krishnan (31 January 1999). "Kumbakonam Gopalu". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 14 February 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  2. "28 Years of Master Mahendran- Five memorable performances". The Times of India. 8 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  3. "Film awards announced". The Hindu. 18 July 2000. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  4. "Kumbakonam Gopalu". JioSaavn. Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  5. Ramanujam, D. S. (27 November 1998). "Film Reviews: Hyderabad Blues / China Gate / Kumbakonam Gopalu". The Hindu. p. 26. Archived from the original on 5 June 2001. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  6. Mass Media in India. Publications Division. 2001. p. 181. ISBN 9788123009421. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
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