Thenmavin Kombath

Thenmavin Kompath (transl. On the Branch of the Honey Sweet Mango Tree) is a 1994 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan. It was produced and edited by N. Gopalakrishnan. The film stars Mohanlal, Shobana, and Nedumudi Venu, with Kaviyoor Ponnamma, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Sukumari, Kuthiravattam Pappu, Sreenivasan, Sankaradi, and Sharat Saxena in supporting roles. The background score was composed by S. P. Venkatesh, while the Berny-Ignatius duo composed the songs. K. V. Anand was the cinematographer.

Thenmavin Kompath
Promotional advertisement
Directed byPriyadarshan
Written byPriyadarshan
Produced byN. Gopalakrishnan
StarringMohanlal
Shobana
Nedumudi Venu
CinematographyK. V. Anand
Edited byN. Gopalakrishnan
Music bySongs:
Berny-Ignatius
Score:
S. P. Venkatesh
Production
company
Prasidhi Creations
Distributed bySurya Cini Arts
Sudev Release
Release date
  • 13 May 1994 (1994-05-13)
[1]
Running time
165 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

The film performed well at the box office and was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year.[2][3] The film won two National Film Awards—Best Cinematography for Anand and Best Production Design for Sabu Cyril, and five Kerala State Film Awards (including Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value).[4] Thenmavin Kombath is now considered by audiences and critics to be among the best comedy films in Malayalam cinema.[5]

The film was remade in Tamil as Muthu (1995), in Hindi as Saat Rang Ke Sapne (1998) by Priyadarshan himself and in Kannada as Sahukara (2004). The subplot of a man becoming a stranger amidst people speaking in a language unknown to him went on to inspire the core plot of the 2013 Hindi film Chennai Express.[6]

Plot

The story revolves around Manikyan, Sreekrishnan, Karthumpi, and the love triangle between them. Initially, Manikyan and Karthumpi don't get along initially and get into intense arguments. But they fall in love as time goes on. Manikyan works for Sreekrishnan and Sreekrishnan sees him as a brother. Appakkala is a servant of Sreekrishnan and has a rivalry with Manikyan.

Once when they both are returning from a fair after shopping, Sreekrishnan sees Karthumpi and gets attracted. But then a fight erupts there and they all have to flee. Sreekrishnan flees alone, while Manikyan has to take Karthumpi with him. At night, he flees in the opposite direction and so loses his way. Karthumpi knows the way back, but she pretends she does not know it and enjoys the fun. Manikyan has to struggle to get out of that place. Manikyan says a crude word to a shop owner, an old lady and also peeks into a room with a married couple without consent. He is tied to a tree as punishment but then freed as he apologizes. It is Karthumpi who causes Manikyan to land in trouble because he didn't understand what the crude word meant. Karthumpi reveals that she is homeless and that her sister was murdered by a policeman, Mallikettu who is also her brother-in-law. During this time, they develop feelings for each other.

Upon returning to Manikyan's village, Sreekrishnan proposes to her and plans to marry her. Manikyan is unable to resist as Sreekrishnan is like an elder brother to him. But Karthumpi opposes it. When Sreekrishnan gets to know about this, he becomes furious and sees Manikyan as his rival and tries to take revenge. Mallikettu arrives and attacks Sreekrishnan. Manikyan interferes and engages in a duel with the policeman. Manikyan wins the duel. The policeman faints and Manikyan warns him that he would chop his limbs off the next time.

Another day, Appakala spreads lies that Manikyan murdered Sreekrishnan upon finding his flip-flop and towel in the pond. Manikyan tries to prove his innocence to his father and mother, but they don't believe him. Karthumpi feels sympathetic towards Manikyan. Manikyan runs into Appakala and is furious with Appakala spreading lies about him. They both engage in a fight. The townsfolk chases Manikyan and Karthumpi through the woods and the water and through a dusty road. Finally, Sreekrishnan appears and everyone stops chasing. Everyone in town realizes that Appakalan has fooled them all. He is punished by making him do sit ups in front of everyone. Sreekrishnan realizes his mistakes and marries the woman who loved him for so long and also reconciles with Manikyan as he unites with Karthumpi.

Cast

Soundtrack
Thenmavin Kombath
Soundtrack album by
Berny-Ignatius
Released13 May 1994 (India)
GenreFilm soundtrack
LabelMagnasound, Sony Music India
Berny-Ignatius chronology
Kaazhchakkappuram
(1992)		 Thenmavin Kombath
(1994)		 Manathe Kottaram
(1994)

R. D. Burman was initially signed in as the music composer for the film, as revealed by Burman himself in an interview to journalists in Cochin, during his visit to the city, just a few weeks before his death. But he died before he could complete the compositions of the film and was later replaced.

Berny-Ignatius was accused for plagiarism for at least three of the songs in the film. The song "Ente Manasinoru Naanam" is said to be an adaptation of the popular Hindi classic "Piya Milanko Jaana", sung by Pankaj Mullick. Another song in the film, "Nila Pongal" is accused to be an imitation of a Bengali song, "Sun Mere Bandhu Re". The "Manam Thelinje vanne" song is a copy of the Ilaiyaraaja song "Aasai Athigam" from the Tamil movie "Marupadiyum". Berny-Ignatius were awarded the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director despite the allegations, which created a controversy. Veteran music director G. Devarajan returned three of the four state awards he had won claiming that the government was honouring pirates in film music.[8]

All lyrics are written by Girish Puthenchery; all music is composed by Berny-Ignatius

No.TitleArtist(s)Length
1."Nila Pongal"Malgudi Subha03:31
2."Karutha Penne"M. G. Sreekumar, K. S. Chitra04:47
3."Maanam Thelinge"M. G. Sreekumar, K. S. Chitra04:04
4."Kallipoonkuyile"M. G. Sreekumar04:17
5."Ente Manasinoru"M. G. Sreekumar, Sujatha Mohan04:11

Reception

The film ran for more than 250 days in theatres and was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year [9][10] The film is remembered as one of the best comedy films in the history of Malayalam cinema.[11] Film critic Kozhikodan included the film on his list of the 10 best Malayalam movies of all time.[12]

Awards
National Film Awards[13]
Filmfare Awards South
Kerala State Film Awards[14]

Remakes

The film was remade in Tamil as Muthu (1995),[15] in Hindi as Saat Rang Ke Sapne (1998) by Priyadarshan himself[16] in Bengali Bangladesh as Raja and in Kannada as Sahukara (2004).[17].

References
  1. "Thenmaavin Kombathu - MSIdb". MSIdb.org. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  2. "Feel blessed to get a memento from Mohanlal: Jayasurya". The Times of India. 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  3. "Aamayum Muyalum-First Look". Archived from the original on 22 October 2014.
  4. Malayalamcinema.com, Official website of AMMA Archived 14 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Malayalamcinema.com (1985-10-26). Retrieved on 2012-02-02.
  5. "Dileep is 50 percent of Mohanlal: Priyadarshan". Sify.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2004.
  6. "Chennai Express: Rantings of an Indian Cine-goer". 11 August 2013. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  7. Rajan, Silpa (17 September 2021). "#FilmyFriday: Thenmavin Kombathu - Priyadarshan did what he does best - entertaining!". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  8. "Music award enmeshed in row" (PDF). The Times of India. Bombay. 24 May 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  9. "#FilmyFriday: Thenmavin Kombathu - Priyadarshan did what he does best - entertaining! - Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  10. "Boeing Boeing to Minnaram: 5 box office hit movies of Mohanlal and Priyadarshan". www.zoomtventertainment.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
  11. "10 Mollywood films that ran for the longest time". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
  12. Kozhikodan (2001). മലയാള സിനിമയിലെ എക്കാലത്തെയും മികച്ച പത്ത് ചിത്രങ്ങൾ [Malayala Cinemayile Ekkalatheyum Mikacha Pathu Chithrangal: 10 Best Films of All Time in Malayalam Cinema]. Calicut, India: Poorna Publications.
  13. 42nd National Film Award(1994) Archived 12 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  14. "STATE FILM AWARDS-1994". prd.kerala.gov.in. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. "KS Ravikumar: Even if it's a remake, I only take the basic story and do my own screenplay". The Times of India. 21 September 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  16. Jha, Lata (16 January 2017). "Ten times south Indian filmmakers remade their own films in Hindi". Mint. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  17. "Best of both". The Hindu. 23 August 2004. Archived from the original on 4 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
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