My Dear Marthandan
| My Dear Marthandan | |
|---|---|
 Poster
| |
| Directed by | Pratap Pothen |
| Screenplay by | Pratap Pothen |
| Story by | G. M. Kumar |
| Produced by | Santhi Narayanasamy C. T. Manohar |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ashok Kumar |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | Ilaiyaraaja |
Production company |
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Release date |
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Running time |
114 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
My Dear Marthandan is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Pratap Pothen and produced by Sivaji Productions, starring Prabhu and Khushbu. It is loosely based on the 1988 American film Coming to America. The film was released on 24 August 1990.
Plot
Marthandan lives with his parents in a palace. He sets out to Chennai to find a girl. There he meets "Idea Mani", who is very cunning and tries to make money from the innocent Marthandan in comical ways. He meets a girl named Rani in a bakery and befriends her. The rest of the story is about how he tries to win her over and how he understands the value of money.
Cast
- Prabhu as Marthandan
- Khushbu as Rani
- Goundamani as Idea Mani
- S. S. Chandran as Maharaja
- Nizhalgal Ravi as Pankaj
- Kovai Sarala as Maharani
- Vennira Aadai Moorthy as Hotel Owner
- Thyagu as Kattupanni
- Pandu as Umapathy
- Kumarimuthu as Teacher
- Kullamani
- Chinni Jayanth
- R. S. Shivaji as Sengodan
- Oru Viral Krishna Rao
- Disco Shanti
- Ponnambalam
- Subbu Panchu Arunachalam as the man who teases Rani (uncredited)
- Ramkumar Ganesan (Guest appearance)
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Oh Alagu Nilavu" | Piraisoodan | Mano | |
| 2. | "Aaduthu Paar" | Gangai Amaran | Ilaiyaraaja | |
| 3. | "Illavattam Kai thattum" | Vaali | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki | |
| 4. | "Kalyana Mapillaikku" | Gangai Amaran | S. P. Sailaja | |
| 5. | "My Dear Marthandan" | Gangai Amaran | Ilaiyaraaja | |
| 6. | "Oh Maharaja" | Gangai Amaran | Sasi Rekha | |
| 7. | "Paakku Vethala" | Vaali | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | |
| 8. | "Satham Varamal" | Vaali | Mano, K. S. Chithra | |
| 9. | "Uttalakadi" | Gangai Amaran | Gangai Amaran, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam |
Release and reception
My Dear Marthandan was released on 24 August 1990. N. Krishnaswamy of The Indian Express wrote, "It has some idealism (message: money cannot buy happiness), it has comical situations abounding and as it is, it is clean, it has engaging music and songs (Ilayaraja) and dance, and it is photographed with an artistry and creativity that only an Ashok Kumar is capable of. It is a technically perfect film that way". Ravi, writing for Kalki, said the film's plus points were the cinematography and music.