Kannin Manigal was produced by T Janakiraman, a noted screenwriter, cinematographer, story writer, producer and director. This film was one of his finest creations, in which he cast top stars MK Radha and Padmini in lead roles.
The film had an offbeat story. MK Radha is a senior police officer and MV Rajamma is his wife. They have a child who falls sick and is treated by Raja (Sundar). Radha’s wife is impressed by the treatment. However, Radha begins to suspect that they both are having an affair. Therefore, he begins to hate the doctor and bans him from entering his home. A poor girl Padma (Padmini) is arrested by the cops, and when she is brought to senior cop Radha, he treats her as his own daughter. Her lover is Raja (Sundar, again) and the police officer does not know that the girl’s lover is the person whom he hated earlier. In a fire accident, Raja loses his eyesight, and that is when the police officer comes to know that Raja is Padma’s lover. Padma begs him to restore her lover’s eyesight and the police officer is caught in a fix. How the problem is solved makes up the rest of the film.
No print of Kannin Manigal is traceable, and therefore it has not been possible to get a clear idea of the various incidents in the film.
The film did well at the box office. Composer SV Venkatraman contributed the music, and the film has several songs penned by an array of top writers and lyricists of Tamil Cinema, like Papanasam Sivan, Kambadasan, Subbu Arumugam, A Maruthakasi and Kavimani Desigavinayagam Pillai. The singers are NS Krishnan, NL Ganasaraswathi, ML Vasanthakumari, Saroja, Kasthoori, Sundaramma, R Balasaraswathi, TA Mothi and SV Venkatraman (the music composer). A song rendered on screen by NS Krishnan, ‘Kaalam Maari Poche’, a satire on modern life and living styles, became a hit.
Dialogue was written by AL Narayanan. The film was edited by BN Rao. T Janakiraman was in charge of cinematography.
Remembered for: The impressive performances of Padmini and MK Radha, and the hit song by NS Krishnan, ‘Kaalam Maari Poche’.
