Audio Beat: Mannaru

A still from the film Mannaru

What it is about…

The audio of Mannaru was released recently by directors S. P. Muthuraman and Gangai Amaran, and received by S. P. Jananathan and Thambi Ramaiah. Produced jointly by Ra. Saravanan, R. Ramesh Kumar and S. Asokarajan, the film is directed by S. Jaishankar and features Appukutty in the lead. The others in the cast are Swathi, Vaishali, Thambi Ramaiah, Pandiarajan, Premnath, Risha, Gopal, Rama, Jayasooriakanth, dance master Sivashankar and Venkal Rao. Agu Ajmal is the cinematographer; Udayan, the music composer; J. Thambi Ramaiah, the dialogue writer; and C. S. Prem, the editor. S. Jaishankar has taken care of the story, screenplay and direction.

Music highlights

The soundtrack has five songs. The first number, ‘Oiraiyellam Kaaval,’ written by Va. Karuppan, has been beautifully rendered by Krishnaraj and S. P. Sailaja in Madhyamavathi. Kammakatti Amali, Vaigarai Govindan, Vaigarai Selvi, Pazhaniamma and Krishnaraj lend their voices to ‘Dappa Dappa’, a karagattam number penned by the same lyricist. Actor Thambi Ramaiah has written two numbers, ‘Ingu Ethuvume Sariyilla’ sung by Velmurugan and ‘Dubu Dubu Dubaayie’ sung by Pavan, which are sure to impress listeners. The last song, ‘Dubu Dubu,’ is repeated minus one track.

What they say…

Producers Ra. Saravanan, R. Ramesh Kumar, S. Asokarajan : When director Jaishankar narrated the storyline of

Mannaru , we liked the subject and instantly greenlighted the project. The shooting was held for 55 days at a stretch in Kodaikanal and its surroundings. We are glad that two national award winners Appukutty and Thambi Ramaiah have acted in this film. It has come out well and we are sure it will be a hit at the box office.

Director S. Jaishankar: I started my career as an assistant to Thambi Ramaiah, K. Rajeswar and Kasturi Raja. The film’s protagonist feels he should be respected and appreciated by one and all. So he wishes to accomplish something that will be talked about. I am sure the audience will appreciate it.

Hero Appukutty: After Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai , I wanted to do something different and waited for the right moment. When Jaishankar told me the story of this film, I was a bit hesitant to take it up as it is a hero-oriented subject. But the way the screenplay was written, I fell for it. We rehearsed for a month before the shoot.

Music director Udayan: I have done seven feature films, out of which four have released. This is my seventh film. I am a constant at some of the best-known music companies such as V. N. Music Dreams (Norway), Ramiya Records (Switzerland) and Annai Music (the U.S.) I have also scored the music for 20 short films and half-a-dozen ad films. People are already praising the songs of Mannaru .