Andha 7 Naatkal
Theatrical release poster
Directed byK. Bhagyaraj
Written byK. Bhagyaraj
Produced byP. S. Jayaraman
M. Nachiappan
StarringK. Bhagyaraj
Rajesh
Ambika
CinematographyP. Ganesh Pandian
Edited byR. Bhaskaran
Music byM. S. Viswanathan
Production
company
Srini Creations
Release date
  • 26 October 1981 (1981-10-26)
Running time
145 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Andha 7 Naatkal (pronounced [an̪ða eːɻu n̪aːʈkaɭ] transl. Those Seven Days) is a 1981 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by K. Bhagyaraj. The film stars him, Rajesh and Ambika, with Kallapetti Singaram and Master Haja Sheriff in supporting roles. It revolves around a woman (Ambika) who is forced into an arranged marriage with a widower (Rajesh), but still longs for her first love (Bhagyaraj).

The story of Andha 7 Naatkal was inspired by the life of the comedian J. P. Chandrababu; his marriage had failed after his wife revealed to him that she was in love with someone else. The film was produced by P. S. Jayaraman and M. Nachiappan for Srini Creations. The music was composed by M. S. Viswanathan, cinematography was handled by P. Ganesh Pandian, and editing by R. Bhaskaran.

Andha 7 Naatkal was released on 26 October 1981, Diwali day. The film was a commercial success, and Bhaskaran won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Editor. It became a trendsetter in Tamil cinema for highlighting the importance of traditional values and their relevance in society. The film was remade in Telugu as Radha Kalyanam (1981), in Hindi as Woh Saat Din (1983), and in Kannada as Love Maadi Nodu (1989).

Plot

Palakkad Madhavan is a naïve and aspiring music director. His assistant Gopi is a dholak player. Arriving in Madras, looking for a chance in music direction, they rent a thatched room on the terrace of the house of Vasanthi, a young woman. Madhavan commences his hunt for a chance in films, but does not succeed and struggles in penury. Madhavan's talents impress Vasanthi and soon she falls in love with him. However, Madhavan is reluctant and avoids her as he is still not settled in life. When he realises that she loves him despite his situation, he reciprocates.

Vasanthi's family is in deep financial trouble; to clear their debts, they arrange her marriage with Anand, a wealthy widower with a daughter. Seeing the plight of Vasanthi, Madhavan agrees to marry her secretly in a temple. However, just before the wedding, Vasanthi's family members and relatives arrive at the venue, attack Madhavan and take Vasanthi away. Vasanthi is forcibly married to Anand. On their wedding night, Vasanthi consumes poison but is saved in time by Anand, a doctor by profession.

Vasanthi tells Anand about her past, and he promises to send her back to Madhavan with just one request. He had agreed to remarriage due to pressure from his mother who is terminally ill and unlikely to survive for more than seven days. He requests Vasanthi to pretend to be his wife for these seven days so that his mother can die peacefully, after which Vasanthi can go back to Madhavan. She agrees, but at the same time slowly starts accepting his family and becomes close to Anand's daughter.

Anand locates Madhavan, poses as a film producer and offers Madhavan a chance to compose music for his next film. Madhavan agrees and starts composing music. Anand narrates the love story of Madhavan and Vasanthi and Vasanthi's wedding to Madhavan as the film's plot step by step, but with a different backdrop. Madhavan does not realise that the story being narrated is his real story and fervently focuses on song composition.

After Anand's mother dies on the seventh day, Anand invites Madhavan to come to his home for a discussion. He continues the story to the stage when the sick mother-in-law dies, and the heroine leaves her husband's home to live with her lover. He then asks Madhavan's opinion about the unusual climax. Though Madhavan does not like it, he appreciates it to please the "producer".

Anand takes Madhavan to his room, ostensibly to give him an advance, but instead offers Vasanthi to him. Madhavan initially hesitates, but soon agrees on the condition that Vasanthi only come in the same way when she was his love, without the thaali. Vasanthi, however, cannot bring herself to remove it. When Anand tries to, she resists. Madhavan then tells Anand that Madhavan's lover can be Anand's wife, but Anand's wife can never be Madhavan's lover again. He concludes that adhering to traditional values is the right ending, wishes the couple well and leaves.

Cast

Production

The story of Andha 7 Naatkal was inspired by the life of the comedian J. P. Chandrababu; his marriage had failed after his wife revealed to him that she was in love with someone else.[3][4] K. Bhagyaraj, besides directing, also wrote the story and screenplay. The film was produced by P. S. Jayaraman and M. Nachiappan for Srini Creations. Cinematography was handled by P. Ganesh Pandian, and editing by R. Bhaskaran.[1] The idea of creating the character of Palakkad Madhavan occurred to Bhagyaraj when he saw composer M. S. Viswanathan conversing in Malayalam with a Tamil-speaking tabla player. Bhagyaraj was initially to play the doctor Anand, but after considering the impact he could create in the role of Madhavan, he took that role and Rajesh was instead cast as Anand.[5] Although Ambika was having consecutive box-office failures, Bhagayaraj was convinced only she could pull off the role of Vasanthi and cast her, though others objected and wanted her replaced.[6]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by M. S. Viswanathan.[7] When poet Kuruvikkarambai Shanmugam was approached by Bhagyaraj to write lyrics for the film, he immediately agreed; the only song he wrote for the film was "Kavithai Arangerum",[8] set in the Carnatic raga known as Suddha Dhanyasi.[9]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Kavithai Arangerum"Kuruvikkarambai ShanmugamJayachandran, S. Janaki4:37
2."Swararaaga"KannadasanJayachandran, Vani Jairam4:24
3."Enni Irundhadhu"VairamuthuMalaysia Vasudevan, Vani Jairam4:42
4."Thendraladhu Unnidathil"KannadasanJayachandran, S. Janaki4:52
Total length:18:35

Release and reception

Andha 7 Naatkal was released on 26 October 1981, Diwali day.[10] Reviewing the film for Ananda Vikatan, Rajesh rated the film 58 out of 100.[11] Nalini Sastry of Kalki praised Bhagyaraj for his acting and direction, while also appreciating the performances of Ambika and Haja Sharif. She praised the climax, calling it the main highlight of the film and concluded that Bhagyaraj had perfected the trick of moving the film in a humorous manner and then making it serious towards the end.[12] Despite facing competition from other Diwali releases such as Tik Tik Tik and Ranuva Veeran, the film emerged a commercial success,[3] and Bhaskaran won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Editor.[5]

Remakes

Year Film Language Ref.
1981 Radha Kalyanam Telugu [13]
1983 Woh Saat Din Hindi [14]
1989 Love Maadi Nodu Kannada [15]

Legacy

Andha 7 Naatkal became a trendsetter in Tamil cinema for highlighting the importance of traditional values and their relevance in society.[1] Bhagyaraj's role as Madhavan created an such impact that whenever he went to Kerala, people would ask him to speak some dialogues from the film. The 2015 film Palakkattu Madhavan was named after the character.[16] The skit "Enakkum Unakkum" was later used in Mookuthi Amman (2020) as the song Engels Ramasamy (RJ Balaji) has in mind which the title character (Nayanthara) correctly guesses.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Dhananjayan 2011, p. 70.
  2. 1 2 3 "Antha Ezhu Naatkal". The Star. Malaysia. 20 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 கண்ணன், சுரேஷ் (6 July 2020). "சந்திரபாபு வாழ்க்கை; பாரதிராஜா எடுக்க மறுத்த கிளைமாக்ஸ்... பாக்யராஜின் 'அந்த 7 நாட்கள்' ஜெயித்த கதை!" [Chandrababu's life; the climax Bharathiraja refused to take... Bhagyaraj's 'Andha 7 Naatkal' is a winning story!]. Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  4. ↑ Raman, Mohan (18 June 2016). "Mandapam to moviedom". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  5. 1 2 Dhananjayan 2011, p. 71.
  6. ↑ ராம்ஜி, வி. (16 August 2020). "தனித்துவ நடிப்பால் ஒளிர்ந்த அம்பிகா – அம்பிகா பிறந்தநாள் ஸ்பெஷல்" [Ambika, who shone with her unique acting – Ambika birthday special]. Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Andha 7 Natkal Tamil Film EP Vinyl Record by M.S.Viswanathan". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  8. ↑ "பாக்யராஜ் கண்டெடுத்த பாடலாசிரியர்" [The songwriter discovered by Bhagyaraj]. Kungumam (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  9. ↑ Sundararaman (2007) [2005]. Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Pichhamal Chintamani. p. 138. OCLC 295034757.
  10. ↑ ராம்ஜி, வி. (28 October 2020). "மறக்க முடியாத 'பாலக்காட்டு மாதவன், வசந்தி, டாக்டர், கோபி'... 39 ஆண்டுகளாக நினைவில் நிற்கும் 'அந்த 7 நாட்கள்'!" [Unforgettable ‘Palakkad Madhavan, Vasanthi, Doctor, Gopi’ ... ‘Andha 7 Naatkal’ that has been remembered for 39 years!]. Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  11. ↑ ராஜேஷ் (31 October 1981). "அந்த 7 நாட்கள் : சினிமா விமர்சனம்" [Andha 7 Naatkal : Movie Review]. Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 11 May 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  12. ↑ சாஸ்திரி, நளினி (8 November 1981). "அந்த 7 நாட்கள்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 63. Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  13. ↑ Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 55.
  14. ↑ Rajadhyaksha & Willemen 1998, p. 59.
  15. ↑ "Black & White Photographs From The Cinema Resource Centre Archives (I)". The Cinema Resource Centre. 6 April 2020. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  16. ↑ "Vivek to do a Bhagyaraj". The New Indian Express. 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  17. ↑ S, Srivatsan (14 November 2020). "'Mookuthi Amman' movie review: A superb Urvashi and Nayanthara in a somewhat middling dramedy". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.

Bibliography

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