Nadigan

Nadigan
Poster
Directed by	P. Vasu
Screenplay by	P. Vasu
Based on	Professor
Produced by	M. Ramanathan
Starring	Sathyaraj Khushbu
Cinematography	Ashok Kumar
Edited by	P. Mohan Raj
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Production company	Raj Films International
Release date	30 November 1990 (1990-11-30)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Nadigan (transl. Actor) is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language comedy thriller film written directed by P. Vasu. A remake of the Hindi film Professor (1962), it stars Sathyaraj and Khushbu. The film was released on 30 November 1990 and became a critical and commercial success, winning four Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.

Plot

Raja's mother requires a major operation to be done. However, due to poverty, Raja decides to look for a job in Ooty. While travelling on a train with his mother to Ooty, he meets Devaraj, who is a music teacher travelling to island estate – Ooty for a ₹3,000 (equivalent to ₹29,000 or US$340 in 2023) monthly waged job. He carries with him a recommendation letter with a contact address. While alighting, the suitcases which resembles that of Raja and Devaraj, are interchanged. So by mistake, Raja takes away the suitcase. Upon reaching their room, he finds the letter, and due to the critical situation of his mother, he decides to take the job. So he joins the job, first changing himself into an old man by sticking a beard and white hair. There, he finds Baby Amma, the guardian of two young women and two children. He is put in to look after them as a guardian and teacher. Meanwhile, Raja's mother is in critical condition. What transpires form the crux of the story.

Cast

• Sathyaraj as Raja
• Khushbu as Geetha
• Manorama as Anandha Karpagavalli[1]
• Goundamani as Kurangu Kannayiram
• Vennira Aadai Moorthy as Devaraj
• Prathapachandran as Vishwanathan
• Kundara Johny
• Chinni Jayanth as Chinni
• Oru Viral Krishna Rao as Policeman
• Pandu as Pandu
• Ramu as Raghu
• Thalapathy Dinesh
• Sakthi Vasu as Prashanth
• Natasha Ali as Dippa

Production

Nadigan is a remake of the Hindi film Professor (1962).[2] Although the story is set primarily in Ooty, the film was shot in Kodaikanal.[3]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.[4][5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Aattama Paattama"	Vaali	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam	04:52
2.	"Deva Malligai"	Pulamaipithan	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki	04:45
3.	"Vela Vanthu"	Vaali	Malaysia Vasudevan	04:47
4.	"Enge Nimmathi"	Ilaiyaraaja	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam	04:51
5.	"Adi Veluthu"	Vaali	K. S. Chithra, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam	05:04
Total length:				29:24

Release and reception

Nadigan was released on 30 November 1990.[6] N. Krishnaswamy of The Indian Express praised Sathyaraj's acting and Ashok Kumar's cinematography.[7] C. R. K. of Kalki praised the film's humour, music and cinematography.[8] The film was a success, running for over 125 days in theatres.[9] It won the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Best Dialogue Writer (Vasu), Special Award for Best Actor (Sathyaraj), Best Art Director (Salam) and Best Stunt Director (Vikram Dharma).[10]

References

1. Yamunan, Sruthisagar (12 October 2015). "When the camera rolled, she lived the character'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
2. Chatterji, Shoma A (19 October 2017). "Lekh Tandon". Upperstall.com. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
3. "Sibiraj recollects the shooting of Nadigan as the film marks its 3oth anniversary". The Times of India. 30 November 2020. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
4. "Nadigan Tamil film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
5. "Nadigan (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) - EP". Apple Music. 30 November 1990. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
6. "'நடிகன்' வெளியாகி 30 ஆண்டுகள் நிறைவு: சிபிராஜ் நெகிழ்ச்சி". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 30 November 2020. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
7. Krishnaswamy, N. (30 November 1990). "Nadigan". The Indian Express. p. 7. Retrieved 27 February 2019 – via Google News Archive.
8. சி. ஆர். கே. (16 December 1990). "நடிகன்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 21. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2022 – via Internet Archive.
9. "32 வருடங்களை நிறைவு செய்த சத்யராஜின் நடிகன்!". News18 (in Tamil). 1 December 2022. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
10. "Chinnathambi bags six awards". The Indian Express. 30 October 1992. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2021 – via Google News Archive.

External links

• Nadigan at IMDb