Mullum Malarum

aka A Thorn and a Flower 1978 143’ col Tamil d/s J. Mahendran pc Ananthi Films st Uma Chandran lyr Kannadasan, Panchu Arunachalam, Gangai Amaran m Ilaiyaraja lp Rajnikant, Sarath Babu, Fatafat Jayalakshmi, Shobha

Echoing Pasamalar (1961), the successful playwright and director Mahendran’s debut feature provides a low-key version of the orphaned brother and sister theme. The short- tempered Kali (Rajnikant) is a worker at a power station and possessively protects his sister Valli (Shobha). In a clash with the new engineer, Kumaran (Babu), he is fired, gets drunk and loses his hand in an accident. Encouraged by Kali’s wife Manga (Jayalakshmi), Kumaran forms a relationship with Kali’s sister and Kali eventually matures enough to realise he cannot monopolise her for ever.

Film