Naan Petha Magane

1995 127’ col Tamil d/s V. Shekhar pc Kannappan lyr Vali c Rajendran m Chandra Bose lp Nizhalgal Ravi, Urvashi, Radhika, Manorama, Kovai Sarala, Radhabai

When Andal’s (Manorama) only son Ravi (Ravi) grows up, she dominates every aspect of his life fearing that he might fall for a modern woman who, in turn, might threaten Andal’s control over her domestic space. She makes her son marry Uma Maheshwari (Urvashi), a docile maid-servant. When Uma demonstrates some tendencies towards independence, Andal forces her daughter-in-law to commit suicide. Andal is arrested, but acquitted in court even though her own son believes her guilty. Although initially received with some protest, the film went on to become a major hit mainly with urban middle class audiences responding e.g. to Uma’s dialogues to her mother-in-law like ‘Since you feed and dress and bathe your son, why do you give me the mangalsutra, you could have worn it yourself’ (i.e. you could have married your son).

Film