Vaidehi Kathirunthal
Vaidehi Kathirunthal is a 1984 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by R. Sundarrajan. The film stars Vijayakanth and Revathi as two villagers, Vellaisamy and Vaidehi, whose lives undergo a drastic turn when they meet. They discover that they must join forces to save a young couple from the wrath of the other villagers.
Vaidehi Kaathirundhals story was developed based on songs that Ilaiyaraaja had composed, hoping to use them in potential film. The film was released on 23 October 1984, became a commercial success and emerged a breakthrough in Vijayakanth's career. It was remade in Telugu as Manchi Manasulu, and in Kannada as Preethi Nee Illade Naa Hegirali.
Plot
Vellaisamy is an unkempt derelict who lives by the village temple doing menial jobs to survive but has an impressive singing ability. Vaidehi is a young widow who lives in the village with her sorrowing, alcoholic father. Minutes after Vaidehi's marriage, the groom and his parents died in a boat accident. This led to the village ostracising her and not letting her practice dance, which she was talented in. Her father, though rich, took to drinking upon seeing his daughter's fate.One day when some villagers spot Vellaisamy scribbling Vaidehi's name on the temple walls, rumours about them start circling. When a distressed Vaidehi approaches and questions Vellaisamy why he has been writing her name on the walls, he reveals his tragic past and how he lost the woman of his affection, also named Vaidehi.
Vellaisamy and his widowed mother lived in another village. His cousin Vaidehi, who was also brought up with him, had high hopes of marrying him. Despite being in love with Vaidehi, Vellaisamy neglected her for fun. After buying wedding jewels for Vaidehi, he played a final prank on her by telling her that he is engaged to someone else. Distraught, Vaidehi ate poisonous seeds and died in Vellaisamy's arms. Within weeks, Vellaisamy's mother also died. Vellaisamy gave his properties to poor people and moved to his present village for closure.
Vellaisamy and Vaidehi now share a mutual respect for each other's melancholic lives but soon realise that they need to work together to unite Nataraj and Sengamalam, a young couple in love, against the wrath of the whole village, particularly Sengamalam's ruthless brother Vellikizhamai Ramasamy. Vellaisamy is killed by Ramasamy's goons in the melee, and the young lovers are united, while Vaidehi is left alone.
Production
After Ilaiyaraaja finished composing the songs of Kaakki Sattai in half-a-day, well before the three-day schedule, he started to compose other songs since he was free at that time; he ended up composing six songs, hoping to use them in a potential film. Producer-lyricist Panchu Arunachalam, who used to listen to Ilaiyaraaja's unused songs and pick any of them he liked for future projects, wanted one of the six tunes for the film that would become Vaidehi Kathirunthal. But Ilaiyaraaja insisted that he listen to all six tunes; the producer did so, and the storyline of Vaidehi Kathirunthal was developed based on them.The title was derived from a line from the song "Vasanthathil Orr Naal" from Moondru Deivangal. The film was written and directed by R. Sundarrajan, and produced by Thooyavan under Appu Movies, while Arunachalam was credited as presenter. Cinematography was handled by Raja Rajan, and editing by M. Shrinivasan and B. Krishnakumar. Vijayakanth agreed to play a "soft role" at a time when he was branded an action hero. Anitha Kuppusamy was initially offered to be the lead actress, but she declined, citing a lack of interest in an acting career; the role went to Revathi. This was the Tamil debut of Kannada actress Pramila Joshai, and the feature film debut of T. S. Raghavendra and Sivankumar. Shooting took place predominantly at the banks of the Noyyal River.