Monisha En Monalisa
| Monisha En Monalisa | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Directed by | T. Rajendar |
| Written by | T. Rajendar |
| Produced by | T. Rajendar |
| Starring | Ramankanth Mumtaj |
| Cinematography | T. Rajendar |
| Edited by | P. R. Shanmugam |
| Music by | T. Rajendar |
Production company | Chimbu Cine Arts |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Monisha En Monalisa (transl. Monisha is my Monalisa) is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romance film written, directed and produced by T. Rajendar[1] who also composed the music and portrayed a supporting role as a philosopher, Kaadhaldasan. It stars Ramankanth (Raman Trikha) and Mumtaj in the lead love roles. T. Rajendar's sons, Silambarasan and Kuralarasan, appear in the opening song of the film, "Monisha", sung by the former.
Monisha En Monalisa released on 12 April 1999. It received negative reviews and became a commercial failure.
Plot
[edit] | This article needs an improved plot summary. (July 2023) |
Rahul lives a miserable existence – he is ill-treated by his superficial step-mother (Sharmila's aunt), and largely ignored by his meek father. He is also irritated by his housemate Sharmila. His world brightens when he attends pop singer Monisha's concert. He instantly falls in love with her and pursues her by wooing her over the phone. Monisha, who hates men and the concept of love itself, initially resists his advances. However, his relentless efforts bear fruit and she agrees to meet him in person. Unfortunately, Rahul meets with an accident on the way over and dies. The film hinges on whether Monisha will ever get to meet her lover.
Cast
[edit]- Raman Trikha as Rahul (credited as Ramakanth)
- Mumtaj as Monisha
- T. Rajendar as Kaadhaldasan (director)
- Meenal Pendse as Sharmila
- Deepshika as Shalini, Monisha's PA and friend
- Vadivelu
- Ravi Kishan as Ravi
- Hemant Pandey
- Kalpana Iyer
- Vennira Aadai Moorthy as Monisha's doctor
- Balasaravanan
- Silambarasan in a song appearance
- Kuralarasan in a song appearance
Production
[edit]The song Tholaipesi Enna was shot at a grand budget of ₹10 million, but the film had troubles after floods in Chennai washed away a set erected on the banks of the Cooum. During the production of the film, the film was renamed from Monisha to Monisha En Monalisa due to astrological reasons.[2] The film had begun production as a trilingual in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu, and Rajender cast local actors for the Hindi version. Hindi television actor Raman Trikha was renamed Ramankanth for the Tamil version, while actors including Rahul Saxena, Ravi Kiran, Kunika, and Kalpana Iyer were signed to play roles.[3][4]
Soundtrack
[edit]The lyrics and soundtrack were written and composed by T. Rajendar. The title song is based on "María" by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin.[5] HMV (now known as Saregama) bought the audio rights of the film and they said to have sold over three lakhs of cassettes within first round.[6]
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "College Irukkutha" | Mano, Swarnalatha | |
| 2. | "Don't Try To Love Me" | Anuradha Sriram | |
| 3. | "Ilamaiye" | Anuradha Sriram | |
| 4. | "Hello Hello" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sujatha | |
| 5. | "No Problem" | Suresh Peters | |
| 6. | "Kaadhale Kaadhale" | P. Unnikrishnan | |
| 7. | "Nambathe" | T. Rajendar | |
| 8. | "Monisha" | Silambarasan | |
| 9. | "Mo Mo Monisha" | Silambarasan | |
| 10. | "Monalisa Monalisa" | Silambarasan | |
| 11. | "Uyire Vaa Urave Vaa" | Hariharan | |
| 12. | "Kaadhal Thedi" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam |
Release and reception
[edit]Monisha En Monalisa released on 12 April 1999. K. P. S. of Kalki called it an unbelievable, tiring, cliched love story.[7] D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu gave the film a more positive review, calling it a "feather in the cap of versatile artiste and technician, T. Rajender. With single-minded devotion and perseverance, he has taken up the seven important tasks in a production - story, screenplay, dialogue, lyrics, music, cinematography and direction".[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Manickavel, Kuzhali (17 July 2020). "Monisha En Monalisa was labelled among Tamil cinema's lowest points. So I rewatched the film in 2020". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 21 August 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
- ^ Rajitha (1 December 1998). "Drama in reel life". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 1999. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
- ^ Rajitha (28 October 1998). "Extravaganza". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ Kummar, S. R. Ashok (3 April 1998). "Love story sans tears". The Hindu. p. 26. Archived from the original on 3 June 2000. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ^ "Run, it's T Rajendar again". themusicmagazine.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2001. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "Music sets the pace?". TamilTalkies. 1 May 1999. Archived from the original on 1 May 1999. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- ^ கே. பி. எஸ். (2 May 1999). "மோனிஷா என் மோனலிசா". Kalki (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 15 May 2023. Retrieved 18 November 2022 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Ramanujam, D. S. (23 April 1999). "Film Reviews: Perianna / Monisha En Monalisa / Ethirum Puthirum". The Hindu. p. 26. Archived from the original on 22 February 2001. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
