Naanal (transl. Reed) is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language comedy film, written and directed by K. Balachander. It is based on his play of the same name. The film stars R. Muthuraman, Major Sundarrajan, Srikanth, Sowcar Janaki, K. R. Vijaya and Nagesh. It was released on 24 December 1965.
Naanal | |
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Directed by | K. Balachander |
Written by | K. Balachander |
Based on | Naanal by K. Balachander |
Produced by | G. V. Saravanan |
Starring | R. Muthuraman K. R. Vijaya Major Sundarrajan Sowcar Janaki Srikanth Nagesh |
Cinematography | P. N. Sundaram |
Edited by | N. R. Kittu S. Muthu |
Music by | V. Kumar |
Production company | Saravana Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 135 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Tamil |
![]() | This article needs an improved plot summary. (May 2021) |
Four jailbirds escape from prison to take revenge on the judge who sentenced them. They take over his house, and the film builds around the judge and his family escaping from them.
Naanal was a play written by K. Balachander and inspired by the film Desperate Hours.[1] It was later adapted by him into a film with the same name.[2] This is the feature film debut of Typist Gopu.[3]
Music was composed by V. Kumar and lyrics were written by Alangudi Somu and Suratha.[4][5][6] A. R. Venkatachalapathy of The Hindu wrote, "[Suratha] had a knack for compiling data, making lists and turning them into poetry", citing "Vinnukku Melaadai" in Naanal as an example.[7]
No. | Songs | Singers | Length | Lyricists |
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1 | "Ennathaan Paaduvathu" | P. Susheela | 03:59 | Alangudi Somu |
2 | "Kuyil Koovi Thuyil Ezhuppa" | Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi | 02:52 | |
3 | "Kuyil Koovi Thuyil Ezhuppa" – Sad | Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi & Major Sundarrajan (dialogues) | 03:26 | |
4 | "Vinnukku Melaadai" | T. M. Soundararajan & P. Susheela | 05:39 | Suratha |
Naanal was released on 24 December 1965.[8] T. M. Ramachandran of Sport and Pastime positively reviewed the film, praising Sundarrajan's performance more than the other cast members.[9] Kalki gave the film a less positive review, comparing it unfavourably to the source play.[10]
The storyline of Crazy Mohan's play Crazy Thieves in Palavakkam was inspired by Naanal.[11]