Naina (2002 film)

Naina (transl. Father) is a 2002 Tamil language comedy horror film directed by Manobala. The film features Jayaram in a dual role and Manya in lead roles, with Vadivelu, Ramesh Khanna, Bhanupriya and Kovai Sarala playing supporting roles. The film, produced by V. Santhakumar, had musical score by Sabesh–Murali and was released on 30 August 2002.^[1][2][3]

Plot[]

The film begins with Annamalai (Jayaram) who is a ghost trying to talk to his son Pasupathy (Jayaram) but nobody has been able to see or hear him since his death. Pasupathy is a taxi driver and he is in love with the lawyer Vaanathi (Manya). Aavudaiyappan (Vadivelu), a con medium, becomes the only one who can hear Annamalai. After being annoyed by Annamalai, Aavudaiyappan finally decides to help him. They meet Pasupathy but Pasupathy seems to hate his deceased father.

In the past, the widower Annamalai was a wealthy man and a womaniser. Every time there was a good news in his village, he tonsured Pasupathy's head. He later got married a second time with Azhagu Nachiyar (Bhanupriya) and they had a daughter. During a ceremony, a person pushed from behind in Yajna. The villagers thought that the innocent Pasupathy killed his father. So he ran away.

Annamalai doesn't know the one who killed him. Pasupathy decides to go back to his village. He wants to prove his innocence at all costs and wants to find the one who killed his father. When Azhagu Nachiyar meets Velu who is the brother of Annamalai she gets unconscious. Annamalai regains her consciousness and makes her overhear Velu's conversation. It turns out that Velu had killed Annamalai to grab his property and blamed the murder on Pasupathy. In the climax, Pasupathy will be performing the last rites of his father while Velu tries to disrupt it. Velu gets burnt and he also becomes a ghost. In the end, Pasupathy joins his father's position in the village.

Cast[]

Soundtrack[]

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by film composer Sabesh–Murali. The soundtrack, released in 2002, features 6 tracks with lyrics written by the director P. Vijay, Viveka and K. Subash.^[4][5]

Reception[]

Sify wrote "Naina starring Jayaram in a dual role and supposed to be a comedy is a torture inflicted on the helpless audience by director Manobala."^[6] Chennai Online wrote "The film probably would have turned out better, if the director was clear as to whether he wanted the film to be a comic caper or a sentimental, suspense thriller. An injudicious blending of both, has resulted in a film that fails to satisfy".^[7]

References[]