Vaidehi Kathirunthal is a 1984 Indian Tamil-languageromantic drama film written and directed by R. Sundarrajan. The film stars Vijayakanth and Revathi in the lead roles. It focuses on two villagers, Vaidehi and Vellaisamy, 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 huge commercial success went on to be one of the blockbuster's in the year 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. One day when some villagers spot Vellaisamy scribbling Vaidehi's name on the temple walls, rumours start circling. When a distressed Vaidehi approaches and questions Vellaisamy, he reveals his tragic past and how he lost the woman of his affection, also named Vaidehi. Vellaisamy and Vaidehi now share a mutual respect for each other's melancholic lives but soon realise they need to work together to unite a young couple in love against the wrath of the whole village.
After music director 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 film was written and directed by R. Sundarrajan, and produced by Thooyavan under the banner 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 starred in many action films and was branded an action hero.
Soundtrack
The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The song "Kaathirunthu" is set in the Carnatic raga known as Shivaranjani, "Azhagu Malaraada" is set in Chandrakauns, and "Inraiku Yen Indha" is set in Abhogi. The Song "Rasathi Unna" is inspired from the song "Singara Punnagai" from the movie "Mahadevi" composed by M.S.Viswanathan. Gangai Amaran mentioned this in a old doordharshan interview that Ilayaraja took the second line of the song "Singara punnagai" for "Rasathi Unna" since that song was one of his favorite. Once M. G. Ramachandran on hearing the song "Rasathi unna" asked Gangai amaran that this song looks similar to "Singara Punnagai", for which Gangai Amaran replied,'Yes we took second line because people could easily spot if we take first line'.
Release and reception
Vaidehi Kaathirundhal was released on 23 October 1984, Diwali day. The Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan, in its issue dated 2 December 1984, carried the reviews of multiple people who had seen the film. The review board of the magazine gave the film a rating of 44 out of 100 based on these reviews, with the consensus being favourable towards Ilaiyaraaja's music and critical towards the multiple storylines stitched together. Despite facing competition from other Diwali releases such as Nallavanukku Nallavan and the Tamil-dubbed version of the Malayalam-language My Dear Kuttichathan, the film was a commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres.
Legacy
Vaidehi Kaathirundhal emerged a breakthrough in Vijayakanth's career. According to film journalist Sreedhar Pillai, it was one of the films that made him the "Raja of B and C stations" The quote "Petromax light-e than venuma" spoken by Goundamani's character became a popular phrase in Tamil Nadu and refers to someone wanting and persisting on something particular. The quote also inspired a song of the same name in Aranmanai. The Chennai-based brand Dude Thamizha prints T-shirts that carry the dialogue which are their best-sellers too. The character name of Goundamani, All in All Azhagu Raja, was also used as the title a 2013 film, while the 2019 film Petromax derives its title from All in All Azhagu Raja's dialogue.
