Mounam Sammadham

Mounam Sammadham
Poster
Directed byK. Madhu
Screenplay byS. N. Swamy
Story byS. N. Swamy
Produced byKovai Chezhiyan
Sembian Sivakumar
StarringMammootty
Amala
CinematographyVipin Das
Edited byV. P. Krishnan
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Kay Cee Film Combines
Release date
  • 15 June 1990 (1990-06-15)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Mounam Sammadham (transl. Silence is acquiescence) is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language legal thriller film written by S. N. Swamy, directed by K. Madhu and produced by Kovai Chezhiyan. The film stars Mammootty (in his Tamil film debut) and Amala. It revolves around a lawyer representing a wrongfully convicted man.

The film was released on 15 June 1990, and went on to become a commercial and critical success.

Plot

Sundaram is convicted of murdering his sister-in-law Vijayalakshmi and is sentenced to death. His advocate Shekar requests his friend and a supreme court advocate Raja to fight the verdict in the high court. Raja initially refuses, but agree when he finds out about Sundaram's family. Raja and Sundaram's sister Dr. Hema have had some encounters in the past, and she has a negative opinion about Raja, and he wants to rectify that. Dr. Hema initially rejects Raja, but later agrees because the family has no other choice.

Raja convinces the high court to accept the appeal, and starts investigating. Sundaram's house helper Mani, who was the only person in the house when Vijayalakshmi died, explains the events of that evening to Raja. Sundaram was supposed to be going out of town, but changed his plans and came back to the house. He smells something burning and wakes up Mani, who was sleeping in the porch. They both rush upstairs to see the burning body of Vijayalakshmi.

Raja learns that Vijayalakshmi's death was initially deemed a suicide, but Sundaram was later incriminated with killing her because he purportedly had an affair with her and wanted to hide it from the world. Raja also learns about Paramasivam, a wealthy person who has some scores to settle with Sundaram. Paramasivam tries to threaten Raja to drop the appeal, but Raja doesn't relent. Paramasivam constantly persuades Vijayalakshmi's mother and brother Muthu to fight the case.

Shekar explains there were three main witnesses to the case - 1. Rani, a prostitute who testified that Sundaram used to visit her: 2 - Munusamy - a neighbor who testified that he saw Sundaram molesting Vijayalakshmi, and 3 - a letter that Vijayalakshmi wrote to her mom about Sundaram abusing her. Raja meets Rani and convinces her to withdraw the false testimony. Hema is impressed with Raja and her resentment towards Raja begins to thaw.

Hearings begin in High Court. Rani reneges on her promise and testified once again that Sundaram was her customer. It appears like she is under some duress. Munusamy the neighbor testifies that he saw Sundaram was molesting Vijayalakshmi through a glass window that night, but Raja exposes his testimony. Raja also proves the letter that Vijayalakshmi purportedly wrote to her mother was fabricated. Raja further questions Mani and makes him reveal the truth - Vijayalakshmi had a love affair prior to her marriage with Mani's nephew Natarajan. Natarajan came home that evening to demand a ransom from Vijayalakshmi. They end up in a fight and Vijayalakshmi accidentally dies. Natarajan and Mani burn her body and stage a suicide.

After hearing Mani's testimony, the court acquits Sundaram of all charges. Hema reveals her love for Raja and they unite.

Cast

Production

Mounam Sammadham was the first Tamil film of Malayalam actor Mammootty. It took inspiration from his own film Sandhyakku Virinja Poovu.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The song "Kalyaana Thaen Nilaa" is set in Darbari Kanada raga, and has every sentence ending with "la". "Chik Chik Chaa" is a synth-pop number.

SongSingersLyrics
5 Paisa 10 PaisaMalaysia VasudevanGangai Amaran
"Chik Chik Chaa"K. S. Chithra
"Kalyaana Thaen Nilaa"K. J. Yesudas K. S. ChithraPulamaipithan
"Oru Raja Vanthanam"K. S. ChithraGangai Amaran
Telugu version

Lyrics for the dubbed Telugu version Lawyer The Great were written by Rajasri.

SongSingers
One Two Three FourK. S. Chithra
"Naa Raja Vacchadu"K. S. Chithra
"Kalyaana Thaen Nilaa"Mano, K. S. Chithra

Reception

N. Krishnaswamy of The Indian Express praised the film for the cast performances (particularly Mammootty), Ilaiyaraaja's music, the cinematography and Shivaji's comedy. C. R. K. of Kalki, however, was less positive, saying the film was like an ordinary novel. The film was both a critical and commercial success.

References

  1. ↑ Raman, Mohan (3 January 2015). "KB: Kollywood's Discovery Channel". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 May 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  2. ↑ "Mammootty's pan-Indian appeal proves he's a bonafide star regardless of how Yatra performs". Firstpost. 7 February 2019. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  3. ↑ "Mounam Sammatham Tamil Film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  4. ↑ Mani, Charulatha (8 June 2012). "A Raga's Journey — Dynamic Durbarikaanada". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  5. ↑ Sundararaman (2007) [2005]. Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Pichhamal Chintamani. p. 135. OCLC 295034757.
  6. ↑ "Song | 'லா... லா... லா...' என முடியும் வரிகள்... 36 ஆண்டுகளாக ரசிகர்களின் ஃபேவரைட்… என்ன பாடல் தெரியுமா?". News18 (in Tamil). 30 June 2026. Archived from the original on 4 July 2026. Retrieved 4 July 2026.
  7. ↑ Maderya, Kumuthan (9 February 2023). "Once Upon A Time In Kollywood: Ilaiyaraaja And The Electro-Synth Pop Revolution In Tamil Film Music". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Lawyer The Great". indiancine.ma. Retrieved 10 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ↑ "Lawyer The Great". Spotify. August 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ↑ Krishnaswamy, N. (22 June 1990). "Mounam Sammadham". The Indian Express. p. 7. Retrieved 20 March 2019 – via Google News Archive.
  11. ↑ சி.ஆர்.கே. (8 July 1990). "மௌனம் சம்மதம்". Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 40–41. Retrieved 19 March 2024 – via Internet Archive.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. ↑ "5 Tamil hits of Mammootty as you await 'Peranbu'". Onmanorama. 18 July 2018. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2022.