Kadhalukku Mariyadhai

Kadhalukku Mariyadhai is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film directed by Fazil. It is a remake of his own Malayalam film Aniyathipraavu (1997). The film stars Vijay and Shalini (reprising her role from the original), while Sivakumar, Srividya, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Manivannan, Dhamu, Charle, Thalaivaasal Vijay, and Radha Ravi play supporting roles. It tells the story of a couple of differing backgrounds and beliefs and how they unite amidst the opposition of their families. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja with cinematography by Anandakuttan.

Kadhalukku Mariyadhai was released on 19 December 1997 to positive reviews and became a box-office blockbuster. It was also Shalini’s first Tamil film as a leading actress, having previously acted as a child artist. The success of the film led the lead pair, Vijay and Shalini, to collaborate again in Kannukkul Nilavu (2000), which was also directed by Fazil.

Plot
Jeevanantham "Jeeva" is a rich youth who has just completed his B.Com. Although his parents want him to marry a girl and settle down, Jeeva prefers to pursue MBA studies instead and is not interested in marriage. However, his attitude changes when he meets Mini, a Christian girl and final-year B.Com student, at a bookstore. He instantly falls in love with her, and after a few incidents, he succeeds in winning her heart.

However, Mini's three elder brothers - a doctor named James, a police officer named Stephen, and a local goon named Thomas - who are all overprotective of her, eventually find out about their sister's relationship with Jeeva and are furious. They thrash Jeeva, as well as his friends Kesavan and Raghavan, and warn Jeeva never to come near Mini. Undaunted, Jeeva takes Mini to his house, where his father Rajshekhar too disapproves of their relationship and throws them out of the house.

Kesavan and Raghavan take the couple to their slum near Pondicherry, where Kesavan explains their situation to his father Kalingeyan, who is a fisherman. Kalingeyan agrees to let the couple stay in his house and also defends them from Mini's brothers when they come to the slum to kill Jeeva. Later, Kalingeyan decides to get Jeeva and Mini married, but by now, Jeeva and Mini have developed second thoughts about their relationship as their families are against it. They decide to break up and return to their families, which is accepted by Kesavan, Raghavan, and Kalingeyan. But despite breaking up, Jeeva and Mini cannot forget each other.

Meanwhile, Mini's marriage is fixed with someone else. Jeeva's mother decides to meet Mini before she gets married so that she can get a better wife for Jeeva. Jeeva, his parents, Kesavan, and Raghavan go to Mini's house, where both families apologize to each other for what happened. But when Jeeva and his family are about to leave, Jeeva's mother breaks down and requests that Mini's family get Mini married to Jeeva. Mini's family, including her brothers, agree to this. Jeeva and Mini are happily reunited.

Production
Kadhalukku Mariyadhai is the Tamil remake of Fazil's Malayalam film Aniyathipraavu. Initially, he was keen on casting a debutant in the lead female role, but Shalini, the lead actress of the original, insisted that she should also star in the remake. Fazil initially approached Abbas for the lead role, but due to mismanagement created by Abbas' manager with call sheets, Vijay was selected instead.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyrics written by Palani Bharathi. Ilaiyaraaja reused five of the songs from this film in Preminchedi Endukamma? (1999).

Release and reception
The film was released on 19 December 1997. A reviewer from The Hindu mentioned that "Vijay brings to surface the soft nature of the love", while adding that the rest of the cast makes "fine contributions", and praising the director's work. K. Vijiyan of New Straits Times wrote "This is a movie for the whole family". Ji of Kalki praised the performances of Vijay, Shalini, Ilaiyaraaja's music and climax but panned the casting choices of Charlie and Dhamu as Vijay's friends. Ananda Vikatan rated the film 50 out of 100. The film saw Vijay win the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor alongside Parthiban, while Palani Bharathi won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist.

Legacy
Entertainment portal Behindwoods placed Kadhalukku Mariyadhai in first place in "Top 20 Best Films of Vijay" and also placed it in "Top 20 Best Love Stories In Tamil". Scenes from the film were spoofed in Thamizh Padam (2010). Shiva (played by Shiva) and a girl will be taking the same book Love and Love Only in a way similar to the pair in Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, but shock awaits as the girl turns out to be married. The song "Ennai Thalatta Varuvala" inspired the title of a 2003 film.