Middle Class Madhavan

Middle Class Madhavan is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by T. P. Gajendran. The film stars Prabhu and Abhirami, while Vadivelu, Vivek, Manivannan and others in supporting roles. The film explores the travails of newlyweds who are forced to live in a joint family. The film was remade in Telugu as Mee Intikoste Yem Istaru Ma Intikoste Yem Testaru. The music was composed by Dhina, and the film released on 18 May 2001.

Plot
The story is set in the middle-class home of Madhavan (Prabhu), a budding lawyer who works for Visu. His retired and irresponsible father (Delhi Ganesh) is more interested in playing cards than looking for grooms for his two unmarried daughters. Circumstances force Madhavan to marry Abhirami (Abhirami), even before his sisters are wed, a situation quite unthinkable in middle-class homes and the couple unable to have their first night and desperate for it. Meanwhile, Madhavan's sisters find their match in an auto driver named Kuzhandaivelu (Vadivelu) and an unemployed man named Manimaran (Vivek), who claims to have a royal background. Madhavan then conducts the weddings of both his sisters, but in the struggle to keep the rest of his family happy, he and Abirami are unable to enjoy even the basic pleasures of married life. How they unite with each other, have they finally celebrated their first night? and convince their family about it (sometimes with comical results) forms the rest of the story.

Production
This was Vivek's 93rd film as actor and Vadivelu's 122nd.

Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by Dhina with lyrics written by Vaali.

Reception
Savitha Padmanabhan of The Hindu wrote, "The plot gets too predictable after a point, but that is true of most films today. Prabhu's cherubic smile and effortless acting are plus points. Abhirami looks pretty as the homely wife. Delhi Ganesh flits in and out while Visu is at his didactic best. Vadivelu and Vivek do what they are adept at... raising a few laughs. But after a point they get quite tiresome, and even interfere with the main story. Music by Dhina is below average. In fact, the songs stick out like a sore thumb. The director has tried to raise a pertinent issue, but it could have been handled with finesse." Cinesouth wrote "The title misleads us to conceive a story with another dimension. Director T.P.Gajendran has a fine central theme for the story in Hollywood style. But alas! he has weakened the screenplay for no reason but the comedy comes handy to him. The high-class comedy gives him and the fans happiness alike, as an end-result." Visual Dasan of Kalki wrote TP Gajendran makes audience laughs without thinking about anything for two and a half hours. Malini Mannath of Chennai Online wrote "It is a neater film than the team's earlier film 'Budget Padmanabhan'. The script doesn't stray much here and the director is more focussed."