It is Poorna and her ‘eight twists’ that will make Manal Kayiru 2 an interesting watch

Getting married, the traditional way, is often everyone else’s business except the two key people in the act, the bride and the groom. Young men and women have to wade through a minefield of sensitive family members before they can boldly state what their expectations are, from a prospective wife or husband. When the film Manal Kayiru released in May 1982 on such a theme, it went on to become a sleeper hit, because the hero laid down eight conditions, including the ability of the wife to cook vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, as a thumb rule. He meets his dream girl thanks to the broker Naradar Naidu, marries her, only to wake up to the reality that he been scammed and the wife does not meet even one of his ’lofty’ conditions. 

Fast forward to 2016, and nothing much has changed, except women too express what they expect from a man, before proceeding to step 2 in the marriage dance. This time it will be leading lady (Poorna) who will lay down conditions. Banking on the universality of the issue, Manal Kayiru 2 is set to release soon. Talking to DTNext S Ve Shekher, who acted in the original and who is also the executive producer of the sequel says, “The girl in Manal Kayiru 2 wants a guy who does not have excess baggage, a term today’s youngsters often use. This could refer to his parents or to his educational loan, but these are some of the concerns of a young girl taking the huge step forward in an arranged marriage, and the film reflects all of that,” says, who essayed the role of Kittumani in the original version. “Finding a perfect match in life is still a huge problem for the middle class. I wanted to revisit the story in the current-day context. And wrote the story from a girl’s point of view,” adds the comedian. He approached Visu, who had directed the original and persuaded him to past of the cast. 

However, in Manal Kayiru 2 it will be his son Ashwin Shekher who will be playing the role of the ‘eligible bachelor’. Ashwin, last known for his role in the 2011 film Ninaivil Nindraval says, he is excited to be testing the comedy genre, although he is aware fans and critics would weigh his performance against that of his father, Visu and the rest. “I have grown up seeing my father, and others like Crazy Mohan, and they all do it effortlessly. My personal favourite is Nagesh, who has nuanced every role differently. Take his Anbe Vaa, or Ethir Neechal or Server Sundaram—he is brilliantly different in each of them. Most people will connect with Manal Kayiru 2 because the first one is still talked about,” he adds. 

The tug of war between Kittumani and Naradar Naidu caused by the former’s feelings that Naradar duped him into marrying a girl who did not meet any of his requirement, will continue in the second. “Both Visu and I spend all our energy in outwitting each other. However, the other characters, including the bride-to-be, played by Poorna do not keep quiet. It is tailor made for situational comedy,” says Shekher. Other crew members say that the actors improvised so much during the filming that the shooting often went beyond schedule. “I wonder how we wrapped up the film in under forty days,” says Ashwin. 

Made on a shoe string budget, the film has been bankrolled by Murali of Thenandal Films, whose father Rama Narayanan made over 125 small budget films, most of them box office hits. “Shekher had worked in over 29 film with my father and Manal Kayiru was a huge hit. When Shekher wanted to go for version 2, I felt it would be a fun film to give the fans,” says Murali. 

The film is being directed by Madan of Yaruda Mahesh fame and music is by Dharan. Anirudh has crooned a song in the film. The aim is to have a good mix of the young and the old, say the crew. So, they are targeting 40 per cent of the older generation and 60 per cent of the young. We told you this was a comedy outing!