South superstar Kamal Haasan is an actor, who has achieved global recognition. Among the vast range of films that he has worked in over the decades, the one that deserves a special mention is director S P Muthuraman’s Tamil-language comedy entertainer, Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey. Released on November 4, 1983, the film became one of the most widely-acclaimed movies of that time. Today, let’s have a look back at this masterpiece that ruled movie theatres in the 1980s.
During those times, films were the only medium of entertainment. When a movie did well on silver screens, theatre owners specially advertised the particular film in the local newspaper. Along with a short announcement of the film, the newspaper excerpt also contained details of the number of audience at the theatres and how much the film minted at the box office.
The same happened with Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey. Tamil Nadu’s popular theatre complex, Thanjavur Yagappa Theater, also helped in the promotions and advertisements of this Kamal Haasan-starrer. The advertisement read, “Today we are seeing a collection of 1,94,444 (net) in 77 days which we haven’t seen in 32 years due to re-watching by the viewers.”
Another interesting fact about the advertorial was that a photograph of Yagappa Theatre owner and veteran politician AYS Parisutha Nadar, who headlined the announcement along with the words, “Owner of Thanjavur Yagappa Theater”, written in bold. Although theatres don’t usually advertise their owners, Parisutha was an exception.
Parisutha was elected as a prestigious member of the Madras Provincial Legislative Assembly in 1946. Later, in 1967, the politician contested for a seat in the Thanjavur Legislative Assembly constituency and won the election, becoming a revered member of the assembly. Due to Parisutha’s immense influence in Thanjavur, he was the one to get featured in the advertisement.
Speaking of Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey, the film revolves around an unemployed youth Gopi aka Kamal Hassan, who pretends to be a gardener. Gopi lands a job at an affluent family and falls head over heels for his employer’s beautiful daughter Padmini, essayed by Tamil actress Radha. But things go awry after Padmini’s parents force her to marry someone else. Bankrolled by AVM Productions, Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey’s music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.
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