Mouna Ragam ( ) is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam, and produced by G. Venkateswaran. The film stars Mohan and Revathi, with Karthik in a guest appearance. V. K. Ramasamy, Ra. Sankaran, Bhaskar, Kanchana, Vani, Kalaiselvi and Sonia play supporting roles. It narrates the life of Divya (Revathi), a free-spirited college girl who is forced into an arranged marriage with Chandrakumar (Mohan) by her father (Sankaran) though she still lives with the memory of her deceased lover Manohar (Karthik). The story follows Divya's inner conflict between holding on to her past and coming to terms with the present.
The film's development began when Ratnam began writing a short story titled "Divya" with no cinematic plans until he finished it. Since production on his directorial debut Pallavi Anu Pallavi (1983) was delayed, he took a break for a month and developed "Divya" into a film script, which would eventually be renamed Mouna Ragam. Although Ratnam began work on the script during Pallavi Anu Pallavi, it languished in development hell and ended up becoming his fifth film. Mouna Ragam was the first film produced by Venkateswaran's Sujatha Films, and was shot primarily in Madras, with additional filming taking place in Delhi and Agra. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyrics by Vaali. P. C. Sreeram was the cinematographer, and the art director was Thota Tharani. The film was edited by B. Lenin and V. T. Vijayan.
Mouna Ragam was released on 15 August 1986. Despite opening to modest audiences, it became a major box-office success, with a theatrical run of over 175 days, and Mani Ratnam's breakthrough. The film received critical acclaim; it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil, and Ratnam received the Filmfare and Cinema Express Awards for Best Director in Tamil. Mouna Ragam also became a breakthrough in Karthik's career despite his role being a cameo. The film introduced techniques such as soft-focus shots, flare filters and backlighting, which became popular in Tamil cinema. It was remade in Hindi in 1992 as Kasak, and in Kannada in 1999 as Chandrodaya.
Plot Divya is a free-spirited college student from a conservative family in Madras. Her father Chandramouli has planned an arranged marriage for her and tells Divya to come home early from college to meet Chandrakumar, the prospective groom. Uninterested in marriage, she deliberately arrives home late, hoping Chandrakumar would have left, but finds him still patiently waiting. She gives various reasons to make him dislike her but, undeterred, he says that he likes her and agrees to the wedding. Divya initially refuses, but when her father has a heart attack, her mother begs her to accept the proposal to aid his recovery. Divya reluctantly marries Chandrakumar, but he sees how unwilling she is, and they do not consummate their marriage.
Chandrakumar takes Divya to his house in Delhi, but she cannot accept him as her husband. When he asks her what she would like as a wedding gift, she says she wants a divorce, which shocks Chandrakumar. Some time later, Divya tells Chandrakumar about when she was in love with Manohar, during her college days: Divya had Manohar arrested after witnessing him robbing a politician's son. She later learns that the politician's son had run over a girl with his car, and Manohar robbed him to pay for the girl's medical treatment. Feeling guilty, Divya bails him out.
When Manohar meets Divya again, he falls in love with her; although she initially rejects him, she eventually returns his feelings. Manohar is part of a revolutionary group that plans to hold an illegal rally. Divya disapproves, and asks him not to attend; he agrees on the condition that she marry him. On their wedding day, Manohar is falsely accused of participating in the rally and arrested. He escapes and runs to the marriage registrar's office where Divya is waiting for him. A policeman accidentally shoots Manohar, and he dies in front of Divya.
After hearing her story, Chandrakumar tells Divya that he does not care about her past, but the future that he wants to build with her. He tells her to either sign the divorce papers he has obtained, or accept the anklets he bought as his wedding gift to her; Divya chooses divorce. They consult a lawyer who tells them that, per law they must wait one year to file for divorce since they are newly married. The couple is forced to live together for a year.
Having told Chandrakumar about her past and the reason she was unable to accept her marriage, Divya finds herself free from her mental baggage and discomfort around Chandrakumar. She begins to appreciate her situation and make the most of it. Conversely, Chandrakumar is wary of her presence in his life as he fears what would happen once their divorce is approved. Troubled, he distances himself from her and rejects her every move. At the same time, he slowly begins falling in love with her while denying his feelings to himself.
One day, Chandrakumar is attacked by his company's labourers because he had suspended their union leader, and Divya rushes him to a nearby hospital. After Chandrakumar is discharged, Divya takes care of him and realises that she has fallen in love with him. She tries to show it by wearing the anklets he bought for her. But before he can notice the anklets, they enter an argument as Divya tried to surprise him. He asks her to return to Madras and books her trip. Some time later, Chandrakumar notices the anklets and realises that Divya does love him, but the next morning, both continue remaining distant.
Once Chandrakumar leaves for work, Divya arrives alone at the railway station, where she sees Chandrakumar waiting for her. He hands her the divorce papers, saying they were approved that morning. Divya breaks down, telling Chandrakumar that she loves him and would wait indefinitely for him to reciprocate. She tears the divorce papers and leaves to catch her train. Chandrakumar, surprised at Divya's open declaration, catches the departing train, stops it and carries Divya home.
Cast
Production
Development When the last filming schedule for Mani Ratnam's directorial debut, the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi (1983) was delayed inordinately, he began work on his next script Divya—which eventually became Mouna Ragam, his fifth film. "Divya" was originally a short story about a couple's wedding night that Ratnam did not plan to film, but after writing the story he realised it had cinematic possibilities. Ratnam took a break for a month from Pallavi Anu Pallavi due to its delays, and wrote the script for Divya. For the first time, he was able to write in his native language Tamil, unlike Pallavi Anu Pallavi where he wrote the script in English and had it translated into Kannada. The new title Mouna Ragam was derived from the song "Naan Paadum Mouna Ragam", from Ratnam's fourth film, Idaya Kovil (1985). He considered Mouna Ragam the second film after Pallavi Anu Pallavi to be made exactly as he wanted, in contrast to Idaya Kovil where there was interference.
Ratnam initially read the script of Mouna Ragam when it was titled Divya to producer N. G. John, but the latter wanted a political film, which eventually became the Malayalam film Unaroo (1984), also directed by Ratnam. He then pitched Divya to T. G. Thyagarajan of Sathya Jyothi Films, but Thyagarajan wanted an action film, and Ratnam made Pagal Nilavu (1985) with him. Kovaithambi of Motherland Pictures too rejected Divya, and Ratnam instead made Idaya Kovil with them. The film was eventually picked up by Ratnam's brother, G. Venkateswaran, under his Sujatha Films banner, ending its five-year development hell. It was the company's first film production; until then, it was only distributing and financing films. Mouna Ragam was also Ratnam's first collaboration with cinematographer P. C. Sreeram. The film was edited by B. Lenin and V. T. Vijayan, with art direction by Thota Tharani.
Casting Ratnam cast Mohan as Chandrakumar and Revathi as Divya, after casting both of them in Idaya Kovil and Pagal Nilavu, respectively. He initially had "someone like Anant Nag and Supriya Pathak" in mind when he finished writing Divya. Between finishing the story and making the film, he decided to include Revathi, whose performance in Mann Vasanai (1983) impressed him. Nadhiya claims she was also considered for the role, but declined due to prior commitments. Ratnam decided to cast Kanchana in the minor role of the lawyer since he believed "a certain amount of star quality helps" when the character has little screen time but is crucial to the plot. Prabhu Deva, who became a successful dance choreographer, made his acting debut in the film as a boy playing the flute in the song "Panivizhum Iravu", and John Babu, who also became a dance choreographer, appears as the main dancer in the song.
According to Ratnam, the only difference between Divya and Mouna Ragam was the inclusion of Karthik's character Manohar, which was not part of the earlier screenplay. Divya did not explore the girl's past; it only dealt with how she settles into an arranged marriage. Ratnam realised that the story needed to satisfy a wider audience, and decided to give them something that would make them accept the character without questioning Divya's actions, then the film could depict the arranged marriage – two strangers suddenly thrown together – and how they adjust. He originally resisted this, but reconsidered because it provided a clear rationale for Divya's resistance to the arranged marriage. Karthik said he was a last-minute addition to the cast, and described his role as a cameo.
Filming Principal photography began at P. C. Sreeram's house in Alwarpet, Madras. The film's introductory credits feature photographs of Revathi from her childhood through her teenage years; her mother gave Thota Tharani the pictures. Although the film was primarily set indoors in Delhi, Ratnam and Sreeram wanted the indoor scenes to look as lively as those shot outdoors. Since the cast was relatively small, Ratnam did not want it to resemble a play and used backlighting for the interior scenes. Tharani found a house in the residential area of Kilpauk which admitted a great deal of sunlight, making it similar to houses in Delhi. To reduce production costs, food for the film's crew was cooked at Venkateswaran's home.
Sreeram made extensive use of frontal and profile close-ups, set against long shots with out-of-focus foregrounds. While filming Manohar's introductory scene, he had to lie on a bed sheet to film. The crew pulled the sheet, with Sreeram and the camera. The scene where Manohar plays a prank on Divya's father (Ra. Sankaran), which later became known as the "Mr. Chandramouli scene", was shot at Tic Tac, an open-air restaurant in Nungambakkam. Filming was also done at Madras' Presidency College, the Schmidt Memorial on Edward Elliot's Beach, and the Madras Literary Society. While filming the song "Oho Megam Vandhadho" which shows Divya dancing in the rain, Revathi tied a handkerchief around her wrist to cover her watch because she felt Divya would actually do that.
The crew filmed in Delhi for two days, and the scenes set in Agra were shot in one day. Portions of "Panivizhum Iravu" were shot at the Taj Mahal in Agra, and those from "Mandram Vandha" were shot at the India Gate. The scenes involving Karthik were the last parts to be filmed, being shot in either a week or two. The scene where Manohar is killed was shot at the stairs before the Rajaji Hall. In post-production, Mohan's voice was dubbed by S. N. Surendar. The film's final length was .
Themes and influences