Annai Velankanni

Plot

The story pivots around the centuries - old Basilica of our lady of health at Velankanni village near Nagapattinam in Thanjavur district in Tamil Nadu. While the miracle of the presiding deity of the Basilica, Mother Mary performs in lives of the devotee is narrated as flashback, the story involving Nurse Marry(Jayalalitha) and Susainathan(Gemini Ganesan) in the present.

Marry(Jayalalitha) is a nurse in a hospital at Nagapattinam and is a devotee of Mother Mary of Velankanni. She narrates the story of Kamakshi(K. R. Vijaya), a milk maid and her son Sundaram in Velankanni Village to a child patient Baby Sumathi. Mother Mary appears before Sundaram, who is on his way to the land lord(R. Muthuraman) house at Nagapattinam to deliver milk. The Landlord, a bureaucrat, is an atheist. Sundaram gives milk to mother Mary to feed the Infant Jesus. The Landlord is annoyed in milk and does not believe the story of "A Lady with a Child" that caused the shortage. A miracle occurs - the milk pot overflows spontaneously. The Mother Mary appears before the landlord and he becomes a believer, a devotee of mother mary he generously help his tenant Karuppayyan(S. V. Ramadoss) in the conduct his daughter's marriage Chellayi(Srividya) to her rich lover(Sivakumar).

The story of Swarnam(Padmini and her lame son Raja(Master Sekhar) in Velankanni Village is narrated by Doctor Sundararajan(Major Sundararajan) to his assistant. Villagers often poked fun at Swarnam and Raja because of his lameness. On his way to the market to sell Curd and Milk, Mother Mary appears before Raja and cures him. Mother Mary assigns Raja the task of building a Church for her in the spot where she appeared before him under supervision of the Priest Francies(S. V. Subbaiah).

Meanwhile, Mary rejects marriage proposals from Young doctors in the hospital. She is waiting for mother Mary's Oracle to decided her marriage and the miracle occurs. Both Susainathan(Gemini Ganesan) the son of rich landlord in Nagapattinam and Mary have the same dream. Both of them singing praises of the Mother Mary. The meet each other in the Church and eventually get married. While Mary is away from the hospital meeting Susainathan the Kind mother attends to Mary's duties disguised as a nurse.

Crew

Box office

B. Vijayakumar Stated the article Tamil and Malayalam dubbed were Box - Office Hit. Both Version were Box - Office hit in Kerala.

Reception

Kamal Haasan, who was the assistant director of the film appeared in a cameo as Jesus Christ in the scene. Where he carries the cross to calvary. The crucifixion scene with background song Deva Maindhan sung by T. M. Soundararajan.Besides the real location scene at Nagapattinam and Velankanni, the film was produced at AVM Studios and Saradha Studios. Abhayadev adapted Sam D. Dasan's original Tamil dialogues into Malayalam, based on K. Thangappan's screenplay. The cinematography, a collaborative effort by R. N. Pillai and B. B. Lucas, was notably impressive, with scenes shot around the Church at Velankanni capturing the audience's admiration. The financier of the film, K. R. Chadaiyappa Chettiyar, had envisioned casting Jayalalitha opposite Gemini Ganesan, a dream that influenced the film's casting. Jayalalithaa excelled in her role as a Nurse . A Multi Starer movie, other Popular stars who acted in the movie besides Gemini Ganesan, Muthuraman, Sivakumar, S. V. Subbaiah, Major Sundararajan, Sreekanth and Malayalam Star Vincent, Thengai Srinivasan, Rajan, Padmini, K. R. Vijaya, Srividya, Devika and Manorama.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by G. Devarajan, while lyrics were written by Kannadasan, Vaali and Ayyasamy.