Ethir Neechal

Edhir Neechal is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The film has an ensemble cast including Nagesh, Muthuraman, Sundarrajan, Srikanth, M. R. R. Vasu, Sowcar Janaki and Jayanthi. It is based on Balachander's play of the same name, itself inspired by Sombhu Mitra's play Kanchanranga. The film was released on 12 December 1968, and became a commercial success, with Balachander winning the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Dialogue Writer. It was remade in Telugu as Sambarala Rambabu (1970) and in Hindi as Lakhon Me Ek (1971). Plot Maadhu is a destitute orphan who performs odd jobs in a multi-family tenancy for his living and education. For the services he renders, he's allowed to sleep under the stairs of the tenancy without any rent and is given leftovers. He attends college with the help from one of his college professor while working the nights for supplementary income for books along with certain kind people that share roof in that tenancy he lives. Among few people who understand his situation, and are ready to help are Sabapathy and Nair. Paaru is a daughter to one of the tenants who returns from Bangalore and whose marriage has been fixed to Kumaresan, one of the tenants living in the house. When, in the marriage hall, one of them recognises Paaru as a person in a mental asylum and when he heard this, Kumerasan says that if Paaru's father pays 15,000 the marriage will happen but Paaru and her family had only 5000. For this reason, Kumerasan rejects her. Maadhu overhears one of the tenants speaking to her husband of getting him married to their daughter Paaru who is said to be psychologically challenged. He forcefully makes his mind to love their daughter even before they propose a marriage, so as to calm himself that the girl is none other than the girl he loved and not some unknown psychologically challenged girl. Then they fall in love and then Maadhu finishes his college studies with lot of obstacles with Nair and Sabapathy helping him inside. Then one day a rich businessman claims that Maadhu is his long lost son. Hearing this, all the tenants give their gifts but which Nair later reveals that that is a rumor and everyone later takes back the gifts. Paaru reveals that she is the person behind all this and she said that Maadhu has been serving the tenants from the very start if his life and she wanted Maadhu to be served by the tenants.