Naalai Unathu Naal

Naalai Unathu Naal (transl. Tomorrow is your day) is a 1984 Indian Tamil-language mystery thriller film, written and directed by A. Jagannathan. The film stars Vijayakanth, Nalini and Jaishankar. It is a remake of the Hindi film Gumnaam (1965), itself heavily inspired by Agatha Christie's novel And Then There Were None (1939).^[1][2] The film is about a group of people being murdered one by one while on a free vacation. It was released on 7 September 1984,^[3] and performed averagely at the box office.

Naalai Unathu Naal
Title card
Directed by	A. Jagannathan
Screenplay by	A. Jagannathan
Story by	Prithvi Brothers
Produced by	C. Kalavathi K. Revathi
Starring	Vijayakanth Nalini Jaishankar
Cinematography	P. Ganesapandiyan
Edited by	R. Devarajan
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Production company	Vaasan Productions
Release date	7 September 1984 (1984-09-07)
Running time	132 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Seven people mysteriously win a free vacation. On the way to their destination, the plane has engine trouble and they are left abandoned in a remote seaside location. They find shelter in a large mansion inhabited by a comical butler Angalamma. One by one, they are murdered and the remaining vacationers try to figure out why they were chosen for the trip and what they have in common.

Cast

• Vijayakanth as Arun
• Nalini as Kalpana
• Jaishankar as Devadas
• Senthamarai as Dr. Nagaraj
• Sivachandran as Vivekananthan (Prakash)
• Goundamani as Varadhan
• Sathyaraj as David
• V. Gopalakrishnan as Dharmaraj
• S. V. Ramadas as Ramanathan
• Manorama as Angalamma
• Agalya as Rekha
• Anuradha in an item number

Production

Ravi, Vijayakanth's stunt double, died during production, and the film was dedicated to him.^[4]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.^[5][6]

Song	Singers	Lyrics	Length
"Vennila Oduthu"	K. J. Yesudas, Vani Jairam	Na. Kamarasan	04:42
"Koodu Thedi"	S. Janaki	Vairamuthu	04:43
"Alai Alaiyaai"	Uma Ramanan, K. J. Yesudas	Vaali	04:15
"Seetu Kulunguthu"	Vani Jairam	Gangai Amaran	04:38
"Nalla Naal"	S. P. Sailaja	Avinasi Mani	04:20

Reception

Jayamanmadhan of Kalki praised the performance of Manorama, the songs of Ilaiyaraaja but was critical of his re-recording; he felt the reveal of the murderer was lack of spice.^[7] The film did average business at the box office.^[8]

References

1. Old Time Tamil Radio. "Old Time Tamil Radio Presents – Oli Chithiram". Anchor.fm (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
2. "Gumnaam". MySwar. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
3. "நட்சத்திர படப் பட்டியல்". Cinema Express (in Tamil). 1 December 2002. pp. 41–43. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
4. "திரைப்பட சண்டை இயக்குநர் நித்தியானந்தன் நேர்காணல்". Vinavu (in Tamil). 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
5. "Naalai Unathu Naal (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
6. "Naalai Unathu Naal Tamil Film LP VInyl Record by Ilayaraaja". Macsendisk. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
7. ஜெயமன்மதன் (23 September 1984). "நாளை உனது நாள்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 9. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023 – via Internet Archive.
8. "அமுதகானத்தை உருவாக்கும் மேட்டுப்பாளையம் சகோதரர்கள்". Anna (in Tamil). 23 June 1985. p. 4. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2025 – via Endangered Archives Programme.

External links

• Naalai Unathu Naal at IMDb