Idaya Kovil

After all these years this film still manages to make one sit till the end, and IMHO the fabulous music by Ilayaraja is the sole reason. Classics such as "Idhayam oru koil", "Yaar veettil roja", "Koottathile koil pura", and "Naan paadum mouna raagam" are still a hit among Tamil listeners. My personal favourite is "Vaanuyarntha soliayile", written by Paavalar Varadarajan, Ilayaraja's brother and mentor. The storyline is nothing great - Mohan comes to the city, makes it big as a singer, Radha has the hots for him but he has eyes only for booze, and thereby hangs a tale. Mohan is surprisingly tolerable here. It's hard to believe this is a Mani Ratnam film, as it has practically none of the irritating features of his later films (like clichéd stilted dialogue, overdose of semi-darkness, insufferable heroines, bad comedy tracks). The Goundamani comedy track is quite good. Overall a watchable entertainer, but take out the songs and there's nothing.