Kandukondain Kandukondain

Story:

Kandukondain Kandukondain is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language romantic musical film directed and co-written by Rajiv Menon. Based on Jane Austen’s 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility, it features an ensemble cast of Mammootty, Ajith Kumar, Tabu, Aishwarya Rai and Abbas. Veterans Manivannan, Srividya and Raghuvaran play supporting roles. The film’s soundtrack was scored by A. R. Rahman and the cinematographer was Ravi K. Chandran.

PLOT

Indian Peace Keeping Force personnel Major Bala, while fighting in the jungles of war-torn Sri Lanka, loses his right leg in an explosion triggered by Tamil militants. Elsewhere, Manohar, a film director, is greeted at a filming location by his parents, who want him to marry Swetha, so that he will inherit her family’s company. Sisters Sowmya and Meenakshi are part of a close-knit family living in a Chettiar mansion in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu, with their mother Padma, maternal grandfather Chandrasekhar, servant Chinnatha and younger sister Kamala. Sowmya is a school principal while Meenakshi is passionate about classic Tamil poetry, music and dance. Sivagnanam, a friend of Bala, lives with his mother. His mother is having breathing issues, which is fixed as soon as he says the word marriage. After his mother wants to see a marriage, Sivagnanam shows two cats, Raj and Viji, getting married much to her dismay.

Bala, who now runs a floral business, has become a depressed and alcohol-dependent man since losing his leg but he quits drinking after an argument with Meenakshi, with whom he falls in love and supports her family when in need. At her behest, he stops drinking in exchange for her to learn music, which she does. Meenakshi, who, considers Bala as a friend, falls in love with Srikanth, a charming businessman who shares Meenakshi’s interests. Manohar visits Meenakshi’s house for a film shoot where Sowmya and Manohar fall in love with each other.

On his deathbed, Chandrasekhar tries to say something about his will but no one understands him. After his death, their lawyer breaks open the box and find he has bequeathed all of his property to his younger son Swaminathan, at the time when his elder daughter Padma had eloped and married without his knowledge, but was unable to change the will as he was paralysed and unable to speak a few years down the lane when his daughter assisted him. Vidya and Sowmya silently submit themselves to Swaminathan and his wife, Lalitha’s demands, but Meenakshi is unable to accept the change in lifestyle. Sowmya and her family move to Chennai when they can no longer stand Lalitha’s arrogant behaviour upon inheriting the mansion.

Upon arriving in Chennai, the family struggles and they work as cooks at a local restaurant. While eating a vazhaipoo vada (banana flower vada), Bala and Sivagnanam recognise its taste and immediately go to the kitchen. They are surprised to see such a rich family working tirelessly in the restaurant. After attending several interviews, Sowmya gets a job as a telephone operator at a software company. She is later promoted to a junior programmer due to her qualifications while Meenakshi becomes a playback singer with Bala’s help, but keeps searching for Srikanth whom she has lost contact with. After Sowmya’s promotion she gets a home loan approved and they are able to buy their own apartment. Meanwhile, Lalitha is sad after Swaminathan dies of electrocution and offers the Chettinad house to Sowmya and her family, who refuse her offer to take the house back.

In the meanwhile, Srikanth’s finance company goes bankrupt and he has to pay back his investors. A minister offers to bail out Srikanth and his company if Srikanth marries his daughter. Srikanth agrees but Meenakshi is shocked and overwhelmed at his hypocrisy. She meets Srikanth and his future wife at the time of her first recording and after recording her first song, Meenakshi falls into an open manhole and is rescued by Bala. Realising Bala’s love for her, Meenakshi falls in love with him.

Manohar’s first film project is in disarray and he is thrown out. While talking to Sowmya’s family, he says the name chosen as the film’s title was bad omen and attributed the failure to its bad luck. Sowmya who chose the name of the film translates it her being bad luck to him. For his next project, he plans to make an action film with Nandhini Varma, a well-known Telugu film actor, as the heroine. Nandhini is attracted to Manohar; rumours of an affair between them spread and his lack of attention to Sowmya hurts her deeply.

Bala introduces Meenakshi to Vinod, an army officer, as he does not want Meenakshi to dedicate her life to caring for him because of his disability. Meenakshi tells Vinod and his family that she is not interested in him and declares her love to Bala. Manohar’s film is a commercial success but when he visits Sowmya’s house in Chennai, he finds she is moving to California for her company’s project. Manohar and Sowmya tearfully argue and he tries to persuade Sowmya to marry him, and she accepts his proposal. The film ends with Manohar marrying Sowmya and Bala marrying Meenakshi.