Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000)

Interesting facts

• Based on: Sense and Sensibility
• Filmed in: Egypt

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.

Production

After the success of his directorial debut Minsara Kanavu (1997), Rajiv Menon was signed by producer Kalaipuli S. Thanu to direct a film in the final quarter of 1998. In November 1998, Menon announced he had begun pre-production work on a project titled Theekkul Viralai Vaithal, a title taken from a line by Subramania Bharati.

Menon wrote a screenplay based on the Jane Austen novel Sense and Sensibility and the project was renamed Kandukondain Kandukondain. The title was inspired by the phrase "kanden kanden Seethaiyai kanden" from Kambar's epic Kamba Ramayanam. Menon said the film's story of two sisters was reminiscent of those of him and his brother during difficult parts of their lives.

In November 1999, when most of the production was complete, Menon—whose previous film performed poorly in rural areas—wanted to show a rough copy of Kandukondain Kandukondain to a village audience to ensure they could relate to the subject. After showing parts of the film to audiences in Udumalpettai and Pollachi, the team later held a group discussion before thanking the volunteers with gifts while receiving positive feedback.

Tabu was the first actor to be cast in the film; she was cast in the role of the elder sister Sowmya and Revathi was signed to dub for her character. The casting of the younger sister Meenakshi took longer to finalise; initially the team approached Meena for the role, but she declined due to other commitments.

Initially Menon cast Prabhu Deva, the lead actor of his previous film, in a leading role. Deva had played a key role in introducing Menon to producer Thanu but soon left the project. For the role of a former army general, Menon attempted to cast Parthiban but the actor's difficult relationship with Thanu meant they could not collaborate. Arjun Sarja was also approached but he was working in a different film genre during the period.

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