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Thenali

  • 2000
  • 2h 44m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
2.8K
YOUR RATING
Thenali (2000)
ComedyDrama

A neurotic Sri Lankan patient crashes his psychotherapist's family vacation in Kodaikanal.A neurotic Sri Lankan patient crashes his psychotherapist's family vacation in Kodaikanal.A neurotic Sri Lankan patient crashes his psychotherapist's family vacation in Kodaikanal.

  • Director
    • K.S. Ravikumar
  • Writers
    • Crazy Mohan
    • Ramakrishna
    • K.S. Ravikumar
  • Stars
    • Kamal Haasan
    • Jayaram
    • Jyotika
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.5/10
    2.8K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • K.S. Ravikumar
    • Writers
      • Crazy Mohan
      • Ramakrishna
      • K.S. Ravikumar
    • Stars
      • Kamal Haasan
      • Jayaram
      • Jyotika
    • 9User reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win total

    Photos71

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    Top cast13

    Edit
    Kamal Haasan
    Kamal Haasan
    • Tenali Soman
    Jayaram
    Jayaram
    • Dr. Kailash
    Jyotika
    Jyotika
    • Janaki
    • (as Jyothika)
    Devayani
    Devayani
    • Jalaja
    Delhi Ganesh
    Delhi Ganesh
    • Dr. Panchabhootam
    Ramesh Khanna
    Ramesh Khanna
    • Dr. Panchabhootam's assistant
    C.R. Vijayakumari
    • Kamakshi
    • (as Vijayakumari)
    Madhan Bob
    • Diamond Babu
    Meena
    Meena
    • Self
    Crane Manohar
    • Servant
    Charlie
    Charlie
    • Tourist guide
    Bayilvan Ranganathan
    • Inspector
    K.S. Ravikumar
    K.S. Ravikumar
    • Guest Appearance
    • Director
      • K.S. Ravikumar
    • Writers
      • Crazy Mohan
      • Ramakrishna
      • K.S. Ravikumar
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews9

    7.52.7K
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    Featured reviews

    10you_can_do_it

    Average movie...but a Bumper Hit!!!

    Kamal Haasan is certainly one of the most talented and popular stars of Indian Cinema. Many of his comedies are worth watching several times. But Thenali is not one of Kamal's best movies. Its mindless comedy. The performances are good but the story lacks any substance and continuity. Jayaram and Kamal and Crazy Mohan have succeeded in making the audience laugh out loud but once you come out of the theater, you just don't remember anything except the peppy songs tuned by A.R. Rahman.

    All said and done, this was a blockbuster hit. 'Thenali' ran for nearly 200 days throughout Tamil Nadu and even its dubbed Telugu version did good business. It was made on a shoe-string budget but turned out to be a highly-profitable film.
    10indiankamal7

    Its a superb movie and the best performance by kamal haasan just in the change of dialog delivery

    it will be a quite excitement if you know Tamil when you watch the movie; the reason is that the big strength of the movie is how kamal change his language slag' in Tamil into srilankan Tamil... its a non stop comedy entertainer..

    just leave about whatever the resemblance of the movie... If at all it is a remake, no way the original version can be compared with kamal haasan's excellent performance...

    This is like a movie which kamal haasan does a light warm-up entertainer between high profile experimental projects (LIke Hey Ram and Aalavandaan) just like a spicy snack between sweet and coffee as mentioned by the legend himself..

    Don't miss the movie and the excitement but u need to know Tamil to enjoy 100% of its fun.
    9charu-iit

    Rib TIckling Comedy

    One Amazing Movie with Loads of Amazingly funny dialogues. Have laughed non-stop for scenes together.Kamal Hassan is undoubtedly the KING of comedy!! his acting, his vel, his mannerisms is just Mind blowing.Not to undermine Jayarams acting.His comedy timing is AWESOME too. Every character has some really funny dialogues from Diamond Babu's "I love.. Murkku" , to a TV reporter saying "unga Mentalla Medicalla programma paarthern" to Matrabootham's assistant never getting the name Thenali right (he goes thru sundali anjali mandali and loads of other names!) Although its a ripoff from What about Bob (which was another great movie!), its definitely got its own charm. All in all, a GREAT movie watching experience which no one should miss
    10Santhosh_2002

    Thenali

    The movie was excellent. As usual Kamal Hassan superb acting. Songs and BGM in the movie were also excellent. The comedy scenes in the movie were also hilarious.
    10kanvasuk

    excellent entertainment

    Kamal,Ravikumar and crazy Mohan has done a few films.In my opinion they are all very good.Story and plot may be a copy but it was done in a very good manner that suits Tamil culture of the present days.Kamal was speaking Srilankan Tamil very well.He deliver crazy Mohan's dialogue very naturally.You can appreciate this film only if you know the language. Jayaram is very under rated actor.He is domineering equally with great Kamal.If you know the Tamil films full of sentimental values and family dramas,I can say this film is a turning point.I cannot stop laughing even after the end of movie.I like it so much and bought a DVD to watch now and again.The DVD make me to realise how much technically the Tamika films advanced.Remember because of a small market one can invest only a small sum to make a movie in Tamil.They did it very well and it become a commercial success as well. Delhi Ganesh acting as Mathrubootham has done a marvellous job.He portrayed the jealousy beautifully.

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    Related interests

    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Thenali is a Tamil remake of the American film "What About Bob?", starring Bill Murray.
    • Connections
      Remake of What About Bob? (1991)
    • Soundtracks
      Athini Sithini
      (Tamil Version)

      Written by: Arivumathi

      Produced by: A.R. Rahman

      Performed by: Hariharan, Chithra Iyer and Kamal Haasan

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    FAQ17

    • How long is Thenali?Powered by Alexa

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 26, 2000 (India)
    • Country of origin
      • India
    • Language
      • Tamil
    • Filming locations
      • Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu, India(location)
    • Production company
      • R.K. Celluloids
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • ₹300,000,000
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 44m(164 min)
    • Color
      • Color

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