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{{short description|1978 film by K. Balachander}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Thappu Thalangal
| image = Thappu Thalangal poster.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster in Tamil
| director = [[K. Balachander]]
| writer = K. Balachander
| screenplay =
| story =
| based_on =
| starring = {{unbulleted list|[[Rajinikanth]]|[[Saritha]]||[[Kamal Haasan]]|Premila Joshi|Sunder}}
| producer = '''Tamil:''' R. Venkataraman '''Kannada:''' B. A. Ramanujacharya Pandit B M. Venkatesh [[Chandulal Jain]] Prasanna Kumar
| narrator =
| music = [[Vijaya Bhaskar]]
| cinematography = [[B. S. Lokanath]]
| editing = N. R. Kittu
| studio = Lalitha Lakshmi Combines (Kannada) Premaalaya (Tamil)
| distributor =
| released = 6 October 1978 (Kannada) 30 October 1978 (Tamil)
| runtime = 131 minutes
| country = India
| language = Kannada Tamil
| budget =
| gross =
}}

'''''Thappu Thalangal''''' ({{Translation|Wrong Notes}}) is a 1978 Indian [[Tamil language|Tamil-language]] film directed by [[K. Balachander]] and produced by R. Venkataraman starring [[Rajinikanth]], [[Saritha]] and Premila Joshi. It was made simultaneously and released in [[Kannada]] as '''''Thappida Thala''''' ({{Translation|Wrong Notes}}). The film was remade in [[Malayalam]] as ''[[Kazhukan]]''. The film is a saga of emotional and selfish world of human feelings and it is the commercial success.

== Plot ==
Devu, a local thug whose weapon of choice is a bicycle chain he sports casually around the neck. Devu charges {{INR}} 30 to slice a finger, {{INR}} 300 to chop a hand, {{INR}} 3000 for the leg, and ten times as much to dispose off the whole body. On one of his nightly rounds, Devu is pursued by a cop and seeks refuge at a sex worker house run by a hooker Sarasu, played to perfection by Saritha. Despite her vehement protests, he stays put and leaves only at daybreak, but her persistent cough stays with him. At a theatre, Devu watches an advertisement for Glycodin Cough Syrup and proceeds to buy her a bottle. Devu and Sarasu bond over the cough syrup and philosophise late into the night, exchanging notes on their immoral lifestyles.

Devu's assault on a trade union leader delivering medicine to a critically ill worker leads to a mishap. Watching the wailings of the widow of the worker, Devu is traumatised and breaks down at Sarasu's place. In an inspired moment, he suggests they remap their lives and chart a moral course. Sarasu is attracted by the notion of giving up prostitution and leading a normal life as Devu's wife, though she wonders if they'll be able to pull it off. The couple go to great lengths to secure a job for Devu and lead a normal life, but there are too many skeletons in the closet. Devu is no longer feared for his might, and Sarasu's past clientele continue to haunt the joint. Sarasu gets a loan for Devu from his evil brother Soma, who continues to harass her on that pretext. In a particularly traumatic sequence of events, Sarasu is raped by Soma as a helpless Devu watches, pinned down by Soma's henchmen. The couple resolve to repay Soma's loan, and Devu undertakes a botched robbery attempt. Devu is imprisoned and in his absence, Sarasu has an abortion. The couple's plans for normality never attain fruition. The inevitable return to lives of vice is especially tragic and heartbreaking.

Devu's inherent goodness is contrasted with his "evil twin", a stepbrother Soma who thwarts his every attempt at morality and finally succumbs at Devu's hands. Kamalhaasan has an interesting cameo as a Hindi speaking client of Sarasu. Balachander skewers middle-class morality and takes potshots at the hypocrisy of do-gooders. In the final analysis, the film is an indictment of society at large, for not allowing lesser mortals to rejoin society and return to a life of normality.

== Cast ==
* [[Rajinikanth]] as Devu<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.thehindu.com/thread/entertainment-variety/article8876672.ece |title=Rajini's Big B-eautiful career |last=Narayan |first=Hari |date=20 July 2016 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=1 April 2018}}</ref>
* [[Saritha]] as Sarasu<ref name="NamanRamachandran" /> (Introducing)
* [[Sundar Raj]] as Soma<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/k-balachander-left-a-mark-on-kannada-cinema/article6720093.ece |title=K. Balachander left a mark on Kannada cinema |last=Khajane |first=Muralidhara |date=24 December 2014 |work=[[The Hindu]] |access-date=7 May 2021}}</ref>(Introducing)
* [[Kamal Haasan]] as Amrit Lal (uncredited)<ref name="NamanRamachandran" />
* [[Pramila Joshai]] as Soma's wife (Introducing)

==Production==
''Thappu Thalangal'' was simultaneously filmed in [[Kannada]] as ''Thappida Thala''.<ref name="NamanRamachandran">{{Cite book |last=Ramachandran |first=Naman |title=Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography |title-link=Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-14-342111-5 |location=New Delhi |pages=83 |author-link=Naman Ramachandran |orig-year=2012}}</ref>

== Soundtrack ==
All songs were written by [[Kannadasan]] in Tamil and [[Hunsur Krishnamurthy]] in Kannada and composed by [[Vijaya Bhaskar]]{{Infobox album
| name = Thappu Thalangal
| type = soundtrack
| artist = [[Vijaya Bhaskar]]
| cover =
| alt =
| released = {{Start date|df=yes|1978||}}
| recorded = 1978
| venue = Chennai
| studio = Prasad Studio
| genre = Soundtrack
| length =
| language = [[Tamil language|Tamil]], [[Kannada language|Kannada]]
| label =
| producer = R. Venkataraman
| prev_title =
| prev_year =
| year = 1978
| next_title =
| next_year =
}}
;Tamil Soundtrack
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
!No.
!Title
!Lyrics!!Singer!!Length
|-
|1
|"Azhagana Ilamangai"
| rowspan="3" |[[Kannadasan]]
|[[Vani Jairam]]
|3:15
|-
|2
|"Ennada Polladha"
|[[S. P. Balasubrahmanyam]]
|3:19
|-
|3
|"Thappu Thalangal"
|[[S. P. Balasubrahmanyam]]
|4:43
|-
|}

;Kannada Soundtrack
{{Track listing
| headline = Tracklist
| extra_column = Singer(s)
| total_length =
| title1 = Thappida Thalagalu
| lyrics1 = [[Hunsur Krishnamurthy]]
| extra1 = [[S. P. Balasubrahmanyam]]
| length1 =
| title2 = Yaathara Vichithra Baalu
| lyrics2 =
| extra2 = S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
| length2 =
| title3 = Olavinda Nalle
| lyrics3 =
| extra3 = [[Vani Jairam]]
| length3 =
}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb title|0155257|Thappu Thalangal}}

{{K. Balachander}}

[[Category:1978 films]]
[[Category:Films directed by K. Balachander]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:Indian black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Indian multilingual films]]
[[Category:Tamil films remade in other languages]]
[[Category:Films about prostitution in India]]
[[Category:Films set in Bangalore]]
[[Category:1970s Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by K. Balachander]]
[[Category:1970s multilingual films]]
[[Category:1970s Kannada-language films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Vijaya Bhaskar]]

Thappu Thalangal - Revision history

imported>Kailash29792: /* Production */ Reference edited with ProveIt