| Garjanai | |
| Director: | C. V. Rajendran |
| Screenplay: | C. V. Rajendran |
| Story: | Gollapudi Maruti Rao |
| Starring: | Rajinikanth Madhavi Geetha |
| Producer: | Ram Kishen Ramakrishnan Giridharlal Chand Ramchand |
| Music: | Ilaiyaraaja |
| Cinematography: | Jayanan Vincent |
| Editing: | R. G. Gopu |
| Studio: | Hem Nag Films |
| Runtime: | 124 minutes |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Tamil Malayalam Kannada |
Garjanai is a 1981 Indian Tamil language film directed by C. V. Rajendran, starring Rajinikanth and Madhavi. The music was scored by Ilaiyaraaja. The film was simultaneously shot in Malayalam as Garjanam and in Kannada as Garjane . All three versions of the film failed at the box office.[1] Garjanai ran for 52 days in Chennai making it one of Rajinikanth's films with the shortest run in theatres. It marked Rajinikanth's last Malayalam and Kannada film role till date.
Dr. Vijay is an honest doctor who confronts a dangerous, diabolical gang led by Dr. Mithra and Parasuram. The gang contaminates common food items with lethal substances and profits by supplying antidotes. Geetha is Vijay's love interest, while Rekha is his sister.
| Cast (Tamil) | Cast (Kannada) | Role | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Vijay, M.B.B.S. | |||
| Geetha | |||
| Parasuram | |||
| Mr. Mithra | |||
| Mohan Babu (Uncredited) | |||
| D. C. P. | |||
| Sivalingam (Tamil)/ Maadappa (Kannada) | |||
| Sundaram | |||
| Prof. Jaidev | |||
| Murali | |||
| Rekha | |||
| Vijay and Rekha's mother | |||
| Asha | |||
| Upasane Seetharam | Vishwanathan (Tamil)/ Vishwanath (Kannada) | ||
| Special Appearance in the song "Vanthathu Nallathu" (Tamil)/ "Bandeya Bandeya" (Kannada) | |||
All three versions were filmed simultaneously. Jayan was the original lead actor of Garjanam, the Malayalam version. While half the film had been shot, he suffered an accident while filming another film, Kolilakkam and succumbed to his injuries. Subsequently, Garjanam was completed with Rajinikanth in the same role. Some footage of Jayan was included in the film's opening reel, before the credits, during screenings in Kerala.[2] [3] During the filming of another fight sequence, a stuntman sustained a gash after punching glass, which led to hospitalisation.[4]
Sindhu and Jeeva, in their negative review of the film for Kalki, referred to it as a "meow" rather than the "roar" implied by the films title.[5]
