Michael Madana Kama Rajan

Should be among the greatest comedy movies in any language, from anywhere in the world. Immaculate dialogues, brilliant acting from Kamal Hassan (I feel he does his best in comedy roles), good music score, and around three hours of wholesome entertainment.

The story is about a woman giving birth to identical quadruplets who are separated at birth. Later in life each of them tries to play another for monetary benefits. All this with confused lovers singing duets with the wrong people!

I am not sure if the movie would have as much effect with subtitles (not so much of a slapstick), but a must watch for anyone interested in Tamil movies.

I might have watched this movie 40+ times, in Telugu and Tamil. Each time it makes me laugh and wonder about the genius of screenplay (Kamalahasan) and direction (Singeetham) behind.

All characters were tightly interwoven including the 4 played by Kamal himself in one of the slickest screenplays ever written for an Indian movie. Take it from the motives of the different characters, their characterization, level of wit, and even small events like a goon getting hit on the hand in the beginning, and appearing all the way through the rest of the movie with a bandage-- are all taken care of impeccably.

And of course, Kamal himself gave a tower of performance -- in fact, make it 4 towers for the 4 roles he played. Very few other actors in the world, and definitely no one in India not only in the contemporary scene but in the entire history itself would have played 4 characters without giving the viewers in such way -- when other actors play even a double role, viewers all the time get confused who is who also -- but here is Kamalahasan playing 4 roles in a movie with no mix up between characters to give you an impression that it might actually be 4 different people from very different backgrounds!! Kudos to his performance.. but for being a comedy or more like a tickling farce kind of one --- this deserves accolades for Kamal's action more than many of his other more serious ventures like Vichitra Sodarulu (Apoorva Sahodarargal), Nayakudu (Nayagan), Vasantha Kokila (Moonram Pirai) and Kshtriya Putrudu (Devar Magan)..

But as he is, Kamal is an entertainer at heart, and he made serious films and entertaining films in tandem throughout this career, this one being the very best of his comedies in terms of both planning and execution. Thanks are due to Rajashri for bringing the original Crazy Mohan dialogues to life in the translated Telugu version. Kamal is also fortunate to have none other than SP Balasubrahmanyam telling his dialogue in Telugu, which made him a superstar in Telugu without even many direct films.. specially this one where there is a great amount of variation in dialogues between the 4 characters he played.

All in all, its my all time favorite in Indian movies and a classic which would be hard to beat for a long time to come. If you think the main purpose of films is entertainment, you should not miss this movie.. But its not a silly story either, even though a very improbable one but who cares? -Ramarao

Definitely the best comedy by my favorite actor Kamalhassan. This movie was well ahead of its time (think about it. It was released in 1990-91) and that was its main problem. The mass could not appreciate it at that time so it did not really become a box office blockbuster (compared to Rajini movies). But all said and done, this movie is a definite classic. The dialogues and screenplay were one of the best in Tamil movies. And Kamal's portrayal of 'Kameswaran' is as famous as a movie character could get in Tamil cinema. Kamal set the bar for himself so high with this movie, he himself is finding it difficult to exceed that in his successive movies. Though Sathi Leelavathi and Avvai Shanmugi were good comedies, Michael Madana Kamarajan stands out on the top.

Agree totally with the above reviews. This is not only the best comedy movies in any language, but perhaps the best movie in any language I feel. Awesome direction, great team work, great dialogues by Crazy Mohan, great acting by Kamal - his best I feel. I was surprised that the story was neither Crazy Mohan's nor Kamal Haasan's. Lovely storyline. You cannot point anything negative in this at all! I wonder why it has not yet been dubbed in any other language. Watch it a 1000 times, and you would not be bored. Kamal as Kameshwaran was amazing! The best family entertainer there can be. I've not seen a better movie. A movie is supposed to be like this - entertainment - nothing else. 100% marks.

Let me start off by saying that this is one of the earliest films I watched, probably when I was five years old, and I liked it instantly. The sheer wit and humor displayed by each character in the film is astounding, to say the least. The plot revolves around the lives of quadruplets separated at birth, and leading seemingly unrelated lives, which intertwine during the course of the film and result in a hilarious comedy of errors. It isn't really the most fantastic plot ever written, and viewers of Indian cinema would know that the premise of brothers or twins separated at birth is an age old pretext for a plot in our movies.

But in this case, it has to be said that the positives by far outnumber the clichés. One huge plus in the movie is obviously Kamal Haasan. He carries off the roles of all the four main characters so convincingly that at times you almost forget it's the same guy. Each of them speaks a different accent, and he seems to bring it out so naturally that all one can do is wonder at the genius of the man. Another factor is the dialogues by Crazy Mohan. The puns and one liners from this creative genius are simply wonderful. The fact that he is from a theatre background only adds to this. And of course, veteran Tamil actors Nagesh and Delhi Ganesh are brilliant in supporting parts which are acted out so naturally, that it makes one feel if acting is easier than a stroll in the park for these people.

Above all this, it is the performances from the smaller characters which really elevates this film from a good comedy to a masterpiece. The villain's henchmen, the hero's friends, his bodyguard,all play their part to perfection, and these small nuances really add to the spirit of the film.

If you haven't yet watched this film, please do so, it is highly recommended. If you have already, I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say, it will never fail to make you laugh.