Time has not dulled the magic of Punnagai Mannan. We loved this movie when we first saw it in the 1980s on the big screen. When we watched Punnagai Mannan recently on DVD, we realized its timeless appeal.

The payoffs are aplenty in this bewitching movie.

Besides an absorbing story, Punnagai Mannan delights viewers with lovely music and a breakout performance by lead actors Kamal Haasan and Revathi.

Over the last two decades, we have seen dozens of Tamil movies. But seldom seen such an electrifying performance like that delivered by the Kamal-Revathi pair in Punnagai Mannan. what added to the allure of the movie was the excellent chemistry shared by Kamal Haasan and Revathi on screen.

The movie's music sent us into raptures as it did when we first heard it two decades back. The songs Enna Satham Indha Naeram, Singalathu Chinnakuyile, Maamavukku Kuduma Kuduma and Vaan Megam have left a lasting impact.

We have lost count of the number of times we have listened to Enna Satham Indha Naeram over the last 20 years. Each time we listen to the song we derive as much pleasure as when we first listened to it.

Punnagai Mannan is perhaps music director Ilaiyaraaja's finest effort. Young lovebirds Sethu (Kamal Haasan) and Ranjini (Rekha) attempt to commit suicide following strong opposition to their relationship from Ranjini's rich parents. Ranjini dies but Sethu survives the suicide attempt.

Disillusioned with life, Sethu soldiers on as a dance master in an arts center run by Padmini (Srividya). One day, Sethu manages to dissuade a young girl Malini (Revathi) from committing suicide at the same spot where Ranjini and he had jumped off the cliff.

Soon Malini falls in love with him and joins Sethu's dance school. Despite his best attempts to stay away from Malini, Sethu is inexorably drawn to her. But Malini's Sinhala parents are against her marriage to Sethu, a Tamil, and that too son of a cook.

Will history repeat itself? Kamal Haasan has a double role in this movie. Besides the role of Sethu, Kamal Haasan plays Sethu's uncle Chaplin Chellappa, a Chaplinesque comedian, with great aplomb. Srividya and Delhi Ganesh, who plays Sethu's polygamous father, ably support the lead pair.