Chandramukhi (English: Moon-faced beauty) is a 2005 Indian Tamil comedy horror film written and directed by P. Vasu, and was produced and distributed by Ramkumar Ganesan of Sivaji Productions. The film features Rajinikanth, Prabhu, Jyothika and Nayantara leading an ensemble cast that includes Vadivelu, Nassar, Sheela, Vijayakumar, Vinaya Prasad, Sonu Sood, Vineeth, Malavika and K. R. Vijaya. The film is a remake of Vasu's Kannada film Apthamitra (2004), which itself is a remake of the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu (1993). The soundtrack album and background score were composed by Vidyasagar. Cinematography was handled by Sekhar V. Joseph and editing was done by Suresh Urs. Chandramukhi's plot revolves around a woman who suffers from dissociative identity disorder that affects a family, and a psychiatrist who intends to solve the case while risking his life.
The film was made on a budget of ₹ 190 million. Principal photography began on 24 October 2004 and was completed in March 2005. It was released on 14 April 2005 on the eve of the Tamil New Year. The film received positive reviews and was a major box office success. It was the longest running South Indian film, with a theatrical run of 890 days, until its record was overtaken by the Telugu film Magadheera (2009) which completed a theatrical run of 1000 days. The film won five Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, four Film Fans' Association Awards and two Filmfare Awards. Jyothika and Vadivelu were each awarded a Kalaimamani Award for their work on the film.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa (English: The Maze) is a 2007 Indian comedy horror film directed by Priyadarshan. It constitutes the official remake of the 1993 Malayalam film, Manichitrathazhu, starring Mohanlal. which was already remade into several Indian films.
Bhool Bhulaiyaa features Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Ameesha Patel and Shiney Ahuja in pivotal roles with Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav in supporting roles. The music of the film was composed by Pritam and the lyrics were written by Sameer. It was a critical and commercial success.
The disorder suffered by the protagonist, dissociative identity disorder is an actual mental health problem. When the symptoms of the illness are explained, its most famous case is shown, that of an American female named Shirley Ardell Mason.
Badri (Manoj Joshi) heads a Brahmin family whose ancestral palace is believed to be haunted by the ghost of Manjulika, a Bengali odissi dancer. Siddharth (Shiney Ahuja) and Avni (Vidya Balan), the son and daughter-in-law of Badri's elder brother, return to their native village from America and decide to stay in their ancestral palace. Here, Siddharth is crowned as the king, his right to the throne.
Chandramukhi is one of the pivotal characters in the 1917 Bengali novel Devdas by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Her character was inspired by the Hindu mystical singer Meera, who devoted her life to Lord Krishna; similarly Chandramukhi devoted her life to Devdas. Chandramukhi is portrayed as a hooker with a heart of gold in the novel and its film adaptations. Chandramukhi means "moon faced" or "as beautiful as the moon" in Sanskrit.
Chandramukhi is a courtesan who lives in Calcutta. She is considered the most beautiful and richest prostitute in the area of Chitpur. She is first introduced to Devdas by Chunnilal, who returns to Calcutta heart-broken after the marriage of Parvathi "Paro". Devdas, disgusted over Chandramukhi's profession insults her and leaves her kotha. Chandramukhi, impressed by Devdas's attitude, later falls in love with him after realizing his steadfast love for Paro. She leaves her profession for Devdas and convinces him to marry her; he, however, has to reluctantly reject her offer as he has devoted his life to Paro. In return, Chandramukhi does not force him to be with her but waits patiently for him. Subsequently, she also moves to Ashthajhari village, where she lives in a muddy house located at the bank of a river and helps the needy. After some struggle, she meets with Devdas again, who now accepts her love.