Kudumbam Oru Kadambam

Kudumbam Oru Kadambam
Directed by	S.P. Muthuraman
Produced by	L. N. Nachiappan S. Muthusami
Written by	Visu
Starring	S. V. Shekhar Suhasini Prathap K. Pothan Sumalatha Visu Kamala Kamesh
Music by	M.S. Viswanathan
Cinematography	Babu
Edited by	R. Vittal
Production company	Visagam Pictures
Distributed by	Visagam Pictures
Release date	5 December 1981
Running time	144 mins
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Kudumbam Oru Kadambam is a 1981 Tamil drama film about the role of money and working women in 1980s Indian middle-class society. The film was remade in Kannada as Ananda Sagara starring Master Hirannayya, Aarathi, Srinivasamurthy, Jai Jagadish, Pramila Joshai and in Telugu as Manishiki Charithra with Chandramohan, Suhasini and Murali Mohan and in Hindi as Aaj Ka Daur with Jackie Shroff.

The film opens on an ordinary day in the lives of the families in a large apartment house in Chennai. Each family represents a different slice of early 1980s middle-class society. Kannan and Uma are a working couple. Kannan's father, retired from Government service, lives with them. They enjoy the comforts of dual income, but their general lament is that their long work hours compel them to send their five-year-old daughter Priya to boarding school. The second couple comprises real estate agent Paramasivam and his homemaker wife Parvathi. Real estate in the early 1980s is not very profitable or progressive. Paramasivam and Parvathi enjoy a happy marriage, but Paramasivam's limited (and sporadic) income is barely able to meet household costs. The third couple is Srinivasa Raghavan and Lakshmiammal. Fifty-five-year-old Srinivasa Raghavan is a worthless wastrel. In spite of a college education, he has never worked a day in his life. He chooses to roam about the city and engage in pointless banter with anyone he can find. Lakshmiammal works as a cook to earn a meager wage, but they frequently have to pawn their valuables to get by. Their son Madhu is an aspiring actor with dreams of making it big, and their daughter Mythili is still in high school.

Their everyday lives have ups and downs. Kannan and Uma work all through the week. Uma takes German lessons in the evenings. Their overburdened schedule permits them to see their daughter only on weekends, and as a result they gradually drift away from the needs of their child. As for Paramasivam, his income is squeezed by the down market or by crafty tenants (who collude with the owners and ultimately do not pay his commissions). Lakshmiammal works long hours in hot kitchens, and worries that her declining health might just give out one day.

There are some new arrivals. The first is Parvathi's brother Kumar. Kumar has recently graduated from college, and he arrives in Chennai to start a new job. He plans to stay with Parvathi for a few days until he finds a new place. The second arrival is Anandan, a mild-mannered young man. He used to work at a rice mill in Nagapatnam, but when the mill was destroyed in a cyclone, his employer transferred him to another job in Chennai. Anandan is happy to find another job, but despairs because he is away from his wife and children in Nagapatnam. He is not able to afford weekly trips to see his family. Lakshmiammal recognizes an opportunity and proposes a boarding arrangement. Anandan is happy to accept; Lakshmiammal's home cooked food is healthier and cheaper than eating out every day.