Taj Mahal (1999 film)

Taj Mahal
Directed by	Bharathiraja
Produced by	Janani Ishwarya
Written by	Mani Ratnam R. Selvaraj
Starring	Manoj Riya Sen Revathi Radhika Ranjitha Manivannan
Music by	A. R. Rahman
Cinematography	B. Kannan Madhu Ambat
Edited by	K. Pazhanivel
Production company	Janani Cine Arts
Release date	7 November 1999
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Taj Mahal is a 1999 Tamil film directed by Bharathiraja. The film featured the director's son, Manoj, alongside fellow debutant Riya Sen in the lead roles, with an ensemble supporting cast including Revathi, Radhika and Ranjitha. The film's story was written by Mani Ratnam while music was composed by A.R.Rahman and B. Kannan handled the camera. The story of the film revolved around two clashing communities and two lovers caught in the vortex of their rivalry. The film fared poorly at the 1999 Deepavali releases box office.

Thiruppaachi and Sengulam are neighboring villages with a history of enmity between them. Maayan (Manoj) and Machakanni (Riya Sen) meet on the day of her engagement and its love at first sight. Her marriage itself gets called off when the groom and his family insult Machakanni's family and her romance with Maayan continues. But when her brother finds out about him, all hell breaks loose. The turned-down bridegroom is still itching for revenge and figuring out that the only way to extract it is to marry Machakanni, he pleads for forgiveness and succeeds in melting her brother's heart. The marriage is finalised but Maayan's friends swear to unite the star-crossed lovers. There is also a subplot of Maayan's aunt(Radhika) trying to get her daughter married off to Maayan.

Bharathiraja introduced his son Manoj as an actor with the film, stating that his son should appear as an actor before fulfilling his dreams of working as a part of the crew.Riya Sen, daughter of Hindi actress Moon Moon Sen was signed on to play the leading female role. Leading film-maker Mani Ratnam wrote the story for the film, while Rajiv Menon was also involved in initial script discussions but opted out after the film became a village-centric project.A. R. Rahman was signed to score the music while veteran cinematographer B. Kannan also signed the project, ending a long hiatus in Tamil films. The team started pre-production work in late 1997 and shooting began in 1998, with the project becoming Janani Cine Arts' most expensive production til date.