Amarkalam
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySaran
Written bySaran
Produced byV. Satya Narayana
V. Sudhir Kumar
V. Sumanth Kumar
StarringAjith Kumar
Shalini
CinematographyA. Venkatesh
Edited bySuresh Urs
Music byBharadwaj
Production
company
Venkateswaralayam
Release date
  • 15 August 1999 (1999-08-15)
Running time
155 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Amarkalam (pronunciationⓘ transl. First class)[1] is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written and directed by Saran. The film stars Ajith Kumar and Shalini, with Raghuvaran, Radhika and Nassar in supporting roles.

Amarkalam was Ajith's 25th film. The film released on 15 August 1999 to positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success. While his contemporaries had flop milestone movies, this movie turned into a big blockbuster and turned Ajithkumar the man of masses.[2] The film was remade in Telugu as Leela Mahal Center and in Kannada as Asura.

Plot

Vasu is a ruthless hooligan who lives in a cinema theatre owned by Aarumugam. He had a tortured childhood and wastes his days by drinking, fighting, and sleeping. It all starts when Vasu's friend, Thilak, loses an Annaamalai film reel to Mohana. Vasu and Mohana clash when he attempts to retrieve the reel. Mohana's family are members of the police, headed by Birla Bose, Mohana's father. At this point, Tulasi Das, an ex-mafia dada who spent many years in jail because of Bose, comes to the theatre. He does not like Bose and hires Vasu to kidnap Mohana. Vasu later cries out his childhood pain in the song "Satham Illatha." Mohana falls in love with Vasu after hearing his pain.

When Tulasi realises that Mohana loves Vasu, he hires Vasu to pretend that he loves her back. At first, it is just pretended, but then he too begins to love her. Tulasi visits Bose to inform him of his daughter's love for a gangster and realises that Mohana is indeed his daughter. A flashback showing the parted friendship between the two men, and Ganga, Tulasi's wife, abandons him and their child when she discovers that her husband is a don. Knowing that Mohana is his daughter, Tulasi instructs Vasu to give up his love. When Vasu refuses, Tulasi visits Mohana and tells her about his ploy and that Vasu's love for her was fake. Eventually, Vasu proves to Mohana that his love was true and unites with her after a clash between the cops and some goons of the locality.

Cast

Production

Development

The producers of the previous collaboration of Ajith Kumar and Saran during Kaadhal Mannan (1998), Venkateswaralayam had lost a lot of money on that film so Ajith Kumar insisted on doing another film for the studio.[3] The film initially began production without a script but only the title Amarkalam being revealed.[3]

Saran initially came up with a script revolving around a gangster who loses his eyesight and makes many enemies; however he changed the script when his friends told him that several films on a similar subject were made at that time.[3] He built a story around a setup of "a father meets his daughter without she releasing that he was her dad" based on a film he had seen and made this script completely into "a hero-centric film".[3]

Casting

Jyothika was the first choice for the lead actress but could not accept it due to scheduling conflicts.[3] Saran approached Shalini, who was studying at the time, and she refused, but after a three-month pursuit, he finally got her to sign on as well.[1] Saran wanted Shalini because he found her "eyes to be arresting" and she gained "image of 'everybody's adorable daughter' after Kadhalukku Mariyadhai", which he felt would be right for this role.[3] The role of Tulasi Das was initially offered to Amitabh Bachchan who accepted before later pulling out of the film.[4] Raghuvaran was Saran's next choice for the role who agreed because Saran felt "he'd understand this complex character, who wasn't a violent one or routine villain character. Also, I was particular that no one should be able to guess the film's turning point".[3]

Filming

The film began production in January 1999 and during the production of the film, Ajith and Shalini fell in love and eventually got married in April 2000.[5][6] For the lead protagonist's staying place, Saran decided to use a film theatre as a backdrop, he found Srinivasa Theatre after looking at its infrastructure.[3]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Bharadwaj, with lyrics written by Vairamuthu.[7] Shalini sang a song in the film, with Saran recommending her after he had heard her humming to a tune.[3] Saran did not want the song "Satham Illamal" to be cinematic; for that he created a sad past of Ajith Kumar's character to justify the presence of the song in the film. The song's lyrics were based on a poem written by Vairamuthu where every line ended with the word "vendum" (I want). Bharadwaj suggested that "instead of 'vendum', the word should be 'kaetaen' (I asked), so that the song would convey that the hero asked for everything, but ultimately did not get any, including death. S. P. Balasubrahmanyam performed this song in a breathless manner.[3]

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Kaalam Kalikalam"Srinivas4:40
2."Sontha Kuralil Paada"Shalini4:59
3."Satham Illatha"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sujatha Mohan4:19
4."Unnodu Vaazha"K. S. Chithra5:18
5."Megangal Ennai Thottu"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam5:44
6."En Seidhaayo"Bharadwaj2:19
Total length:27:19

Release and reception

Amarkalam was released on 15 August 1999.[8] D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "A STORY of love and vendetta has been given glossy touches and interesting twists by director Saran (the screenplay, dialogue and story are also his) in Venkateswaralayam's Amarkallam, making it worth the money".[9] K. P. S. of Kalki wrote the director created huge expectations, love element which was barely touched became a main focal point in second half, what could have been a first class film became an average film.[10] The film went on to become a large success, extending Ajith Kumar's success after his previous film Vaali.[11][12] Ajith went on to purchase Saran a car as a token of gratitude for the success.[13]

Other versions

Amarkalam was dubbed into Telugu as Adbhutam and produced by V. Sathyanarayana.[14] It was later remade in Kannada as Asura (2001), with Raghuvaran reprising his role.[15] Despite the release of dubbed version there was a 2004 remake version in Telugu titled Leela Mahal Center.[16] A Hindi remake starring Vivek Oberoi was planned by Saran but later dropped.[17]

Re-release

A digitally restored version of Amarkalam was released on 16 May 2014.[18][19]

References

  1. 1 2 Rajitha (10 February 2000). "'The only thing I wanted to do was direct films'". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  2. ↑ Pillai, Sreedhar (31 May 2002). "The age of rage". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 July 2003. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "20 years of Ajith's Amarkkalam". The Times of India. 13 August 2019. Archived from the original on 15 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  4. ↑ Rajitha (30 April 1998). "And AB too". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  5. ↑ Ashok Kumar, S.R. (15 September 2006). "From a child artiste to badminton player". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  6. ↑ Rajitha (15 September 1999). "Pyar to hona hi tha". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  7. ↑ "Amarkalam (1999)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "Amarkalam / அமர்க்களம்". Screen 4 Screen. Archived from the original on 18 November 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  9. ↑ Ramanujam, D. S. (20 August 1999). "Film Reviews: Kannodu Kaanbathellam/Amarkallam". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 June 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  10. ↑ கே. பி. எஸ். (29 August 1999). "அமர்க்களம்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 84. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  11. ↑ Rajitha (14 June 2000). "Of debut directors and second offerings". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  12. ↑ Qureshi, Nilufer. "Meet the Southern sensation Ajith". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  13. ↑ Aarkay; Rajitha (11 August 2000). "The dancing brush". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  14. ↑ Rajitha (8 December 1999). "More success for Ajit". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  15. ↑ "Aasura Movie Review". Chitraloka.com. 17 November 2000. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  16. ↑ Jeevi. "Movie review – Leela Mahal Center". Idlebrain.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  17. ↑ Pillai, Sreedhar (28 May 2002). "Mean Street mogul". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 July 2004. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  18. ↑ "Ajith's Amarkalam to release again". The Times of India. 14 April 2014. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  19. ↑ "Yet another Thala treat on May 16?". The Times of India. 6 May 2014. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
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