Sigappu Rojakkal
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBharathirajaa
Written byBharathirajaa
Dialogue byBhagyaraj
Produced byJ. Padmavathi
Starring
CinematographyP. S. Nivas
Edited byP. Bhaskaran
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
K. R. G. Productions
Release date
  • 28 October 1978 (1978-10-28)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Sigappu Rojakkal (pronounced [siɡappu ɾoːdʑaːkkaɭ] transl. Red Roses) is a 1978 Indian Tamil-language psychological thriller film co-written and directed by Bharathirajaa. The film starring Kamal Haasan and Sridevi, with Goundamani, Bhagyaraj and Vadivukkarasi in supporting roles. It revolves around Dileep, a seemingly humble man who secretly kills women after having sex with them.

Sigappu Rojakkal was inspired by serial killer Raman Raghav's crimes, and another serial killer who was based in Bombay but hailed from Tirunelveli. It was deliberately meant to be different from Bharathiraja's earlier ventures which were set in villages. The dialogues were written by Bhagyaraj, cinematography was handled by P. S. Nivas, and the music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Kamal plays an anti-hero in this film.

Sigappu Rojakkal was released on 28 October 1978, three days before Diwali, and completed a 175-day in most of the theatres in Tamil Nadu. It won two Filmfare Awards in the Best Actor and Best Director categories. The film was later remade by Bharathiraja himself in Hindi as Red Rose (1980).

Plot

Dileep is an industrialist who runs a company named Minerva Exports & Imports. Despite his humble exterior, he has a dark side; he preys on nubile girls, has sex with them, and kills them. These proceedings are filmed and watched by his adoptive father and mentor, another deranged woman-hater who, as with Dileep, had a disillusioning experience with women in his past. The man stays holed up in a far corner of Dileep's mansion watching his adopted son carry out what he is too infirm to do. The victims are buried in Dileep's garden and a red rose bush grows above each of them.

Dileep meets a garment saleswoman, Sarada, and develops a romantic attraction for her. Conservative Sarada insists that Dileep must marry her if he wants to have his way with her. The romance proceeds and culminates into marriage. On their first night after marriage, Dileep rushes away to tackle a witness who had seen him taking Chitra, an employee of Minerva, to a restaurant; Chitra was subsequently killed by Dileep. After offering the witness, a waiter at the restaurant, some money, the waiter counters with a demand for more money to remain silent. Dileep kills him while Donna Summer's "I Feel Love" plays on the soundtrack.

Meanwhile, Sarada, who has been waiting for Dileep, notices several odd situations at home. Dileep's cat licks Sarada's blood after she inadvertently cuts her finger. The cat chases her, and she ends up in a secret room where the entire story of Dileep is written on a wall by him.

Dileep, born Muthu, was an orphan who was taken in by a caring family. The daughter of the family begins to get feelings for Muthu after seeing water glistening on his bare legs. She tries to seduce him, but her parents come in at an opportune moment. The girl accuses Muthu of assaulting her, causing the parents to throw him out of the house. He ends up with another couple four days later and becomes their guest. When his adoptive father leaves on a business trip, his adoptive mother drunkenly brings home another man. Muthu's adoptive father kills his wife, and Muthu has a mental breakdown, saying that all women should be killed. This only endears him to his new father.

In the present, a frightened Sarada rushes out and stumbles into the room of Dileep's adoptive father (who Dileep had told her was mentally ill and not to be disturbed) and gets shocked seeing him watching films of Dileep having sex with girls and killing them. Sarada screams, catching his attention, but manages to lock him in his room. She tries to escape, but Dileep returns.

When Dileep goes to park his car, Sarada rushes out of the house. After freeing his adoptive father and realising that his cover has been blown, Dileep chases Sarada. The chase culminates in a graveyard where Dileep accidentally gets impaled by a cross. When he continues to chase Sarada while staggering, he is caught by the police. Dileep is imprisoned but becomes mentally imbalanced. He keeps chanting and writing Sarada's name on the wall as it is the only coherent thought that remains; all other memories have been erased from his mind. Sarada, instead of remarrying, regularly visits Dileep in jail, confident that her marriage will be saved and Dileep will be released soon.

Cast

Production

Development

After directing two films – 16 Vayathinile (1977) and Kizhakke Pogum Rail (1978) – which were set in villages, Bharathirajaa chose to set his third film, the thriller Sigappu Rojakkal in the city to circumvent criticism that he could only make village-based films.[1][2] The film was inspired by serial killer Raman Raghav's crimes,[3] and another serial killer who was based in Bombay but hailed from Tirunelveli.[4] It was produced by J. Padmavathi under K. R. G. Productions.[5] K. Bhagyaraj worked as an assistant director.[6]

Casting

Bharathirajaa wanted actor Sivakumar to act in the lead role of Muthu / Dileep, over his assistant directors' objections. But after he narrated the story, Sivakumar rejected the offer, feeling it was not suitable for him despite liking the story. Kamal Haasan was eventually cast.[1][7] He claims to have known the story of the film six years before shooting began.[8] For his character's looks, Haasan wore "fitted suits with button-up shirts, ties" and flared bell-bottoms, in addition to "bright printed button-up shirts with enlarged collars and leather jackets".[9] Haasan's looks in the film were inspired by the American serial killers Ted Bundy and Albert DeSalvo, while his "black leather jacket" was inspired by the one worn by Alan Arkin in Wait Until Dark (1967).[10] Sridevi was cast as Sarada, collaborating with Bharathirajaa for the second time after 16 Vayathinile.[11] Bharathirajaa initially cast Goundamani as a waiter and Bhagyaraj as the manager of Dileep's export company, but the actors later switched their roles.[1] This was the feature film debut of Vadivukkarasi, who played Chitra.[12][13] Bharathirajaa got a cat from his friend R. C. Prakash to portray Dileep's cat.[14]

Filming

Haasan had told Bharathirajaa that his character, a psychopathic killer, should not be singing and dancing but Bharathiraja deflected Haasan's objection, saying that the song "Ninaivo Oru Paravai" was a dream sequence, shot from the heroine's point of view.[15] One of the shooting locations was a bungalow called Kamakoti House in T. Nagar.[16][17] Filming was completed within 30 days.[14]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.[18][19] When Haasan was singing an English song at a concert, Ilaiyaraaja who witnessed this observed that he sang the higher notes well, and thus provided him to sing "Ninaivo Oru Paravai".[20][21] A remixed version of the song was later included on M. Rafi's album Aasaiyae Alaipolae.[22]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Minminikku Kannil Oru"KannadasanS. Janaki, Malaysia Vasudevan4:28
2."Ninaivo Oru Paravai"VaaliKamal Haasan, S. Janaki4:45
Total length:9:13

Release and reception

Sigappu Rojakkal was released on 28 October 1978, three days before Diwali.[23] In a review dated 19 November 1978, the Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan rated the film 53 out of 100.[24] Sivasankari, writing for Kalki, lauded virtually every aspect of the film including the direction, editing, camerawork, music and cast performances.[25] Despite facing competition from other Diwali releases, it became a commercial success.[26] It won two Filmfare Awards in the Best Actor and Best Director categories.[27]

Remakes

Sigappu Rojakkal was remade in Hindi by Bharathiraja himself as Red Rose (released in 1980).[28]

In November 2009, Bharathiraja's son Manoj was announced to be making his directorial debut by remaking Sigappu Rojakkal. Manoj narrated his script to actors Ajith Kumar and then Dhanush in late 2009, both of whom were unable to do the film.[29] Jiiva was also considered for the film, but not finalised.[30] After his stint as an assistant director in S. Shankar's Enthiran in early 2010, Manoj continued fine tuning the script and stated it was not a full remake and only drew inspiration from the original. He also revealed that director Ram had also helped on work with the script, while expressing interest in casting either actors Arya or Atharvaa to portray the lead character.[31] Reports in 2010 suggested that the film would be made with Shakthi Vasu and Kamal Haasan's daughter Shruti Haasan, but the project did not develop.[32]

In October 2014, the film was confirmed to be on the verge of starting shoot with Manoj confirmed as director, while Bharathiraja announced that he would produce the venture. G. V. Prakash Kumar was signed on as the music composer, while Rajesh Yadav and Pazhanivel were picked as the project's cinematographer and editor.[33] The film began production in Chennai during November 2014, with a publicity poster revealing that debutant actor Vishagan Vanangamudi would portray the lead role.[34] Bharathiraja revealed that he would play himself during the film's first half and stated that filming would take place in India and abroad in Switzerland.[35] He also revealed that the film would not be a sequel, but would tell the story of a youngster who is affected to commit crimes after watching the original film.[36] In January 2016, Manoj stated that work on the film had been postponed.[37]

In September 2020, Manoj contemplated restarting the project with Silambarasan in the lead role and Kamal Haasan in an extended cameo, but plans failed to materialise.[38] Prior to the release of his directorial debut Margazhi Thingal in October 2023, Manoj noted that the remake was dropped and that "it felt like someone had cursed the project".[39]

Legacy

The success of Sigappu Rojakkal inspired more films in Tamil about psychopathic killers such as Moodu Pani (1980), Kaadhal Kondein (2003), Manmadhan (2004) and Nadunisi Naaygal (2011).[40][41] Footage from Sigappu Rojakkal was also used in Yugam (2012).[42] The line "Kuththunka esamaan Kuththunka, Intha Ponnunkale Ippadithaan Kuthunka" from the song "Ivaluka Imsai Thaanka Mudiyala" in Kalakalappu (2012) was named after the dialogue of the same name in Sigappu Rojakkal.[43]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sri (31 December 2010). "Stars : Star Interviews : K.Bhaagya Raj — Chitchat". Telugucinema.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  2. ↑ ராம்ஜி, வி. (7 October 2020). " 'சிகப்பு ரோஜாக்கள்' படத்தில் நான் செய்த மிஸ்டேக்! - இயக்குநர் பாரதிராஜாவின் 'சிகப்பு ரோஜாக்கள்' சுவாரஸ்யங்கள்" ["The mistake I made in Sigappu Rojakkal!" – Interesting facts about director Bharathiraja's Sigappu Rojakkal]. Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 14 September 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  3. ↑ Chatterjee, Suprateek (15 September 2015). "Nawazuddin Is Playing Serial Killer Raman Raghav In Anurag Kashyap's Next". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  4. ↑ ராம்ஜி, வி. (28 October 2020). "சைக்கோ கில்லர்; ஸ்டைலீஷ் கமல்; அழகு ஸ்ரீதேவி; 20 நாளில் படம்; ஒன்றரை நாளில் பின்னணி இசை! - 42 ஆண்டுகளாகியும் இன்னும் மிரட்டும் 'சிகப்பு ரோஜாக்கள்'!". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  5. ↑ "Sigappu Rojakkal (1978)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  6. ↑ Kingston, Daya. "Director Bhagyaraj — Interview". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  7. ↑ "Happy Birthday Kamal Haasan: The Ulaganayagan's tryst with the Navarasas". Cinema Express. 12 August 2019. p. 16. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  8. ↑ Suganth, M. (4 February 2016). "Censoring, I think, should not be done in the modern world". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  9. ↑ Raj, Maya (July 2010). "Style Sutra: Kamal Haasan". South Scope. pp. 50–53. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  10. ↑ S, Srivatsan (27 May 2020). "This Instagram page catalogues Kamal Haasan's movie looks with some help from the actor". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
  11. ↑ Nathan, Archana (28 June 2017). "Before Bollywood, Sridevi showed off her acting chops in Tamil cinema". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  12. ↑ Vandhana (26 November 2018). "'I Played Wife, Mother & Grandmother In My 20s. I Got Used To It': In Conversation With Vadivukkarasi". Silverscreen.in. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "வீட்டுக்கு தெரியாம 'சிகப்பு ரோஜாக்கள்'ல நடிச்சேன்; செம அடி வாங்கினேன் - நடிகை வடிவுக்கரசி பிரத்யேகப் பேட்டி". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). 4 December 2019. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  14. 1 2 ராம்ஜி, வி. (7 October 2020). "20 நாளில் 'சிகப்பு ரோஜாக்கள்' எடுத்தேன்; அந்த பங்களாவுக்காக அலைந்தேன்; கறுப்புப் பூனைக்காக கேஸ் போட்டார்கள்! - இயக்குநர் பாரதிராஜாவின் 'சிகப்பு ரோஜாக்கள்' சுவாரஸ்யங்கள்". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
  15. ↑ Haasan, Kamal (20 October 2012). "'Of course Velu Nayakan doesn't dance'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  16. ↑ Raman, Mohan V. (16 September 2016). "In Only Five Films, M.S. Subbulakshmi Made Her Way to the Stars". The Wire. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  17. ↑ மௌஷ்மி (16 December 1990). "நடிக்கும் வீடுகள்..." Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 34–35. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  18. ↑ "Sikappu Rojakal (1978)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  19. ↑ "Sikappu Rojakkal Tamil Film EP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  20. ↑ Rangan, Baradwaj (21 August 2014). "You can feel the fear in the song". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  21. ↑ Rangan, Baradwaj (28 August 2014). "He taught me to sing with abandon". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  22. ↑ Srinivasan, Pavithra (18 April 2008). "Remix Rage". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 16 February 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  23. ↑ "Sridevi films which led her to road of success". News Today. 25 February 2018. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  24. ↑ "சினிமா விமர்சனம்: சிகப்பு ரோஜாக்கள்" [Movie Review: Sigappu Rojakkal]. Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 19 November 1978. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  25. ↑ சிவசங்கரி (19 November 1978). "சிகப்பு ரோஜாக்கள்". Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 3–4. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  26. ↑ "மேல் நாடுகளில் இந்தியாவின் மானம் பறந்தன!". Dinamalar (in Tamil). Nellai. 14 August 2017. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  27. ↑ The Times of India Directory and Year Book Including Who's who. Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd. 1984. p. 234. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  28. ↑ Balakrishnan, Ravi (17 November 2007). "A rose by any name". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  29. ↑ "Manoj narrates script to Ajith and Dhanush". Behindwoods. 12 December 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  30. ↑ "Jiiva in the classic remake!". Behindwoods. 27 November 2009. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  31. ↑ Srinivasa, Ramanujam (3 October 2010). "It's a challenge to satisfy Shankar". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  32. ↑ "Shruthi Hassan on 'Sigappu Rojakkal' remake". KollyInsider. 19 March 2010. Archived from the original on 14 November 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  33. ↑ "Sigappu Rojakkal is set for part two". Behindwoods. 13 October 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  34. ↑ "'Sigappu Rojakkal-2' starts rolling in Chennai". Sify. 28 November 2014. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  35. ↑ K R, Manigandan (29 November 2014). "I play myself in Sigappu Rojakkal 2: Bharathirajaa". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  36. ↑ "Bharathirajaa Awaiting Eagerly to Act in Son's Direction". The New Indian Express. IANS. 30 November 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  37. ↑ "Yuvan Shankar Raja teams up with a former assistant of Shankar and Mani Ratnam". IndiaGlitz. 14 January 2016. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  38. ↑ "Kamal Haasan and Simbu to come together for 'Sigappu Rojakkal 2'?". The Times of India. 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  39. ↑ M, Narayani (4 October 2023). "Manoj Bharathiraja: I know that I am not hero material". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 8 November 2023. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  40. ↑ Maderya, Kumuthan (2010). "Rage against the state: historicizing the "angry young man" in Tamil cinema". Jump Cut. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  41. ↑ Jeshi, K. (20 August 2011). "Do films talk of abuse?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  42. ↑ "Yugam Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 March 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  43. ↑ Karthik, Janani. "Crass lyrics, or industry's attitude towards women?". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
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