Arunachalam (film)

Last updated

Arunachalam
Arunachalam film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Sundar C
Written by Crazy Mohan (dialogues)
Screenplay bySundar C
Based on Brewster's Millions
by George Barr McCutcheon
Produced by
  • K. S. Nagarajan Raja
  • K. Muraliprasad Rao
Starring
Cinematography U. K. Senthil Kumar
Edited by P. Sai Suresh
Music by Deva
Production
company
Annamalai Cine Combines
Release date
  • 10 April 1997 (1997-04-10)
Running time
165 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Arunachalam is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by Sundar C and written by Crazy Mohan. The film stars Rajinikanth as the title character as well as in a dual role, alongside Soundarya and Rambha, with Jaishankar, Ravichandran and Visu in supporting roles. It revolves around a village simpleton, who later discovers he is the heir of a deceased billionaire, but must face extreme challenges to claim his father's inheritance.

Contents

The film is loosely based on the 1902 George Barr McCutcheon novel Brewster's Millions. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Deva, while U. K. Senthil Kumar handled the cinematography and P. Sai Suresh did so for editing.

Arunachalam was released on 10 April 1997 and became a box office success. It won three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, including Best Film.

Plot

Village headman Arunachalam has two brothers Saravanan, Shakthi, and a sister Arundhati and a happy family. Ammayappan and Janaki are his parents. Vedavalli is the daughter of Aathikesavan and Umayal. Umayal is Ammayappan's sister and they all come to Ammayappan's home for Arunachalam's sister's wedding. That gives the opportunity for Vedavalli and Arunachalam to fight first, then fall in love with each other.

Arunachalam finds himself to be an orphan by interval. He goes out of the village. He goes to Madras where he meets Beeda Kathavarayan, who gives him a job. By some divine intervention Arunachalam discovers himself to be the son of India's richest (dead) billionaire Vedhachalam through Rangachari. Rangachari is the guardian of Arunachalam's father's trust. If Arunachalam wants his inheritance, he has to follow certain rules. He can get an inheritance of 3000 Crore Rupees if he can spend 30 crores in 30 days. The conditions are: no contributions to charities, not to own any assets at the end of 30 days and above all, no one else should know about this and receipts should be provide for all the expenses. If Arunachalam fails to spend the money according to the rules, all the money will go to his father's trust which is managed by Vishwanath, Prathap, Kurian and Kaliyaperumal. These four want to spoil Arunachalam's efforts and get all the money for the trust and kill Rangachari. Nandhini is Rangachari's daughter and she is appointed as the accountant for Arunachalam for 30 days.

Arunachalam tries hard to spend his money and many times, the money comes back. He spends on Horse races, lottery tickets, makes a movie with Arivazhagan as the hero and he even starts his own political party with Kathavarayan as the MP candidate. Does Arunachalam win this competition, does he get all the 3000 Crore rupees for himself and live happily ever after forms the rest of the story.

Cast

Production

Development

After the success of Muthu in 1995, Rajinikanth took a year out dabbling in politics and taking a sabbatical before announcing that his next film would be Arunachalam written by Crazy Mohan. It was announced that the film would be produced to help eight of his struggling film industry colleagues and it was incorrectly earlier reported that the film would be produced under his newly floated Rajini Arts banner. It was indicated that some of the people who the film would go on to cause benefits for included Kalakendra Govindharajan who introduced Rajinikanth in his production Apoorva Raagangal (1975), Kalaignyanam who featured Rajinikanth in the lead role for the first time with his production Bairavi (1978) and brothers Ramji and Babji who produced some of the actor's early hits, Kaali (1980) and Garjanai (1980). Furthermore, collections would also be shared between the family of Sathya Studio Padmanabhan, actress Pandari Bai, actor V. K. Ramasamy and producer Madurai Nagaraja. [1] [2] Initial reports had also titled the film as Kuberan and Meshtri, but Arunachalam was eventually retained. [3] The plot of the film was inspired by George Barr McCutcheon's 1902 novel Brewster's Millions . [4] The director Sundar C has stated that he did not like the story of Arunachalam but he did it because he did not want to miss an opportunity to work with Rajinikanth. He also mentioned that Rajinikanth is the one who called and narrated him the story and asked him to direct. [5]

Casting and filming

Initially the lead heroine of the film was expected to be Meena, who had featured in Rajinikanth's Muthu before Soundarya and Rambha were signed on as heroines. [1] The initial cast list released to the media also had Jayaram in the cast of the film as well as Vignesh, who was later replaced by Raja. [3] Manorama was also added to the cast, surprising some media as she had caused controversy the previous year by lashing out at Rajinikanth's political motives. [6] Rajinikanth lost his sentimental Rudraksh bead during the shooting of the film and was shocked and upset to note that his Rudraksh was missing. He ordered a search at the shooting spot at midnight and with the help of the giant lights used for shooting, he later found the divine bead after a while. [7] The filming was held in a star hotel at Hyderabad for 20 days. [8]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Deva. [9] The song "Nagumo" had two versions, Hariharan's version was included in soundtrack only, while another version with the vocals of Krishnaraj (who originally rendered the track version of the song) was featured in the film only after Rajinikanth was impressed with his rendering. [10] The audio was released under the music label "Big B" of Amitabh Bachchan now the audio rights are currently acquired by Think Music. [11] [9] The tune of Alli Alli Anarkali was lifted from the songs "Ladki Ladki" from Shreemaan Aashique (1993), which was composed by Nadeem–Shravan and "Tutak Tutak Tutiyan" from Ghar Ka Chiraag (1989), which was composed by Bappi Lahiri.

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Athanda Ethanda" Vairamuthu S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 5:37
2."Alli Alli Anarkili" Palani Bharathi Mano, Swarnalatha 5:03
3."Mathadu Mathadu" Palani Bharathi S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sujatha Mohan, Meera, Manorama 5:57
4."Nagumo"Vairamuthu Hariharan, K. S. Chithra 4:32
5."Nagumo" (film version)VairamuthuKrishnaraj, K. S. Chithra4.32
6."Singam Ondru" Vairamuthu Malaysia Vasudevan 4:45
7."Thalai Maganae"KalidasanS. P. Balasubramanyam2:18
8."Theme Music" (Instrumental)--1:23
Total length:29:35

Release and reception

Arunachalam was released theatrically on 10 April 1997. [12] The Hindu wrote on 18 April, "Arunachalam contains all the elements that provide escapist entertainment [...] humour, fairplay, love, feud occupy the frames". [13] K. N. Vijiyan of New Straits Times wrote, "Go with an open mind and you will enjoy this movie". [14] R. P. R. of Kalki gave a negative review, panning the weak screenplay, many of the montage shots after interval in bits and pieces, Crazy Mohan's dialogues lacking humour, Deva's music though he praised Rajinikanth's acting for rescuing the film but the technicians seems to have let him down and concluded Arunachalam did not do it despite the Lord saying that he should give great happiness to the fans in this Tamil New Year. [15] The film was declared a box office success, although not as big as Rajinikanth's previous films Baashha and Muthu (both 1995). [16] [17] It had a theatrical run of over 175 days and collected around ₹32 crore (equivalent to ₹163 croreorUS$20 million in 2023) worldwide. [18]

Awards

Arunachalam won three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, including Best Film. Super Subbarayan and Gopi Kanth won for Best Stunt Coordinator and Best Art Director respectively. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajinikanth</span> Indian actor (born 1950)

Shivaji Rao Gaikwad, known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 170 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, and Malayalam. He is widely regarded to be one of the most successful and popular actors in the history of Indian cinema. Known for his uniquely styled mannerism and one liners in films, he has a huge fan base internationally and has a cult following. The Government of India honoured him with Padma Bhushan in 2000, Padma Vibhushan in 2016, India's third and second highest civilian honours, and the highest award in the field of cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award in the 67th National Film Awards ceremony (2019) for his contributions to Indian cinema. He has won numerous film awards including seven Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, a Nandi Award and one Filmfare Award.

<i>Muthu</i> (film) 1995 film by K. S. Ravikumar

Muthu (transl. Pearl) is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar, and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth and Meena, with Sarath Babu, Radha Ravi, Senthil, Vadivelu, Jayabharathi, Subhashri and Ponnambalam all acting in supporting roles. It is a remake of the Malayalam film Thenmavin Kombath (1994). The film revolves around a zamindar and his worker falling in love with the same woman who, unknown to the zamindar, loves the worker exclusively.

<i>Suyamvaram</i> 1999 Indian comedy drama film

Suyamvaram is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film produced and co-written by Giridharilal Nagpal. The film is notable for its unique production process, in which 14 directors, 19 cinematographers, and over 30 prominent actors collaborated. Conceptualized by Nagpal, the film features an ensemble cast and was shot in a single day. Nagpal, who also wrote the story, brought together a diverse group of talent from the Tamil film industry for the project. Suyamvaram was later dubbed into Telugu as Pellante Idhera.

<i>Veera</i> (1994 film) 1994 film by Suresh Krissna

Veera (transl. Valour) is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Suresh Krissna and written by Panchu Arunachalam. It is a remake of the Telugu film Allari Mogudu (1992) and stars Rajinikanth, Meena and Roja with Janagaraj, Senthil, Vadivukkarasi, J. Livingston, Mahesh Anand, Vinu Chakravarthy, Ajay Rathnam, Vivek and Charuhasan in supporting roles. The film is about a man who marries twice because of circumstances beyond his control and is forced to live a double life to cover his tracks.

<i>Yajaman</i> 1993 film by R. V. Udayakumar

Yajaman is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by R. V. Udayakumar. The film stars Rajinikanth, Meena and Aishwarya, with M. N. Nambiar, Manorama, Vijayakumar and Napoleon in supporting roles. It was produced by M. Saravanan, M. S. Guhan and M. Subrahmaniam of AVM Productions. The film was released on 18 February 1993 and became commercially successful, with a 175-day theatrical run.

<i>Pandian</i> (film) 1992 film by S. P. Muthuraman

Pandian is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language action film produced and directed by S. P. Muthuraman and written by Panchu Arunachalam. The film stars Rajinikanth, Khushbu, Janagaraj and Prabhakar. It is a remake of the 1991 Kannada film Bombay Dada which starred Prabhakar, who portrayed the antagonist of this film. The film was released on 25 October 1992 during Diwali and performed averagely at the box office.

<i>Panakkaran</i> 1990 film by P. Vasu

Panakkaran is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by P. Vasu. A remake of the Hindi film Lawaaris (1981), it stars Rajinikanth and Gautami. The film was released on 14 January 1990, Pongal day, and ran for more than 175 days in theatres.

<i>Athisaya Piravi</i> 1990 film by S. P. Muthuraman

Athisaya Piravi is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language fantasy comedy film directed by S. P. Muthuraman and written by Panchu Arunachalam. It is a remake of the Telugu film Yamudiki Mogudu (1988). The film stars Rajinikanth, Kanaka, and Sheeba Akashdeep, while Nagesh, Jai Ganesh, Chinni Jayanth, Cho Ramaswamy, and Vinu Chakravarthy, among others, play supporting roles. It was released on 15 June 1990, and became a box office failure.

<i>Rajadhi Raja</i> (1989 film) 1989 film by R. Sundarrajan

Rajadhi Raja is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by R. Sundarrajan. The film stars Rajinikanth in a dual role, with Nadhiya and Radha portraying his characters' love interests. It revolves around Raja, a rich estate owner's son who seeks to avenge his father's death. He is aided in his quest by Chinnarasu, a lookalike. Rajadhi Raja was released on 4 March 1989 and became a box office hit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soundarya Rajinikanth</span> Indian graphic designer, film producer and film director (born 1984)

Soundarya Rajinikanth is an Indian graphic designer, film producer and film director who primarily works in the Tamil cinema. She is the founder and owner of Ocher Picture Productions. Soundarya began her career in films as a graphic designer. For those starring her father Rajinikanth, she designed the title sequences. She became a film producer with Goa (2010). She made her debut as a film director with the film Kochadaiyaan (2014).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sundar C</span> Indian actor and film director (born 1968)

Vinayagar Sundar Vel, known professionally as Sundar C, is an Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, playback singer and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He has directed over 30 films and received the Kalaimamani award.

<i>Kannan Varuvaan</i> (2000 film) 2000 film by Sundar C

Kannan Varuvaan is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by Sundar C. The film stars Karthik, Manthra and Divya Unni, while Goundamani, Senthil, Manorama, Ranjith and Radha Ravi play supporting roles. The music was composed by Sirpy with editing by P. Sai Suresh and cinematography by U. K. Senthil Kumar. The film was released on 25 May 2000. The film was an average success at box office.

<i>Harichandra</i> (1998 film) 1998 Indian film

Harichandra is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by Cheyyar Ravi. The film stars Karthik and Meena, while Priya Raman, Chinni Jayanth, Vivek, Delhi Ganesh, and Sathyapriya play supporting roles. It was released on 15 May 1998. The film was remade in Telugu as Harischandra (1999).

<i>Unakkaga Ellam Unakkaga</i> 1999 Indian film

Unakkaga Ellam Unakkaga is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Sundar C, starring Karthik and Rambha with Goundamani, Vivek, Vinu Chakravarthy, Anju among others in supporting roles. The film, scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja and filmed by U. K. Senthil Kumar, was released on 24 September 1999. It was a major success. The film was remade in Telugu as Maa Pelliki Randi (2001).

<i>Naam Iruvar Namakku Iruvar</i> 1998 Indian film

Naam Iruvar Namakku Iruvar is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Sundar C. Prabhu Deva, Meena and Maheswari played the leading roles, whilst the film featured an extensive cast, along with a bevy of supporting actors. The film released on 14 January 1998. The film was loosely based on the 1995 film Two Much.

<i>Janakiraman</i> 1997 film by Sundar C.

Janakiraman is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed and co-written by Sundar C. The film stars Sarathkumar and Nagma whilst Rambha, Goundamani and Manivannan play supporting roles. It was released on 31 October 1997, during Diwali, and became a commercial success.

Adimai Changili is a 1997 Indian Tamil language action film directed by R. K. Selvamani. The film stars Arjun and Roja, while Rambha, Sunitha, Anandaraj and M. N. Nambiar play supporting roles. It was released on 9 May 1997.

<i>Senathipathi</i> 1996 film by M. Rathnakumar

Senathipathi ( transl. Chief) is a 1996 Indian Tamil language drama film written and directed by M. Rathnakumar. The film stars Sathyaraj in dual roles, along with Soundarya and Sukanya. It was released on 10 November 1996.

Sishya (transl. Disciple) is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Selva. The film stars Karthik and Roshini. It was released on 27 April 1997.

<i>Pon Vilangu</i> 1993 Indian film

Pon Vilangu is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by debutante director K. S. Rajkumar. The film stars Rahman, Ranjith, Ramya Krishnan and Sivaranjani. It was released on 10 April 1993.

References

  1. 1 2 Sitaraman, Sandya (22 October 1996). "Tamil Movie News-Pudhu Edition 2". Google Groups . Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Reddy, Amar (15 September 2013). "The Journey of living legend Rajinikanth Part 6". Cinemalead.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 Sitaraman, Sandya (17 January 1997). "Tamil Movie News--Pudhu Edition 2". Google Groups . Archived from the original on 30 November 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  4. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (2014) [2012]. Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography. New Delhi: Penguin Books. pp. 170–171. ISBN   978-0-14-342111-5.
  5. ↑ Ninaithale Inikkum | (25 January 2015) | Sundar.C Interview | [Epi-12] (in Tamil). Vendhar TV. 26 January 2015. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  6. ↑ Subramanian, Anupama (25 June 2011). "Rajinikanth is Kaliyug Vaali". Deccan Chronicle . Archived from the original on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  7. ↑ "Rajini and the Rudraksh". IndiaGlitz. 28 January 2008. Archived from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  8. ↑ "ரஜினியின் அருணாச்சலம் - ஓர் எக்ஸ்பிரஸ் ட்ரெய்லர்!" (PDF). Kalki (in Tamil). 6 April 1997. pp. 8–10. Retrieved 27 June 2023– via Internet Archive.
  9. 1 2 "Arunachalam". JioSaavn. Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  10. ↑ நெல்லைபாரதி (26 October 2015). "ரஜினிகாந்த் விரும்பிய ட்ராக் பாடகர்". Kungumam (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 24 July 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  11. ↑ "Arunachalam". AV Digital. Archived from the original on 24 July 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "26 years of 'Arunachalam': Khushbu Sundar writes a heartfelt note". The Times of India . 10 April 2023. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  13. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman, ed. (2012). Rajinikanth 12.12.12: A Birthday Special. Kasturi & Sons Ltd. p. 75.
  14. ↑ Vijiyan, K. (21 April 1997). "Another reason to love Rajni". New Straits Times . pp. Arts 4. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2021– via Google News Archive.
  15. ↑ ஆர். பி. ஆர் (20 April 1997). "ஆண்டவன் சொல்லியும் அருணாச்சலம் செய்யவில்லை" (PDF). Kalki (in Tamil). pp. 1–2. Retrieved 27 June 2023– via Internet Archive.
  16. ↑ Vijiyan, K. (2 January 1998). "Dispute affects production". New Straits Times . pp. Arts 3. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 29 January 2021– via Google News Archive.
  17. ↑ "Trouble brewing". Rediff.com . 30 June 1997. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  18. ↑ "ரசிகர்கள் மனதில் நிற்கும் 'அருணாச்சலம்' சுந்தர் சி-க்கு ரஜினி கொடுத்த டுவிஸ்ட்!". Hindustan Times (in Tamil). 10 April 2023. Archived from the original on 3 July 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  19. ↑ "Awards Tamilnadu Government Cinema Awards For 1997 Announced: Best Film Award For "Arunachalam", "Surya Vamsam"". Dinakaran . 27 November 1998. Archived from the original on 1 January 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.