Amarkalam

''Amarkalam'' ( ) is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romantic action film written and directed by Saran. The film stars Ajith Kumar and Shalini in the lead roles, 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. 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. When Vasu's friend, Thilak, loses a reel of the Rajinikanth starrer ''Annaamalai'' (1992) 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. At first, it is just pretense, 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. Mohana confronts Vasu and breaks off their relationship. Vasu, after a tense argument with Tulasi, tries to convince Mohana that even though it started out as fake, what he feels for her now is genuine. However, she fails to understand. Heartbroken, Vasu joins Aasai's gang. In the meantime, Mohana meets Singampuli and hears about Vasu's childhood trauma and feels bad for him. Eventually, Vasu proves to Mohana that his love is sincere and unites with her after a clash between the cops, Tulasi and Aasai's gang.

Cast

Production

Development

The producers of the Saran directorial '' Kaadhal Mannan'' (1998), Venkateswaralayam had lost a lot of money on that film so its star Ajith Kumar insisted on doing another film for the studio. The film began production without a script but only the title ''Amarkalam'' being revealed. 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. 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".

Casting

Jyothika was the first choice for the lead actress but could not accept it due to scheduling conflicts. 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. Saran wanted Shalini because he found her "eyes to be arresting" and she gained the "image of 'everybody's adorable daughter' after '' Kadhalukku Mariyadhai''", which he felt would be right for this role. The role of Tulasi Das was initially offered to Amitabh Bachchan who accepted before later pulling out of the film. 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".

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. 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.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Bharadwaj, with lyrics written by Vairamuthu. Shalini sang a song in the film, with Saran recommending her after he had heard her humming to a tune. 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. Singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam performed this song in a breathless manner.

Release and reception

''Amarkalam'' was released on 15 August 1999. 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". 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. The film went on to become a large success, extending Ajith Kumar's success after his previous film '' Vaali''. Ajith went on to purchase Saran a car as a token of gratitude for the success.

Other versions

In 2000, ''Amarkalam'' was dubbed and released in Telugu as ''Adbhutam'' which was produced by V. Sathyanarayana. It was later remade in Kannada as ''Asura'' (2001), with Raghuvaran reprising his role. Despite the release of dubbed version there was a 2004 remake version in Telugu titled '' Leela Mahal Center''. A Hindi remake starring Vivek Oberoi was planned by Saran but later dropped.

Re-release

A digitally restored version of ''Amarkalam'' was released on 16 May 2014.

References

External links

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{{Improve categories, date=March 2024

1990s Indian films
1990s romantic action films
1990s Tamil-language films
1999 films
Films directed by Saran (director)
Films scored by Bharadwaj (composer)
Films set in Chennai
Indian romantic action films
Tamil films remade in other languages
Tamil-language Indian films