''Ammani'' is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by

Lakshmy Ramakrishnan Lakshmy Ramakrishnan is an Indian actress and director. She made her debut in the Malayalam film '' Chakkara Muthu'' (2006), and has since appeared primarily in supporting roles in Tamil films. Personal life Lakshmy was born and raised in a ...

. It features herself, Subbalakshmi and

Nithin Sathya Nithin Sathya (born 9 January 1980) is an Indian actor, film producer. He works primarily in Tamil Cinema. He made his film debut in ''Kalatpadai'', directed by J. Ramesh, in 2003. He acted with Kamal Hassan in a small role in the Tamil comedy ...

in the leading roles. The film, produced by Ven Govinda, released on 14 October 2016.

Cast

as Salamma *

Subbalakshmi Subbalakshmi (21 April 1936 – 30 November 2023) was an Indian Carnatic musician, composer, and actress who worked in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi cinema. She was noted for her performance in '' Kalyanaraman'' (2002), ''Pandip ...

as Ammani *

George Maryan George Maryan is an Indian actor and comedian, who has appeared in Tamil cinema. He started his career in theatre, before working in Tamil cinema and has often collaborated with film-makers A. L. Vijay, Siva, M. Manikandan, Lokesh Kanagaraj, ...

as Muthu *

as Shiva * Sri Mahesh as Selvam * Regin Rose as Saravanan *

Semmalar Annam Semmalar Annam is an Indian actress who works in Tamil-language films. She has also directed and acted in more than fifteen short films during her studies at college. After making her feature film debut with '' Ammani'' (2016) directed by Laksh ...

as Amutha * Renuka C as Vennila * Thangam Paramanandhan as Perumal *

Robo Shankar Robo Shankar is an Indian standup comedian who has appeared in character roles in Tamil films. He made his breakthrough with STAR Vijay's ''Kalakkapovathu Yaaru'', performing standup comedy. He is a now cast as regular on several shows on St ...

as Yaman * Stephenraj as Admin. Officer * Arun as Kishore * Satyamurthy K as DMS * Manas as Sultan * Ramakrishnan Gopalakrishnan as lawyer *

Sangili Murugan Sangili Murugan is an Indian actor, screenwriter and producer. During the 1980s and 1990s, he was an actor doing negative and supporting roles in Tamil films. He has also worked as production controller in a number of films. His birth name incl ...

as patient

Production

was motivated to make the film after meeting an elderly ragpicker during her talk show and created a fictional story from her interaction with the woman. Veteran actress Subbalakshmi, who worked with Ramakrishnan in

Gautham Vasudev Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, film producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu, Hindi cinema, Hindi and Ma ...

's '' Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa'' (2010), was cast in the titular role, while Ramakrishnan revealed she would also play a parallel lead role. Other actors including

and

also later joined the cast. The film was shot throughout early 2015 in Chennai. Post-production work began in July 2015 and the team began promotions during September 2015, with teaser trailers of the film released publicly. A "curtain-raiser" event for the film was held in Kuwait, followed by the launch of another teaser in Dubai during the same month. A release date of Diwali 2015 was initially announced, but was subsequently evaded following a dispute between Ramakrishnan and producer Ven Govinda. After a further year of stalemate, the team later prepared the film for a release in October 2016.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to ''Ammani'' was composed by K, who reunited with Lakshmy Ramakrishnan following their collaboration in her directorial debut, '' Aarohanam'' (2012). The soundtrack album, featuring four tracks, was released on 7 October 2016. Sify.com reviewed the album, noting "On the whole, the soundtrack of ''Ammani'' impresses owing to the innovative blend of tracks that it has", adding that "although one would have hoped to have more tracks in the soundtrack, these three tracks could sit well with the movie". The Times of India called the album, "a short but decent effort by K".

Critical reception

The film opened in October 2016 to very positive reviews from critics. Sify.com wrote Ramakrishnan "has conveyed a relevant message to the society" and "as a director, she has woven all those feel good factors within the commercial format of film making". The reviewer added that "she charms us with her impeccable performance playing the lead role" and "to be precise, Lakshmy has hit the bull’s eye with Ammani!". Baradwaj Rangan of the Hindu wrote "Like all of Lakshmy Ramakrishnan’s films (this is her third), Ammani leaves you with a sense of what it could have been with a bigger budget. But the director doesn’t let this stint her ambition. "

References

External links

* {{Lakshmy Ramakrishnan 2016 films 2010s Tamil-language films 2010s Indian films Indian drama films Films scored by K (composer) Films directed by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan 2016 drama films