''Anbu Thangai'' () is a 1974 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

-language film directed by S. P. Muthuraman, starring

R. Muthuraman Muthuraman Radhakrishnan (4 July 1929 – 16 October 1981) was an Indian actor who predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. He was a leading actor during the 1960s and 1970s and was known as Navarasa Thilagam. He paired with all the lead ...

and

Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016), popularly known as Amma, was an Indian actress, politician, and philanthropist who served as the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years between 1991 and 2016. She ...

. The film is a remake of the

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...

film ''

Chelleli Kapuram ''Chelleli Kapuram'' () is 1971 Indian Telugu-language drama film written and directed by K. Viswanath. Produced by Mannava Balayya under the banner of Amrutha films. The film was remade in Tamil as Anbu Thangai. Plot Ramu (Sobhan Babu) is a str ...

''.

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

choreographed a song featuring Jayalalithaa and himself for the film.

Plot

Cast

as Ramu * Srikanth as Sriram *

Major Sundarrajan Srinivasan Sundarrajan (17 March 1935 – 28 February 2003), popularly known as Major Sundarrajan, was an Indian actor and film director who performed predominantly in Tamil language films and plays. He was well known for his sophisticated ...

* Ramadas * K. A. Thangavelu *

Oru Viral Krishna Rao Oru Viral Krishna Rao was an Indian actor and comedian who appeared in Tamil-language films. A recipient of the state government's Kalaimamani award, Rao got the nickname ''Oru Viral ''Oru Viral'' () is a 1965 Indian Tamil-language mystery fi ...

Usilai Mani Usilai Mani (உசிலை மணி) was an Indian film actor. He worked predominantly in the Tamil movie industry. He has acted in over 1000 films and stage plays. His popular movies include ''Enga ooru Kavalkaran'' and '' Ayul Kaithi''. H ...

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

(Guest appearance) *

as Radha * Jaya as Geetha * Kumari Sachu *

A. Sakunthala Arunachalam Sakunthala (1 November 1939 – 17 September 2024), also known as C. I. D. Sakunthala, was an Indian actress. She filled roles as a heroine, item number dancer, and villainess in over 600 Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam films ...

Production

Govindan, who previously worked as publicity designer, expressed interest in producing a film with S. P. Muthuraman as director which eventually became ''Anbu Thangai''. The film began production in early February 1973. Guhanathan, who co-produced the film, wanted Muthuraman to direct the film; however Muthuraman felt if Jayalalithaa was not comfortable working with him she can choose another director. When Jayalalithaa learned that the film is being directed by Muthuraman who previously worked in ''

Enga Mama ''Enga Mama'' () is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar and produced by P.K.V.Sankaran and Aarumugam. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Jayalalithaa and Vennira Aadai Nirmala. It is a remake of the 1968 Hindi ...

'' as assistant director she agreed to the choice. Kamal Haasan, who was a dance assistant to K. Thangappan, made a cameo appearance as the Buddha in a song.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by

K. V. Mahadevan Krishnankoil Venkadachalam Mahadevan (14 March 1918 – 21 June 2001) was an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician who won the inaugural National Film Award for Best Music Direction in (1967) for '' Kandan Karunai''. ...

. This was Mahadevan's first collaboration with S. P. Muthuraman.

Release and reception

''Anbu Thangai'' was released on 30 August 1974. The critic from ''

Kalki Kalki (), also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hinduism, Hindu god Vishnu. According to Vaishnavism, Vaishnava cosmology, Kalki is destined to appear at the end of the Kali Yuga, the last of the four ages i ...

'' praised the performances of the cast, Guhanathan's story and Muthuraman's direction and included it among the list of films on the bond between a brother and sister after ''

Pasamalar ''Pasamalar'' ( ) is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by A. Bhimsingh. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan and Savitri Ganesan, with K. A. Thangavelu M. N. Nambiar and M. N. Rajam in supporting roles. It revolves ...

''. According to S. P. Muthuraman, despite the film's average response at the box-office, the producer Govindan turned a profit.

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{S. P. Muthuraman 1970s Indian films 1970s Tamil-language films 1974 films Films directed by S. P. Muthuraman Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Indian black-and-white films Tamil remakes of Telugu films Tamil-language Indian films