''Vallal'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written and directed by Raj Kapoor. The film stars

Sathyaraj Rangaraj Subbiah (born 3 October 1954), known professionally as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, film producer, film director and a media personality who appears predominantly in Tamil films. He also appears in works in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam ...

Meena Meena () is a tribe from northern and western India which is sometimes considered a sub-group of the Bhil community. It used to be claimed they speak Mina language, a Spurious languages, spurious language. Its name is also transliterated as ' ...

Sangita Sangita (Devanagari: , IAST: ), also spelled Samgita or Sangeeta, refers to "music and associated performance arts" in the Indian traditions. According to Guy Beck, the root "saṃ-" implies "combining, coming together, convergent wholesome ble ...

and Roja in extended cameo role. It was released on 19 April 1997.

Plot

Durairasu loves Madhavi but she doesn't reciprocate his love and marries her uncle. Once Virumandi and Madhavi's husband get into a fight. Unfortunately Madhavi & her husband passes away. So Durairasu does not marry anyone & devotes his life for Madhavi's daughter Chella kili. Because of this issue there was a break in the family, Thulasi who is Virumandi's wife and Durairasu's Sister and he were separated. This made Virumandi very angry so he always wants to avenge. Durairasu save a girl Annam from the sea, who doesn't want to divulge her past. As time passes, Annam gets closer into the family and Kamakshi Durairasu's mother asks Durairasu to marry Annam. And this creates a problem for Chella kili as she loses Durairasu's attention, she comes out of her family and stays in Virumandi's house. Later Thulasi explains the whole story to her and lets her go to her father. In the end Annam, Durairasu, Chella kili, Kamakshi, Chithapu live together happily.

Cast

Production

Shobana Vignesh was initially selected to play a role in the film alongside fellow actresses

and Roja. The first promotional campaign however featured

's name instead of Shobana, prompting Meena to attempt to leave the project, citing potential reduced prominence owing to a third lead actress. The director

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (; born as Shrishti Nath Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influen ...

subsequently asked her to stay on, assuring importance. After the release of the film, Meena criticised Raj Kapoor for his false assurances. The film marked the debut of cinematographer Ramji who earlier assisted

P. C. Sreeram P. C. Sreeram (born 26 January 1956) is an Indian cinematographer and film director who works in Indian films. He is also the president of Qube Cinemas, a digital cinema technology company. He is an alumnus of the Madras Film Institute. Apart ...

Soundtrack

Soundtrack was composed by

Deva Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...

and lyrics were written by Vaali.

Release and reception

When the film was struggling with its release, it was

Vijayakanth Vijayaraj Alagarswami (25 August 1952 – 28 December 2023), known by his stage name Vijayakanth, was an Indian actor, filmmaker, philanthropist and politician. He worked in Tamil cinema in a career spanning four decades. He ventured into politi ...

who helped the film in getting its release. R. P. R. of ''

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 performance of Sangeetha who equally performed with Sathyaraj while also praising Deva's music and Meena's performance but felt the film's lengthy first half could have been reduced to avoid lagging. K. N. Vijiyan of ''

New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...

'' wrote, "Though the story may be nothing new, in Raj Kapoor's hands, the movie proves praiseworthy". The film did well at box-office.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title 1990s Indian films 1990s Tamil-language films 1997 drama films 1997 films Films directed by Raj Kapoor (Tamil director) Indian drama films Tamil films remade in other languages Tamil-language Indian films