Naanum Oru Thozhilali
| Naanum Oru Thozhilali | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | C. V. Sridhar |
| Written by | C. V. Sridhar |
| Produced by | C. V. Sridhar |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | P. Bhaskar Rao |
| Edited by | M. Umanath |
| Music by | Ilaiyaraaja |
Production company | Chitralaya Films |
| Distributed by | Chitralaya Films |
Release dates |
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| Country | India |
| Languages | Tamil Telugu |
Naanum Oru Thozhilali (transl. I am also a worker) is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed and produced by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Ambika, while Jaishankar, V. S. Raghavan and Devika play supporting roles. The film was also simultaneously shot in Telugu as Andarikante Ghanudu (transl. The toughest of all). Murali Mohan plays supporting role in Telugu version. Tamil version film was released on May 1, 1986.
Plot
Bharath (Kamal Haasan) returns to India from his studies abroad after his father Yoganand (Veera Raghavan) dies in a car accident. The family's factory is run by the father and son team of Rammohan (V. S. Raghavan) and Sundar (Jaishankar). They are looting from the factory and treating the workers poorly. Kumar (Rajeev) works at the factory and often clashes with Rammohan and Sundar. The duo accused Kumar's older brother of running away with stolen company cash but Kumar does not believe this. He is also suspicious of Yoganand's death and is trying to investigate.
Bharath falls in love with factory worker Meena (Ambika), soon after his arrival in India. He also quickly realizes that something is amiss with the factory and his father's accident. With the help of Meena, he poses as factory worker Raju to investigate matters. He soon learns that Kumar is an ally and the two work together to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Cast
- Kamal Haasan as Bharath/Raju
- Ambika as Meena
- Jaishankar as Sundar
- Rajeev as Kumar
- Murali Mohan (Telugu version)
- V. S. Raghavan as Rammohan
- Sadhana as Padma
- Devika as Bharath's mother
- Veera Raghavan as Yoganand
- C. R. Vijayakumari as Kumar's sister in law
- Loose Mohan as Pakkiri
- Venniradai Moorthy as Pakkiri's assistant
- T. K. S. Chandran
- Prasad Babu
- Thara Krishnan
- Vijaya
- Deepa in a special appearance for Mandaveli song
Production
The film was launched by C. V. Sridhar in 1980 as a Cinemascope venture and was then titled as Sakthi. Sridhar collaborated with Kamal Haasan after the success of the 1978 film Ilamai Oonjal Aadukirathu, which had also featured Rajinikanth. The film was meant to be the first film which featured Kamal Haasan and Ambika as a lead pair and stills were released featuring Ambika in a swimsuit. The film got delayed and was put on the back burner, before it re-emerged in 1986 under the title of Meendum Suryodayam and shooting progressed. It was planned for an April 1986 release, which got postponed to 1 May 1986.[1] There was a local authority election in March 1986 and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won seats. Sridhar felt that if the film released with the title Meendum Suryodayam (Rising Sun), it would be seen as if they are welcoming the DMK's re-emergence, whose symbol was that of a rising sun. Hence the title was changed to Naanum Oru Thozhilali. Sridhar had previously started a film with the same title in the mid-1970s, with M. G. Ramachandran in the lead; that film was shelved.[1][2][3]
Release
Naanum Oru Thozhilali released on 1 May 1986 alongside Sridhar's other film Yaro Ezhuthia Kavithai and it became a rare incident when two films of the same director were released simultaneously. But only this film emerged successful at the box office.[1] Telugu-language version released one year later on 3 July 1987.[4][5] The film dubbed in Kannada as Sooryodaya, but didn't theatrical release.[6]
However, critics point out that the difference of quality between the Cinemascope footage shot in 1981 and 1:1.33 footage shot in 1986 were visible throughout the film, including the color quality and the appearance of the lead actors.
Soundtrack
| Naanum Oru Thozhilali | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |||||
| Released | 1986 | ||||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | ||||
| Length | 30:18 | ||||
| Language | Tamil | ||||
| Label | Echo | ||||
| |||||
The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.[7] The highlight of the album was the disco song Oru Nilavum Malarum.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Aayirathil Nee Oruthan" | Vaali | S. Janaki | 4:14 |
| 2. | "Angel Aadum Angel" | Vaali | S. Janaki | 4:29 |
| 3. | "Mandaveli" | Vaali | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 3:15 |
| 4. | "Naan Pooveduthu" | Vaali | S. P. Balasubramanyam, S. Janaki | 4:37 |
| 5. | "Oru Nilavum Malarum" | Vaali | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki | 4:32 |
| 6. | "Pattu Poove" | Vaali | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 4:30 |
| 7. | "Sembaruthi Poove" | Vaali | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki | 4:41 |
| Total length: | 30:18 | |||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chandra Banda" | Chi. Udayashankar | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki | |
| 2. | "Hammayya" | Chi. Udayashankar | S. P. Balasubramanyam | |
| 3. | "Hado Gombe" | Chi. Udayashankar | P. Susheela |
References
- ^ a b c "The Golden Era of Dr. IR and Dr. SPB". Hub.
- ^ "Kamal Haasan replaced MGR". The Times of India. 30 May 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ "Naanum Oru Thozhilli was Meendum Suryodhayam". The Times of India. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
- ^ "Andarikante Ghanudu". Andhra Patrika. 3 July 1987. p. 8.
- ^ "Andarikante Ghanudu". indiancine.ma. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
- ^ https://www.discogs.com/Ilaiyaraaja-Sooryodaya/release/5158764
- ^ "Naanum Oru Thozilali Songs". raaga. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ^ http://ilayaraja.forumms.net/t114p25-ir-s-other-language-i-e-non-thamizh-audio-sleeve-pics