''Alli'' is a 1964 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

-language film produced and directed by

S. S. Rajendran Sedapatti Suryanarayana Rajendran, also known by his initials SSR (January 1928 – 24 October 2014), was an Indian actor, director, producer and politician who worked in Tamil theatre and cinema. Film career Rajendran made his acting de ...

, and written by Nagercoil Padmanabhan. Rajendran also stars along with R. Vijayakumari and

Sowcar Janaki Sankaramanchi Janaki (born T. Janaki; 12 December 1931), popularly known as Sowcar Janaki (Tamil) or Shavukaru Janaki (Telugu) or Sahukar Janaki (Kannada), is an Indian actress who has appeared in over 300, films, predominantly in Tamil, Telug ...

playing the title character. The film was released on 5 March 1964.

Plot

Kannan is an idealistic police officer whose sense of duty transcends family ties and normal human sentiment. His loyalty to duty extends to making sure his friends and relatives, as well as his superiors, are taken into account of justice. He overcomes cognitive dissonance and performs his duty to truth and justice, even when that means arresting loved ones. At a pivotal moment of the film, he books his own beloved when he discovers her guilty of theft. The film ends with the reunion of the lovers. But Kannan's beloved, having given away her eyesight to him, enters prison as an atonement for the crime she committed early in her life.

Cast

;Male cast *

as Kannan * Sahasranamam as Somu * Ashokan as the

fakir Fakir ( ar, فقیر, translit=faḳīr or ''faqīr'') is an Islamic term traditionally used for Sufi Muslim ascetics who renounce their worldly possessions and dedicate their lives to the worship of God. They do not necessarily renounce al ...

* Rajan as Babu *

Nagesh Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 film ...

as Kathiri * D. V. Narayanasami as S. B. ;Female cast * R. Vijayakumari Myna *

as Alli *

Pushpalatha Pushpalatha is an Indian actress, who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam language films. She has acted as heroine and character roles in more than 100 films. Her debut film was '' Sengottai Singam'', released in 1958. When ...

as Shanthi * Baby Padmini as Uma *

Pushpavalli Pushpavalli (3 January 1926 – 28 April 1991) was an Indian actress who predominently worked in Telugu and Tamil films. She entered the film industry as a child actress with a small role as young Sita in the film ''Sampoorna Ramayanam'' (1936) ...

as the mother * Pushpamala as Ranjitham * Meenakumari as Meena * Geethanjali as the dancer

Production

directed and produced ''Alli'' under his production company Rajendran Pictures, in addition to starring. Nagercoil Padmanabhan wrote the story and dialogue, Devan handled the editing, and Sundarababu handled the cinematography.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack 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 known for his works in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Telugu cinema, Telugu, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam, and Kann ...

Release and reception

''Alli'' was released on 5 March 1964. The critic from ''

The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...

'' likened Rajendran to a

Jack of all trades, master of none "Jack of all trades, master of none" is a figure of speech used in reference to a person who has dabbled in many skills, rather than gaining expertise by focusing on only one. The original version "a jack of all trades" is often used as a comp ...

, saying, "If producer-director-actor- MLA S. S. Rajendran had realised this and acted accordingly, ''Alli'' ..would have been much more appealing. In trying to do too many things at the same time, Rajendran has taken upon himself more than he could have handled." T. M. Ramachandran of ''

Sport and Pastime ''Sport and Pastime'' was a weekly sports magazine published by The Hindu Group from 1947 to 1968. Founded by S. K. Gurunathan, the magazine was eventually stopped in 1968. It was replaced with ''Sportstar ''Sportstar'' is an Indian monthly ...

'' positively reviewed the film for the performances of Rajendran, Vijayakumari, Janaki and the supporting cast, in addition to Nagesh's comedy and Sundarababu's cinematography. ''Link'' also praised Rajendran and Janaki's performances. Kanthan of ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

'' compared the film to ''

Ezhai Padum Padu ''Ezhai Padum Padu'' () is a 1950 Indian Tamil language film directed by K. Ramnoth. It was simultaneously shot in Telugu as ''Beedala Patlu''. It was an adaptation of ''Les Misérables'', Victor Hugo's 1862 novel. The film was released on Diwal ...

'' and '' Neethikkupin Paasam'', saying those who did not watch those two would enjoy this.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 8908356 1960s Tamil-language films 1964 directorial debut films 1964 films Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Indian police films