''Amma Kanakku'' () is a 2016 Indian
Tamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...
comedy drama film
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
written and directed by
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (born 15 October 1979) is an Indian filmmaker and writer. After working in advertising for several years, she made her debut by directing the 2016 comedy drama ''Nil Battey Sannata''. The film garnered critical acclaim and ...
and produced by both
Anand L. Rai and
Dhanush
Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...
. A remake of the director's own Hindi film ''
Nil Battey Sannata
''Nil Battey Sannata'' (; slang for "Good For Nothing"), released internationally as ''The New Classmate'', is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari in her feature debut. Produced by Aanand L. Rai, Aj ...
'' (2016), the film stars
Amala Paul
Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Telugu cinema, Telugu films. She made her acting debut by appearing in a supporting role in the Malayalam-language ...
, Yuva Lakshmi,
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won several ...
and
Samuthirakani
Samuthirakani (born 26 April 1973) is an Indian actor and film director who predominantly works in Tamil films and Telugu films besides appearing in a number of Malayalam films. He worked as an assistant to director K Balachander. He won the N ...
in the lead roles. Principal photography of the film commenced on 7 January 2016 in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
.
Plot
A young, widowed, high school dropout mother, Shanti (
Amala Paul
Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Telugu cinema, Telugu films. She made her acting debut by appearing in a supporting role in the Malayalam-language ...
) is employed as a servant in Dr. Nandhini's (
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won several ...
) house where she is treated as part of the family. Shanti works in several other place to supplement her monthly income so that she can provide a better life for her daughter Abhinaya (Yuva Lakshmi). However, Abhinaya is not interested in her studies and loves to chat with her friends, watch TV, and play.
One day, Abhinaya conveys to her mother that her ambition in life is to become a servant as well. Shanti is dismayed hearing this and conveys this to her boss, who in turn advises her to challenge her daughter. Shanti realizes that if she were more educated, she would be able to mentor as well as tutor her daughter and thus motivate her to improve in her studies. So with Nandhini's help, she is enrolled in the same school as her daughter. This infuriates Abhinaya, who hates to see her mother in her daily school life. Shanti proves to her daughter that age is not a major deterrent to learning and that she can pick up where she left off several years ago. Shanti studies hard and challenges Abhinaya to score higher marks than her in the half-yearly exams. Abhinaya starts taking math seriously and does well in her exams. Seeing this, Shanti thinks Abhinaya has turned over into a new leaf and her attitude has changed, so she wants to discontinue school. Seeing this, Abhinaya confesses that her hard work to succeed in math and pass the exam was so that her mother could drop out of school.
There is this wonderful twist which shows the psychology of human nature. Shanti works night and day to earn and collect money for her daughter's future, while the daughter spends all that earned money in one day. Abhinaya comes home with new clothes and shoes to find her mother looking through jars to find where the money she earned for Abhinaya's future went. They argue, and Abhinaya says that she knows what Shanti's job is and that she sees a man drop her home every day at night. Abhinaya finally learns the truth about her mother from her classmate and is ashamed of her rebellious behavior. She realizes the value of education and her mother's dream, which is Abhinaya. Her goal is to make Abhinaya's life more independent. The final scenes show Abhinaya passing her 10thsStandard, and then years later getting interviewed by IAS Officers, who ask her why she is pursuing Civil Services, and her reply says it all: "So that I do not become a maid".
Cast
*
Amala Paul
Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Telugu cinema, Telugu films. She made her acting debut by appearing in a supporting role in the Malayalam-language ...
as Shanti Gopal
*Yuvasri Lakshmi as Abhinaya Gopal
*
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won several ...
as Dr. Nandhini
*
Samuthirakani
Samuthirakani (born 26 April 1973) is an Indian actor and film director who predominantly works in Tamil films and Telugu films besides appearing in a number of Malayalam films. He worked as an assistant to director K Balachander. He won the N ...
as Ranganathan
* Malvika Jayan
*Vishal Dev
*Vicky
Production
In November 2015, Ashwini Iyer Tiwari agreed terms to direct a remake of her Hindi film, ''
Nil Battey Sannata
''Nil Battey Sannata'' (; slang for "Good For Nothing"), released internationally as ''The New Classmate'', is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari in her feature debut. Produced by Aanand L. Rai, Aj ...
'' in Tamil, for producers
Dhanush
Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...
and
Anand L. Rai. Dhanush had been shown a preview of the film by Rai, during a visit to Mumbai in September 2015 and the duo chose to co-produce the film, with Ashwini Iyer retained as director.
Amala Paul
Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam and Telugu cinema, Telugu films. She made her acting debut by appearing in a supporting role in the Malayalam-language ...
and
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won several ...
were signed on to play the leading roles, while
Samuthirakani
Samuthirakani (born 26 April 1973) is an Indian actor and film director who predominantly works in Tamil films and Telugu films besides appearing in a number of Malayalam films. He worked as an assistant to director K Balachander. He won the N ...
also accepted to portray another pivotal role in the film. The film began shooting on 7 January 2016 with a launch ceremony held in Chennai and completed on 23 February 2016.
Soundtrack
Music composed by
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...
.
Home media
The satellite rights of the film were sold to
TAR Vijay
References
External links
*
{{Wunderbar Films
2010s Tamil-language films
2016 films
Tamil remakes of Hindi films
Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja
Films about the education system in India
Films directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari