''Sankarlal'' is a 1981 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, nativ ...

-language

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

, written, directed and produced by T. N. Balu. It stars Kamal Haasan in dual lead roles as father and son. Balu died half-way during production, and the film was eventually completed with N. K. Viswanathan as director. The film was simultaneously shot in Telugu-language as ''Andagaadu'' () with Allu Rama Lingaiah and Rao Gopal Rao.

Plot

The film begins with an ordinary man Dharmalingam vacationing in Ooty with his family where he is framed for murder by a criminal Chelladurai. Dharmalingam is jailed while his wife, son Mohan and daughter Seetha all end up split from each other. After several years, the vengeful Dharmalingam returns to confront Chelladurai as the secretive Sankarlal and also desperately is on the lookout for his lost family. Chelladurai has meanwhile kidnapped a girl named Hema for ransom and Mohan is deputed by Hema's father to rescue her. This results in Dharmalingam and Mohan locking horns in their fight against their common enemy Chelladurai.

Cast

* Kamal Haasan as Dharmalingam (Sankarlal) amodaram in Teluguand Mohan * Sridevi as Hema * Seema as Seetha/Baabi, Dharmalingam's daughter. * P. R. Varalakshmi as Dhanalakshmi, Dharmalingam's wife & Mohan's Mother. *

Suruli Rajan Suruli Rajan was a Tamil film comedian/character artiste. He was a recipient of Tamil Nadu State Government's Best Comedian Award for the year 1981–82. Biography Suruli Rajan was born in 1938 in Periyakulam, near Theni. His father ''Ponna ...

as Kanthasamy Pillai, Hema's father. **

Allu Rama Lingaiah Allu Ramalingaiah (1 October 1922 – 31 July 2004) was an Indian character actor, comedian, and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema. In 1990, He was honoured with the Padma Shri for his contribution to Indian cinema. In 1998, he r ...

as Hema's father (Telugu version). *

R. S. Manohar Rasipuram Subramaniyan Iyer Manohar was an Indian actor who performed roles ranging from hero to villain to comedic characters. He was born at Namakkal in 1925. He acted in over 200 films. He is known for his versatility and dominating personal ...

as Selladurai **

Rao Gopal Rao Raavu Gopala Rao (14 January 1937 – 13 August 1994) was an Indian actor and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and Telugu theatre. In a film career spanning more than twenty five years, Rao starred in over four hundred feature film ...

(Telugu version) * S. A. Ashokan as Natarajan (Guest appearance) * V. Gopalakrishnan as Maari, Natarajan servant. *

Vennira Aadai Moorthy Vennira Aadai Moorthy (born 25 July 1936) is an Indian actor and comedian in Tamil cinema. He has starred in many Tamil films and television serials as a comedian and also played supporting roles. He is a lawyer by education, and holds a B.L. ...

as Hotel server (Guest appearance) * Hema * Baby Babeetha * Baby Vanthana

Production

Balu died half-way during production, and the film was eventually completed with Viswanathan as director. Sripriya was considered for the leading female role, before Sridevi was finalised.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja (only Elankiliyae) and Gangai Amaran. ;Tamil version

Reception

Nalini Sastry 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 ...

'' praised the acting of Sridevi and Seema, Viswanathan's cinematography but felt the film lacks pace and Ilaiyaraaja and Gangai Amaran's music offers nothing new and concluded Kamal who is stepping up in recent times has taken rest in this film.

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 0186821, Andagaadu 1981 action films 1980s multilingual films 1980s Tamil-language films 1980s Telugu-language films 1981 films Films scored by Gangai Amaran Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Indian action films Indian multilingual films