''Arasa Kattalai'' () is a 1967 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 historical

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 and directed by M. G. Chakrapani, starring

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

and

B. Saroja Devi Bangalore Saroja Devi (born 7 January 1938) is an Indian actress who has acted in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. She acted in around 200 films in over six decades. She is known by the epithets "''Abhinaya Saraswathi''" (Saraswathi of ...

, with

Jayalalithaa Jayaram Jayalalithaa (24 February 1948 – 5 December 2016) was an Indian politician and actress who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for more than fourteen years over six terms between 1991 and 2016. From 9 February 1989 to 5 December 2 ...

, M. N. Nambiar and S. A. Ashokan in supporting roles. It was released on 19 May 1967.

Plot

A monarch believes that he has committed a terrible fault and commits suicide to make amends, not without having indicated his successor: Vijayan, a man of the people, that one even, who had come punish him, a fearless knight, for an act of bravery. Before dying, the monarch orders Vijayan to protect his subjects and to put back the power into the hands of the people. By so acting, the deceased king had also just thwarted the Machiavellian intentions of its Minister. Indeed, this traitor intends to seize the throne. But it will be for another time, because this sinister dignitary is going to make every effort to sabotage the reforms of Vijayan. To begin with, by eliminating him.

Cast

as Vijayan *

as Amala *

as Moghana * S. A. Ashokan as Vilavan * M. N. Nambiar as Amudha's guardian *

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 the perfidious minister *

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 fil ...

as the tribal leader * P. S. Veerappa (guest-star) as the King of the Kumari * K. R. Ramasamy as the patriot with the flag (guest star) * N. S. Natarajan as a tribal * Kundumani as a rustic fellow * Madhavi as Jambha

Production

The film initially began under the title ''

Bhavani Bhavānī (also known as Bhāvya, Tulajā, Turajā, Tvarita, Aṃbā, Jagadambā and Aṃbē) is manifestation of Adi Shakti (Durga). Bhavani translates to "giver of life", meaning the power of nature or the source of creative energy. She is co ...

'', which was written by A. K. Velan and was to be directed by Masthan.

's brother

Chakrapani Chakrapani may refer to: People with the surname * Aluri Chakrapani (1908–1975), Indian film multilingual writer, producer and director * Chuck Chakrapani, Indian research methodologist, educator, and author * M. G. Chakrapani (1911–1986), I ...

produced this film, which got shelved after some progress. Chakrapani later revived this film as ''Arasa Kattalai'', with Ramachandran returning to star. Apart from directing, Chakrapani made a cameo appearance in the film.

earned the title "Kavarchi Kanni" through this film.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack was composed by K. V. Mahadevan and lyrics were written by Muthukoothan, Vaali and Alangudi Somu. The songs "Aadi Vaa" and "Vettaiyadu Vilayaadu" became chartbusters.

Release and reception

''Arasa Kattalai'' was released on 19 May 1967. The film ran for 10 weeks in theatres, and was not commercially successful. ''

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 ...

'' said the film, despite its flaws, would satisfy Ramachandran's fans.

In popular culture

The song "Vettaiyadu Vilayadu" inspired

Gautham Vasudev Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Hindi films th ...

to title his 2006 film of the same name.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0157324 1960s historical action films 1960s Tamil-language films 1967 films Films scored by K. V. Mahadevan Indian historical action films