Arunachalam (film): Difference between revisions

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| screenplay    = Sundar C.
| screenplay    = Sundar C.
| based_on      = {{based on|''[[Brewster's Millions]]''|[[George Barr McCutcheon]]}}
| based_on      = {{based on|''[[Brewster's Millions]]''|[[George Barr McCutcheon]]}}
| starring      = {{Unbulleted list|[[Rajinikanth ]]|[[Soundarya]]|[[Rambha (actress)|Rambha]]}}
| starring      = {{Unbulleted list|[[Rajinikanth]] |[[Soundarya]]|[[Rambha (actress)|Rambha]]}}
| music          = [[Deva (music director)|Deva]]
| music          = [[Deva (composer)|Deva]]
| cinematography = [[U. K. Senthil Kumar]]
| cinematography = [[U. K. Senthil Kumar]]
| editing        = [[P. Sai Suresh]]
| editing        = [[P. Sai Suresh]]
Line 25: Line 25:
}}
}}


'''''Arunachalam''''' is a 1997 Indian [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-language [[action drama]] film directed by [[Sundar C.]] and written by [[Crazy Mohan]]. The film features [[Rajinikanth]], [[Soundarya]] and [[Rambha (actress)|Rambha]] in the lead roles, with [[Jaishankar]] and [[Ravichandran (Tamil actor)|Ravichandran]] in other pivotal roles. The soundtrack and background score for the film was composed by [[Deva (music director)|Deva]], while [[U. K. Senthil Kumar]] handled the cinematography. The film is loosely based on the 1902 novel ''[[Brewster's Millions]]'' by [[George Barr McCutcheon]].<ref name=":0" />
'''''Arunachalam''''' is a 1997 Indian [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-language [[action drama]] film directed by [[Sundar C.]] and written by [[Crazy Mohan]]. The film features [[Rajinikanth]], [[Soundarya]] and [[Rambha (actress)|Rambha]], with [[Jaishankar]] and [[Ravichandran (Tamil actor)|Ravichandran]] in other pivotal roles.<ref>{{Citation|title=Arunachalam (1999) - IMDb|date=10 April 1997|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139861/|language=en-US|access-date=2021-08-04}}</ref> The soundtrack and background score for the film was composed by [[Deva (composer)|Deva]], while [[U. K. Senthil Kumar]] handled the cinematography. The film is loosely based on the 1902 novel ''[[Brewster's Millions]]'' by [[George Barr McCutcheon]].<ref name=":0" />


The film opened in April 1997 to positive reviews from film critics and went on to win three [[Tamil Nadu State Film Awards]], including an award for [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film|Best Film]].  
The film opened in April 1997 to highly positive reviews from film critics and went on to win three [[Tamil Nadu State Film Awards]], including an award for [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film|Best Film]].<ref name="Arunachalam - IMDb">{{Citation|title=Arunachalam - IMDb|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139861/awards/|access-date=2021-08-04}}</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
Arunachalam is a simpleton who is the eldest son of Ammayappan, a reputed rich man from a respectable family in their village [[Alanganallur]]. Vedhavalli, a city girl and also cousin of Arunachalam comes to her cousin's (Arunachalam's sister's) wedding. She gets attracted towards Arunachalam and slowly love blossoms between them. Their wedding proposal is happily accepted by the elders in their family except the senior-most person of the family, Arunchalam and Vedhavalli's grandmother, Sr.Vedhavalli. She never likes Arunachalam and always shows hatred. She says something to Vedhavalli's father Aadhikesavan, which makes him  reconsider the marriage of Vedhavalli with Arunachalam. The family leaves without informing Arunachalam, which shocks him.
A village head Arunachalam ([[Rajinikanth]]) who has two brothers Saravanan ([[Raja (Tamil actor)|Raja]]), Shakthi, (Shakthi Kumar) and a sister Arundhati ([[Anju Aravind]]) and a happy family. Ammayappa ([[Ravichandran (Tamil actor)|Ravichandran]]) and [[K. R. Vatsala]] are his parents. Vedavalli ([[Soundarya]]) is the daughter of Aathikesavan ([[Jaishankar]]) and ([[Vennira Aadai Nirmala]]). Nirmala is Ammayappa's sister and they all come to Ammayappa's home for Arunachalam's sister's wedding. That gives the opportunity for Vedavalli and Arunachalam to fight first, then fall in love with each other.


Arunachalam finds that his younger brother is trying to ditch his pregnant lover and he comes to her rescue. His brother refuses to marry her, stating that she does not match his status and money. Arunachalam owes to bequeath his inheritance to her so that she will become equal to him, which angers senior Vedhavalli. She discloses the truth that he has no right over anything he possesses except the ''[[rudraksha]]'', which he is wearing on his neck as he is an orphan who was found in Arunachaleshwarar Temple in Thiruvannamalai and taken from his mother during her last breath, who also named him Arunachalam. She also insults him and indirectly insists that he leave their house. Arunachalam is broken and hurt by the insult of Sr. Vedhavalli and leaves the house without informing anyone.
Arunachalam finds himself to be an orphan by interval. He goes out of the village. He goes to Madras where he meets Beeda Kathavarayan ([[Janakaraj]]), who gives him a job. By some magical situation Arunachalam discovers himself to be the son of India's richest (dead) billionaire Vedhachalam ([[Rajinikanth]])- through Rangachari ([[Visu]]). Rangachari is the guardian of Arunachalam's father's trust. If Arunachalam wants his inheritance, he has to follow certain rules. He can get an inheritance of 3000 Crore Rupees if he can spend 30 crores in 30 days. The conditions are: no contributions to charities, not to own any assets at the end of 30 days and above all, no one else should know about this and receipts should be provide for all the expenses. If Arunachalam fails to spend the money according to the rules, all the money will go to his father's trust which is managed by Vishwanath ([[Raghuvaran]]), Prathap ([[Nizhalgal Ravi]]), Kurian ([[Kitty (actor)|Kitty]]) and Kaliyaperumal ([[V. K. Ramasamy (actor)|V. K. Ramasamy]]). These four form a team of "villains". They want to spoil Arunachalam's efforts and get all the money for the trust and kill Rangachari. Nandhini ([[Rambha (actress)|Rambha]]) is Rangachari's daughter and she is appointed as the accountant for Arunachalam for 30 days.


Arunachalam comes to Chennai and befriends Kathavarayan, a beeda seller who gives him a job. He meets Vedhavalli one day and goes to her home only to get insulted by Vedhavalli's father. Arunachalam meets a young girl Nandhini when a thief snatches her handbag. Nandhini thanks him and in return she promises a job in her dad's company. The next day, Arunachalam goes to the office to meet Nadhini's father and he misses his ''rudraksh'' there. He chases the rolling ''rudraksh'' creating trouble to everyone in the office and finally his ''rudraksh'' lands on the table of Rangachari, who was discussing about transferring of some property belonging to some Vedhachalam to a trust along with his colleagues. Arunachalam enters the meeting room and Rangachari is shocked to see Arunachalam. He inquires what his name is, to which Arunachalam replies. Rangachari tells him that he is actually the son of his late boss Dr Vedhachalam, the heir to his entire property worth Rs 30 Billion. Arunachalam and Rangachari's colleagues Kaliaperumal, Prathap, Kurain and Vishwanath are shocked.
Arunachalam tries hard to spend his money and many times, the money comes back. He spends on Horse races, lottery tickets, makes a movie with Arivazhagan ([[Senthil]]) as the hero and he even starts his own political party with Kathavarayan being the candidate. All these events are good opportunities for situation comedies. Does Arunachalam win this competition, does he get all the 3000 Crore rupees for himself and live happily ever after is the rest of the story.
 
Rangachari explains that Arunachalam was lost when he was so young and he recognised him with the name mentioned by his father and resemblance of his father Vedhachalam. He tells that Vedhachalam instructed him to play a videotape of when Arunachalam was found where Mr. Vedhachalam speaks about how he married Arunachalam's mother Meenakshi against his father's wish, how he got lost in a cruise accident and was misunderstood to be dead and how his mother committed suicide broken by her husband's demise. He got a letter of her which stated that they have a son named Arunachalam. He says that Arunachalam has two choices of bequeathing his legacy; either by accepting a challenge of spending Rs 30 Crore in 30 days and get the entire 3000 crore, fulfilling the rules or take away just Rs.30 crore. The reason of this challenge is to make him get allergic to money and the comforts of it, so that he would spend wisely 3,000 crores for the poor and needy people. The rules for this challenge are no contributions to charities, not to own any assets at the end of the month, and no one else must know that he would get 3000 crores if he completes the challenge.
 
Arunachalam initially refuses to take up the challenge and says the videotape is enough for him and decides to return to his village to proudly say about his father. However he overhears Vishwanath, Kurain, Prathap and Kaliaperumal talking about killing Rangachari to take away all the assets. Arunachalam understands their true intention and accepts the challenge to spend Rs.30 crore in 30 days, following the rules, much to the quartet's shock. Arunachalam challenges them that he would win the challenge and expose them to the world. Nandhini is appointed as his assistant to take care of expenses.
 
From Day 1, Arunachalam starts to implement different tactics and spends lavishly, but the quartet group create all obstacles so that he does not win the challenge. Arunachalam invests the money in a horse race, which is a way to lose money easily in minutes. He deliberately bets on the weakest horse, but due to quartet's plan, the weak horse wins earning him a lot of money. Next he buys bumper prize lotteries, which also gets him to win ample amounts of money, He then produces a film with his friend Arivazhagan, hoping it will fail commercially. However, his plan backfires, due to the quartet who make him to earn more money from the selling rights. Finally he jumps into politics starting a party, nominating his friend Kathavarayan for the upcoming election. He vigorously campaigns for him and lavishly spends all the money so fast. During a meeting, Kathavarayan's speech makes people angry at him and Arunachalam declares that he is apologising to them for nominating a wrong person and asks them not to vote for him. However, the quartet group make the other nominees of election withdraw and Kathavarayan is elected unopposed as MP. Arunachalam is shocked now, as MP post and the party are both assets as per the challenge. But he makes Kathavarayan to resign the post and he dissolves his party destroying both assets.
 
Finally he is about to win and he spends the final leftovers in a farewell party. Meanwhile, Vedhavalli gets angry at Arunachalam for not helping her and her family during their financial crisis and she suspects that he has an affair with Nandhini. She consents to wedding with her father's choice. But Arunachalam does not reveal the truth to Vedhavalli as he wants to keep up his father's words. On the last day of handover, during the final minutes, Arunachalam's friend comes to him with Rs.20,000 as per plan of quartet, so that he cannot spend it at last minute. Nandhini arrives in the nick of time to inform the quartet plan and Arunachalam spends the money in last 30 seconds by paying the money to her as salary thus winning the challenge. Nandhini and Arunchalam explain to Rangachari about the evil doings of the quartet. Rangachari threatens to complaint against them to the police, but they threaten to kill them. After series of struggles and fights, Arunachalam hands them over to police. Rangachari hands over the 30 billion property to him, but he refuses to take it and asks him to spend it on poor and needy as per his father's wish.
 
Meanwhile, the media gets to know about the happenings and it is telecast across the state. Vedhavalli realises her mistake. Ammayappan comes to Chennai to take Arunachalam back with him to the village and is surprised to see the wedding arrangements with Vedhavalli waiting for him. Senior Vedhavalli also realises her mistake and consents for their wedding. Arunachalam and Vedhavalli unite finally.


==Cast==
==Cast==


{{colbegin}}
{{colbegin}}
* [[Rajinikanth]] as Arunachalam & Vedhachalam
* [[Rajinikanth]] as Arunachalam & Vedhachalam (dual role)
* [[Rambha (actress)|Rambha]] as Nandhini Rangachari
* [[Rambha (actress)|Rambha]] as Nandhini Rangachari
* [[Soundarya]] as Vedhavalli Aathikesavan
* [[Soundarya]] as Vedhavalli Aathikesavan (Voice dubbed by [[Savitha Reddy]])
* [[Jaishankar]] as Aathikesavan
* [[Jaishankar]] as Aathikesavan
* [[Ravichandran (Tamil actor)|Ravichandran]] as Ammayappa
* [[Ravichandran (Tamil actor)|Ravichandran]] as Ammayappa
* [[Raghuvaran]] as Vishwanath
* [[Raghuvaran]] as Vishwanath
* [[Visu]] as Rangachari
* [[Visu]] as Rangachari
* [[V. K. Ramaswamy (actor)|V. K. Ramasamy]] as Kaliyaperumal
* [[V. K. Ramasamy (actor)|V. K. Ramasamy]] as Kaliyaperumal
* [[Nizhalgal Ravi]] as Prathap
* [[Nizhalgal Ravi]] as Prathap
* [[Kitty (actor)|Kitty]] as Kurian
* [[Kitty (actor)|Kitty]] as Kurian
Line 69: Line 59:
* Veeraraagavan
* Veeraraagavan
* [[Vadivukkarasi]] as Senior Vedhavalli
* [[Vadivukkarasi]] as Senior Vedhavalli
* [[K. R. Vatsala]]
* [[Vennira Aadai Nirmala]]
* [[Vinu Chakravarthy]]
* [[Vinu Chakravarthy]]
* [[Vichu Vishwanath]]
* [[Thalapathy Dinesh]]
* Thevaraj Krishnan as Chokkalingam
* Thevaraj Krishnan as Chokkalingam
* [[Crazy Mohan]] as Ayyasaamy
* [[Crazy Mohan]] as Ayyasaamy
Line 79: Line 73:
* [[Sridhar (choreographer)|Sridhar]] as Dancer
* [[Sridhar (choreographer)|Sridhar]] as Dancer
{{colend}}
{{colend}}
==Production==
=== Development ===
[[File:Somanathapura Keshava Temple.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The song "Athanda Ithanda" was shot at Keshava Temple of Hoysala Architecture at Somanathapura, Karnataka]]
After the success of ''[[Muthu (film)|Muthu]]'' in 1995, Rajinikanth took a year out dabbling in politics and taking a sabbatical before announcing that his next film would be ''Arunachalam'' written by [[Crazy Mohan]]. It was announced that the film would be produced to help eight of his struggling film industry colleagues and it was incorrectly earlier reported that the film would be produced under his newly floated Rajini Arts banner. It was indicated that some of the people who the film would go on to cause benefits for included Kalakendra Govindharajan who introduced Rajinikanth in his production ''[[Apoorva Raagangal]]'' (1975), Kalaignyanam who featured Rajinikanth in the lead role for the first time with his production ''[[Bairavi]]'' (1978) and brothers Ramji and Babji who produced some of the actor's early hits, ''[[Kaali (1980 film)|Kaali]]'' (1980) and ''[[Garjanai (1981 film)|Garjanai]]'' (1980). Furthermore, collections would also be shared between the family of Sathya Studio Padmanabhan, actress [[Pandari Bai]], actor [[V. K. Ramasamy (actor)|V. K. Ramasamy]] and producer Madurai Nagaraja.<ref name="groups.google.com">{{cite web|url=https://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.tamil/browse_thread/thread/27af1fb9091d0adc/aff47817cde6b536?lnk=gst&q=#aff47817cde6b536 |title=Tamil Movie News-Pudhu Edition 2 – soc.culture.tamil &#124; Google Groups |date=22 October 1996 |access-date=2 July 2012}}</ref><ref name = "Arun">{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemalead.com/visitor-column-id-the-journey-of-living-legend-rajinikanth-part-6-amar-reddy-15-09-133376.htm|title=The Journey of living legend Rajinikanth Part 6 – The Journey Of Living Legend Rajinikanth Part 6- Amar Reddy- Rajinikamth – – Cinemalead.com -|access-date=17 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926174332/http://www.cinemalead.com/visitor-column-id-the-journey-of-living-legend-rajinikanth-part-6-amar-reddy-15-09-133376.htm|archive-date=26 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Initial reports had also titled the film as ''Kuberan'' and ''Meshtri'', but ''Arunachalam'' was eventually retained.<ref name="arun"/> The plot of the film was inspired by [[George Barr McCutcheon]]'s 1902 novel ''[[Brewster's Millions]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography |title-link=Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography |last=Ramachandran |first=Naman |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2012 |pages=170–171 |author-link=Naman Ramachandran}}</ref>
The Director Sundar C. has stated in an interview that he didn't like the story of Arunachalam and he did it because he didn't want to miss an opportunity to work with Rajinikanth. He also mentioned that [[Rajinikanth]] is the one who called and narrated him the story and asked him to direct.<ref name="Vendhar TV">{{Citation|last=Vendhar TV|title=Ninaithale Inikkum {{!}} (25 January 2015) {{!}} Sundar.C Interview {{!}} [Epi-12]|date=26 January 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW7Ejnp9sVY|access-date=29 October 2016}}</ref>
Sundar C. also said if he didn't like the story Rajinikanth would simply change the director. Sundar C heard from a producer who's close to Rajini, that "Once Rajini takes a decision he doesn't go back, and he'll only work with people who work according to that vision." So Sundar C. accepted the story even though he didn't like it as he didn't want to miss working with the legend, Rajinikanth. As he knew Rajini would not change the story for working with Sundar, but he would change the director.<ref name="Vendhar TV" />
=== Casting ===
Initially the lead heroine of the film was expected to be [[Meena (actress)|Meena]], who had featured in Rajinikanth's previous film, ''[[Muthu (film)|Muthu]]'' before [[Soundarya]] and [[Rambha (actress)|Rambha]] were signed on as heroines.<ref name="groups.google.com" /> The initial cast list released to the media also had [[Jayaram]] in the cast of the film as well as [[Vignesh (actor)|Vignesh]], who was later replaced by [[Raja (Tamil actor)|Raja]].<ref name="arun">{{cite web |url=https://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.tamil/browse_thread/thread/2971605fe3027b02/eca6457f1e03db88%3Fq%3D%2522%2BKuberan%2522%23eca6457f1e03db88&ei=iGwTS6eaOpW8Qpmqic0O&sa=t&ct=res&cd=36&source=groups&usg=AFQjCNGJGQkGcN5wVAZMfMwKQ5FMgvk0Ww |title=Tamil Movie News-Pudhu Edition 2 – soc.culture.tamil &#124; Google Groups |date=17 January 1997 |access-date=2 July 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Manorama (Tamil actress)|Manorama]] was also surprisingly added to the cast after causing controversy the previous year by lashing out at Rajinikanth's political motives.<ref name="Arun" /><ref>{{cite web|author=Anupama Subramanian DC chennai |url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/showbiz/kollywood/rajinikanth-kaliyug-vaali-509 |title=Rajinikanth is Kaliyug Vaali |publisher=Deccan Chronicle |date=25 June 2011 |access-date=2 July 2012}}</ref>


==Soundtrack==
==Soundtrack==
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| type      = Soundtrack
| type      = Soundtrack
| longtype  = to Arunachalam
| longtype  = to Arunachalam
| artist    = [[Deva (music director)|Deva]]
| artist    = [[Deva (composer)|Deva]]
| cover      =
| cover      =
| alt        =
| alt        =
Line 103: Line 109:
}}
}}


The music was composed by [[Deva (music director)|Deva]]. The song "Nagumo" had two versions, Hariharan's version was included in soundtrack only, while another version with the vocals of Krishnaraj was included in the film only. Audio was released under the music label "Big B" of [[Amitabh Bachchan]].The tune of Alli Alli Anarkali was lifted from the songs "Ladki Ladki" from ''[[Shreemaan Aashique]]'' (1993), which was composed by [[Nadeem–Shravan]] and "Tutak Tutak Tutiyan" from ''[[Ghar Ka Chiraag]]'' (1989), which was composed by [[Bappi Lahiri]]
The music was composed by [[Deva (composer)|Deva]]. The song "Nagumo" had two versions, Hariharan's version was included in soundtrack only, while another version with the vocals of Krishnaraj was included in the film only. Audio was released under the music label "Big B" of [[Amitabh Bachchan]]. The tune of Alli Alli Anarkali was lifted from the songs "Ladki Ladki" from ''[[Shreemaan Aashique]]'' (1993), which was composed by [[Nadeem–Shravan]] and "Tutak Tutak Tutiyan" from ''[[Ghar Ka Chiraag]]'' (1989), which was composed by [[Bappi Lahiri]]


{{Tracklist
{{Tracklist
| extra_column = Singer(s)
| extra_column = Singer(s)
| headline    = Track listing
| headline    =
| total_length = 29:35
| total_length = 29:35
| all_writing  =  
| all_writing  =  
| all_lyrics    =  
| all_lyrics    =  
| all_music    =  
| all_music    =  
| title2  = Alli Alli Anarkili | extra2 = [[Mano (singer)|Mano]], [[Swarnalatha]] | lyrics2 =  Palani Bharathi
| title2  = Alli Alli Anarkili | extra2 = [[Mano (singer)|Mano]], [[Swarnalatha]] | lyrics2 =  [[Palani Bharathi]]
| title1  = Athanda Ethanda| extra1 =  [[S. P. Balasubrahmanyam]] | lyrics1 =  [[Vairamuthu]]
| title1  = Athanda Ethanda| extra1 =  [[S. P. Balasubrahmanyam]] | lyrics1 =  [[Vairamuthu]]
| title3 = Mathadu Mathadu | extra3 = S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, [[Sujatha Mohan]], Meera, [[Manorama (Tamil actress)|Manorama]] | lyrics3 = Palani Bharathi
| title3 = Mathadu Mathadu | extra3 = S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, [[Sujatha Mohan]], Meera, [[Manorama (Tamil actress)|Manorama]] | lyrics3 = [[Palani Bharathi]]
| title4 = Nagumo | extra4 =  S. P. Balasubramanyam, [[Hariharan (singer)|Hariharan]], [[K. S. Chithra]] | lyrics4 = Vairamuthu
| title4 = Nagumo | extra4 =  [[Hariharan (singer)|Hariharan]], [[K. S. Chithra]] | lyrics4 = Vairamuthu
| title5 = Singam Ondru | extra5= [[Malaysia Vasudevan]] | lyrics5 = [[Vairamuthu]]
| title5 = Nagumo (film version) |extra5 = Krishnaraj, K. S. Chithra |lyrics5=Vairamuthu
| title6 = Thalai Maganae | extra6 =  S. P. Balasubramanyam| lyrics6 =  Kalidasan
| title6 = Singam Ondru | extra6= [[Malaysia Vasudevan]] | lyrics6 = [[Vairamuthu]]
| title7 = Theme Music | extra7=  Instrumental | lyrics7
| title7 = Thalai Maganae | extra7 =  S. P. Balasubramanyam| lyrics7 =  Kalidasan
| title8 = Theme Music | extra8=  Instrumental | lyrics8=
| length1= 05:37
| length1= 05:37
| length2= 05:03
| length2= 05:03
| length3= 05:57
| length3= 05:57
| length4 = 04:32
| length4 = 04:32
| length5 = 04:45
| length5 = 04.32
| length6 = 02:18
| length6 = 04:45
| length7 = 01:23
| length7 = 02:18
| length8 = 01:23


}}
}}


==Production==
==Release==
[[File:Somanathapura Keshava Temple.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The song "Athanda Ithanda" was shot at Keshava Temple of Hoysala Architecture at Somanathapura, Karnataka]]
The film was released theatrically on 10 April 1997.<ref name="Arunachalam - IMDb"/>
After the success of ''[[Muthu (film)|Muthu]]'' in 1995, Rajinikanth took a year out dabbling in politics and taking a sabbatical before announcing that his next film would be ''Arunachalam'' written by [[Crazy Mohan]]. It was announced that the film would be produced to help eight of his struggling film industry colleagues and it was incorrectly earlier reported that the film would be produced under his newly floated Rajini Arts banner. It was indicated that some of the people who the film would go on to cause benefits for included Kalakendra Govindharajan who introduced Rajinikanth in his production ''[[Apoorva Raagangal]]'' (1975), Kalaignyanam who featured Rajinikanth in the lead role for the first time with his production ''[[Bairavi]]'' (1978) and brothers Ramji and Babji who produced some of the actor's early hits, ''[[Kaali (1980 film)|Kaali]]'' (1980) and ''[[Garjanai]]'' (1980). Furthermore, collections would also be shared between the family of Sathya Studio Padmanabhan, actress [[Pandari Bai]], actor [[V. K. Ramaswamy (actor)|V. K. Ramasamy]] and producer Madurai Nagaraja.<ref name="groups.google.com">{{cite web|url=https://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.tamil/browse_thread/thread/27af1fb9091d0adc/aff47817cde6b536?lnk=gst&q=#aff47817cde6b536 |title=Tamil Movie News-Pudhu Edition 2 – soc.culture.tamil &#124; Google Groups |date=22 October 1996 |access-date=2 July 2012}}</ref><ref name = "Arun">{{cite web|url=http://www.cinemalead.com/visitor-column-id-the-journey-of-living-legend-rajinikanth-part-6-amar-reddy-15-09-133376.htm|title=The Journey of living legend Rajinikanth Part 6 – The Journey Of Living Legend Rajinikanth Part 6- Amar Reddy- Rajinikamth – – Cinemalead.com -|access-date=17 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130926174332/http://www.cinemalead.com/visitor-column-id-the-journey-of-living-legend-rajinikanth-part-6-amar-reddy-15-09-133376.htm|archive-date=26 September 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> Initial reports had also titled the film as ''Kuberan'' and ''Meshtri'', but ''Arunachalam'' was eventually retained.<ref name="arun"/> The plot of the film was inspired by [[George Barr McCutcheon]]'s 1902 novel ''[[Brewster's Millions]]''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |title=Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography |title-link=Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography |last=Ramachandran |first=Naman |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2012 |pages=170–171 |author-link=Naman Ramachandran}}</ref>


The Director Sundar C. has stated in an interview that he didn't like the story of Arunachalam and he did it because he didn't want to miss an opportunity to work with Rajinikanth. He also mentioned that [[Rajinikanth]] is the one who called and narrated him the story and asked him to direct.<ref name="Vendhar TV">{{Citation|last=Vendhar TV|title=Ninaithale Inikkum {{!}} (25 January 2015) {{!}} Sundar.C Interview {{!}} [Epi-12]|date=26 January 2015|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW7Ejnp9sVY|access-date=29 October 2016}}</ref>
== Reception ==
=== Critical response ===
Indolink.com said that "the saving grace of the film is Rajini himself. He has the exceptional ability to convincingly portray the same utopian role of anger and love, innocence and impetuousness...and whats more...he does it with remarkable freshness time and again".<ref>{{Cite web |title=INDOlink Film Review: Arunachalam |url=http://www.indolink.com/Film/arunachl.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970607042918/http://www.indolink.com/Film/arunachl.html |archive-date=7 June 1997 |access-date=2 July 2012 |website=Indolink.com}}</ref> ''The Hindu'' wrote on 18 April 1997, "''Arunachalam'' contains all the elements that provide escapist entertainment [...] humour, fairplay, love, feud occupy the frames".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YyFMAgAAQBAJ |title=Rajinikanth 12.12.12: A Birthday Special |work=[[The Hindu]] |year=2012 |pages=75 |id=GGKEY:A78L0XB1B0X |ref={{sfnref|The Hindu|2012}}|last1=Ramachandran |first1=Naman }}</ref> ''[[New Straits Times]]'' wrote, "Go with an open mind and you will enjoy this movie".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vijiyin |first=K. |date=21 April 1997 |title=Another reason to love Rajni |work=[[New Straits Times]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WbBOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GBUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3350%2C2213727}}</ref>


Sundar C. also said if he didn't like the story Rajinikanth would simply change the director. Sundar C heard from a producer who's close to Rajini, that "Once Rajini takes a decision he doesn't go back, and he'll only work with people who work according to that vision." So Sundar C. accepted the story even though he didn't like it as he didn't want to miss working with the legend, Rajinikanth. As he knew Rajini would not change the story for working with Sundar, but he would change the director.<ref name="Vendhar TV" />
=== Box office ===
The film was declared a commercial success at the box office, although not as big as Rajinikanth's previous films ''[[Baashha]]'' and ''[[Muthu (film)|Muthu]]'' (both 1995).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vijiyin |first=K. |date=2 January 1998 |title=Dispute affects production |work=[[New Straits Times]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QvxOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-BQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5522%2C620572}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=30 June 1997 |title=Trouble brewing |url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/jun/30mad.htm |url-status=live |access-date=2 July 2012 |website=[[Rediff.com]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221154340/http://www.rediff.com/movies/jun/30mad.htm |archive-date=21 February 2014 }}</ref>


Initially the lead heroine of the film was expected to be [[Meena (actress)|Meena]], who had featured in Rajinikanth's previous film, ''[[Muthu (film)|Muthu]]'' before [[Soundarya]] and [[Rambha (actress)|Rambha]] were signed on as heroines.<ref name="groups.google.com" /> The initial cast list released to the media also had [[Jayaram]] in the cast of the film as well as [[Vignesh (actor)|Vignesh]], who was later replaced by [[Raja (Tamil actor)|Raja]]. <ref name="arun">{{cite web |url=https://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.tamil/browse_thread/thread/2971605fe3027b02/eca6457f1e03db88%3Fq%3D%2522%2BKuberan%2522%23eca6457f1e03db88&ei=iGwTS6eaOpW8Qpmqic0O&sa=t&ct=res&cd=36&source=groups&usg=AFQjCNGJGQkGcN5wVAZMfMwKQ5FMgvk0Ww |title=Tamil Movie News-Pudhu Edition 2 – soc.culture.tamil &#124; Google Groups |date=17 January 1997 |access-date=2 July 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Manorama (Tamil actress)|Manorama]] was also surprisingly added to the cast after causing controversy the previous year by lashing out at Rajinikanth's political motives.<ref name="Arun" /><ref>{{cite web|author=Anupama Subramanian DC chennai |url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/showbiz/kollywood/rajinikanth-kaliyug-vaali-509 |title=Rajinikanth is Kaliyug Vaali |publisher=Deccan Chronicle |date=25 June 2011 |access-date=2 July 2012}}</ref>
==Awards==
''Arunachalam'' went on to win three [[Tamil Nadu State Film Awards]], including an award for [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film|Best Film]]. Super Subbarayan and [[GK (art director)|Gopi Kanth]] also respectively won awards for [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Stunt Coordinator|Best Stunt Coordinator]] and [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Art Director|Best Art Director]].


Rajinikanth lost his sentimental Rudraksh bead during the shooting of the film and was shocked and upset to note that his Rudraksh was missing. He ordered a search at the shooting spot at midnight and with the help of the giant lights used for shooting, he later found the divine bead after a while.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/36177.html |title=Rajini and the Rudraksh – Tamil Movie News |publisher=IndiaGlitz |date=28 January 2008 |access-date=2 July 2012}}</ref>
'''[[Tamil Nadu State Film Awards]]'''
 
* [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film|Best Film]]- ''Arunachalam''
==Release==
* [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Stunt Coordinator|Best Stunt Coordinator]]- Super Subbarayan
Indolink.com said that "the saving grace of the film is Rajini himself. He has the exceptional ability to convincingly portray the same utopian role of anger and love, innocence and impetuousness...and whats more...he does it with remarkable freshness time and again".<ref>{{Cite web |title=INDOlink Film Review: Arunachalam |url=http://www.indolink.com/Film/arunachl.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970607042918/http://www.indolink.com/Film/arunachl.html |archive-date=7 June 1997 |access-date=2 July 2012 |website=Indolink.com}}</ref> ''The Hindu'' wrote on 18 April 1997, "''Arunachalam'' contains all the elements that provide escapist entertainment [...] humour, fairplay, love, feud occupy the frames".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YyFMAgAAQBAJ |title=Rajinikanth 12.12.12: A Birthday Special |work=[[The Hindu]] |year=2012 |pages=75 |id=GGKEY:A78L0XB1B0X |ref={{sfnref|The Hindu|2012}}|last1=Ramachandran |first1=Naman }}</ref> ''[[New Straits Times]]'' wrote, "Go with an open mind and you will enjoy this movie".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vijiyin |first=K. |date=21 April 1997 |title=Another reason to love Rajni |work=[[New Straits Times]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WbBOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GBUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3350%2C2213727}}</ref>
* [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Art Director|Best Art Director]]- [[GK (art director)|Gopi Kanth]]


The film was declared a commercial success at the box office, although not as big as Rajinikanth's previous films ''[[Baashha]]'' and ''[[Muthu (film)|Muthu]]'' (both 1995).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vijiyin |first=K. |date=2 January 1998 |title=Dispute affects production |work=[[New Straits Times]] |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QvxOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-BQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5522%2C620572}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=30 June 1997 |title=Trouble brewing |url=http://www.rediff.com/movies/jun/30mad.htm |url-status=live |access-date=2 July 2012 |website=[[Rediff.com]]}}</ref> ''Arunachalam'' went on to win three [[Tamil Nadu State Film Awards]], including an award for [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film|Best Film]]. Super Subbarayan and [[GK (art director)|Gopi Kanth]] also respectively won awards for [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Stunt Coordinator|Best Stunt Coordinator]] and [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Art Director|Best Art Director]]. The film was later dubbed and released in Telugu under the same name.
== Rudraksh bead sentiment ==
Rajinikanth lost his sentimental Rudraksh bead during the shooting of the film and was shocked and upset to note that his Rudraksh was missing. He ordered a search at the shooting spot at midnight and with the help of the giant lights used for shooting, he later found the divine bead after a while.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.indiaglitz.com/rajini-and-the-rudraksh-tamil-news-36177 | title=Rajini and the Rudraksh - Tamil News | date=28 January 2008 }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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{{TamilNaduStateFilmAwardBestFilm}}
{{TamilNaduStateFilmAwardBestFilm}}


[[Category:Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:Indian films]]
[[Category:1997 films]]
[[Category:1997 films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Deva (composer)]]
[[Category:Films scored by Deva (composer)]]
[[Category:1990s Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:1990s Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:Films about inheritances]]
[[Category:Films directed by Sundar C.]]
[[Category:Films directed by Sundar C.]]
[[Category:Films based on Brewster's Millions]]
[[Category:Films based on Brewster's Millions]]

Latest revision as of 02:53, 23 June 2022


Arunachalam
File:Arunachalam poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySundar C.
Produced by
  • K. S. Nagarajan Raja
  • K. Muraliprasad Rao
Written byCrazy Mohan
Screenplay bySundar C.
Based onBrewster's Millions
by George Barr McCutcheon
Starring
Music byDeva
CinematographyU. K. Senthil Kumar
Edited byP. Sai Suresh
Production
company
Annamalai Cine Combines
Release date
  • 10 April 1997 (1997-04-10)
Running time
165 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Arunachalam is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Sundar C. and written by Crazy Mohan. The film features Rajinikanth, Soundarya and Rambha, with Jaishankar and Ravichandran in other pivotal roles.[1] The soundtrack and background score for the film was composed by Deva, while U. K. Senthil Kumar handled the cinematography. The film is loosely based on the 1902 novel Brewster's Millions by George Barr McCutcheon.[2]

The film opened in April 1997 to highly positive reviews from film critics and went on to win three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, including an award for Best Film.[3]

Plot[edit | edit source]

A village head Arunachalam (Rajinikanth) who has two brothers Saravanan (Raja), Shakthi, (Shakthi Kumar) and a sister Arundhati (Anju Aravind) and a happy family. Ammayappa (Ravichandran) and K. R. Vatsala are his parents. Vedavalli (Soundarya) is the daughter of Aathikesavan (Jaishankar) and (Vennira Aadai Nirmala). Nirmala is Ammayappa's sister and they all come to Ammayappa's home for Arunachalam's sister's wedding. That gives the opportunity for Vedavalli and Arunachalam to fight first, then fall in love with each other.

Arunachalam finds himself to be an orphan by interval. He goes out of the village. He goes to Madras where he meets Beeda Kathavarayan (Janakaraj), who gives him a job. By some magical situation Arunachalam discovers himself to be the son of India's richest (dead) billionaire Vedhachalam (Rajinikanth)- through Rangachari (Visu). Rangachari is the guardian of Arunachalam's father's trust. If Arunachalam wants his inheritance, he has to follow certain rules. He can get an inheritance of 3000 Crore Rupees if he can spend 30 crores in 30 days. The conditions are: no contributions to charities, not to own any assets at the end of 30 days and above all, no one else should know about this and receipts should be provide for all the expenses. If Arunachalam fails to spend the money according to the rules, all the money will go to his father's trust which is managed by Vishwanath (Raghuvaran), Prathap (Nizhalgal Ravi), Kurian (Kitty) and Kaliyaperumal (V. K. Ramasamy). These four form a team of "villains". They want to spoil Arunachalam's efforts and get all the money for the trust and kill Rangachari. Nandhini (Rambha) is Rangachari's daughter and she is appointed as the accountant for Arunachalam for 30 days.

Arunachalam tries hard to spend his money and many times, the money comes back. He spends on Horse races, lottery tickets, makes a movie with Arivazhagan (Senthil) as the hero and he even starts his own political party with Kathavarayan being the candidate. All these events are good opportunities for situation comedies. Does Arunachalam win this competition, does he get all the 3000 Crore rupees for himself and live happily ever after is the rest of the story.

Cast[edit | edit source]

Production[edit | edit source]

Development[edit | edit source]

Error creating thumbnail: File missing
The song "Athanda Ithanda" was shot at Keshava Temple of Hoysala Architecture at Somanathapura, Karnataka

After the success of Muthu in 1995, Rajinikanth took a year out dabbling in politics and taking a sabbatical before announcing that his next film would be Arunachalam written by Crazy Mohan. It was announced that the film would be produced to help eight of his struggling film industry colleagues and it was incorrectly earlier reported that the film would be produced under his newly floated Rajini Arts banner. It was indicated that some of the people who the film would go on to cause benefits for included Kalakendra Govindharajan who introduced Rajinikanth in his production Apoorva Raagangal (1975), Kalaignyanam who featured Rajinikanth in the lead role for the first time with his production Bairavi (1978) and brothers Ramji and Babji who produced some of the actor's early hits, Kaali (1980) and Garjanai (1980). Furthermore, collections would also be shared between the family of Sathya Studio Padmanabhan, actress Pandari Bai, actor V. K. Ramasamy and producer Madurai Nagaraja.[4][5] Initial reports had also titled the film as Kuberan and Meshtri, but Arunachalam was eventually retained.[6] The plot of the film was inspired by George Barr McCutcheon's 1902 novel Brewster's Millions.[2]

The Director Sundar C. has stated in an interview that he didn't like the story of Arunachalam and he did it because he didn't want to miss an opportunity to work with Rajinikanth. He also mentioned that Rajinikanth is the one who called and narrated him the story and asked him to direct.[7]

Sundar C. also said if he didn't like the story Rajinikanth would simply change the director. Sundar C heard from a producer who's close to Rajini, that "Once Rajini takes a decision he doesn't go back, and he'll only work with people who work according to that vision." So Sundar C. accepted the story even though he didn't like it as he didn't want to miss working with the legend, Rajinikanth. As he knew Rajini would not change the story for working with Sundar, but he would change the director.[7]

Casting[edit | edit source]

Initially the lead heroine of the film was expected to be Meena, who had featured in Rajinikanth's previous film, Muthu before Soundarya and Rambha were signed on as heroines.[4] The initial cast list released to the media also had Jayaram in the cast of the film as well as Vignesh, who was later replaced by Raja.[6] Manorama was also surprisingly added to the cast after causing controversy the previous year by lashing out at Rajinikanth's political motives.[5][8]

Soundtrack[edit | edit source]

Arunachalam
Soundtrack album to Arunachalam by
Deva
Released1997
Recorded1996–1997
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LanguageTamil
LabelBig B
Vega Music
Bayshore
Divo
Think Music
Pyramid
Ayngaran Music
ProducerDeva
Deva chronology
Abhimanyu
(1997) 		Arunachalam
(1997) 		Bharathi Kannamma
(1997)

The music was composed by Deva. The song "Nagumo" had two versions, Hariharan's version was included in soundtrack only, while another version with the vocals of Krishnaraj was included in the film only. Audio was released under the music label "Big B" of Amitabh Bachchan. The tune of Alli Alli Anarkali was lifted from the songs "Ladki Ladki" from Shreemaan Aashique (1993), which was composed by Nadeem–Shravan and "Tutak Tutak Tutiyan" from Ghar Ka Chiraag (1989), which was composed by Bappi Lahiri

No. TitleSinger(s) Length
1. "Athanda Ethanda"  S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 05:37
2. "Alli Alli Anarkili"  Mano, Swarnalatha 05:03
3. "Mathadu Mathadu"  S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sujatha Mohan, Meera, Manorama 05:57
4. "Nagumo"  Hariharan, K. S. Chithra 04:32
5. "Nagumo (film version)"  Krishnaraj, K. S. Chithra 04.32
6. "Singam Ondru"  Malaysia Vasudevan 04:45
7. "Thalai Maganae"  S. P. Balasubramanyam 02:18
8. "Theme Music"  Instrumental 01:23
Total length:
 29:35

Release[edit | edit source]

The film was released theatrically on 10 April 1997.[3]

Reception[edit | edit source]

Critical response[edit | edit source]

Indolink.com said that "the saving grace of the film is Rajini himself. He has the exceptional ability to convincingly portray the same utopian role of anger and love, innocence and impetuousness...and whats more...he does it with remarkable freshness time and again".[9] The Hindu wrote on 18 April 1997, "Arunachalam contains all the elements that provide escapist entertainment [...] humour, fairplay, love, feud occupy the frames".[10] New Straits Times wrote, "Go with an open mind and you will enjoy this movie".[11]

Box office[edit | edit source]

The film was declared a commercial success at the box office, although not as big as Rajinikanth's previous films Baashha and Muthu (both 1995).[12][13]

Awards[edit | edit source]

Arunachalam went on to win three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, including an award for Best Film. Super Subbarayan and Gopi Kanth also respectively won awards for Best Stunt Coordinator and Best Art Director.

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

Rudraksh bead sentiment[edit | edit source]

Rajinikanth lost his sentimental Rudraksh bead during the shooting of the film and was shocked and upset to note that his Rudraksh was missing. He ordered a search at the shooting spot at midnight and with the help of the giant lights used for shooting, he later found the divine bead after a while.[14]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Arunachalam (1999) - IMDb, 10 April 1997, retrieved 4 August 2021
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ramachandran, Naman (2012). Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography. Penguin Books. pp. 170–171.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Arunachalam - IMDb, retrieved 4 August 2021
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Tamil Movie News-Pudhu Edition 2 – soc.culture.tamil | Google Groups". 22 October 1996. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "The Journey of living legend Rajinikanth Part 6 – The Journey Of Living Legend Rajinikanth Part 6- Amar Reddy- Rajinikamth – – Cinemalead.com -". Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Tamil Movie News-Pudhu Edition 2 – soc.culture.tamil | Google Groups". 17 January 1997. Retrieved 2 July 2012.[permanent dead link]
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Vendhar TV (26 January 2015), Ninaithale Inikkum | (25 January 2015) | Sundar.C Interview | [Epi-12], retrieved 29 October 2016
  8. ↑ Anupama Subramanian DC chennai (25 June 2011). "Rajinikanth is Kaliyug Vaali". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  9. ↑ "INDOlink Film Review: Arunachalam". Indolink.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 1997. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  10. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (2012). Rajinikanth 12.12.12: A Birthday Special. p. 75. GGKEY:A78L0XB1B0X. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  11. ↑ Vijiyin, K. (21 April 1997). "Another reason to love Rajni". New Straits Times.
  12. ↑ Vijiyin, K. (2 January 1998). "Dispute affects production". New Straits Times.
  13. ↑ "Trouble brewing". Rediff.com. 30 June 1997. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  14. ↑ "Rajini and the Rudraksh - Tamil News". 28 January 2008.

External links[edit | edit source]

Template:Brewster's Millions

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