Annakili
Annakili is a 1976 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film, directed by Devaraj–Mohan and written by Panchu Arunachalam from a story by R. Selvaraj. The film stars Sivakumar and Sujatha, with S. V. Subbaiah, Srikanth, Thengai Srinivasan and Fatafat Jayalaxmi in supporting roles.was produced by S. P. Thamizharasi under the production banner "SPT Films". The film's soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, who made his debut as film composer with this film while the story was written by R. Selvaraj and the screenplay and lyrics were written by Panchu Arunachalam. A. Somasundaram and Kandasamy handled cinematography and editing respectively.
| Annakili | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Devaraj–Mohan |
| Screenplay by | Panchu Arunachalam |
| Story by | R. Selvaraj |
| Produced by | P. Thamizharasi |
| Starring | Sivakumar Sujatha |
| Cinematography | A. Somasundaram |
| Edited by | B. Kandasamy |
| Music by | Ilaiyaraaja |
Production company | S. P. T. Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 134 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
When Ilaiyaraaja met Panchu Arunachalam, the latter asked if the former had composed any songs; Ilaiyaraaja casually sang a bunch of songs, one of which was "Annakkili Unnai Theduthe". An impressed Panchu Arunachalam decided to write a film story to accommodate these songs; the film would be titled Annakili.
Annakili was released on 14 May 1976 and became a commercial success. The film was screened at the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India in 1978. It was remade in Telugu as Rama Chilaka (1978).
Plot
The movie revolves around Annakili, who falls in love with teacher Thyagarajan. Due to circumstances, Thyagarajan marries another girl. Azhagappan, a womaniser creates a misunderstanding about Annakili among the villagers; the rest of the film shows how Annakili proves her innocence.
Cast
- Sivakumar as Thyagarajan[1]
- Sujatha as Annakili[1]
- S. V. Subbaiah as Vadivel Ambal[2]
- Srikanth as Magudapathy[2]
- Thengai Srinivasan as Azhagappan[2]
- Venniradai Moorthy as Azhagappan's right hand man[3]
- Senthamarai as Madasamy[2]
- Fatafat Jayalaxmi as Sumathi[1]
- Manimala as Thyagarajan's sister
- M. N. Rajam as
- S. N. Lakshmi as
Production
When Ilaiyaraaja met Panchu Arunachalam, the latter asked if the former had composed any songs; Ilaiyaraaja casually sang a bunch of songs, one of which was "Annakkili Unnai Theduthe". An impressed Panchu Arunachalam decided to write a film story to accommodate these songs; the film would be titled Annakili.[4] The climax, featuring a theatre being set on fire, was inspired by the film Kannagi.[5]
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, who made his debut as composer with this film,[6] and the lyrics were written by Panchu Arunachalam. Arunachalam added "Ilaiya" (Ilaiya means younger in Tamil language) as prefix in his name Raaja and he named as "Ilaiyaraaja" to differentiate from the already established composer A. M. Rajah. For the soundtrack, Ilaiyaraaja applied the techniques of modern popular film music orchestration to Tamil folk poetry and folk song melodies, which created a fusion of Western and Tamil idioms.[7] The song "Machanai Paartheengala" was originally composed and sung at a marriage by Ilaiyaraaja and his orchestra even before the film's release.[8] The violin portions of the song were used by music director K for the "Bar Anthem" in Mugamoodi (2012).[9] The song "Sonthamillai Banthamillai" is based on Nadanamakriya raga.[10]
| No. | Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adi Raakayi | S. Janaki | Panchu Arunachalam | 04:11 |
| 2 | Annakili (Happy) | 04:49 | ||
| 3 | Annakili (Sad) | T. M. Soundararajan | 03:17 | |
| 4 | Machaana Pathingala | S. Janaki | 04:26 | |
| 5 | Sontham Illai | P. Susheela | 04:02 |
Release and reception
Annakili was released on 14 May 1976.[11] Ananda Vikatan, in a review dated 30 May 1976, was positive towards the film, particularly the performances of Sujatha, Sivakumar and Srikanth, but felt it would have been better in colour.[12][13]
References
- Guy, Randor (11 June 2016). "Annakili (1976)". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- Dhananjayan 2014, p. 236.
- Sundaram, Nandhu (11 May 2019). "43 years of 'Annakili': Devaraj-Mohan's film is still a riveting watch". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- Cinema Express (26 May 2019). "The DEFINITIVE Ilaiyaraaja interview by Sudhir Srinivasan | Re-edited | Isai Celebrates Isai". Event occurs at 14:31. Archived from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2019 – via YouTube.
- Baskaran 1996, p. 147.
- "இளையராஜாவின் இதயத்தில் இடம்பெற்ற எம்.எஸ்.வி". Dina Thanthi. 16 April 2016. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
- Greene 2001, pp. 171–172.
- Dhananjayan 2014, p. 237.
- "Mugamoodi". The Hindu. 29 July 2012. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- Kolappan, B. (25 December 2012). "In tune with nativity and modernity". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- Rangan, Baradwaj (21 May 2016). "A king and his times". Baradwaj Rangan. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- "சினிமா விமர்சனம்: அன்னக்கிளி". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 30 May 1976. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- Rangan, Baradwaj (16 August 2018). "Southern Lights: The Man Who Made (And Named) Ilayaraja". Film Companion. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
Bibliography
- Baskaran, S. Theodore (1996). The Eye of the Serpent: An Introduction to Tamil Cinema. Chennai: East West Books. OCLC 243920437.
- Dhananjayan, G. (2014). Pride of Tamil Cinema: 1931–2013. Blue Ocean Publishers. OCLC 898765509.
- Greene, P. D. (2001). "Authoring the Folk: the crafting of a rural popular music in south India". Journal of Intercultural Studies (2nd ed.). 22 (2): 161–172. doi:10.1080/07256860120069585. S2CID 143604516.