Murattu Kalai

1980 144’ col Tamil d S.P. Muthuraman pc AVM s/lyr Panchu Arunachalam c Babu m Ilaiyaraja lp Rajnikant, Jaishankar, Ashokan, Surulirajan, Mahendran, Thengai Srinivasan, Rati Agnihotri, Sumalatha

After a long absence, the prestigious AVM company returned with this megahit featuring Rajnikant as Kaaliyan, a simple but rich and virile young man in a village, who tames a bull and attracts the meretricious attentions of the headman’s sister Soundaryan (Sumalatha). When the hero falls for the damsel in distress Kannamma (Agnihotri), the headman has his sister and henchman killed, blaming Kaalaiyan, who has to flee into exile before being able to prove his innocence. The film confirmed Rajnikant as a superstar while the film’s hit song, ‘Podhuvaga en manasu thangam - oru pottiynu vandhu vita singam’ (‘I am sensitive, but when challenged, I roar like a lion’) became a classic, featuring prominently even in the election campaign of 1996.

Film