Kaali is a 1980 Indian action film written by Mahendran and directed by I. V. Sasi. Produced by Hem-Nag,[1] the film stars Rajinikanth, Seema, Fatafat Jayalaxmi and Shubha.[2][3] The film was simultaneously made in Tamil and Telugu languages, with Chiranjeevi replacing Vijayakumar in Telugu.[4] The cinematography was handled by Ashok Kumar and soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.[5] Kaali ran for less than 50 days in Chennai and was considered a box office failure in both Tamil and Telugu.[6] The film is infamous for a fire accident which caused the deaths of some stuntmen and horses.[7]
| Kaali | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Poster of Tamil version | |
| Directed by | I. V. Sasi |
| Written by | Mahendran |
| Produced by | Hem Nag |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ashok Kumar |
| Edited by | K. Narayanan |
| Music by | Ilaiyaraaja |
Production company | Hem Nag Productions |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 144 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Languages |
|
Plot
Cast
| Cast (Tamil) | Cast (Telugu) | Role (Tamil) | Role (Telugu) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rajinikanth | Kaali | ||
| Vijayakumar | Chiranjeevi | G. K. | |
| Seema | Anitha | Geetha | |
| Fatafat Jayalaxmi | Alangaram | ||
| Major Sundarrajan | Kantha Rao | Sampath | |
| Manorama | Thayamma | ||
| Suruli Rajan | Sokku | ||
| Shubha | Sampath's wife | ||
| Vennira Aadai Nirmala | Kaali's sister | ||
| V. Gopalakrishnan | Giri Babu | Somu | |
| Kaikala Satyanarayana | Rajaram | ||
| Prasad Babu | one of Rajaram's sons | ||
| Sundar Raj | one of Rajaram's sons | ||
| Pushpalatha | Rajaram's wife | ||
| Anuradha Sriram | child artist | ||
| Master Haja Sheriff | child artist | ||
| Kumarimuthu | |||
Soundtrack
The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.[8] The film had Vairamuthu's first written song, "Kali Bhadrakali".[4]
| Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Adi Aadu" | Malaysia Vasudevan | Kannadasan | 4:39 |
| "Azhagazhaga" | P. Susheela | 4:46 | |
| "Kali Bhadrakali" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki | Vairamuthu | 4:00 |
| "Thithikkum" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Kalyan, S. P. Sailaja | Kannadasan | 4:33 |
| "Vaazhumattum" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 4:46 |
Release and reception
Kaali was released on 3 July 1980 in Tamil,[9] and 19 September the same year in Telugu clashing with another Chiranjeevi-starrer Thathayya Premaleelalu (1980).[10][11] Saavi wrote that I. V. Sasi has started taking roots in Tamil. The critic added that the makers have mixed the colour in the cinemascope and added by looking at the title if you guess this film as revenge plot then you have better intelligence than Sasi.[12] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 43 out of 100, criticising its excessive reliance on violence and expressed concern it would inspire real life violence which was already rampant in India.[13]
References
Bibliography
- Mahendran (2013) [2004]. சினிமாவும் நானும் [Cinema and I] (in Tamil). Karpagam Publications. OCLC 54777094.
- Ramachandran, Naman (2014) [2012]. Rajinikanth: The Definitive Biography. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-342111-5.
