Jallikattu (1987 film)

Jallikattu
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Manivannan
Screenplay by	Manivannan
Story by	Vietnam Veedu Sundaram
Produced by	Chitra Ramu Chitra Lakshmanan
Starring	Sivaji Ganesan Sathyaraj Radha M. N. Nambiar
Cinematography	A. Sabapathy
Edited by	Chandran
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Production company	Seetha Lakshmi Art Films
Release date	28 August 1987 (1987-08-28)
Running time	140 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Jallikattu (transl. Bull-vaulting)^[1] is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language vigilante action film directed by Manivannan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Sathyaraj and Radha. Produced by Chitra Ramu and Chitra Lakshmanan,^[2] it was released on 28 August 1987.

Plot

The story begins with Arjun being arrested for multiple crimes. In the past, Arjun was a happy-go-lucky young man. His brother, a factory's union leader, clashed with his superiors for a bonus. In the meantime, Arjun fell in love with Radha. To help the labourers, Arjun cheated the factory's owners as a fake income tax officer, he managed to take all their black money and he gave it to the labourers. The owners of the factory trap Arjun's brother, sister-in-law and his niece in their house. Arjun's sister in-law is raped and the three are killed. Arjun then tried to kill the culprit and failed. Siva Prasad, Radha's brother, advised him to surrender but, being an innocent in this case, he refused. However, Siva Prasad arrested him by surprise. Arjun was then tortured. Therefore, a bald Arjun comes to the court. Despite everything being against Arjun, the judge Ram Prakash feels that he is innocent. So Ram Prakash sentences that Arjun will be under house arrest on his isolated island. Ram Prakash and Arjun slowly begin bonding as friends again and Radha shows up again after being removed from the island and shoots Ram Prakash After few plots, twists and turns, Ram Prakash reveals his motive on choosing Arjun.

Rama Prakash's granddaughter is kidnapped and held at ransom to release a criminal linked to above 3 criminals, and is raped and murdered brutally when Judge Ram Prakash upholds law and sentences the criminal to death by hanging. Ram Prakash trains Arjun well in many skills and the climax gets interesting on how Arjun overtakes his enemies one by one.

Cast

• Sivaji Ganesan as Ram Prakash
• Sathyaraj as Arjun (Half Boil Arumugam/Muttam Chinnappadoss/Kunguma Pottu Gounder/Rajaratnam)
• Radha as Radha (Arukkani)
• M. N. Nambiar as Dheenadalayan
• Janagaraj as Janagaraj
• Vennira Aadai Moorthy as Moorthy
• Malaysia Vasudevan as Neelakandan Numerology
• Captain Raju as Police Commissioner Sivaprasad
• Chitra Lakshmanan as Dharmaraj
• ARS as Lawyer Srinivasan
• Rajasekhar
• Charle as Arjun Friend
• Kumaresan as Arjun Friend
• Thyagu as Arjun Friend
• Veeraraghavan
• Prameela
• John Amirtharaj
• Kutty Padmini as Kutty Amma
• Delhi Ganesh (guest appearance)
• Kokila as Karpagam (guest appearance)
• Prathap K. Pothan (guest appearance)
• Ramya Krishnan as Herself, TV Anchor (guest appearance)

Production

Jallikattu is the first collaboration between Sivaji Ganesan and Manivannan.^[3] The dialogues were written by Vietnam Veedu Sundaram.^[4]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyrics written by Gangai Amaran.^[5][6]

Song	Singer(s)	Length
"Yethanaiyo"	Mano, S. Janaki	4:24
"Yeriyil Oru"	Malaysia Vasudevan	4:25
"Hey Raja"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Mano	4:31
"Kathi Chandai Poadaamale"	K. S. Chithra	4:22
"Kaadhal Kizhiye"	Mano, S. Janaki	4:53

Release

Jallikattu faced issues with the Censor Board before release as the board "felt it may show the judiciary in poor light" and the filmmakers made a few cuts.^[7] Jallikattu was a commercial success, and the then Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. G. Ramachandran attended the 100th day celebrations which was his last function before his death on 24 December 1987.^[8]

Reception

N. Krishnaswamy of The Indian Express wrote the film "signals some sort of peak in Satyaraj's career. It's screenplay implies that the actor has achieved such a pinnacle of popularity that he can afford to sit down, relax and look around with satisfaction. [Jallikattu] cumulates the popular roles Satyaraj has played till now. It is thus a compendium, a summary of his work".^[9]

References

1. Baskaran, S. Theodore (2008). Sivaji Ganesan: Profile of an Icon. Wisdom Tree. p. 100. ISBN 978-81-8328-396-0.
2. "திரைப்பட தயாரிப்பாளர் சித்ரா ராமு காலமானார்" [Tamil film producer Chitra Ramu passes away]. Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 5 November 2016. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
3. Rao, Subha J. (11 May 2013). "Fifty and counting". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 November 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
4. Rohini (19 October 2021). "சத்யம் தியேட்டர் குறித்து நறுக் வசனம் எழுதிய வசனகர்த்தா- வியட்நாம் வீடு சுந்தரம்". CineReporters (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
5. "Jallikattu (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
6. "Jallikkattu Tamil Film LP Vinyl Record by Ilayaraja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
7. Ramesh, Neeraja (25 July 2019). "Films on quota politics come with reservations". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
8. Lakshmanan, Chithra (24 December 2019). பாமரர்களால் இன்றும் கொண்டாடப்படும் தலைவன் - சினிமாவுக்குள்ளே ஒரு சினிமா- EPISODE – 196 (in Tamil). Touring Talkies. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 24 December 2019 – via YouTube.
9. Krishnaswamy, N. (4 September 1987). "Tug-of-war". The Indian Express. p. 5. Retrieved 11 July 2022 – via Google News Archive.

External links

• Jallikattu at IMDb