Sattam Oru Iruttarai (1981 film)


Sattam Oru Iruttarai is a 1981 Tamil language action film directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar in his debut. The film stars Vijayakanth in the lead role. The film is about a man who wishes to avenge the killers of his parents. After its massive success and became a blockbuster, it was remade in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages. Recently, the film was also remade in Tamil again, by the director's granddaughter, Sneha Britto. The songs and score was composed by Shankar Ganesh.

Cast

Sattam Oru Iruttarai is the directorial debut of S. A. Chandrasekhar. The film borrows its title from a dialogue spoken in Velaikaari : "Sattam oru iruttarai, aathil vakeelin vadham oru vilakku. aanal adhu ezhaikku ettadha vilakku", which translates to, " law is a dark room where the lawyer's argument is a lamp. But it is inaccessible to the poor". Chandrasekhar revealed that the script of the film was rejected by 20 producers. Producer Chidambaram chose Vijayakanth for the lead character after he was impressed by his performance in Neerottam. Selection of actor arose stiff opposition from some quarters protesting against giving the hero chance to Vijayakanth in the film. Despite these objections, the producer stood firm in his decision and made Vijayakanth the lead actor in the film.

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Shankar – Ganesh. Lyrics were written by Gangai Amaran, Poonguyilan and Gnani. The audio was released under the label Saregama.
No.TitleSinger
1"Pagalil Oru"Shobha Chandrasekhar
2"Sattam Oru Iruttarai"Malaysia Vasudevan
3"Thanimayile"S. N. Surendar, S. Janaki
4"Rajathi Munnale"S. N. Surendar

Release and reception

Sattam Oru Iruttarai was released on 14 February 1981. On 1 March 1981, Ananda Vikatan positively reviewed the film, particularly the script.

Remakes

Sattam Oru Iruttarai was remade in Telugu as Chattaniki Kallu Levu, in Hindi in as Andha Kanoon, in Malayalam as Maattuvin Chattangale, in Kannada as Nyaya Ellide, and again in Tamil under the same title by S.A.C.'s granddaughter Sneha Britto.

Legacy

The film's success established Vijayakanth as a star in Tamil cinema. The success also inspired similar themes about law system which were mostly directed by Chandrasekhar and his disciple Shankar.