Sakalakala Sammandhi
Sakalakala Sammandhi (Also written as Sakalakala Sammanthi, Tamil: சகலகலா சம்மந்தி, English: Multi talented in-law) is a 1989 Indian Tamil language film, directed by Visu and produced by KRG. This film is adapted from T.K.Manian's Radio Play titled Yaar Kuzhanthai, and dialogues written by Visu. The film has an ensemble cast including Visu, Delhi Ganesh, Manorama, Chandrasekhar, Saranya, Pandiyan and Ranjini. The film had musical score by Shankar Ganesh. Visu's brother Kishmu worked as an associate director in this film.
| Sakalakala Sammandhi | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Visu |
| Produced by | KRG |
| Written by | Visu |
| Starring | Visu Delhi Ganesh Manorama Chandrasekhar Saranya Pandiyan Dilip Ilavarasan Ranjini Madhuri Meesai Murugesan Kutty Padmini Aruna |
| Music by | Shankar Ganesh |
Production company | KRG Movies International |
Release date | 6 July 1989[1] |
Running time | 136 mins |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
The movie opens with Kumbakonam Temple Dharmakartha (Delhi Ganesh) and his wife Lakshmi (Manorama) getting their son Anandha (Dilip) married to Mayavaram Malayappan (Visu)'s daughter Saraswathy (Madhuri). Anand has two brothers Satyamurthy (Chandrasekhar) and Vasanthan (Pandiyan). Anandha is a straightforward and honest man and shares all his past with his wife. Satyamurthy's wife Durga (Aruna) is a school teacher.
After wedding ceremonies are over, Malayappan sees Uma (Saranya) at Dharmakartha's home and is shocked to find that she did not come to the wedding and nobody even mentioned this family member to him. He learns that the young woman is Dharmakartha's only daughter, who lost her husband in a scooter accident in Mannarkudi just eight months after marriage, and is now a widow. She doesn't come out of her room much, or talk to people much, and is isolated and lonely. When Malayappan probes further, Dharmakartha says that he buys religious books for her to read, Vasanthan says he has been trying to ask her to come and spend time with his friends' sisters, Anandha says he has been trying to get her to go the Sabha and Clubs to see drama and music programs, Satyamurthy says he suggested her to learn new skills to fill time, but none of their efforts were fruitful, hence they have all left Uma's fate to God. Feeling concerned for Uma, Malayappan tries to talk to her and slowly builds a bond.
Vasanthan goes to a body developing place to pursue his ambition of joining the police force. His trainer (Meesai Murugesan)'s daughter Jhansi (Ranjini) shows attraction towards Vasanthan but he does not reciprocate. Satyamurthy wants to have children, but Durga married Satyamurthy on the condition that she does not wish to have kids, until her two younger sisters graduate and start earning, and that she would continue working until then, thus the couple have not yet consummated their marriage.
One day, the family find an infant outside their house. With the baby is a letter, apparently from the mother, saying the baby belongs to one of the male members of the family. Lakshmi suspects her husband of being the father by having an affair with the vegetable seller Vellaiamma (Kutty Padmini). Durga suspects Satyamurthy of being the father by having an affair with another woman. Vasanthan suspects Jhansi of playing a prank and rejects her advances. Meanwhile, a stranger (Ilavarasan) follows Anandha and Saraswathy on multiple occasions, inquiring the whereabouts of a place called Amir Mahal. In the wake of the baby incident, Anandha finds the stranger's photo in Saraswathy's case, and, accusing her of having had an affair with that man, eventually disowns her from the home.
Things take a turn in the family; Anandha starts drinking to overcome his stress, Vasanthan begins yearning for Jhansi after she leaves him, Dharmakartha keeps brooding alone in the temple, and Satyamurthy decides to adopt the baby, following which Durga leaves him. Amid all this, Lakshmi takes a hint following Malayappan's words to her, and entrusts Uma to take care of the baby.
Malayappan meets each member during this difficult time, and asks Dharmakartha, Anandha and Vasantha why each did not do what they suggested Uma to do for peace of mind. He asks Satyamurthy why he ignores the twenty four year old child in their home (Uma) and is instead so bothered about the newly arrived infant. Malayappan confesses that he sent the stranger man behind Saraswathy and put his photo, in order to create separation between Anandha and Saraswathy, so that Anandha will understand how Uma feels without a spouse. Finally they all realize that despite societal hindrances and cultural restrictions in those times, they need to reconsider rebuilding her sad and lonely life, and make her happy again. They begin to alter her room, communicate with her, accompany her out and also prepare to get her married again. In the meantime, Malayappan comes to know of Durga's condition to Satyamurthy before their marriage. He assures Durga that Satyamurthy is innocent and will also support her sisters, and brings her back to Satyamurthy.
Towards the end, Malayappan finally confesses that it was he who placed the baby outside their house with the letter and created confusion, to make them all understand Uma's needs. Truth out, Malayappan then tells the family that he will take the baby to an orphanage. But Uma requests to take care of the baby until the parents claim it, as she has become fond the baby. At this point, Malayappan introduces Ramesh (the Amir Mahal stranger) to all of them and reveals that the baby is in fact Ramesh's child. Ramesh is a well-settled single father, who has lost his wife during child birth. The widower wishes to re-marry a widow out of empathy. Malayappan insists that if Uma wants the baby to be with her, she needs to consider accepting Ramesh in her life. Uma, feeling cheated angrily refuses at first, saying her life was over when her husband died, and she doesn't want any happiness. But when Malayappan makes the baby cry, not letting anyone else interfere, in the end she goes to pacify it, thus agreeing to Malayappan's ultimatum. The movie ends with a happy note, with Jhansi also returning and Vasanthan marrying her.
Cast
- Visu as Mayavaram Malayappan
- Delhi Ganesh as Kumbakonam Temple Dharmakartha
- Manorama as Lakshmi
- Chandrasekhar as Satyamurthy
- Saranya as Uma
- Pandiyan as Vasanthan
- Dilip as Anand
- Ilavarasan as Ramesh
- Ranjini as Jhansi
- Meesai Murugesan as Body Building Trainer
- Madhuri as Saraswathy
- Kutty Padmini as Vellaiamma
- Aruna as Durga
Soundtrack
The music was composed by Shankar Ganesh and lyrics were written by Idhayachandran.[2]. Puliyoor Saroja was the dance trainer for the songs in the film.
| No. | Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length (m:ss) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Ungappan Peruennada" | Malaysia Vasudevan | Idhayachandran | 05:06 |
| 2 | "Solladhe Yaarum Kettal Solladhe" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | Idhayachandran | 04:55 |
| 3 | "Swarname Sorgame Vaa Vaa" | Vani Jairam | Idhayachandran | 04:36 |
| 4 | "Aathoram Karupumaadu" | S. P. Sailaja | Idhayachandran | 04:32 |
| 5 | "Solladhe Yaarum Kettal Solladhe" | Shankar Ganesh | Idhayachandran | 02:25 |
Reception
Aside from the joint family theme, the film highlighted how widowed women continued to be ostracised in society even during the late 1980s. The film was also noted for the famous scene of Visu's character explaining the necessities of a physical relationship between a husband and wife in bed, by analogising it to the basic need of drinking coffee. This scene was well received amongst the audience, as until then there had been very few to no films in India which spoke openly about the importance of consummation supplementing an emotional relationship between a married couple.
Another interesting observation in the film is the development of relations regardless of caste and complexion, as seen in Visu's character, a Vaishnavite, marrying his dusky daughter to the fair-skinned son of Delhi Ganesh's character, a Shaivite temple authority. This trend of highlighting diverse relations is also seen in Bhagyaraj's movies e.g. Idhu Namma Aalu and continued in contemporary films like Lawrence's Kanchana.