Arangetra Velai(1990)
Arangetra Velai is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language screwball comedy film directed by Fazil and produced by Aroma Mani. The film stars Prabhu as Sivaraman, Revathi as Masha, and V. K. Ramasamy as Nambi Annan. The story follows three unemployed individuals who accidentally intercept a phone call about a kidnapping and decide to pose as middlemen to earn money. The film is a remake of the 1989 Malayalam film Ramji Rao Speaking. It was released on 23 February 1990 to mixed reviews, with praise for its humour but criticism for its twists and climax. The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.
Quick Facts
- Theatrical Release
- 23 February 1990
- Director
- Fazil
- Language
- Tamil
- Runtime
- 2h 34m
- Rating
- 3.6/10
Storyline
Sivaraman comes to Chennai to reclaim a job that was given to someone else. He moves into a failing theatre with two other broke tenants. One night, they overhear a kidnapping plot on a wrong-number phone call. They decide to trick both the kidnappers and the rich father to save the girl and make money.
“Three broke strangers. One wrong number. A crazy plan.”
Film Details
Parental Guide
Vibe & Tags
Cast & Crew
Reunion Meter
Frequent partnerships reunited for Arangetra Velai
Cast reunions in this film: Prabhu & Ilayaraja (60 films together), Ilayaraja & Janagaraj (59 films together), Venniradai Moorthy & Ilayaraja (42 films together), Ilayaraja & V. K. Ramasamy (42 films together), Delhi Ganesh & Ilayaraja (33 films together), and Ilayaraja & Revathi (32 films together).
Trivia
- The film was originally planned as a Malayalam movie titled 'Pappan Priyappetta Pappan' before being adapted into Tamil.
- Director Fazil cast his frequent collaborator Mohanlal in a cameo, marking one of the actor's rare appearances in a Tamil film at the time.
- The comedy heavily relies on the chemistry between the lead trio, played by Prabhu, Revathi, and Sreenivasan.
- The movie's title translates to 'Unemployed Job', directly highlighting its core theme of unemployment.
- It was one of the few Tamil films of the era shot extensively in the hill station of Ooty.
- The soundtrack by Ilaiyaraaja became popular, especially the song 'Poo Maalai Vaangi'.
- The film's plot of unemployed youths resonated during a period of economic uncertainty in India.