Kalyanaraman is a 1979 Tamil-language Indian supernaturalcomedy film directed by G. N. Rangarajan and written by Panchu Arunachalam. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Sridevi, while V. K. Ramasamy, Major Sundarrajan, Thengai Srinivasan, V. S. Raghavan, Senthamarai, Pushpalatha, Manorama and Master Japan Kuppu play supporting roles. It focuses on Kalyanam, a tea estate owner's son who is duped and murdered by a gang which is after the property, but lives on as a ghost. Kalyanam's twin brother Raman learns the truth and returns for revenge. Kalyanaraman was the directorial debut of Rangarajan. Its concept was inspired by two different films: Idhu Nijama and Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands. The film was released on 9 July 1979 and became a commercial success, running for 140 days in theatres. It was remade in Hindi as Ghazab and in Kannada as Sriramachandra. Six years after the release of Kalyanaraman, a sequel was made titled Japanil Kalyanaraman.
Plot
Kalyanam is the naïve and infantile son of Chinnadurai, a wealthy tea estate owner. Realising that his son would not be able to manage the estate or even take care of himself after his death, Chinnadurai tries to get him married to an educated and confident girl, but fails as Kalyanam does not like her. Kalyanam is in love with Shenbagam, a girl working in the same estate who is the daughter of Chinnadurai's driver Perumal. Along with his young friend Kuppu, he keeps chasing her, but she does not reciprocate. The manager of the estate is after Chinnadurai's wealth and property. He conspires with Perumal and the cook Samipillai and hires a goon Lingappa, who mortally wounds Chinnadurai. On his deathbed, Chinnadurai confesses to Kalyanam that he abandoned his first wife Rajalakshmi and Kalyanam's twin brother Raman in Madras, and advises him to go there, away from the malicious employees. An innocent Kalyanam reveals this plan to Samipillai, who leaks it to the manager. Samipillai tells Kalyanam he will go and bring Raman and Rajalakshmi himself, but instead hires actors Kittu and Rangamani to pose as them. Kalyanam overhears the entire gang laughing at how they duped him, and runs to inform the police. The gang corners Kalyanam, who is murdered by Lingappa. Shenbagam, upon witnessing this, becomes mentally unstable and Lingappa cuts off the other witness Kuppu's tongue, rendering him mute. The manager's gang tries to embezzle the property, but they face difficulty with legal formalities from the bank. Now a ghost, Kalyanam travels to Madras, looking for his brother and mother. He finds Raman and narrates all what happened. Raman learns the truth about his brother from his mother and decides to help his brother's ghost. Coming to his late father's estate as the real Raman, he exposes Rangamani and Kittu playing the mother and son roles, who now change their roles and claim to be the stepmother and Kalyanam. Threatened by Raman posing as Kalyanam's ghost, Samipillai breaks down, apologises and joins Raman in his crusade. With the help of Kalyanam, Raman restores Shenbagam's sanity. He teaches Kuppu how to read and write, then makes him give evidence about the murder. When the manager and his gang try to kidnap Rajalakshmi and attack Raman, Kalyanam temporarily enters Raman's body and gives him the power to fight everyone. The manager and his gang are arrested with proper evidence. Raman and Shenbagam marry.
Kalyanaraman was the directorial debut of G. N. Rangarajan. It was written by Panchu Arunachalam, and produced by his wife Meena under their banner P. A. Art Productions. The concept of Kalyanaraman was based on that of two different films: Idhu Nijama and Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands. Kamal Haasan played two distinct roles: twin brothers Kalyanam and Raman. In preparation for the role of Kalyanam, Kamal got his teeth fashioned from G. Janakiraman, a dentist. Cinematography was handled by N. K. Vishwanathan, and editing by K. R. Ramalingam.
Soundtrack
The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and the lyrics were written by Panchu Arunachalam. The song "Kaathal Vanthiruchu" is loosely based on "Lady in Black" by Uriah Heep. "Kathal Deepam" is set in the Carnatic raga known as Natabhairavi, "Ninaithaal Inikkum" is set in Suddha Dhanyasi, and "Malargalil Aadum" is set in Shuddha Saveri. The Telugu version Kalyana Ramudus soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and Satyam. The Telugu lyrics were written by Rajashri.
Release and reception
Kalyanaraman was released on 9 July 1979. Ananda Vikatan rated the film 57 out of 100, and was particularly appreciative of Kamal's performance. Piousji of the magazine Sunday said, "As the dim-wit Kalyanam, was superb". The film was also a commercial success, running for 140 days in theatres. In April 1980, when Doordarshan Kendra Madrasannounced that it would telecast Kalyanaraman, many people, particularly students, sent them letters telling them not to telecast the film during the examination season. A miscreant even telephoned Doordarshan Kendra and announced that four bombs had been placed inside the building. The film was telecast according to schedule, and the bomb threat was discovered to be a hoax.
Legacy
According to film historian G. Dhananjayan, Kalyanaraman established the comedy horror genre in Tamil cinema. The film was remade in Hindi in 1982 as Ghazab, and in Kannada in 1992 as Sriramachandra. Six years after the release of Kalyanaraman, a sequel was made titled Japanil Kalyanaraman in 1985, it was the first ever sequel in Tamil cinema.
