Annakili, the Tamil film, was a trendsetter in many ways. Rooted in a rural backdrop, the film revolved around Annam, a remarkable woman who ekes out a living as a midwife and finds solace amid sorrow, played memorably by Sujatha. The film also showcased the phenomenal talent of Ilaiyaraaja and his brothers, who would later go on to dominate the world of film music. As May 14 marks the film’s 50th anniversary, actor Sivakumar, the film’s hero Thyagarajan, shared his memories with B. Kolappan.

The 50-day celebration of Uravu Solla Oruvan was held at Shanmuga Theatre on September 6, 1975. The cast included R. Muthuraman, Sujatha, Padmapriya, and me. Poet Kannadasan, who attended the evening show, praised the film. He was the uncle of the late producer and writer Panchu Arunachalam.

A rare sense of brotherhood

It was then that story writer Panchu Arunachalam asked us to find a suitable location for Annakili. In those days, heroes, producers, and directors worked together and shared a rare sense of brotherhood. I did not think my job ended with acting alone. As part of our plan to tour Coimbatore district, I took directors Devaraj–Mohan, director Subbu, his brother Lakshmanan, and journalist Chitra Lakshmanan to my village.

Chitra Lakshmanan and producer Subbu stayed for a night and then left. The others came to my house, had tiffin, and we headed northwards — to Bhavanisagar Dam, Karachikorai, Thottapalayam, Sathyamangalam, Kemmanayakanpalayam, Vaniputhur, and Vinobha Nagar. We inspected the locations, took photographs, and stayed overnight in Coimbatore.

The next day, we travelled to Perur, Mathampatti, Karadimadai, Mathiyapalayam, Thondamuthur, Narasipuram, Chemmedu, and Siruvani — villages nestled at the foothills of the Western Ghats — and photographed those locations as well. On the third day, we went to Pollachi and travelled southwards to Angalakurichi, Aliyar, Anaimalai, Vettaikaranpudur, Sethumadai, and Topslip. After photographing the locations, we returned to Chennai. However, the locations were still not finalised, as we were not fully satisfied.

A serene backdrop

Suddenly, the film’s art director, Babu, said he had discovered a place. “Where is it?” I asked. “Thengumarahada”.

The name sounded unfamiliar, and I asked where it was located. He explained that from the village of Karachikorai, about seven kilometres from Bhavanisagar Dam, one could travel another 22 kilometres through hilly roads to reach Thengumarahada. Elephants, deer, and peacocks roamed freely there.

Thengumarahada literally means a place thickly populated with coconut trees. Around 180 acres of land there were cultivated by about 20 families and they practised cooperative farming. Every day, a bus would come to the village from Mettupalayam. The villagers had no link with the outside world. Only a few had watched movies; others did not even know what cinema was. Only I was known to them. They thought we had come there for some work and watched the shooting with great curiosity.

Sujatha, Jayalakshmi, M.N. Rajam, S.V. Subbaiah, Thengai Srinivasan, Senthamarai, Srikanth, and all of us went there for the shoot. There were only about 10 to 20 farmers’ houses in the village, and the residents vacated them for us to stay.

The actresses stayed in the houses that had toilet facilities. The rest of us would go to the riverbank early in the morning to attend to nature’s call. Devaraj and Mohan completed 70 per cent of the shooting in 20 days at Thengumarahada. All the songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja — “Machana Paartheengala,” “Annakili Unnai Theduthe,” “Sontham Illai Bandham Illai,” and “Sutha Samba Pachanellu” — became huge hits. Fifty per cent of the credit for the film’s success should go to Ilaiyaraaja’s music.

One of the most unforgettable figures during the entire shooting schedule was Mathampatti Sivakumar, who became my friend. He left a jeep at the disposal of the crew. One day, he arrived with mutton biryani, chicken kurma, and boiled eggs for 100 people by noon. We could not believe our eyes. He must have prepared everything the previous evening, because he could have reached the shooting spot from Mathampatti only if he had started by 8 a.m. We devoured the feast, as we had gone nearly 15 days without proper food. A youth accompanied Mathampatti Sivakumar and it was actor Sathyaraj.

One of the memorable scenes in the film is when the hero and heroine embrace each other. Annam realises her position and gently wriggles herself out of the situation. “Men can express emotion. The world cannot bear it if a woman becomes emotional.”

Annakili was released on May 14, 1976. We celebrated the 58th day of its run at Idhaya Theatre. A cake-cutting ceremony marked the 100th-day celebration at Prasad Studios on August 21, 1976. A.L.S. Kannadasan, K. Balachander, Arangannal, AVM Murugan, AVM Saravanan, and S.P. Muthuraman participated in the silver jubilee celebrations on November 27, 1976. We celebrated the film’s 200th day in Madurai in 1977.

There had been no film like it in those days. A black-and-white film running successfully for 200 days was remarkable, and much of that achievement was due to the songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja.