| Engal Thangam | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Krishnan–Panju |
| Written by | Murasoli Maran |
| Produced by | Murasoli Maran |
| Starring | M. G. Ramachandran Jayalalithaa |
| Cinematography | S. Maruti Rao Amirtham |
| Edited by | S.Pandjasamy S.Muthu |
| Music by | M. S. Viswanathan |
Production company | Megala Pictures |
| Distributed by | Venus Movies |
Release date |
|
Running time | 174 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Engal Thangam (transl. Our Gold) is a 1970 IndianTamil-languageaction film directed byKrishnan–Panju. The film starsM. G. Ramachandran andJayalalithaa. It was released on 9 October 1970 and became a success, besides winning threeTamil Nadu State Film Awards.
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Thangam, a truck driver comes to the rescue of Sumathi, his blind younger sister, by putting on (by assuming) the offences of Moorthy, her husband. Moorthy is a childhood friend of Thangam. Today, Moorthy fell to the hands of a mysterious group of burglars, because he is the best professionalsafe-cracker in the city. Thangam wants at all costs to save him from this gang and to stop them. Thangam will be helped in his quest by Kaladevi, his lover.
On learning thatM. Karunanidhi andMurasoli Maran were bankrupt,M. G. Ramachandran along withJ. Jayalalithaa acted inEngal Thangam without taking any remuneration.[4]
The colours of theDravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) flag – red and black – are featured in the attire Ramachandran frequently wears in the film as his character. The song "Naan Sethu Pulachavanda", where he sings that he has risen from the dead, is a reference to Ramachandran having survived a gunshot wound inflicted on his throat byM. R. Radha in 1967.[1][5][6]
Music is composed byM. S. Viswanathan, with lyrics byVaali.[7] The song "Don't Touch Mr X" includes English lyrics.[3] "Thangapadhakkathin Mele" was remixed inVetrivel Sakthivel (2005).[8]
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dont Touch Mr X" | T. M. Soundararajan,L. R. Eswari | 04:26 |
| 2. | "Thangapadkathin" | T. M. Soundararajan,P. Susheela | 04:31 |
| 3. | "Kadha Kaalatchebam" | T. M. Soundararajan | 10:57 |
| 4. | "Naan Alavodu Rasipavan" | T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela | 04:56 |
| 5. | "Mogam Piranthadamma" | T. M. Soundararajan | 05:16 |
| 6. | "Naan Sethu Pulachavanda" | T. M. Soundararajan | 03:49 |
| Total length: | 33:55 | ||
Engal Thangam was released on 9 October 1970,[9] and distributed by Venus Movies.[10]The Indian Express criticised the film for not offering anything new, but lauded Ramachandran's performance of theharikatha and concluded, "One is tired of this kind of movie with a huge bag of morals".[11] The film ran for over 100 days in theatres.[4] It won theTamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film – Second Prize,[12] Vaali won theTamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist,[13] and Pushpalatha won theTamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Character Artiste (Female).[citation needed]