| Sathyaa | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Suresh Krissna |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by | Javed Akhtar |
| Based on | Arjun (1985) |
| Produced by | Kamal Haasan |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | S. M. Anwar |
| Edited by | N. R. Kittu |
| Music by | Ilaiyaraaja |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 147 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Box office | ₹8 crore[1] |
Sathyaa is a 1988 IndianTamil-languagegangster film[2] directed bySuresh Krissna in his directorial debut and produced byKamal Haasan underRaaj Kamal Films International. A remake of the 1985Hindi filmArjun, the film stars Kamal Haasan,Amala Akkineni,Rajesh,Janagaraj, Bahadoor andKitty.
Sathyaa was released on 29 January 1988 and became one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of the year. Kitty won theCinema Express Award for Best Villain Actor. A spiritual successor titledDha Dha 87 was released in 2019.
Sathyamurthy "Sathyaa" is an unemployed youth who battles injustice and stays with his father Rajarathnam Mudaliar, the sole breadwinner for his family despite his old age, stepmother, and stepsister Sudha. One day, Sathyaa beats a group of rogues who are thrashing a tea vendor for not paying extortion money. These ruffians are the henchmen of a local goon named Rangan, who works for the localMLA Mariappa. With this incident, Sathya's life changes as he invokes Rangan's wrath. In retribution, Rangan and his men humiliate Sudha in public, forcing Sathya to thrash Rangan and destroy his bar.
Sathya falls in love with Geetha Nair, who works as a salesperson in a cloth shop. Sathyaa begins to grab public attention as he and his friends start taking the law into their own hands, thrashing anyone who tries to break the law. Mariappa also learns about Sathyaa and thinks that he is working for his arch-rival Dhandapani, a social reformer. Mariappa orders that Sathyaa and his friends be eliminated. Mariappa's gang attacks and kills Sathya's friend Sundar in full public view. Though Sathyaa tries his best, no one comes forward to give witness to the murder out of fear, and the murderers are soon released due to lack of evidence. An enraged Sathyaa thrashes the murderers on their release and is arrested but is released on bail by Dhandapani.
Sathyaa's family disowns him for his activities, following which he is approached by Dhandapani, who convinces him to move to his own house and work for him. With Dhandapani's help, Sathyaa manages to have Sudha marry her boyfriend, the localInspector; saves the marriage of his other stepsister by paying the dowry of₹20,000 (equivalent to₹230,000 or US$2,600 in 2023); and also ensuring that his father's employer treats his father with respect. Finally, Dhandapani tells Sathyaa to get some secret files and documents against Mariappa, which can be used to expose him in public. Risking his life, Sathyaa gets a hold of the files. Sathyaa later discovers that Dhandapani is corrupt and a double-crosser who used the evidence against Mariappa to join hands with him and contest in the upcoming election in his place. Sathyaa also learns that none of the evidence collected has been published anywhere.
Later, Dhandapani expels Sathyaa from the house. Enraged and betrayed, Sathyaa barges into a political meeting where Mariappa and Dhandapani are present and tries to expose Dhandapani but is forced out and thrashed by the workers of Mariappa's party. Some days later, Sathyaa sneaks into Dhandapani's house and takes the file containing evidence of both Mariappa's and Dhandapani's illegal activities. While on the run from Dhandapani's henchmen, Sathyaa gets shot and seriously injured but manages to survive and gets hospitalized. After regaining consciousness, Sathyaa learns that the evidence against Mariappa and Dhandapani is destroyed as he used the file as a shield against the gunshots. Sathyaa escapes from the hospital, confronts and kills both Mariappa and Dhandapani. He then awaits the arrival of police.
Sathyaa is a remake of the 1985Hindi filmArjun. It marked the directorial debut ofSuresh Krissna who earlier assistedK. Balachander.[7][8] Krissna avoided creating ashot-for-shot remake ofArjun; according to him, "we took only basic theme from the original and worked on it".[9]Kitty, who played one of the antagonists, had his voice dubbed byS. P. Balasubrahmanyam.[10] The film was dedicated toM. G. Ramachandran, to whomKamal Haasan considered it as "Guru Dakshina".[11]
The soundtrack was composed byIlaiyaraaja, and lyrics were penned byVaali.[12][13] The song "Valayosai" was initially intended for Ilaiyaraaja's studio albumHow to Name It?. It had been composed, but not recorded, and was included inSathyaa at Haasan's insistence.[14] After learning thatLata Mangeshkar would be visiting Madras to sing for another project, Haasan asked Krissna if she could also sing forSathyaa. Krissna agreed, and the song was "Valayosai". As Mangeshkar did not know Tamil, Balasubrahmanyam helped her with diction.[15] The song is set inSindhu Bhairavi, aCarnatic raga.[16] In May 2015, theFM radio stationRadio City commemorated Ilaiyaraaja's 72nd birthday by broadcasting the composer's songs in a special show titledRaja Rajathan for 91 days. "Valaiyosai" was one of the most-requested songs on the show.[17]
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Eley Thamizha" | T. Sunderrajan, Saibaba | 4:29 |
| 2. | "Ingeyum" (not included in the film) | Lata Mangeshkar | 4:15 |
| 3. | "Nagaru Nagaru" | Lalith Sahari, T. Sunderrajan, Saibaba | 4:24 |
| 4. | "Potta Padiyudhu" | Kamal Haasan, T. Sunderrajan, Saibaba | 4:50 |
| 5. | "Valaiyosai" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Lata Mangeshkar | 4:33 |
| Total length: | 22:31 | ||
Sathyaa was released on 29 January 1988.[18] Angela Joseph ofScreen calledSathyaa "another gem in [Haasan's] mission for good cinema and acting. By shrewdly intertwining commercial ingredients with a good story and brilliant acting, Kamal is propagating love and appreciation for good cinema among the masses".[19] Kitty won theCinema Express Award for Best Villain Actor.[20]
Haasan's looks as Sathyaa became a rage among the public.[21] The 2017 filmSathya was titled after the 1988 film after its lead actorSibi Sathyaraj got permission from Haasan.[22] A spiritual successor toSathyaa,Dha Dha 87, was released in 2019,[23] and featured Janagaraj reprising his role.[4]
