| Ammalakkalu | |
| Director: | D. Yoganand |
| Screenplay: | Vempati Sadasivabrahmam (Telugu) A. S. A. Sami (Tamil) |
| Story: | Vempati Sadasivabrahmam |
| Producer: | Lena Chettiar |
| Starring: | N. T. Rama Rao Padmini Lalitha |
| Cinematography: | Bomman Irani |
| Editing: | V. B. Nataraja Modaliyar |
| Music: | Songs: C. R. Subburaman G. Ramanathan Score: Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy |
| Studio: | Krishna Pictures |
| Runtime: | 187 minutes (Telugu)[1] 177 minutes (Tamil) |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Telugu Tamil |
Ammalakkalu is a 1953 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by Lena Chettiar on Krishna Pictures banner and directed by D. Yoganand. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao, Padmini and Lalitha, with music composed by C. R. Subburaman. It was simultaneously shot in Tamil-language as Marumagal .[2] [3]
This is the plot of the Telugu version.
Ramaiah (B. R. Panthulu) and Kistaiah (D. Balasubramanyam) are close friends and farmers. Ramaiah's family consists of his wife Sugunamma (Rushyendramani) and two sons Sundar (Amarnath), Kumar (N. T. Rama Rao) and a daughter Rupa (Surabhi Balasaraswathi), who are struggling for their daily needs. On the guidance of Kishtaiah, Ramaiah starts a small contract business in the town for which Kistaiah organizes the amount by mortgaging his wife's jewelry. Ramaiah settles in the town, pays the debt and also promises to couple up Kishtaiah's daughter Usha (Padmini) with Kumar. Meanwhile, Ramaiah's sons move to town for education when Ammalakkalu heckles at Usha which makes Kistaiah offended, so, he too joins Usha in the same school. Years roll by, Kumar & Usha grow up together and love each other. At the present, Ramaiah arranges his elder son Sundar's marriage with a shrew woman Shanta (Lalitha). During the time of the wedding, Ammalakkalu provokes Sugunamma and she insults Kistaiah's wife when a rift arises between families. Here Kistaiah becomes furious leaves the venue and even breaks up the match of Usha and Kumar. So, they perform register marriage when soft-hearted Ramaiah welcomes the couple into the home. But Sugunamma & Shanta are very cold towards Usha. During that plight, Kumar leaves abroad for higher studies and Usha faces a lot of difficulties in her in-law's house. The rest of the story how she gets rid of these problems and reunited the family.[4]
The music was composed by C. R. Subburaman with background music to be completed later by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy and party after the untimely death of C. R. Subburaman.T. K. Ramamoorthy acted as his assistant in several films and was asked by the producer to complete the music for the film. Tunes for both languages are the same.
However, there was one song in the film "Undaloi Undaloi"/"Aanukkoru Penn Pillai" that was composed by G. Ramanathan.
| Song | Singers | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Penugonu Manasula" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 03:27 | |
| "Kannemaavi Thotalona" | Jikki & A. P. Komala | 02:45 | |
| "Kannemaavi Thotalona" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 03:56 | |
| "Nee Kosam" | Pithapuram Nageswara Rao & M. L. Vasanthakumari | 03:51 | |
| "Oo Neeve Naa Prema" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 02:27 | |
| "Undaloi Undaloi" | P. A. Periyanayaki & A. P. Komala | 11:10 | |
| "Maaradavela Maaramu" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 03:48 | |
| "Rupaa Rupante" | Pithapuram Nageswara Rao & A. P. Komala | 02:18 | |
| "Lallaa Lallaa" | Pithapuram Nageswara Rao & R. Balasaraswathi Devi | 03:01 | |
| "Jhan Jhan Jhan" | A. P. Komala | 00:26 |
| Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length (m:ss) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Kanavilum Nanavilum Inai Piriyaadha" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 03:31 | ||
| "Chinna Chinna Veedu Katti" | Jikki & A. P. Komala | 03:50 | ||
| "Chinna Chinna Veedu Katti" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 03:18 | ||
| "Nianikkira Maaadhiri Ellaam" | T. R. Ramachandran & M. L. Vasanthakumari | 03:51 | ||
| "Oo Neethaan En Sondham" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 03:01 | ||
| "Aanukkoru Penn Pillai" | P. A. Periyanayaki, A. P. Komala & A. G. Rathnamala | 12:15 | ||
| "Pesaadha Maounam Aamo" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 04:23 | ||
| "Romaani Maambazham Roobamthaan" | T. R. Ramachandran & A. P. Komala | 02:15 | ||
| "Laali Suba Laali" | C. R. Subburaman & P. A. Periyanayaki | 03:05 | ||
| "Jal Jal Jal Kingkini Aada" | A. P. Komala | K. D. Santhanam |
Reviewing Ammalakkalu, a critic from Zamin Ryot wrote that the story is not smooth, but turns into an unprofitable whorehouse with seams.[5] The film fared well at the box office in both languages, but the Telugu version was more successful.[6] In Ammalakkalu, the duet song sung by Relangi became popular in Telugu districts of the then-Madras State. The Telugu version became popular through theatrical re-runs.