Surya Vamsam (1997 film)

Surya Vamsam (transl. Solar dynasty) is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Vikraman. The film stars R. Sarathkumar and Devayani, with Manivannan, Radhika, Nizhalgal Ravi, Tharini, Ajay Ratnam, Jai Ganesh, Shiva and Anandaraj in supporting roles. It revolves around a traditional father and his illiterate son, following their tense relationship and shows how the strict patriarchy causes a drift between them.

Surya Vamsam
Poster
Directed byVikraman
Written byVikraman
Produced byR. B. Choudary
StarringR. Sarathkumar
Devayani
CinematographyS. Saravanan
Edited byV. Jaishankar
Music byS. A. Rajkumar
Production
company
Release date
  • 27 June 1997 (1997-06-27)
Running time
156 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Surya Vamsam was released on 27 June 1997 and emerged one of the most successful Tamil films of the year.[1] The film won six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Vikraman) and Best Actress (Devayani), while Sarathkumar won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil. It was remade into Telugu as Suryavamsam (1998), in Hindi as Sooryavansham (1999), and in Kannada as Surya Vamsha (2000).

Plot

Sakthivel Gounder is a rich, influential and one of the most educated men in his village near Pollachi. He has a wife Latha, three sons, and a daughter. Sakthivel hates his youngest son Chinnarasu. Sakthivel's daughter's wedding is fixed, and Nandini is the groom's sister. She meets Chinnarasu during her brother's wedding and wonders why Sakthivel dislikes him. Chinnarasu's sidekick Rasappa tells a flashback to Nandini.

Chinnarasu was weak in studies from childhood. He was in love with his relative Gowri, and elders decide to get them married. However, Gowri is educated, and she attempts suicide, thinking that Chinnarasu is not a perfect match for her as he is uneducated and illiterate. Chinnarasu saves Gowri and cancels the marriage proposal, but blames himself and does not reveal the truth. This angers Sakthivel, thinking that Chinnarasu did not respect his words and stopped talking to him.

Nandini gets impressed understanding Chinnarasu's kind heart and develops an affection towards him. Nandini proposes to Chinnarasu, for which he does not agree. Later, he too understands her true love and accepts. Both get their marriage registered, but Sakthivel gets angry knowing about this and asks the couple to vacate the home. Chinnarasu and Nandini move to a small home on the outskirts, and he secures a job in a bus transport company. With the help of Nandini's uncle, Chinnarasu purchases a bus and starts a transport company. Over the time, he develops his business and becomes a rich man. Also, Nandini clears civil services and gets posted as the district collector.

Sakthivel gets surprised seeing his son and daughter-in-law's growth in life. Gowri's husband suffers losses in his business which is later closed down, and she comes to meet Chinnarasu, requesting him to provide the job of Marketing Manager in his sugar factory, for which he accepts. Sakthivel meets Chinnarasu's son Sakthivel Jr. at school and develops a bonding towards him. Chinnarasu gets to know this and feels happy. Sakthivel realises his mistake of not understanding his son. Meanwhile, Dharmalingam Gounder has a rivalry against Sakthivel and plans to kill him and blame Chinnarasu. Dharmalingam adds poison to the sweet given to Sakthivel by Chinnarasu, but Sakthivel is saved, and Dharmalingam gets beaten up by the people. In the end, everyone gets united and lives as a joint family.

Cast

Production

The story of Surya Vamsam was written by director Vikraman in 1988 planning to cast actor Vijayakumar and Karthik in lead roles, but after 10 years the film got its venture.[2] In 1996, following the success of Poove Unakkaga, producer R. B. Choudary asked Vikraman to direct once again under his Super Good Films banner. This time Vikraman came with a relationship between elder brother and younger brother which later became Vaanathaippola (2000). After writing the story, he immediately narrated the story to Choudary. He was so inspired by story and he decided to produce the film, but he had put one demand to Vikraman to direct this story with Sarathkumar and give dual role for the character of Vellaichamy and Muthu like twin brothers but Vikraman did not accept to make this character with Sarathkumar because he thought of Janagaraj for Vellaichamy character and Vijay for Muthu character. After many arguments, Vikraman decided to make the film with Sarathkumar with a different story and Choudary did not accept this at first but later he was convinced with half heart to accept Surya Vamsam which Vikraman had scripted.[2][3]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack is composed by S. A. Rajkumar.[4]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Rosappu Chinna Rosappu" (male)Ra. RavishankarHariharan4:12
2."Kadhala Kadhala"Palani BharathiHariharan, Swarnalatha4:35
3."Chalakku Chalakku"Ra. RavishankarArunmozhi, Sujatha4:04
4."Rosappu Chinna Rosappu" (female)Ra. RavishankarSujatha3:58
5."Natchathira Jannalil"Mu. MethaMano, Sunandha4:56
6."Thirunalu Thaerazhaga"KalaikumarS. A. Rajkumar, Sujatha3:21
Total length:25:06

Release and reception

Surya Vamsam was released on 27 June 1997.[5] Ji of Kalki called it a truly decent, well-structured story with unprompted dialogues while praising the performances of Sarathkumar in dual roles, Devayani and Priyaraman but called the climax as logical loophole and concluded if only the tempo in the second half had been sufficient, there would have been no objection to call it a super good film.[6] K. N. Vijiyan of New Straits Times wrote, "The story seems common enough and not that interesting. But under Vikraman's direction, it has been turned into an entertaining movie".[7] BizHat.com wrote, "The film, neither boasts of a revolutionary story nor classy acting... But it has an appeal that is difficult to describe". The critic added, "This kind of a movie doesn't require any great cinematography and S. Saravanan does not disappoint your expectations".[8]

Accolades
Event Category Recipient Ref.
Filmfare Awards South Best Actor – Tamil R. Sarathkumar [9]
[10]
Cinema Express Awards Best Film – Tamil Surya Vamsam [11]
Best Director – Tamil Vikraman
Best Actor – Tamil R. Sarathkumar
Best Music Director – Tamil S. A. Rajkumar
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Best Film Surya Vamsam[lower-alpha 1] [12]
Best Actress Devayani
Best Director Vikraman
Best Music Director S. A. Rajkumar
Best Sound Recordist Iyappan
Best Villain Anandaraj
Dinakaran Cinema Awards Best Film Surya Vamsam [13]
Best Actor R. Sarathkumar
Best Actress Devayani

Remakes

Surya Vamsam was remade into Telugu as Suryavamsam (1998),[14] in Hindi as Sooryavansham (1999),[15] and in Kannada as Surya Vamsha (2000).[16]

Sequel

In 2022, Sarathkumar announced a sequel to the project, titled Surya Vamsam 2.[17] In 2023, he reiterated that the project was still in development.[18][19]

Notes
  1. Shared with Arunachalam.

References
  1. Vijiyan, K. (2 January 1998). "Dispute affects production". New Straits Times. pp. Arts 3. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  2. Darshan, Navein (23 October 2019). "Sense of a scene: The son's speech in Suryavamsam". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  3. அடுத்தவரை குறை சொல்லாதவர் அஜீத் /CHAI WITH CHITHRA -VIKRAMAN INTERVIEW PART 2 (in Tamil). Touring Talkies. 5 October 2019. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2019 – via YouTube.
  4. "Suryavamsam (1997)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  5. Dhananjayan 2011, p. 199.
  6. ஜி (27 July 1997). "சூர்யவம்சம்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 80. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  7. Vijiyan, K. N. (5 July 1997). "Plenty of moral values in this winner". New Straits Times. pp. Arts 4. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  8. "Surya Vamsam". BizHat.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  9. Dhananjayan 2011, p. 201.
  10. "Latest General Knowledge". Competition Science Vision. Pratiyogita Darpan. August 1998. p. 791. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  11. "Cinema Express Awards: Sree Devi Gave Away Best Actor Award For Sarath Kumar". Dinakaran. 24 August 1998. Archived from the original on 3 February 1999. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  12. "Awards Tamilnadu Government Cinema Awards For 1997 Announced: Best Film Award For "Arunachalam", "Surya Vamsam"". Dinakaran. 27 November 1998. Archived from the original on 3 February 1999. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  13. "DINAKARAN CINEMA AWARD – 1997". Dinakaran. Archived from the original on 15 June 1998. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  14. "A victorious innings". Deccan Herald. 27 October 2012. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  15. Chauhan, Gaurang (21 May 2018). "19 years of Sooryavansham: Did you know Rekha dubbed for the lead actress of Amitabh Bachchan's cult classic?". Times Now. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  16. "This Day 21 Years Back:Shooting for Sahasa Simha Vishnuvardhan-starrer 'Surya Vamsha' began in the year 1999". The Times of India. 15 June 2020. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  17. "Sarathkumar confirms Suryavamsam 2". Cinema Express. 20 September 2022. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  18. "Sarathkumar's Surya Vamsam to get a sequel 26 years after release". The Indian Express. 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  19. "Sarath Kumar pens a thank you note on 26 years of 'Suryavamsam'; confirms sequel". The Hindu. 28 June 2023. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.

Bibliography
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