Here’s why Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan owe their success to late Panchu Arunachalam

As it is well known by now, legendary screen writer, producer and lyricist Panchu Arunachalam is no more. The Kollywood celebs are simply flooding over his residence to pay their respects. If you are wondering why he is such a legend, it is because Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth owe some of the biggest hits of their career to this man. Don’t believe us? Check out these movies of the Ulaganayagan and the Thalaivar that were written by the late writer.

Bhuvana Oru Kelvi Kuri

If Rajinikanth is a hero today, then it is all thanks to this movie which came out in 1977. This movie is a gripping drama where two guys, Sivakumar and Rajinikanth fight due to the conflict of ideals. This movie showed Rajini as a hero for the very first time and Sivakumar, who always did good guy roles, as a villain. The story itself addressed the social stigma of a woman who ends up pregnant before marriage in a traditional society and how she gets a second chance at life.

Kazhugu

This 1981 film was a nail biting thriller and one of the cult movies of superstar Rajinikanth. He played Raja, a man who goes on a trip with his wife and friends to a village only to find that the village is involved in looting, vandalism and human sacrifice. It is the journey of Raja as he saves his loved ones from the killers and reveals the truth to the world. Such a different movie during those times, was one of the pivotal reasons for Rajini’s superstardom.

Paayum Puli

After a drama and a thriller, Panchu Arunachalam next penned an action film for Rajinikanth. ‘Paayum Puli’, which translates to Pouncing Tiger, was a path-breaking martial arts movie of its time. It followed the story of Shankar, played by Rajinikanth, who joins a martial arts school to train and avenge the murder of his sister. It was a time when Bruce Lee's movies were a huge craze which helped in making movie a super hit. ‘Paayum Puli’ ran an amazing 133 days at the box office.

Rajadhi Raja

Rajinikanth had a good mix of genres in his career and this movie was an action-comedy that brought him great commercial success. He played a double role in the movie which dealt with identity swapping, property dispute, murder and two love stories all intertwined into one confusing plot. ‘Rajadhi Raja’ established the Thalaivar as king of box office as it ran for almost 150 days.

Dharmadurai

Another great hit for Rajinikanth all thanks to Arunachalam was ‘Dharmadurai’. This movie came out in 1991 and the story is about a man named Dharmadurai who loves his two younger brothers more than his life. But the two brothers are evil and keep landing Dharmadurai into trouble. When he finally finds out the betrayal of his brothers, he gets estranged from them. The rest of the story is about whether the two brothers learn the error of their ways or not. This movie was another super duper hit as it completed 175 days at the box office.

Sakalakala Vallavan

Kamal Haasan has always been more of an artist who loves to experiment. Had it not been for Panchu Arunachalam’s ‘Sakalakala Vallavan’, the Ulaganayagan may have never been so popular. This was a commercial masala movie and proved that Kamal Haasan can be a mass hero too. It gained him a lot of fame in B and C centers, which he earlier usually failed to impress. The movie, in essence, is a simple revenge drama but thanks to Kamal’s riveting performance, it proved to be a huge success.

Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey

This movie was an earth-shattering blockbuster and had Kamal Haasan playing dual roles. While Vinod is a rich man who has been turned into a drug addict by the bad guys who are after his property, the other is a clever young man Gopi, who comes to know that Vinod is his twin brother. The story is about how Gopi saves Vinod from the clutches of the villains and saves the estate as well. The film ran an amazing 275 days at the box office, a huge achievement for any star.

Apoorva Sagodharargal

Panchu Arunachalam hit a masterstroke with this story. ‘Apoorva Sagodharargal’ is a story of twins, both played by Kamal Haasan. While one is a normal man with rather crooked ways, the other is a dwarf who works in a circus. What happens when these two brothers see each other and learn of their father’s murder makes up for the rest of the story. The movie went on to become one of the best hits of Kamal’s career and was dubbed in Hindi as ‘Appu Raja’, which was also a super hit.

Singaravelan

‘Singaravelan’ was a rib tickling comedy film which came in 1992. Kamal Haasan played the titular character Velan, who lives in a village. His mother tells him that an incident estranged his father and his family from them. The only way to bring the estranged family back together is if Velan marries Sumathi, her sister-in-law’s daughter. So with only a photo of the girl when she was four, Velan goes to Madras to find the girl and woo her into marrying him. ‘Singaravelan’ is considered to be one of the most successful comedy films of Kamal Haasan.