1968 film by A. Kasilingam
Chakkaram (transl. Wheel) is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language action film, written and directed by A. Kasilingam. The film stars Gemini Ganesan, Vennira Aadai Nirmala and A. V. M. Rajan. It was released on 6 December 1968, and failed commercially.
The film opens with a thief who evades arrest by living in forests. When a bounty is placed on his head, a secretary turns into a bounty hunter.
Jambu is a thief who lives in the forests avoiding the police. There is a bounty of ₹1 lakh (equivalent to ₹52 lakh or US$60,000 in 2023) on his head. Meenakshi, an estate owner under heavy debt, has a son. Her secretary Babu has a sister who is a college student. The sister falls in love with Meenakshi's son. Meenakshi stipulates that she is to be paid ₹50,000 (equivalent to ₹2.6 million or US$30,000 in 2023), otherwise the marriage between her son and Babu's sister will not take place. Babu and his friends head to the forest in search of Jambu to obtain the money he has robbed and the reward. The rest of the story deals with how the money is obtained.[2]
Adapted from The Hindu:[2]
Chakkaram was directed by A. Kasilingam who also wrote the screenplay. The film was produced by K. R. Balan under Annai Films. Cinematography was handled by Vijayan.[2] The final length of the film was 3,938 metres (12,920 ft).[1]
The soundtrack was composed by S. M. Subbaiah Naidu, while the lyrics were written by Vaali.[2][3]
| Title | Singer(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kasethan Kadavulappa" | T. M. Soundararajan | 3:25 |
| 2. | "Kulikka Pora Kumaripponnu" | T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela | 4:20 |
| 3. | "Neeye Oru Neram Sollu" | T. M. Soundararajan, P. Susheela | 4:35 |
| 4. | "Oru Naal Iravu Orumani" | L. R. Eswari | 4:09 |
| Total length: | 16:29 | ||
Chakkaram was released on 6 December 1968,[4] and failed commercially.[2]