RodEsters254334 at 07:27, 17 March 2026

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{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| image = Arasiyal (1997).jpg
| caption = Poster
| director = [[R. K. Selvamani]]
| writer = R. K. Selvamani<br />[[Liaquat Ali Khan (director)|Liaquat Ali Khan]] (dialogues)
| starring = {{ubl|[[Mammootty]]|[[Shilpa Shirodkar]]|[[Roja Selvamani|Roja]]}}
| cinematography = [[M. V. Panneerselvam]]
| editing = Udhaya Sankar
| music = [[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]]
| studio = Motherland Movies Internationals
| released = {{Film date|1997|12|12|df=yes}}
| runtime = 140 minutes
| country = India
| language = Tamil
}}

'''''Arasiyal''''' ({{translation|Politics}}) is a 1997 Indian [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-language [[political drama]] film directed by [[R. K. Selvamani]]. The film stars [[Mammootty]], [[Shilpa Shirodkar]] and [[Roja Selvamani|Roja]]. It was released on 12 December 1997.

== Plot ==

Chandrasekhar ([[Mammootty]]) is an honest collector who arrests Vikram ([[Anandaraj]]), an international terrorist, in Delhi. He's transferred to Madras to eradicate the corruption. Chandrasekhar has two sisters, Priya (Jeeva) and Supriya ([[Roja Selvamani|Roja]]). Priya is in love with Marudapandi ([[Charan Raj]]), a hopeless police officer and Chandrasekhar's friend. Meanwhile, Chandrasekhar is in love with Anita Sharma ([[Shilpa Shirodkar]]), a Punjabi girl, who he met in Delhi. Venkatraman ([[Mansoor Ali Khan (actor)|Mansoor Ali Khan]]), a corrupt politician, is suspected by Chandrasekhar for corruption. Chandrasekhar takes actions against his brothers-in-law, Vishnu ([[Madhan Bob]]) and Ramkumar ([[Uday Prakash (actor)|Uday Prakash]]) and sent them to jail. Chandrasekhar gets a job promotion because his superiors hate his honest work, but he resigned and showed the journalists the corruption proofs of all corrupted politicians. The people becomes angry and beats all corrupted politicians, and Venkatraman's politic party doesn't even win a seat at the parliament. Chandrasekhar gets married with his lover in Punjab. Venkatraman's wife Vasanthi ([[Pallavi (entertainer)|Pallavi]]) was sent to jail for corruption. Venkatraman loses all his money and decides to take vengeance. Vikram, released from jail, wants also to revenge Chandrasekhar and becomes friends with Venkatraman. When Vikram decides to kill Chandrasekhar, he sees his sister Anita Sharma and promised her to protect his husband. Venkatraman's henchmen kidnaps Priya; but when she escaped, she fell from the building and died. They also put a bomb in Supriya's handbag which exploded by killing Supriya and Marudapandi. Venkatraman kills Vikram but Chandrasekhar is suspected for Vikram's murder. Chandrasekhar escapes from the police and kills all corrupted politicians. Finally, Chandrasekhar gets applause for his actions, but the court sends him to jail.

== Cast ==
{{cast listing|
*[[Mammootty]] as Chandrasekhar
*[[Shilpa Shirodkar]] as Anita Sharma
*[[Roja Selvamani|Roja]] as Supriya
*[[Mansoor Ali Khan (actor)|Mansoor Ali Khan]] as Venkatraman (R. K. V)
*[[Anandaraj]] as Vikram (guest appearance)
*[[Charan Raj]] as Marudapandi
*Jeeva as Priya
*[[Jai Ganesh]] as Shanmugasundaram, Chandrasekhar's father
*[[Sumithra (actress)|Sumithra]] as Chandrasekhar's mother
*John Amirtharaj as the [[Chief minister (India)|Chief Minister]]
*[[Thyagu (actor)|Thyagu]] as Thiruvasagam
*[[Madhan Bob]] as Vishnu
*[[Uday Prakash (actor)|Uday Prakash]] as Ramkumar
*[[Pallavi (actress)|Pallavi]] as Vasanthi
}}

== Production ==
After the success of ''[[Makkal Aatchi]]'', the actor Mammootty and director Selvamani reunited for another political film titled ''Arasiyal''. The director, prior to release, played down any potential controversial story plots and indicated it would be more about a politician's personal life rather than his work. The team shot across North India in 1997 with scenes also filmed at the [[Golden Temple]], Punjab.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sandya |title=Deepavali Releases |url=http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Specials/97/Nov/deepavali/deepavali1.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100817104937/http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Specials/97/Nov/deepavali/deepavali1.htm |archive-date=17 August 2010 |access-date=15 September 2014 |work=Indolink}}</ref> The film's shoot was delayed for few months due to poor health of Mammootty and Jai Ganesh, in addition to the [[1997 FEFSI strike]].<ref name="kalki">{{cite magazine |date=2 November 1997 |title=ஸ்ட்ரைக்கை மீறி வெளியாகும் படங்கள்! |url=https://archive.org/download/kalki1997-11-02/kalki1997-11-02.pdf |access-date=31 May 2023 |magazine=[[Kalki (magazine)|Kalki]] |pages=4–6 |language=Ta |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

== Soundtrack ==
The music was composed by [[Vidyasagar (composer)|Vidyasagar]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Arasiyal / Chithiramae Nee Solladi |url=https://avdigital.in/products/arasiyal-chithiramae-nee-solladi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529184815/https://avdigital.in/products/arasiyal-chithiramae-nee-solladi |archive-date=29 May 2023 |access-date=31 May 2023 |work=AVDigital}}</ref> The film marked the debut of singer [[Harish Raghavendra]] in cinema.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mannath |first=Malini |date=14 November 2002 |title=In conversation with Harish Raghavendra |url=http://archives.chennaionline.com/interviews/hraghav.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100129155614/http://archives.chennaionline.com/interviews/hraghav.asp |archive-date=29 January 2010 |access-date=13 January 2022 |website=Chennai Online}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=பாண்டியராஜன் |first=மா. |date=3 March 2020 |title="அஜித் ப்ளேலிஸ்ட்ல இந்தப் பாடலானு ஷாக் ஆகிட்டேன்..!" - ஹரிஷ் ராகவேந்திரா |url=https://cinema.vikatan.com/kollywood/singer-harish-raghavendra-speaks-about-his-career |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230525143754/https://cinema.vikatan.com/kollywood/singer-harish-raghavendra-speaks-about-his-career |archive-date=25 May 2023 |access-date=25 May 2023 |work=[[Ananda Vikatan]] |language=ta}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
! Song !! Singer(s)!! Lyrics !! Duration
|-
| "Arasiyal Arasiyal" || [[Pushpavanam Kuppusamy]], [[Anitha Kuppusamy]] || [[Vairamuthu]] || 3:49
|-
| "Hello Nanthalaala" || [[Sujatha Mohan]] || rowspan="2" |Vaasan || 4:19
|-
| "Sindhubathi" || Sundar Rajan, Anupama || 5:00
|-
| "Vaa Sagi Vaa Sagi" || [[Harish Raghavendra]], [[Uma Ramanan]] ||[[Arunmozhi]]|| 4:53
|-
| "Varai En Thozhiyae" || [[S. P. B. Charan]], [[Harini (singer)|Harini]], [[Shubha Mudgal]] || rowspan="2" |[[Piraisoodan]] || 4:37
|-
| "Varai En Thozhiyae" II || Sujatha Mohan, [[Swarnalatha]], Shubha Mudgal || 4:34
|}

== Release and reception ==
The film was initially supposed to release in the [[Diwali]] season of 1997,<ref name="kalki" /> but got postponed to 12 December.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arasiyal (1997) |url=https://screen4screen.com/movies/arasiyal |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240110045457/https://screen4screen.com/movies/arasiyal |archive-date=10 January 2024 |access-date=10 January 2024 |website=Screen 4 Screen}}</ref> Ji of ''[[Kalki (magazine)|Kalki]]'' praised the performances of Mammootty and Mansoor Ali Khan, Liyakath Ali Khan's dialogues and Panneer Selvam's cinematography but felt since many of the political incidents have been analysed earlier, it feels like watching action replay with no thrills.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=ஜி. |date=18 January 1998 |title=அரசியல் |url=https://archive.org/details/kalki1998-01-18/page/n65/mode/2up |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230525143625/https://archive.org/details/kalki1998-01-18/page/n65/mode/2up |archive-date=25 May 2023 |access-date=25 May 2023 |magazine=[[Kalki (magazine)|Kalki]] |page=64 |language=Ta |via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> Despite the film receiving primarily mixed reviews, Mammootty's performance was well noted by critics and fans.<ref>{{Cite news |title='Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar' – Mammootty's best works outside Mollywood |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/photo-features/mammoottys-best-works-outside-mollywood/dr-babasaheb-ambedkar/photostory/63784307.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024154607/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/photo-features/mammoottys-best-works-outside-mollywood/dr-babasaheb-ambedkar/photostory/63784307.cms |archive-date=24 October 2022 |access-date=24 October 2022 |website=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> The film won the [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film|Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Third Best Film]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 November 1998 |title=Awards Tamilnadu Government Cinema Awards For 1997 Announced: Best Film Award For "Arunachalam", "Surya Vamsam" |url=http://www.dinakaran.com/cinema/english/awards/27-11-98/g_award.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080101131515/http://www.dinakaran.com/cinema/english/awards/27-11-98/g_award.htm |archive-date=1 January 2008 |access-date=27 June 2023 |website=[[Dinakaran]]}}</ref> Liaquat Ali Khan received the Dinakaran Award for Best Dialogue writer.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DINAKARAN CINEMA AWARD – 1997 |url=http://www.dinakaran.com/cinema/english/awards/dkn1997/1997dkn.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980615070355/http://www.dinakaran.com/cinema/english/awards/dkn1997/1997dkn.htm |archive-date=15 June 1998 |access-date=11 January 2025 |website=[[Dinakaran]]}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*{{IMDb title}}
*{{Rotten Tomatoes}}
{{R. K. Selvamani}}
{{TamilNaduStateFilmAwardBestFilm}}

[[Category:1997 Indian films]]
[[Category:1990s political drama films]]
[[Category:1997 Tamil-language films]]
[[Category:1997 films]]
[[Category:Films directed by R. K. Selvamani]]
[[Category:Films scored by Vidyasagar (composer)]]
[[Category:Films shot in Punjab, India]]
[[Category:Indian political drama films]]
[[Category:Tamil-language Indian films]]

Arasiyal - Revision history

RodEsters254334 at 07:27, 17 March 2026