Kalam Vellum

Kalam Vellum is a 1970 Indian Tamil-language Western film produced, filmed and directed by M. Karnan. The film stars Jaishankar, Vijayakumari and Vijaya Lalitha. It revolves around a farmer who, in his quest to avenge his sister's death, becomes a dacoit bent on revenge. The film was released on 11 September 1970.

Plot

Velu, a poor farmer, loses his sister Dhanam due to the atrocities and exploitation of landlord Periyaraja. To avenge his sister's death, Velu kills Periyaraja's brother Chinnaraja. He then escapes from there and joins a gang of dacoits, headed by Narasingam. The gang is initially perturbed by Velu's presence, but his courage and good nature wins him their love and respect. Velu succeeds Narasingam as the gang leader. His aim is to rob the rich and save the poor. He is constantly looking for an opportunity to take revenge against Periyasamy. Velu forgets that his wife is waiting for his return to his village. Finally, Velu takes revenge on Periyaraja and surrenders to the police.

Cast

Production

In January 1970, several months after the release of his first film as a producer, M. Karnan began pre-production on his directorial debut, Kalam Vellum. K. R. Vatsala initially shot for the role of Jaishankar's sister, which later went to Usharani.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Shankar–Ganesh, with lyrics by Kannadasan.

Release and reception

Kalam Vellum was released on 11 September 1970. The Indian Express called it a "hotchpotch of all the adventure films that have come in Tamil and English movies that have been imported".