| Annaamalai | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Suresh Krissna |
| Screenplay by | Suresh Krissna Shanmugasundaram |
| Based on | Khudgarz by Rakesh Roshan |
| Produced by | Rajam Balachander Puspha Kandasamy |
| Starring | Rajinikanth Khushbu Sarath Babu |
| Cinematography | P. S. Prakash |
| Edited by | Ganesh Kumar |
| Music by | Deva |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 164 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Annaamalai (also spelt Annamalai; pronounced [aɳɳaːmalaɪ]) is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language masala film[1] directed by Suresh Krissna and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. A remake of the 1987 Hindi film Khudgarz, itself based on Jeffrey Archer's 1979 novel Kane and Abel, it stars Rajinikanth, Khushbu and Sarath Babu with Radha Ravi, Nizhalgal Ravi and Manorama in supporting roles. The film revolves around Annaamalai, a poor milkman, and Ashok, a wealthy hotelier, who have been friends since childhood, a friendship opposed by Ashok's father who attempts to create a rift between the two.
Annaamalai was announced in March 1992 with Vasanth as director, though he later opted out for personal reasons. Suresh Krissna replaced him as director, and also contributed to the screenplay while Shanmugasundaram wrote the dialogue. Principal photography began the same month and the entire filming process lasted 45 working days. The music was composed by Deva and the lyrics for the songs were written by Vairamuthu. The cinematography was handled by P. S. Prakash and the editing by the duo Ganesh Kumar.
Annaamalai was released on 27 June 1992. Although its opening was threatened due to a newly established Tamil Nadu government rule where posters of films were prohibited in Madras, the lack of promos only increased the hype and worked to the film's advantage; it ran for 175 days in theatres and was the highest-grossing film in Tamil cinema to that point. It was remade in Telugu in 1993 as Kondapalli Raja and in Kannada in 2003 as Gokarna.