Sankarlal

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Sankarlal is a 1981 Indian Tamil-language action film written, directed, and produced by T. N. Balu. Kamal Haasan plays both the father and the son. Balu died during filming, and N. K. Viswanathan finished directing. A Telugu version, Andagaadu, was shot at the same time with different actors.

Plot
Dharmalingam, an ordinary man, vacations in Ooty with his family and is framed for murder by Chelladurai. He goes to jail, and his wife, son Mohan, and daughter Seetha are separated. Years later, Dharmalingam returns as Sankarlal to confront Chelladurai and to find his family. Chelladurai has kidnapped a girl named Hema for ransom, and Mohan is sent to rescue her. Dharmalingam and Mohan join forces to take down Chelladurai.

Cast and music
Kamal Haasan stars in dual roles as father and son; Sridevi is the leading actress. Sripriya was considered for the female role. The Telugu version Andagaadu had a different cast. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and Gangai Amaran.

Release
Tamil release: 15 August 1981. Telugu release: 6 February 1982. The film was produced by Balu Cine Arts.

Reception
Nalini Sastry of Kalki praised Sridevi’s and Seema’s performances and Viswanathan’s cinematography but felt the film lacked pace and that the music offered nothing new. Kamal Haasan was noted as rising in prominence.