# Ammalakkalu

Ammalakkalu (transl. Mothers and Sisters) is a 1953 Indian Telugu-language drama film, produced by Lena Chettiar on Krishna Pictures banner and directed by D. Yoganand. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao, Padmini and Lalitha, with music composed by C. R. Subburaman. It was simultaneously shot in Tamil as Marumagal (transl. Daughter-in-law). The Tamil version was released on 14 April 1953.

## Plot

This is the plot of the Telugu version.
Ramaiah (B. R. Panthulu) and Kistaiah (D. Balasubramanyam) are close friends and farmers. Ramaiah's family consists of his wife Sugunamma (Rushyendramani) and two sons Sundar (Amarnath), Kumar (N. T. Rama Rao) and a daughter Rupa (Surabhi Balasaraswathi), who are struggling for their daily needs. Under the guidance of Kishtaiah, Ramaiah starts a small contract business in the town for which Kistaiah organizes the amount by mortgaging his wife's jewelry. Ramaiah settles in the town, pays the debt, and also promises to couple up Kishtaiah's daughter Usha (Padmini) with Kumar. Meanwhile, Ramaiah's sons move to town for education when Ammalakkalu heckles Usha which offends Kistaiah, so he too joins Usha in the same school. Years roll by, Kumar and Usha grow up together and love each other. At the present, Ramaiah arranges his elder son Sundar's marriage with a shrew woman named Shanta (Lalitha). During the time of the wedding, Ammalakkalu provokes Sugunamma and she insults Kistaiah's wife when a rift arises between families. Here Kistaiah becomes furious, leaves the venue, and even breaks up the match of Usha and Kumar. They therefore perform registered marriage when soft-hearted Ramaiah welcomes the couple into the home. But Sugunamma and Shanta are very cold towards Usha. During this plight, Kumar leaves abroad for higher studies and Usha faces a lot of difficulties in her in-law's house. The rest of the story involves how she gets rid of these problems and reunites the family.

## Cast

* N. T. Rama Rao as Kumar
* Padmini as Usha
* Lalitha as Shanta

### Telugu version

* Relangi as Riyo
* Amarnath as Sundar
* Dr. Sivaramakrishnaiah as Achchaiah
* B. R. Panthulu as Ramaiah
* D. Balasubramanyam as Kishtaiah
* Suryakantham as Seshamma
* Rushyendramani as Sugunamma
* Surabhi Kamalabai as Parvathi
* Surabhi Balasaraswathi as Rupa

### Tamil version

* S. V. Sahasranamam
* T. R. Ramachandran
* B. R. Panthulu
* M. Saroja
* M. Lakshmiprabha
* D. Balasubramaniam
* S. D. Subbulakshmi
* V. K. Ramasamy
* Kallapart Natarajan
* C. T. Rajakantham
* K. S. Angamuthu
* "Master" Sudhakar
* "Surabhi" Balasaraswathi as Rupa
* Indra Acharya
* K. S. Adhilakshmi
* V. Suryakantham
* Baby Saraswathi

### Dance

* Ragini
* Padmini
* Kusalakumari

## Soundtrack

The music was composed by C. R. Subburaman with background music to be completed later by Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy and party after the untimely death of C. R. Subburaman. T. K. Ramamoorthy acted as his assistant in several films and was asked by the producer to complete the music for the film. Tunes for both languages are the same.
However, there was one song in the film, "Undaloi Undaloi"/"Aanukkoru Penn Pillai," that was composed by G. Ramanathan.

### Telugu soundtrack

| Song | Singers | Length |
| "Penugonu Manasula" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 03:27 |
| "Kannemaavi Thotalona" | Jikki & A. P. Komala | 02:45 |
| "Kannemaavi Thotalona" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 03:56 |
| "Nee Kosam" | Pithapuram Nageswara Rao & M. L. Vasanthakumari | 03:51 |
| "Oo Neeve Naa Prema" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 02:27 |
| "Undaloi Undaloi" | P. A. Periyanayaki & A. P. Komala | 11:10 |
| "Maaradavela Maaramu" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | 03:48 |
| "Rupaa Rupante" | Pithapuram Nageswara Rao & A. P. Komala | 02:18 |
| "Lallaa Lallaa" | Pithapuram Nageswara Rao & R. Balasaraswathi Devi | 03:01 |
| "Jhan Jhan Jhan" | A. P. Komala | 00:26 |

### Tamil soundtrack

| Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length (m:ss) |
| "Kanavilum Nanavilum Inai Piriyaadha" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 03:31 |
| "Chinna Chinna Veedu Katti" | Jikki & A. P. Komala | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 03:50 |
| "Chinna Chinna Veedu Katti" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 03:18 |
| "Nianikkira Maaadhiri Ellaam" | T. R. Ramachandran & M. L. Vasanthakumari | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 03:51 |
| "Oo Neethaan En Sondham" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 03:01 |
| "Aanukkoru Penn Pillai" | P. A. Periyanayaki, A. P. Komala & A. G. Rathnamala | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 12:15 |
| "Pesaadha Maounam Aamo" | A. M. Rajah & P. A. Periyanayaki | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 04:23 |
| "Romaani Maambazham Roobamthaan" | T. R. Ramachandran & A. P. Komala | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 02:15 |
| "Laali Suba Laali" | C. R. Subburaman & P. A. Periyanayaki | Udumalai Narayana Kavi | 03:05 |
| "Jal Jal Jal Kingkini Aada" | A. P. Komala | K. D. Santhanam | |

## Reception

Reviewing Ammalakkalu, a critic from Zamin Ryot wrote that the story is not smooth, and turns into an unprofitable whorehouse with seams. The film fared well at the box office in both languages, but the Telugu version was more successful. In Ammalakkalu, the duet song sung by Relangi became popular in Telugu districts of the then-Madras State. The Telugu version became popular through theatrical re-runs.