Oli Vilakku (transl. Shining Lamp) is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language crime film, directed by Tapi Chanakya and produced by S. S. Vasan. It is a remake of the Hindi-language film Phool Aur Patthar (1966). The film stars M. G. Ramachandran (in his 100th film), Jayalalithaa and Sowcar Janaki in the lead roles, with S. A. Ashokan, R. S. Manohar, Cho Ramaswamy and V. S. Raghavan in supporting roles. It was released on 20 September 1968.
Oli Vilakku was directed by Tapi Chanakya and produced by S. S. Vasan under Gemini Studios; Vasan was not credited onscreen as producer. The film was M. G. Ramachandran's 100th as an actor, and a remake of the Hindi-language film Phool Aur Patthar (1966).
[1] Ramachandran agreed to act in the film only after long sessions of negotiations with Vasan, who assented to the conditions laid down by Ramachandran regarding to the choice of costume and the characterisation of the male lead.
[2] It was Gemini' first colour film,
[3] being colourised through Eastmancolor,
[4] and was V. S. Raghavan's first collaboration with Ramachandran.
[5] Jayalalithaa was chosen to reprise the role originally played by Shashikala, and Sowcar Janaki was chosen to reprise Meena Kumari's role.
[6] The dialogues were written by Sornam, art direction was handled by A. K. Sekhar, cinematography was handled by U. Rajagopal and the editing by M. Umanath.
[7] During the film's Kodaikanal shooting schedule, Ramachandran cancelled a day's shoot because of the cold weather and ensured that all the crew members received a blanket.
Cast
M. G. Ramachandran as Muthu
Jayalalithaa as Geetha
Sowcar Janaki as Shanti
S. A. Ashokan as Master Jambhu
Cho Ramaswamy as Kadhri
R. S. Manohar as Maari
S. Rama Rao as Pannaiyar Paramasivan
V. S. Raghavan as the commissioner
"Kalla Part" Natarajan as Somu
Thengai Srinivasan as Kaveri's father