Makkal En Pakkam (1987): watch the full film free, legally

Friends divided by a false accusation

Samraj and Rajmohan begin as close friends, until a false theft accusation against Samraj turns them into enemies. Rajmohan rises as a political leader, while Samraj becomes a smuggler. Rajmohan's political influence damages Samraj's business, deepening their conflict.

Radha, Rajmohan's girlfriend, works as a junior assistant for one of his friends and receives an important file containing details of Samraj's illegal business. Samraj tries to recover it, placing Radha in trouble. He tries to help her and falls in love with her. Radha tells him that she has a child by Rajmohan and that their affair was unofficial. Police officials, responding to Rajmohan's order, attempt to arrest Samraj, who repeatedly escapes and continues as king of smugglers.

A reused title and Malayalam remake

In the 1970s, M. G. Ramachandran was due to star in a film called Makkal En Pakkam, but that project was dropped after he quit the film industry to enter politics. In early 1987, producer K. Balaji launched a new film under the same title with Sathyaraj.

Directed by Karthik Raghunath, Makkal En Pakkam is a Tamil-language gangster action film starring Sathyaraj, Rajesh and Ambika. Its title translates as “People are on my side”. It remakes the 1986 Malayalam film Rajavinte Makan, itself inspired by Sidney Sheldon's 1980 novel Rage of Angels. Alex Mathew, who played a student leader in Rajavinte Makan, reprised his role. Sathyaraj said he accepted the film because the original was successful and the remake was guaranteed to do well. Like Palaivana Rojakkal (1986), it was made with political overtones.

Release and contemporary notices

The film was released on 14 April 1987. The following week, N. Krishnaswamy of The Indian Express wrote that it had enough “dhum” to keep lay viewers happy, and praised Sathyaraj and Rajesh's performances. Jayamanmadhan of Kalki criticised its inconsistent tone.

Chandrabose composed the music, with lyrics by Vairamuthu.

Film details from the Wikipedia article “Makkal En Pakkam”. Text adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0.