on it due to other commitments. Eventually, Ratnam decided to write the film himself. Anjali was also Ratnam's first film since Mouna Ragam (1986) without P. C. Sreeram as cinematographer, for which he used Madhu Ambat instead. Ambat said he agreed to work on the film because he liked Ratnam's earlier work. B. Lenin and V. T. Vijayan served as editors. Casting and filming Mohan was originally considered for playing the male lead, but he refused as he believed his fans would not accept seeing him as "the father of two kids". The role later went to Raghuvaran. Shamili was three years old while doing this film. The crew had difficulty to get the character right for her, so they found the solution by recording videos of a special child. Shamili's father put in a lot of effort and he would make her watch every day to observe the actions of the child. Prabhu's character was named after named after Dennis Joseph. Playback singer Pop Shalini was offered the role of Anjali's sister but her mother refused the role as not to affect her education. Soundtrack The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and lyrics by Vaali. It is Ilaiyaraaja's 500th film as a composer. For the Telugu dubbed version, all the lyrics are written by Rajasri. For the Hindi dubbed version, all lyrics were written by Sameer. Release and reception Anjali was released on 12 July 1990 by GV Films. The following day, N. Krishnaswamy wrote for The Indian Express that "directing so many kids must have been such a difficult task ... and [Mani Ratnam] has been so successful in this department." On 5 August 1990, Ananda Vikatan overwhelmingly appreciated the film, rating it 58 out of 100. It was noted to be inspired by the 1979 televised docudrama Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love. A Telugu dubbed version was released later that year. After the success of the Hindi dubbed version of Roja (1992), this film was dubbed in Hindi in 1993. Accolades Anjali was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars in 1991, but was not nominated. It was screened at the International Film Festival of India along with Sandhya Raagam (1990) as the only two Tamil films as part of Indian Panorama. See also List of submissions to the 63rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film References Bibliography External links 1990 films 1990s children's drama