# Varumayin Niram Sivappu (வறுமையின் நிறம் சிவப்பு)
**Varumayin Niram Sivappu** (வறுமையின் நிறம் சிவப்பு, "the colour of poverty is red") is a 1980 Indian Tamil-language satirical drama film written and directed by [K. Balachander](https://www.edgepedia.org/k-balachander), about three educated but unemployed young men who come to live in a bustling, harsh metropolis and struggle to earn a living[1](https://cinegraph.org/movies/varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980) • [2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn7GOac1bsE). It stars [Kamal Haasan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kamal-haasan) and Sridevi, was produced by R. Venkataraman under the Premalaya banner, and was released on 6 November 1980[3](https://www.acmodasi.in/amdb/movie/66406-varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980). The film addresses the unemployment crisis facing educated youth in India before economic liberalization, and it was successful enough to be remade twice by Balachander himself, in Telugu and in Hindi[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155329).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 6 November 1980 (India), Tamil language, drama genre[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155329) |
| Director and writer | K. Balachander (story, screenplay, and dialogue also credited to him)[1](https://cinegraph.org/movies/varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980) |
| Lead cast | Kamal Haasan as Sundaram Rangan; Sridevi as Devi[3](https://www.acmodasi.in/amdb/movie/66406-varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980) |
| Music | M. S. Viswanathan; lyrics by Kannadasan[5](https://letterboxd.com/film/varumayin-niram-sivappu/cast/) • [6](https://www.moviecrow.com/movie/259/varumayin-niram-sivappu/story) |
| Remakes | Telugu *Aakali Rajyam* (1981) and Hindi *Zara Si Zindagi* (1983), both directed by Balachander with Kamal Haasan[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155329) |
| Audience rating | 8.2/10 on IMDb from about 1,300 votes[3](https://www.acmodasi.in/amdb/movie/66406-varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980) |
| Awards | 2 Filmfare Awards (Tamil)[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-details/varumayin-niram-sigappu/movieshow/61311382.cms) |
## Spoilers
### Story and themes
The film follows three educated young men who arrive in a large, unforgiving city hoping to make a living. Though educated, they cannot find work, and each day becomes a fight to get by as the big city puts both their determination and their bond to the test[3](https://www.acmodasi.in/amdb/movie/66406-varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980). Kamal Haasan plays Sundaram Rangan, an unemployed young man; Sridevi plays Devi, a woman who loves him; the supporting cast includes S.Ve. Sekar as Thambu, Poornam Viswanathan as Sundaram Pillai, Prathap Pothan as Prathap, and Dilip as Dileep[3](https://www.acmodasi.in/amdb/movie/66406-varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980).
The film treats poverty as a matter of shame: Rangan returns from job interviews empty-handed and hides it from those around him, and the narrative shows scene by scene how humiliation accumulates[8](https://pulseofcinema.com/en/film/varumayin-niram-sivappu/). Balachander joined social subjects to melodrama, and the emotional emphasis is high; the close offers no solution, and the film ends hard[8](https://pulseofcinema.com/en/film/varumayin-niram-sivappu/). A contemporary synopsis describes it as depicting socialist India and the struggles of youth and their disillusionment with society in general[6](https://www.moviecrow.com/movie/259/varumayin-niram-sivappu/story). An academic source glosses the title as meaning "the colour of poverty is red"[9](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?doi=7f12283383d8ec6b98042021e8b5937d5fa091bf&repid=rep1&type=pdf).
## Production and music
Balachander is credited with the film's story, screenplay, dialogue, and direction[1](https://cinegraph.org/movies/varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980). Cinematography was by B. S. Lokanath and editing by N. R. Kittu[5](https://letterboxd.com/film/varumayin-niram-sivappu/cast/). The music was composed by [M. S. Viswanathan](https://www.edgepedia.org/m-s-viswanathan), with lyrics by [Kannadasan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kannadasan)[5](https://letterboxd.com/film/varumayin-niram-sivappu/cast/) • [6](https://www.moviecrow.com/movie/259/varumayin-niram-sivappu/story). Listed songs include "Chippi Irukkuthu", "Theerthakkarayinile", "Ranga Rangiah", "Nallathor Veenai", and "Paattu Onnu Paadu Thambi", sung by [S. P. Balasubrahmanyam](https://www.edgepedia.org/s-p-balasubrahmanyam), S. Janaki, and P. Susheela[6](https://www.moviecrow.com/movie/259/varumayin-niram-sivappu/story). The "Chippi Irukkuthu" song in particular remained a fan favorite decades after release[10](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/news/kamal-s-varumaiyin-niram-sivappu-movie-crosses-41-years-088931.html).
Balachander also used the film to introduce a new supporting actor, Dilip, who like [Rajinikanth](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajinikanth) had come to Chennai from [Bangalore](https://www.edgepedia.org/bangalore) and studied at the Film Institute; Dilip later acted as a hero in Telugu and Malayalam films but did not become a Tamil lead[11](https://tamil.behindtalkies.com/varumaiayin-niram-sivappu-dileep/).
## Release and reception
The film opened on 6 November 1980, which that year fell on Diwali, one of [Tamil cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-cinema)'s most competitive release dates; nine films came to theaters that day[12](https://www.hindutamil.in/amp/story/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/523607-1980-diwalil-release.html). One of them, Bharathiraja's *Nizhalgal*, was built on nearly the same subject of unemployment. *Varumayin Niram Sivappu* succeeded, helped by Balachander's screenplay and the presence of leading stars Kamal Haasan and Sridevi, while *Nizhalgal* failed[13](https://www.tamilthiraiulagam.com/films/1980/nizhalgal.html).
The film won two [Filmfare Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-awards) in the Tamil category[7](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-details/varumayin-niram-sigappu/movieshow/61311382.cms). On IMDb it holds 8.2 out of 10 from around 1,300 votes[3](https://www.acmodasi.in/amdb/movie/66406-varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980). A 2021 retrospective in Filmibeat Tamil noted that the film spoke bluntly about the unemployment problem that was a major issue in the 1980s, and that it remains one of the films that tested Kamal Haasan's acting range[10](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/news/kamal-s-varumaiyin-niram-sivappu-movie-crosses-41-years-088931.html).
## Remakes and legacy
Balachander remade the film in Telugu as *Aakali Rajyam* (1981), again with Kamal Haasan and Sridevi in the lead roles, and in Hindi as *Zara Si Zindagi* (1983) with Kamal Haasan and [Anita Raj](https://www.edgepedia.org/anita-raj)[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155329). A history of Indian cinema places the film among works depicting the turmoils of unemployed urban youth and the angry-young-man syndrome[14](https://www.vpmthane.org/Publications/Indian%20Cinema-Past%2C%20Present%20%26%20Future.pdf). The Scroll obituary of Balachander counts the film among those through which Kamal Haasan shaped his intense, angry young man persona under Balachander's direction[15](https://scroll.in/article/695222/).
The film's runtime is reported differently across databases: 144 minutes (2h 24m) on several databases[3](https://www.acmodasi.in/amdb/movie/66406-varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980) • [8](https://pulseofcinema.com/en/film/varumayin-niram-sivappu/), 141 minutes on Filmibeat[16](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/movies/varumayin-niram-sivappu.html), and 138 minutes (2h 18m) on IMDb[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155329).
## References
1. [Varumayin Niram Sivappu · Cinegraph](https://cinegraph.org/movies/varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980)
2. [வறுமையின் நிறம் சிவப்பு Varumayin Niram Sivappu – Super Hit Full Movie (YouTube, NTM Cinemas)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn7GOac1bsE)
3. [Varumayin Niram Sivappu (1980) – AMDB (acmodasi.in)](https://www.acmodasi.in/amdb/movie/66406-varumayin-niram-sivappu-1980)
4. [Varumayin Niram Sigappu (1980) – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0155329)
5. [Varumayin Niram Sivappu (1980) cast and crew – Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/varumayin-niram-sivappu/cast/)
6. [Varumayin Niram Sivappu (U) – Moviecrow](https://www.moviecrow.com/movie/259/varumayin-niram-sivappu/story)
7. [Varumayin Niram Sigappu – eTimes, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-details/varumayin-niram-sigappu/movieshow/61311382.cms)
8. [Varumayin Niram Sivappu (1980): Plot, Cast & Rating – Pulse of Cinema](https://pulseofcinema.com/en/film/varumayin-niram-sivappu/)
9. [The International Research Journal of Social Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 12, Dec 2014](https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?doi=7f12283383d8ec6b98042021e8b5937d5fa091bf&repid=rep1&type=pdf)
10. [கமலின் நடிப்புத்திறமைக்கு சவால்... 41 ஆண்டுகளை கடந்த வறுமையின் நிறம் சிவப்பு படம் – Filmibeat Tamil](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/news/kamal-s-varumaiyin-niram-sivappu-movie-crosses-41-years-088931.html)
11. [Varumaiayin Niram Sivappu Dileep | நடிகர் திலீப் – Behindtalkies](https://tamil.behindtalkies.com/varumaiayin-niram-sivappu-dileep/)
12. [80-ம் ஆண்டு தீபாவளியில் பாலசந்தர் - பாரதிராஜா – Hindu Tamil Thisai](https://www.hindutamil.in/amp/story/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/523607-1980-diwalil-release.html)
13. [நிழல்கள் - Nizhalgal (1980) – TamilThiraiUlagam.com](https://www.tamilthiraiulagam.com/films/1980/nizhalgal.html)
14. [Indian Cinema: Past, Present & Future (PDF)](https://www.vpmthane.org/Publications/Indian%20Cinema-Past%2C%20Present%20%26%20Future.pdf)
15. [Director K Balachander was a maverick chronicler of the Tamil middle class – Scroll.in](https://scroll.in/article/695222/)
16. [வறுமையின் நிறம் சிவப்பு – Filmibeat Tamil](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/movies/varumayin-niram-sivappu.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Tamil films before 2000 › Released 1952 to 1991*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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