''Arul'' () is a 2004 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

-language

action drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...

written and directed by

Hari Hari ( sa, हरि) is among the primary epithets of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, meaning 'the one who takes away' (sins). It refers to the one who removes darkness and illusion, the one who removes all obstacles to spiritual progress ...

starring Vikram,

Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films.

Pasupathy Pasupathy (born 5 September 1967) is an Indian actor. He appeared in critically acclaimed roles in many noted films in Tamil cinema, playing supporting, antagonistic, comedic as well as protagonistic roles. His performance in '' E'' (2006) ear ...

Kollam Thulasi Kollam Kanjaveli Kuttilazhikathu Thulasidharan Nair is an actor in Malayalam cinema, who is better known as Kollam Thulasi relating to the name of his birthplace Kollam to his first name as customary in some parts of Kerala. His first appearance ...

, and

Vadivelu Kumaravadivel Natarajan (born 12 September 1960), known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and playback singer, having acted in supporting and lead roles in Tamil cinema. He gained widespread acclaim in Kollywood in the 2 ...

, among others. The music is composed by

Harris Jayaraj Harris Jayaraj (born 8 January 1975) is an Indian composer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He composes soundtracks predominantly for Tamil films, while also having composed for a few films in Telugu and two films in Hindi. He has been honoured with K ...

. The story tells how a man is rejected by his family but then finds his way back.

Premise

Arul, who works in a

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

is the third son of four brothers in a family of

goldsmith A goldsmith is a Metalworking, metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made cutlery, silverware, platter (dishware), pl ...

s in

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

. Once, Arul's brother steals a chain due to financial circumstances. Arul took the blame and was labelled as a thief, where he was seen as a black sheep by his father Bala Aasari. Thus, he vows never to make a gold ornament ever again. Kanmani, who moves into his neighbourhood eventually falls for Arul. However, Arul does not reciprocate. When Bala scolds Arul at a family gathering, Kanmani stands up for him causing Bala to insult her. Soon, Arul marries Kanmani. The setting up of the party office of the

ruling party The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...

forces Arul to lock horns with MLA Gajapathy, along with his brother and party leader Sethupathy.

Cast

Production

After the success of ''

Saamy ''Saamy'' ( God) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language action masala film written and directed by Hari. The film was presented by K. Balachander and produced by Pushpa Kandasamy under banner Kavithalayaa Productions. The film stars Vikram and Trisha ...

'',

decided to renew the collaboration with Vikram for second time with ''Arul''. Jyothika was selected as heroine pairing with Vikram for second time after ''

Dhool ''Dhool'' () is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by Dharani. The film stars Vikram, Jyothika and Reema Sen. Vivek, Sayaji Shinde, Telangana Shakuntala, and Pasupathy, among others, play important roles. Produced by ...

''.

Vivek Vivek (or Bibek/Bivek in some regions) (विवेक in Devanagari script) is a masculine given name that is popular in South Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. It is of Sanskrit origin and means "wisdom" and/or "conscience". Vivek may refe ...

was originally a part of the cast but fell out with the director and was subsequently replaced by

in the film. A 45 days' shooting schedule took place at Coimbatore, where Vikram, Jyotika and Vadivelu took part. A song sequence was also picturised on Vikram and Chaya Singh who's been roped in to do the single dance number. Fifty dancers took part in the dance number choreographed by Dinesh. The dance picturisation took six days to be completed.

Music

The soundtrack album and background score were composed by

collaborating with Hari and Vikram for the third time.

Release

Critical reception

The film received positive to mixed reviews. Nowrunning stated the film as "long, stale, tedious and drab". Sify wrote:"If you like Rambo style of films, ''Arul'' is worth investing".''Kalki'' review
/ref> The film failed to impress the urban audience due to logic glitches but was well received in rural areas.

References

External links

* {{Hari (director) 2004 films 2000s masala films 2000s Tamil-language films Films set in Tamil Nadu Films shot in Tamil Nadu Films directed by Hari (director) Films scored by Harris Jayaraj Indian action films 2004 action films