''Aval Paavam'' () is a 2000

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, nati ...

-language drama film directed by M. K. Arundhava Raja. The film stars Prabhukanth and Ritika, with

Ishari K. Ganesh Dr. Ishari K Ganesh (pronounced as Ai-sari) is the founder, chairman and Chancellor of Vels University in Chennai, India. He founded the Vael's Educational Trust in 1992 in the memory of his late father Isari Velan, a former Member of Legisl ...

playing a supporting role. The film, produced by K. Rajan, was released on 22 December 2000.

Cast

*Prabhukanth as Sriram *Ritika as Thulasi * K. Rajan *J. Lalita * Mohan Vaidya *

Production

The film marked the feature film debut of director M. K. Arundhava Raja, who had earlier worked on television series. K. Rajan, who had taken on the role of the president of Chennai Distributors Association during 2000, announced that he would produce ''Aval Paavam'' on a low budget. Rajan's son, Prabhukanth, acted in his first lead role. He had earlier featured as the antagonist in '' Doubles'' (2000), and later worked on ''

Ninaikkatha Naalillai '' Ninaikkaadha Naalillai'' is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by A. L. Raja and produced by K. Rajan. The film stars R. Parthiban, Rahman, Devayani, and Kaveri. The film had musical score (soundtrack) by Deva. The movie ...

'' (2001). The lead actress, Lakshmi, took on the stage name of Ritika for the film. She head earlier appeared in a supporting role in ''

Thalaimurai ''Thalaimurai'' () is a 1998 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language film directed by Saravana Pandian and produced by M. K. Hari Shankar. The film stars director K. S. Adhiyaman in leading role along with Rajkiran, Kanaka (actress), Kanaka, Bhanu ...

'' (1998) and shot for ''Aval Paavam'' alongside seven other film projects in early 2000. Rajan had also signed the actress on for another project during the period, Babu Ganesh's ''Kudumbam Oru Koiyil'' starring

Ramki Ramakrishnan, better known by his stage name Ramki, is an Indian actor best known for his work in Tamil and Telugu films. He made his debut in ''Chinna Poove Mella Pesu'' (1987). He was a lead actor from 1987 to 2004. He was known for his per ...

, although the project was later dropped. The film was briefly retitled as ''Chembaruthi Poove'' as the team wanted to avoid the title sounding

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

, but later reverted to the original title of ''Aval Paavam''.

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by Pradeep Ravi. The soundtrack, released in 2000 by Star Music, features six tracks.

Release and reception

The film was released on 22 December 2000 across Tamil Nadu. A reviewer of the film from the entertainment portal ''ChennaiOnline'' compared the film's theme to

K. Balachander Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an Indian film maker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of un ...

's '' Arangetram'' (1973), where about a woman takes to prostitution to support her family, but noted that changing times meant that the topic was less of a taboo in Tamil Nadu. The critic praised the film, adding "it is a well-planned screenplay and there is no attempt to preach or make it a melodrama" and that "there is no sexual exploitation of the theme to distract the viewers, though there was enough room for it."

References

{{reflist 2000 films 2000s Tamil-language films Indian drama films 2000 directorial debut films Films about prostitution in India Films about poverty in India Films about women in India Indian feminist films