''Avatharam'' () is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language musical film written and directed by Nassar, making his directorial debut. The film stars him and

Revathi Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films. She has won several ...

. The film, produced by Vaidyanathan, had musical score by Ilaiyaraaja and was released on 9 June 1995 to critical acclaim.

Plot

Kuppusamy ( Nassar), an innocent man, dreams to perform in Pandi's (

Delhi Ganesh Delhi Ganesh is an Indian actor who mostly acts in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He has acted in more than 400 films from 1976 to present. Before films, he was a member of the Delhi-based theatre troupe, ''Dakshina Bharata Natak ...

) troupe, which performs in Hindu festivals. Baasi (

Bala Singh Bala Singh (7 May 195227 November 2019) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil language films. After making his debut in Nassar's '' Avatharam'' (1995), he appeared as the antagonist in over a hundred films. Early life and career Bala Sin ...

) is expelled from the troupe for his bad behavior. Finally, Pandi accepts Kuppusamy into his troupe. The blind girl Ponnamma (

), Pandi's daughter, falls in love with Kuppusamy. For some time, the festival's organizers prefer female dancers. Thereafter, Pandi dies during a stage performance, and the troupe splits up. Kuppusamy leaves the village with Ponnamma to become a cinema actor. There, they meet Baasi, and he accommodates them. Baasi then rapes and kills Ponnamma. Later, Kuppusamy is sent to a mental hospital, but he manages to escape. Kuppusamy is determined to take revenge on Baasi. Baasi, fearing for his life, seeks protection from the police in order to catch Kuppusamy. Kuppusamy first kills the policemen. A terrific and gruesome fight ensues between Kuppusamy and Baasi, in which Kuppusamy kills Baasi.

Cast

* Nassar as Kuppusamy *

as Ponnamma *

as Baasi *

Srividya Srividya (24 July 1953 – 19 October 2006), also known as Sreevidya, was an Indian actress best known for her work predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films, along with few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. In a career spanning for 40 years, ...

as an advocate *

as Pandi *

Vennira Aadai Moorthy Vennira Aadai Moorthy (born 25 July 1936) is an Indian actor and comedian in Tamil cinema. He has starred in many Tamil films and television serials as a comedian and also played supporting roles. He is a lawyer by education, and holds a B.L. ...

as Singaram *

Sachu Saraswathi Sundaresan Iyer, professionally known as Kumari Sachu (born 7 January 1948) is an Indian actress who has acted in more than 500 films in five different languages and a few television serials. She is a character actress/comedienne who ...

as Singaram's wife * Kaka Radhakrishnan *

Junior Balaiah Raghu Balaiah, popularly known as Junior Balaiah (born 28 June 1953) is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. The son of actor T. S. Balaiah, Junior Balaiah has primarily featured in supporting roles throughout his career, w ...

as Krishna *Murali Kumar as Pungavanam *

Shanmugasundari Shanmugasundari (23 September 1937 – 1 May 2012) was a Tamil actress. she acted in more than 750 films. Her daughter T. K. Kala is also an actress and playback singer. She also appeared in comedy roles along with Vadivelu in many films. Ca ...

as Marudhayi *Vincent Roy as a police officer *

Thyagu Thozhar Thiyagu (born 30 January 1950), also known as Comrade Thiyagu, is a social activist, politician, writer from Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is also the General Secretary of Tamil National Liberation Movement and is well known for his ...

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The soundtrack, released in 1995, features 6 tracks. The song "Thendral Vanthu Theendumbothu" is set in

Jaunpuri raga Raga Jaunpuri is a rāga in Hindustani classical music in the Asavari thaat. Some musicians like Omkarnath Thakur consider it indistinguishable from the shuddha rishabh Asavari.Rajan ParrikarAsavari and Associates Its attractive swaras also mak ...

Reception

The film received critical acclaim, but bombed at the box office.

References

External links

* {{TamilNaduStateFilmAwardBestFilm 1995 films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja 1990s Tamil-language films Films about blind people in India Films about actors Indian films about revenge 1995 directorial debut films