''Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai'' () is a 2011 Tamil-language

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

comedy drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by

Suseenthiran Suseenthiran is an Indian film director and screenwriter in Tamil cinema. He rose to fame with his directorial debut ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu'' (2009). Career Suseenthiran, who originally hails from a small village called Amarapoondi in Palan ...

, based on the short story of the same name penned by writer Bhaskar Sakthi. The film stars

Appukutty Sivabalan, better known as Appukutty, is an Indian actor and comedian, who mainly appears in Tamil films. He became recognized following his performance in ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu''. His role as Azhagarsami in ''Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai'' was prai ...

and

Saranya Mohan Saranya Mohan is a former Indian actress, who predominantly appeared in Malayalam and Tamil films. She has also acted in a few Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. She is best known for her performances in ''Yaaradi Nee Mohini'' (2008), ''Vennila ...

in lead and features music by

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...

. The film was initially reported to be jointly produced by

Gautham Vasudev Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Hindi films th ...

Photon Kathaas Photon Kathaas was an Indian film production company led by director Gautham Vasudev Menon. It was established in 2010 by Menon along with Venky Somasundaram and Reshma Ghatala, who worked as the co-promoters. Its name is derived from Gautham M ...

and Escape Artists Motion Pictures. but was then produced by the latter only, while

Cloud Nine Movies Cloud Nine Movies was an Indian film production and distribution company, based in Chennai. It is owned by Dayanidhi Azhagiri and Vivek Rathinavel and was founded in 2008 until 2014. He founded another new production company in 2013, Meeka Ent ...

would distribute film. The film released on 12 May 2011 to critical acclaim but commercially did average collections. The film was screened at the

2011 Toronto International Film Festival The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 8 and September 18, 2011. Buenos Aires, Argentina was selected to be showcased for the 2011 City to City programme. The opening film ...

, becoming the second

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 ...

film to be screened there after ''

Kannathil Muthamittal ''Kannathil Muthamittal'' (also released internationally under the translated title ''A Peck on the Cheek'') is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language musical war film produced and directed by Mani Ratnam. It was based on a short story, "Amuthavum Avanum" ...

'' (2002). In 2012, the film was honored with two

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

Plot

The story is set in a village called Mallayapuram near

Theni Theni is a valley town situated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu at the foothills of Western Ghats. It is the headquarters of the Theni district, located in a distance of 70km from Madurai. It is known for the large-scale trading of garlic, c ...

. The villagers believe the Rain Gods will favour them after the annual Temple Festival (Thiruvizha), during which the deity is taken around the village on a wooden horse. They are in for a rude shock when the horse goes missing. At the same time, Azhagarsami, a youngster who earns his livelihood by ferrying loads on his horse in Aagamalai village in Periyakulam, gets ready for his marriage. His horse also goes missing, and his marriage is put on hold. Whether the villagers and Azhagarsami find their respective horses or not forms the rest of the story.

Cast

* Horse as Agamalai Appu *

as Azhagarsami *

as Rani *

Inigo Prabakaran Inigo Prabhakar is an Indian actor who predominantly acts in Tamil films. He made his entry into acting in 2005 in the film '' Ji'' as Ajith's friend. In 2007, he played a role named John as Rockers team captain in the film ''Chennai 600028''. ...

as Ramakrishnan *

Advaitha ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' (lit ...

as Devi * Soori as Chandran *

Aruldoss Aruldoss is an Indian actor who has appeared in supporting roles in predominantly Tamil language films. Prior to focusing on an acting career, he worked as a cinematographer for several films. Career After completing school, Aruldoss worked a ...

as Rajaram * Yogi Devaraj as Rani's father * Azhagan Tamizhmani * Krishnamoorthy as Priest * Supergood Subramani as Priest

Production

The film was made in 90 days on a budget of ₹5.85 crore (worth ₹14 crore in 2021 prices).

Release

Critical reception

The film opened to very positive reviews.

Rediff Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...

's Pavithra Srinivasan labelled the film as "brilliant" and "a must-watch for its unconventional story-line, protagonists and plot-points", giving it 3.5/5.

Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...

's critic described the film as "good" that deserved a "viewing because films like this are hard and few to find in these days of mass masala",further citing that Suseenthiran had "come out with another beautiful feel good film that pulls at your heart strings." A reviewer from Behindwoods gave the film 3/5, terming the film as "a charming and happy rural tale which is fairly engaging". The critic praised the film as a "simple heartwarming and realistic film" and one of those film "where content is the king" as well as the director "for having his heart at the right place and making the movie entirely realistic".

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

critic Malathi Rangarajan, too, gave a positive feedback, describing the film as an "innovative" and "interesting attempt" that stayed "within the format of commercial cinema even while steering clear of formula!" Anupama Subramanian from

Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ( ...

termed the film as a "simple, heartwarming and refreshing deviation from the mainstream mayhem

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

definitely warrants a watch", while giving it three out of five too. Rohit Ramachandran of nowrunning.com gave it 3/5 stars stating that "Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai is an original satirical comedy that's well executed,thanks to a talented writer-director duo that's to be kept an eye on. You will walk out smiling."

International screenings

The film is the only South Indian candidate to be selected for screening at the

in the contemporary world cinema category.

Awards

;

Soundtrack

Following collaborations with V. Selvaganesh and

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...

, Suseenthiran worked with

for the musical score of ''Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai''. The soundtrack album, consisting of only three songs, was released at a grand event on 16 March 2011 at Sathyam Cinemas, with several prominent celebrities participating, while Ilaiyaraaja himself launched the audio.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Indian mystery comedy-drama films 2010s mystery comedy-drama films Films based on short fiction Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor National Film Award-winning performance Films directed by Suseenthiran 2011 films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja 2010s Tamil-language films Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award winners 2011 comedy films 2011 drama films