''Ilakkanam'' () is a 2006

Tamil language Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...

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-g ...

directed by Chandraseyan, making his directorial debut. The film stars newcomer Vishnu Priyan and

Uma Parvati ( sa, पार्वती, ), Uma ( sa, उमा, ) or Gauri ( sa, गौरी, ) is the Hindu goddess of power, energy, nourishment, harmony, love, beauty, devotion, and motherhood. She is a physical representation of Mahadevi in ...

, with

Vinu Chakravarthy Vinu Chakravarthy (15 December 1945 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and director who is known for acting in more than 1000 movies in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Badaga and Malayalam mostly as a comedian, supporting actor or in ...

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 Sing ...

Kadhal Sukumar Kadhal Sukumar is an Indian actor and director who has appeared in Tamil language films. After working as a comedian in films for a decade, notably in Balaji Sakthivel's romantic film '' Kaadhal'' (2004). Career Sukumar, the son of a farmer fro ...

, Chitti Babu,

Sathyapriya Sathyapriya is an Indian actress. She has acted in over 350 films, and played the heroine in a few of them. She made her debut in ''Manjal Mugame Varuga'' opposite Vijayakumar in Tamil. Her notable films include ''Besuge'', ''Dharmasere'', ''H ...

, Anjali Devi,

Sabitha Anand Sabitha Anand is an Indian actress who has performed in Tamil and Malayalam movies and serials. She was one of the lead actresses in the 1980s. She is the daughter of Jacoob Abdu Rahman Anand, an Indian actor in Malayalam movies during the 1960 ...

, Rohini and Rajashree playing supporting roles. The film, produced by M. C. Shanmugam, had musical score by

Bhavatharini Bhavatharani Raja is an Indian singer and music composer. She is the daughter of Ilaiyaraaja and her brothers are the noted film composers Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja. She has mostly sung songs under the direction of her father and bro ...

and was released on 22 December 2006. The film won the

Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize Recipients Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won. * The year mentioned refers to the year in which the films released. This is the list of Winners of Jury's Special Award See also * Tamil cinema * Cinema of Indi ...

for Best Film.

Plot

In August 2005, the old protagonist Thamizharasan (Vishnu Priyan) remembering his past. In the past, Thamizharasan was an idealist and respectful young man who was fond of literature and he wanted to change society for the better. He left his village

Mugaiyur Mugaiyur is one of the block in Viluppuram District, Tamil Nadu, India. Etymology The name Mugaiyur means ''mugai'' (bud) ''+ oor'' (a small settlement or village). Politics Mugaiyur assembly constituency had been clubbed into the Tirukoilur ...

(near

Viluppuram Viluppuram, Villupuram, or Vizhuppuram () is a Municipality and the administrative headquarters of Viluppuram district. Located south west of a Tiruvannamalai and north west of Cuddalore null The town serves as a major railway junction, ...

) and joined a magazine named ''Vaigarai'' in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

as a journalist. He was well liked by his colleagues and impressed by his work, his superiors promoted him as an assistant editor for managing the magazine as it was to become a fortnightly. Meanwhile, Thamizharasan's family found him a bride: Kayalvizhi (

). For his work, Thamizharasan had to write an article about a gang leader turned politician Manikkam who was also Thamizharasan's old friend. Thamizharasan met him and asked him to stop his illegal activities but Manikkam refused. One day, he was arrested for misbehaving with a woman at the bus stand. Kayalvizhi witnessed the whole scene and started to hate Thamizharasan. It was Manikkam's plan to teach him a lesson and Thamizharasan was then released by the police. Despite this, her family arranged her wedding with Thamizharasan. After the marriage, Kayalvizhi realized that Thamizharasan was a perfect gentleman. The couple had a girl and lived happily. During an outing with his family, a riot broke out following the death of a politician. Kayalvizhi was hit by a stone and rushed to the hospital where she entered the coma stage. Thereafter, she was declared

brain death Brain death is the permanent, irreversible, and complete loss of brain function which may include cessation of involuntary activity necessary to sustain life. It differs from persistent vegetative state, in which the person is alive and some aut ...

by doctors. In a twist of fate, the wife of the person who threw the stone which hit Kayalvizhi was in the hospital awaiting a heart transplant and Thamizharasan agreed to donate his wife's heart. Thamizharasan then raised his daughter Panimalar on his own and she is now a

district collector A District Collector-cum-District Magistrate (also known as Deputy Commissioner in some states) is an All India Service officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) cadre who is responsible for ''land revenue collection'', ''canal reven ...

Cast

*Vishnu Priyan as Thamizharasan *

as Kayalvizhi *

as Murugavel *

as Kayalvizhi's father *

as Elango * Chitti Babu as Kumaresan *

as Maragadam, Thamizharasan's mother *Anjali Devi as Lakshmi, Kayalvizhi's mother *

as Murugavel's wife * Rohini as Susi * Rajashree as Malliga, Thamizharasan's sister *

Tharika Tharika is an Indian actress who has appeared in Tamil films and television serials. She first appeared in a character role in Bharathiraja's '' Eera Nilam'' before she shifted to item numbers. She participated in season 1 of the reality danc ...

as Sumathi, Kayalvizhi's sister *Revathi Priya as Kavi, Thamizharasan's niece *Divya Nagesh as Panimalar *M. C. Shanmugam as Thamizharasan's father *Usha Elizabeth as Elango's wife *Thadi Balaji as Ezhil *Vijay Anand as Manimaran *Kovai Babu as Chezhian *

Nellai Siva Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...

as House broker *Birla Bose as Thamizharasan's brother *

S. Rajasekar S. Rajasekar (19 August 1957 – 8 September 2019) was an Indian cinematographer, film director, and actor. He was one half of the director duo Robert–Rajasekar. Career Rajasekar's first break happened with ''Kudisai'', followed by ' ...

Vijay Krishnaraj Vijay Krishnaraj, also known as R Krishnan, is an Indian actor, writer, director, who is working in Tamil Films and Television industry. He made his debut in Tamil cinema as story writer and dialogue writer of ''Rosappu Ravikkaikari'' film in ...

as Doctor *

Crane Manohar Crane Manohar (born 4 October 1965) is an Indian actor who appears in Tamil films, mostly in comedy roles. He appeared in many Vadivelu and Vivek comedy tracks. Career Manohar initially worked as a crane technician for films and when he start ...

as Arumugam *Tirupur Ramasamy *Mumtaj

Pakoda Kadhar Pakoda Kadhar was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil films (Kollywood) in comedic and supportive roles. He acted in over 200 films in the Tamil language during the decades 1960s, 1970s, 1980s. He is notable for his comedian roles along with ...

Bonda Mani Bonda Mani is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. He has worked in comedy and supporting roles in over 270 films. Career Bonda Mani has described that his stage name is derived from his diet of bondas, when he was a stru ...

as Peon *

Kaduvetti Guru Kaduvetti Guru, (born, J. Gurunathan) also known as J. Guru, (1 February 1961 – 25 May 2018) was an Indian politician, who was twice elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in Tamil Nadu. He was the president of the caste organization ...

as Gunasekaran, Thamizharasan's uncle *

Nedumaran Pazha Nedumaran ''Krishnan Pillai Pazhaniyappan'' ( ta, பழ. நெடுமாறன்/கிருஷ்ணன் பிள்ளை பழநியப்பன்) is a Tamil politician from the state of Tamil Nadu, India. He is an ex-n ...

as Himself * Suba Veerapandian as Himself, chief editor of ''Vaigarai'' magazine * Thenkachi Ko. Swaminathan as Himself, assistant editor of ''Vaigarai'' magazine * S. Ramadoss as Himself

Production

Newcomer Vishnupriyan, credited as Ram, signed to play the hero in ''Ilakkanam'' opposite Uma. Before the release of the film, the film producer M. C. Shanmugam and director Chandraseyan had organised a special screening for the then

Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The chief minister of Tamil Nadu is the chief executive of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In accordance with the Constitution of India, the governor is a state's ''de jure'' head, but ''de facto'' executive authority rests with th ...

M. Karunanidhi. It was reported that he had enjoyed the film and was also impressed with the music score of

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by

. The soundtrack, released in 2006, features 6 tracks with lyrics written by

Subramania Bharati C. Subramania Bharathi Birth name: C. Subramaniyan, the person's given name: Subramaniyan, father's given name: Chinnaswami. (C. Subramaniyan by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subramaniyan C ...

Bharathidasan Bharathidasan Birth name: K. Subburathinam, the person's given name: Subburathinam, father's given name: Kanagasabai. (K. Subburathinam by the prevalent patronymic initials as prefix naming system in Tamil Nadu and it is Subburathinam Kanag ...

Piraisoodan Piraisoodan (6 February 1956 – 8 October 2021) was a Tamil poet and lyricist. He won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist for his songs in movies like ''Thayagam'', '' En Rasavin Manasile'' and ''Neeyum Naanum'' in 1996, 1991 and ...

, P. Vijay and Chandraseyan.

Reception

Malathi Rangarajan of ''

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 ...

'' praised the performance of the actors and said, "Nothing out of the world, but a decent fare definitely". Another reviewer wrote, "The music composed by Bhavadarani is a treat to the ears of the audience" and concluded, "Ilakkanam is a lively and enjoyable movie worth seeing. It would especially appeal to the family". ''Indiaglitz'' stated, "Chandraseyan's penchant for Tamil is evident in the movie. Even simple conversational English words, used by everyone in daily life, are translated into Tamil and used well. Bhavatharini's music lends support to the script. Chandraseyan deserves a pat for narrating a family tale sincerely and honestly".

References

{{reflist 2006 films 2000s Tamil-language films Indian drama films Films shot in Chennai Films set in Chennai 2006 directorial debut films Films scored by Bhavatharini