''Indira'' is a 1995 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

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 ...

co-written and directed by

Suhasini Maniratnam Suhasini Maniratnam (born 15 August 1961) known mononymously as Suhasini, is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her ...

. It features

Anu Hasan Anu Haasan (born Anuradha Chandrahaasan on 16 July 1970) is an Indian actress and TV anchor. She made her film debut in the critically acclaimed '' Indira'' (1995) and has since appeared in many Tamil films, playing minor roles. She hosted the c ...

(cousin of Suhasini) in the title role with

Arvind Swamy Arvind Swamy (born 18 June 1970) is an Indian actor, model, entrepreneur and television presenter known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuster ...

Radharavi Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan Ravi (born 29 July 1952) is an Indian actor and politician who played supporting roles throughout his career. He is the son of actor M. R. Radha and the uncle of Vasu Vikram and half-brother of Raadhika. He is a ...

Nassar Nassar ( ar, نصار, lit=helper, protector, supporter, victory-maker), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer ...

and Ashwini.

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

composed the film's score and soundtrack, while

Santosh Sivan Santosh Sivan (born 8 February 1964) is an Indian cinematographer, film director, producer and actor known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi cinema. Santosh graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and has to date co ...

handled the film's cinematography.

Plot

The film revolves around a group of villagers from Maranur, India, and their clash with a neighbouring village leader as their community begins to prosper. Soon, money and greed threaten a will for peaceful coexistence between the two rivalling communities. The main theme involves the role of the

caste system Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultura ...

and how the younger generation strive to overcome it.

Cast

as Indira *

as Thiyagu *

as Sethupathy * Ashwini as Soundaravalli Sethupathi's wife *

Radha Ravi Madras Rajagopalan Radhakrishnan Ravi (born 29 July 1952) is an Indian actor and politician who played supporting roles throughout his career. He is the son of actor M. R. Radha and the uncle of Vasu Vikram and half-brother of Raadhika. He is a ...

as Kotamarayar *

Janagaraj Janagaraj is an Indian actor who has appeared in over 200 films predominantly in Tamil cinema as a comedian or in supporting roles. He also starred in few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films. Early life Janagaraj was born to Vadivelu and Muthu ...

as Kanakku Pillai *

P. L. Narayana P. Lakshmi Narayana (10 September 1935 – 3 November 1998) was an Indian actor, dialogue writer, and playwright, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema and a few Tamil films. He has received one National Film Award and five state N ...

as Rajamanickam *

Chandrahasan S. Chandrahasan (6 March 1936 — 18 March 2017) was an Indian film producer and actor from Tamil Nadu, India. Early life Born to advocate Srinivasan and Rajalakshmi, Chandrahasan was the second of four children. His elder brother Charuhasan ...

as Minister *

Viji Chandrasekhar Viji Chandrasekhar is an Indian actress. She has appeared in several Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films. She played the female lead role in '' Arohanam'' which had won several awards. She is known for her roles and she has also feature ...

as Shanmugam's secret concubine *

Pasi Sathya Pasi Sathya is an Indian actress who has worked predominantly in Tamil cinema and television. She has worked in popular movies like ''Veedu'', '' Magalir Mattum'', ''Pudhupettai''. She made her debut in the National award-winning Tamil film, '' ...

as Villager * T. V. Varadarajan as Government employee * Monica as Younger Indira *Crazy Venkatesh as Nallamuthu *S. Lalitha as Indira's aunt *Sempuli Jagan as Marimuthu *Pravin as Shanmugam *Ravi Shankar as Pichaimuthu *Singapore Manimaran as Villager *Shobana as Pregnant woman *Vishnu Kumaraswami as Younger Thiyagu

Production

Suhasini Suhasini Maniratnam (born 15 August 1961) known mononymously as Suhasini, is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her ...

offered the title role – ''Indira'', to her cousin Anuradha, daughter of producer Chandrahasan, and the actress has since noted that "it was a heavy subject for a newcomer. But I was moved by the story line and there were occasions when I was overwhelmed with emotion. Not once did I use glycerine for tearful scenes". V. Priya worked as an assistant director during the making of the film.

Release

''Indira'' was later dubbed and released in Hindi as ''Priyanka''. The film won two

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...

, winning

the award for Best Cinematographer as well as a Special Jury Award for the film itself. The film however remains the only feature film that Suhasini has directed in her career.

Soundtrack

Tamil track list Hindi track list (Released under the title 'Priyanka') Hariharan sang the song "Thoda Thoda Pyar", the Hindi version of "Thoda Thoda Malarndhadhenna" originally. But

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...

who sang the original Tamil version was extremely moved by the tune and wanted to sing the Hindi version also.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1990s Tamil-language films 1995 directorial debut films 1995 drama films 1995 films Films about the caste system in India Films scored by A. R. Rahman Indian drama films