''Kadavul'' () is a 1997

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 ...

film directed by

Velu Prabhakaran Velu Prabakaran is an Indian filmmaker, cinematographer and actor. He is known for his themes highlighting atheism and revolutionary subjects in his films. Career Velu Prabakaran began as a cinematographer before making his directorial debut w ...

. The film stars Velu Prabhakaran,

Manivannan S. Manivannan Rajagopal (31 July 1953 – 15 June 2013), better known by his mononym Manivannan, was an Indian film director, actor and activist who worked mainly in Tamil cinema and also worked in a few Telugu & Malayalam films. In a care ...

, Arun Pandiyan, Mansoor Ali Khan and

Roja Roja may refer to: * ''Roja'' (film), a 1992 Tamil-language film by director Mani Ratnam * ''Roja'' (soundtrack), a soundtrack album from the film * Roja Selvamani Roja Selvamani (born Sri Latha Reddy; 17 November 1972), also known as R. K. ...

. The film, produced by H. Anraaj, had musical score 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 ...

and was released on 5 December 1997. Despite having controversial themes, the film was well received.

Plot

Parvathi (

), a young woman, is a goddess believer while her father (V. Gopalakrishnan) is the priest of a temple. After a quarrel between two castes during a Hindu festival, the temple was closed off. Five years later, the temple reopens. Muthu (Rahul) and Thenmozhi (Nandhini) are in love but they are not of the same caste. Velusamy (Karikalan), Thenmozhi's uncle, finds out their love and forces her to marry him. K. Shanmugam ( Mansoor Ali Khan), a corrupt MLA, kills a girl and blames Thamizharasan (

Arun Pandian Arun Pandian is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician. He began his career as an actor as part of the critically acclaimed film ''Oomai Vizhigal'' (1986). After retiring from acting, he took the post of chief producer for the London-based A ...

). Thamizharasan fights against injustice and is a revolutionary. Angry, Thamizharasan tries to kill him but fails and eventually steals his money. In the process, Thamizharasan is injured and the prostitute Shenbagam (Rupasri) takes care of him. Rajapandi (

), an atheist, propagates the non-existence of God. One day, he saves Parvathi from her uncle K. Shanmugam and accidentally marries her. Soon, Rajapandi gets beaten by the devotees. In anger, Rajapandi challenges God to become a human and understand the humans, and God (

) appears as a human.

Cast

as Rajapandi *

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

as Thamizharasan * Mansoor Ali Khan as K. Shanmugam M.L.A *

as Parvathi *Rahul as Muthu *Nandhini as Thenmozhi *V. Gopalakrishnan as Parvathi's father *Karikalan as Velusamy *Naga Kannan *

Roopa Sri Rupa Sree is an Indian film and television actress who appeared in Tamil and Malayalam films and television soap operas. She made her acting debut with the Malayalam film ''Kallanum Polisum'' (1992) with Mukesh in the lead. The Malayalam seria ...

as Shenbagam *J. Lalitha as Thenmozhi's mother *

Shakeela C. Shakeela, known mononymously as Shakeela, is an Indian actress and politician who has predominantly acted in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. She is a member of Indian National Congress. Shakeela debuted in the film ''Playgirls'' ...

*Vincent Roy *Suryakanth *

Meesai Murugesan Meesai Murugesan (13 January 1930 - 8 November 2014) was a veteran actor and musician who appeared in Tamil films. He starred in more than 100 films and has done supporting roles in various films. Music career He started his career by playing t ...

as Naidu *V. Pandu

Production

Sathyaraj Rangaraj Subbiah (born 3 October 1954), professionally known as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, producer, director and a media personality who has predominantly appeares in Tamil cinema and Telugu cinema, Telugu Cinema. His 240 films also includ ...

had been first choice to play the lead role, but his refusal prompted

to take on the lead role himself. Delhi-based model and former air hostess Nandhini was signed on to play a role after the director had seen her modelling pictures.

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by

. The soundtrack, released in 1997, features 6 tracks with lyrics written by

Pulamaipithan Pulavar Pulamaipithan (6 October 1935 – 8 September 2021) was an Indian scholar, poet and lyricist who got recognition through the song "Naan yaar nee yaar" which was featured in the Tamil film ''Kudiyirundha Koyil'' in 1968. He briefly serve ...

Sequel

In January 2018, Prabhakaran announced that he would be making a sequel to the film. The film has RR Tami Selvan, Swathy as the lead pair with Imman Annachi and veteran Seetha essaying crucial roles.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0317792, Kadavul 1997 films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja 1990s Tamil-language films Fiction about God Antitheism Films critical of religion Films directed by Velu Prabhakaran