''Kizhakkum Merkkum'' () is a 1998 Tamil-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 ...

directed by

Kalanjiyam Mu. Kalanjiyam is an Indian film director who has made Tamil films. A winner of the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Story Writer, Kalanjiyam has also featured in the lead role in his films. Career Kalanjiyam's first film, '' Poomani'' (19 ...

. The film stars

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, Nassar, Devayani and Geetha, with

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 car ...

Thalaivasal Vijay Thalaivasal Vijay is an Indian actor and dubbing artist. He was born on 4 August 1962 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India. He has acted predominantly in numerous Tamil and Malayalam films. Career Vijay's debut film was '' Thalaivaasal'' (1992) ...

Vichithra Vichithra is an Indian actress who has predominantly appeared in Tamil films. She has also appeared in a few Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. Career Her breakthrough came in the form of a glamorous role in Selva's ''Thalaivasal'' (1992), ...

Theni Kunjarammal Theni Kunjarammal (died 18 April 2008) was an Indian actress and playback singer who has worked in the Tamil film industry. As a playback singer, she has worked extensively with A. R. Rahman during the late 1990s and early 2000s for folk songs, ...

, Kalyanjiyam, and Chaplin Balu playing supporting roles. The film produced by Amudha Durairaj had musical score by Ilaiyaraaja and was released on 14 January 1998.

Plot

Suryamurthy (

) and Thillai ( Geetha) are siblings. They were expelled from their home by their stepmother Chinnamma (

) at a young age. The siblings worked hard to come up in life. Many years later, Suryamurthy looks for a groom for his sister and finds Kathalingam ( Nassar), who is from another village. So Suryamurthy inquires the villagers about Kathalingam's character, and everyone praised Kathalingam, but they lied. Kathalingam is actually a bad person and drunkard, and he has an affair with the village belle Valli (

). Without knowing the truth, Kathalingam and Thillai get married. Finally, Thillai and Suryamurthy realize that Kathalingam is a bad person, but it was too late. In the meantime, Suryamurthy and Kathalingam's sister Mallika ( Devayani) fall in love with each other; however, Thillai warns him about the consequence of this love on her married life. After a misunderstanding, Mallika begins to hate the honest Suryamurthy. When Kathalingam prepares the wedding between Mallika and a well-educated groom, the wedding is cancelled. The groom's family refuses to marry the bride, who had an affair with Suryamurthy. Kathalingam gets angry and brutally beats Thillai in front of her brother. Suryamurthy begs him to leave her in peace, but Kathalingam refuses, and Suryamurthy is forced to beat Kathalingam in turn. Suryamurthy cannot bear the pain endured by his sister and kidnaps Mallika to stop this cruelty. Kathalingam decides to live with Valli. What transpires next forms the rest of the story.

Cast

as Suryamurthy * Nassar as Kathalingam * Devayani as Mallika * Geetha as Thillai *

as Villager *

as Ganesan *

as Valli *

as Chinnamma *

as Muthukumar *Chaplin Balu as Chinnarasu * G. M. Sundar *Meendum Sundar *Devaki *Tamilselvi *Radhasri *Padma

Awards

1998

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 ...

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film Portraying Woman in Good Light The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film Portraying Woman in Good Light is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil language, Tamil (Kollywood) films. The award was first given in 1994. The l ...

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Lyricist is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The list Here is a list of the award winners and the films for which they won. ...

– Arivumathi

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The soundtrack, released in 1998, features 8 tracks with lyrics written by

Arivumathi Arivumathi born Mathiazhagan is an Indian poet, lyricist and writer who has worked in the Tamil film industry. His first movie as lyricist was ''Siraichalai.'' Early life Arivumathi was born in Virudhachalam, Tamil Nadu. He changed his na ...

, Pazhani Bharathi and Vaasan.

Reception

Indolink.com gave the film a positive review praising the lead actors of the film and citing that the film was a "must watch".

References

{{reflist 1998 films Indian drama films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja 1990s Tamil-language films Films directed by Kalanjiyam