''Madrasapattinam'' () is a 2010 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, na ...

-language historical romantic

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- ...

written and directed by A. L. Vijay. The film stars Arya and

Amy Jackson Amy Louise Jackson (born 31 January 1992) is a British actress and model known for her work in Indian films, predominantly in Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu languages. A former Miss Teen World, Jackson has appeared in over fifteen films. She made he ...

, in her feature film debut, while Nassar, Cochin Hanifa, Lisa Lazarus, and Alexx O'Nell play other prominent roles. The music was composed by

G. V. Prakash Kumar G. V. Prakash Kumar is an Indian composer, actor, producer and singer known for his work in Tamil films and a few Telugu films as well. His first film was S Pictures' ''Veyil'' (2006) and he became popular in Tamil cinema by the early 2010s. He ...

with editing by

Anthony Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the '' Antonii'', a ''gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton, ...

and cinematography by

Nirav Shah Nirav Shah (born 16 November 1974) is an Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of major box office hits in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam since his debut with the 2004 Hindi film '' Paisa Vasool''. Career After having worked as an ...

. The film was released on 9 July 2010. The film became a box office success.

Plot

An elderly English woman named Amy Wilkinson, almost at her deathbed in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

due to a

blood clot A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of cr ...

caused by a past head injury, wants to come down to

Madras 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 ...

in search of a man named Ilam Parithi, whom she last saw on 15 August 1947. She wishes to return a '' thali'' (traditional wedding threads) belonging to his mother, which he gave her as a sign that she belongs to India and nobody can separate them. However, after a turn of events, she had married another man from her hometown and thus felt that the ''thali'' was no longer her property. Amy arrives in Madras with her granddaughter Catherine, equipped only with a picture of Parithi that was taken 60 years ago. Amy interrogates various people about Parithi's whereabouts. In the process, she recalls the events when she had first visited Chennai, and the chain of events that took place. A young Amy, the daughter of the Madras Presidency Governor, George Wilkinson, visits Chennai (then called Madras, with the

Chennai District Chennai district, formerly known as Madras district, is one of the 38 districts in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the smallest and the most densely populated district in the state. The district is coterminous with the city of Chennai, ...

being called Madrasapattinam) along with her translator Nambi and encounters Parithi, whom she calls a "brave man". Parithi, a member of the dhobi (washermen) clan, is also an experienced

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

who trains under Ayyakanu. He openly opposes the British officials who attempt to build a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". ...

in the dhobi clan's dwelling place. He challenges a cruel

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

officer named Robert Ellis, who is also Amy's suitor, to a wrestling match to decide the fate of his clan's home. Parithi is successful, and Ellis vows revenge. In between this, the scene shifts to the present day where the aged Amy, who is going around Chennai looking for Parithi, starts remembering the olden days. She and Catherine go in a taxi driven by Veerasekhara Murali and his assistant. They track down an old woman named Selvi (as Parithi's sister's name was Selvi) in hopes that she is Parithi's sister. It turns out that she is not the person whom they were looking for. Catherine suggests that they go to the Census Office to identify Parithi. Murali then gives an idea of painting Parithi as he would look now. They go meet a painter who gets drunk with the money they gave. When his wife sees his drunken stupor, she furiously throws old frames, and Amy identifies one of them to be a photo taken by her. They track down the owner of the image (ChennaiImages.com), which is actually a shooting spot for dramas. They meet the manager, and he says that the pictures were bought in an auction years ago. After they leave, his wife asks him why he lied about the images that his grandfather had saved. Later, it is shown that the man is Nambi's grandson. Later, Amy falls ill while at her room and is rushed to the hospital. There she meets Parithi's friend, Kabir, in his deathbed. When she inquires about Parithi's whereabouts to Kabir in Tamil, Murali and his assistant get shocked. Kabir breathes his last, saying only the words "Durai Amma", following which he dies soon after. When Murali asks Amy about her knowledge in Tamil and why she did not speak it before, Amy blankly stares at the

Cooum River The Cooum river, or simply Koovam, is one of the shortest classified rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal. This river is about in length, flowing in the city of Chennai (urban part) and the rest in rural part. The river is highly polluted ...

. She narrates her younger days to the three of them. Following a series of secret meetings between Parithi and Amy, love blossoms between them, and Parithi affectionately calls her "Durai Amma" (lady/female lord), a polite term of addressing British women. However, a major threat comes in the form of independence for India on 15 August 1947, which means that all British white officials and their families, including Amy, would have to leave India. On the eve of independence, all of India is celebrating. However, Amy and Parithi, determined to be together, run away and are hunted by an angry Ellis and his men. An Indian policeman helps the two of them by hiding them in a

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

on top of the Madras Central Railway Station, but they are discovered by Ellis. After a fierce fight, Ellis is killed, Amy is injured in her head, and Parithi is badly wounded. Amy helps Parithi escape by casting him with a life-raft into the

, before she is captured and taken back to London. She had never known if Parithi survived or what his fate was. Back in the present day, Amy is urgently called back to London to have a life-saving operation. However, she is determined to find Parithi and by chance encounters a taxi driver who assumes that she would want to visit a charitable trust named Durai Ammal Foundation. The driver shows her around the foundation, which has organizations providing free housing for orphans and the elderly, medical care, and affordable education (all of which were promised to the dhobi children by the young Amy several years ago). She realizes that the Durai Ammal Foundation was established by Parithi and named after her. Then, when Amy asks the driver what happened to Parithi, he leads her to his tomb and reveals that he died 12 years ago. She kneels before the tomb and claims the ''thali'' (nuptial threads) as her own. She declares "It's mine!" before quietly passing away on Parithi's tomb. Catherine mourns for her, and the taxi driver is dumbfounded to learn that the old woman was "Durai Amma" herself. The epilogue shows Parithi and Amy (as they were in their younger days) in the afterlife, depicted as a 1940s-style Madrasapattinam. As the credits roll, a series of montage images are shown, illustrating the transformation of the early 20th century Madras into modern-day Chennai.

Cast

* Arya as Ilamparithi aka Parithi *

as Amy Wilkinson / Duraiammal ** Carole Trangmar-Palmer as Older Amy Wilkinson / Duraiammal *** (

Voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...

Andrea Jeremiah Andrea Maria Jeremiah is an Indian actress, playback singer, and a musician, who works predominantly in Tamil and Malayalam language films. She made her acting debut in Tamil film ''Pachaikili Muthucharam'' (2007), and Malayalam debut with '' A ...

) * Nassar as Ayyakanu *

Cochin Haneefa Muhammed Haneefa (22 April 1951 – 2 February 2010), better known by his stage name Cochin Haneefa, was an Indian actor, film director, and screenwriter. He started his career in the 1970s mainly portraying villainous roles, before going on t ...

as Nambi * Alexx O'Nell as Robert Ellis* Lisa Lazarus as Catherine *

M. S. Bhaskar Muthupettai Somu Bhaskar (born 13 September 1957) is an Indian actor who appears in Tamil films. Before entering the film industry, he was a theatre artist, he made his film debut in 1987 in a small role in the film '' Thirumathi Oru Vegumathi ...

as Vengappan *

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 Sin ...

as Duraisamy * Omar Lateef as Kabir * N. L. Srinivasan as Karna *

Sathish Sathish Muthukrishnan (born 23 May 1987) is an Indian actor and comedian working in the Tamil film industry. He made a breakthrough portraying a role alongside Sivakarthikeyan in '' Ethir Neechal'' (2013). He won Edison Award for Best Comedian ...

as Pacha * M. R. Kishore Kumar as Rengan * Elango Kumaravel as Taxi Driver *

Balaji Venugopal Balaji Venugopal is an Indian actor, who has worked in Tamil films. Beginning his career as a radio host, Balaji appeared in films including Poisollaporom, ''Madrasapattinam'' (2010) and ''Nanban'' (2012), before playing a leading role in the ...

as Veerasekhara Murali *

Lollu Sabha Jeeva Jeeva, popularly known as Lollu Sabha Jeeva, is an Indian actor and comedian. He started his career with Television show ''Lollu Sabha Lollu Sabha is a 2003-2008 Indian Tamil-language comedy series written by Rambhala and starring Lollu S ...

as Murali's assistant * Jack James as Governor George Wilkinson *

George Maryan George Maryan (born 23 March 1963) is an Indian actor and comedian, who has appeared in Tamil cinema. He started his career in theatre, before working in Tamil cinema and has often collaborated with film-makers A. L. Vijay, Sundar C and Priya ...

as English Teacher *

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 ...

as Kaali *

Sampath Ram Sampath Ram is an Indian actor who works primarily in Tamil-language films. He is known for his villainous roles. Career Ram started his acting career with the television series '' Ethanai Manithargal'' that aired on Doordarshan as a thug. He ...

as Anbazhagan *

Leema Babu Leema Babu is an Indian actress who has appeared in Malayalam and Tamil language films. Career Lima made her acting debut as the younger version of Navya Nair's character in the Tamil film, ''Rasikkum Seemane'' (2010), before appearing as Bha ...

as Selvi * Loveday Smith as George's wife * Jayakumar as Nambi's grandson * Ajayan Bala as

Chennai Central Chennai Central (station code: MAS, short for ''Madras''), officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railway ...

Station Master * Nicholas as DSP * Gary Tantony as Golf Grounds Engineer * Mike Parish as The Reverend M. Smith * Matthieu Bellon as British Officer * Neelu Nasreen *

T. M. Karthik T.M. Karthik is an Indian actor acted in stage plays and feature films. He made his acting debut in films with ''Guru'' (2007). Career Since 1994, Karthik has acted in over 60 productions and been on stage over 500 times to perform. Before beco ...

as Painter (uncredited)

Production

Director A. L. Vijay revealed that ''Madrasapattinam'' was supposed to happen later in his career, but the intervention of producer Kalpathi S. Aghoram helped realize the viability of the film earlier. Vijay had first explored the script in his college days and drew inspiration from an English professor who "used to talk to us about the freedom movement a lot," furthering Vijay's interest in history. He visualized the people who lived in the pre-independence period of India and explored the concept of how it would have been if an English girl fell in love with an Indian boy, laying the foundations for the script. The script took six months to write, with leading Tamil writer

Prapanchan Prapanchan, is the pseudonym of S. Vaidyalingam ( ta, சாரங்கபாணி வைத்தியலிங்கம்; 27 April 1945 – 21 December 2018) a Tamil, writer and critic from Puducherry, India. Biography Prapanchan was bor ...

and visits to see independence veterans being helpful in understanding the history of the city of

between 1945 and 1947.

Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Awar ...

was asked to play the lead role but could not accept it, so Arya was finalized to play the lead role, and English

Miss Teen World Miss Teen World is an annual international teen beauty pageant held in Ecuador. (original in Spanish) The international pageant was established in 2001 by Cesar Montece, its founder. The current Miss Teen World is Gugulethu Mayisela of South A ...

winner

was selected after Vijay found a picture of her on the Internet and tracked her down. Vijay approached

Harris Jayaraj Harris Jayaraj (born 8 January 1975) is an Indian composer from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He composes soundtracks predominantly for Tamil films, while also having composed for a few films in Telugu and two films in Hindi. He has been honoured with K ...

as music composer first, but out of his call sheets, Vijay chose

as music composer of the movie. Both Vijay and Prakash had earlier worked together in '' Kireedam''. The film was finished in eight months and released on 9 July 2010.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of ''Madrasapattinam'' was composed by

and was released on 4 April 2010 by

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...

and Telugu actor

Allu Arjun Allu Arjun (born 8 April 1982) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films. One of the highest paid actors in India, Arjun is also known for his extraordinary dancing skills. He is a recipient of several awards, including six Filmfare Award ...

. Lyrics were written by

Na. Muthukumar Nagarajan Muthukumar (12 July 1975 – 14 August 2016) was a Tamil poet, lyricist, and author. Best known for his Tamil language film songs, he received the most Filmfare Awards for Best Lyricist in Tamil and was a two-time recipient of the Nat ...

. Tamil track list Telugu tracklist

Release

The satellite rights of the film were sold to

Kalaignar TV Kalaignar is an Indian general entertainment satellite television channel based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The channel was launched on 15 September 2007 as Kalaignar in respect of former Chief minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi. Malaysia ...

Reception

Critical response

''Madrasapattinam'' received generally positive reviews in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

. ''Indiaglitz'' wrote: "Away from the madding crowd of commercial clichés, ''Madharasapattinam'' is a film that would send positive vibes among those who love meaningful films." ''Galatta.com'' wrote: "With a brilliant crew consisting of talents from India and abroad, ''Madharasapattinam'' transcends the language boundaries and takes Tamil cinema to the world arena!" ''

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 ...

'' stated that the film was a "brave attempt on the part of its makers". The film's Telugu dubbed version ''1947: A Love Story'' has also received positive reviews from critics, who have added that it might not do well at the box office. ''Fullhyd.com'' rated it 5.5 out of 10, calling it "a film that looks as beautiful as the erstwhile Madras town in which it is set", but also said that "despite being a near-perfect concoction of romance, action, drama and comedy, it is a little too slow and sober for the festive season (during which it was released)". ''123telugu.com'' rated the movie 3 out of 5, appreciating its art direction, but saying that it does not aim too high in terms of its content. Haricharan Pudipeddi of ''nowrunning.com'' gave it 3 stars out of 5, and said that the film succeeds in painting one of the cutest love stories of the recent past. Arya and Amy Jackson received heavy praise for their roles in the movie, the latter in particular for her delivery of Tamil dialogues. The film launched Jackson into stardom in the Tamil film industry, and she continues to act in blockbuster movies across Tamil cinema. The film was praised for its cinematography, music, artwork, and direction.

Box office

The film opened and stayed at No. 1 in Chennai box office charts for 15 weeks.Madharasapattinam tops the Chennai box office
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Awards

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

*The film received 7 nominations at the

. * Nominated: Best Film – Tamil * Nominated: Best Director – Tamil – A. L. Vijay * Nominated: Best Actor – Tamil – Arya * Nominated: Best Supporting Actress – Tamil – Carole Palmer * Nominated: Best Music Director – Tamil –

* Nominated: Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil –

Udit Narayan Udit is an Indian masculine given name that may refer to: * Udit Narayan, Bollywood playback singer *Udit Narayan (politician) (born 1960), Fijian politician of Indian descent *Udit Narayan Singh (1770–1835), Indian monarch *Udit Patel (born 198 ...

for "Vaama Duraiyamma" * Nominated: Best Lyricist – Tamil –

for "Vaama Duraiyamma"

Vijay Awards The Vijay Awards are presented by the Tamil television channel STAR Vijay to honour excellence in Tamil cinema. It has been given annually since 2006, with the latest—the 10th edition—of the award-giving ceremony having been held i ...

* Best Costume Designer – Deepali Noor * Best Art Director – Selva Kumar * Nominated: Best Film * Nominated: Best Director – A. L. Vijay * Nominated: Best Actor – Arya * Nominated: Best Cinematographer –

* Nominated: Best Music Director –

* Nominated: Best Debut Actor Female –

* Nominated: Best Male Singer –

Roop Kumar Rathod Roop Kumar Rathod is an Indian music director and playback singer. He has performed a number of songs in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Nepali, Bhojpuri and Kannada films. Personal life Rathod is the sec ...

for "Pookal Pookum" * Nominated: Best Female Singer – Harini for "Pookal Pookum" * Nominated: Best Visual effects – Karthik Kotamraju (EFX) Edison Awards * Best Patriotic Movie – A. L. Vijay * Best Music Director –

Mirchi Music Awards ''Mirchi Music Awards'' are presented annually by ''Radio Mirchi'' to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film music industry of India. The awards, given in seventeen different categories, were in ...