''Paagan'' () is a 2012 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

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by debutante Mohammed Aslam, who was an associate to

Ameer Sultan Ameer Sultan (born 5 December 1967) is an Indian film director, producer and actor, working in the Tamil film industry. Early life and career Ameer Sultan was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu India. He initially studied economics and worked as an e ...

. It stars Srikanth and

Janani Iyer Janani (formerly known as Janani Iyer) is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil and Malayalam movies. She made her cinematic debut with the Tamil feature film ''Avan Ivan'' (2011). Her notable films including ''Thegidi'' (2014) ...

in the lead roles.

Kovai Sarala Kovai Sarala is an Indian actress and comedian, who prominently plays supporting roles in Tamil and Telugu films. She has won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Comedian three times, for her performances in '' Sathi Leelavathi'' (1995), '' ...

plays an important role in this film.

James Vasanthan James Vasanthan is an Indian Television (Tamil) host, a film music composer, and a filmmaker and a motivational speaker. For more than two decades, he has worked as an anchor in popular Tamil satellite television channels like Sun TV and Vijay ...

composed the film's score.

Cast

* Srikanth as Subramani *

as Mahalakshmi *

as Amutha * Soori as Vellayangiri * Pandi as Maakaali * A. Venkatesh *

Anu Mohan Anu Mohan (born 24 August 1990) is an Indian actor who works in Malayalam films. Career He made his debut in the 2011 film, ''Orkut oru Ormakut''. He also played the antagonist in Roopesh Peethambaran's '' Theevram''. Anu Mohan is the young ...

Imman Annachi Imman Annachi (born 13 may 1970) is an Indian actor, television presenter, politician and comedian who has appeared in character roles in various Tamil films. Career Imman Annachi made his debut hosting a show named ''Konjam Arattai Konjam Se ...

Production

In January 2012,

announced that his assistant Aslam would direct Srikanth, in his debut film ''Paagan'' which was claimed to be a comedy. After completing ''

Nanban Nanban may refer to: Japan * Nanban art, Japanese art of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries influenced by contact with the Nanban * Nanban trade or the , was a period in the history of Japan from the arrival of Europeans in 1543 to t ...

'', Srikanth started working for this film; for the role, he was said to have lost 7 kilos. Janani Iyer of '' Avan Ivan'' fame was selected as lead actress while comedians

, Pandi and Soori were selected to essay supporting roles and comical relief. Filming was held in Tirupur and Pollachi. During a stunt sequence where Srikanth should escape from fire, his rope got cut but he safely landed without hurt. The film was shot with an ARRI 435, ARRI 435X-TREME and Sony F65 camera.

Soundtrack

has composed the soundtrack. Audio was released on 1 September 2012, five days before film's release at Sathyam Cinemas. The song have been 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 ...

, Vrikshika, Niranjan Bharathi and Mohanrajan. The song "Poonthendralai" had been sung by

Alka Ajith Alka Ajith ( tam, அல்கா அஜித்‌) is an Indian playback singer, best known for winning season 2 of ''Airtel Super Singer Junior'', a Tamil language music competition reality TV show broadcast on Vijay TV. She was awarded th ...

. Furthermore, comedians Paandi and Soori, who acted in this film, had also sung a song. Behindwoods wrote: "The two themes definitely add value to the overall soundtrack which is easy on the ears, save the ‘kuthu’ number. Decent attempt by James Vasanthan". Milliblog wrote: "After his last – Eesan, almost 2 years ago! – James’ music continues to be fickle". * "Thatti Thaavi" – Krish * "Poonthendralai" –

* "Simba Simba" – Sunandan, Pandi and Soori * "Ippadi Or" – Nivas, Saranya * "Ennai Mannippaya" – Prasad * "Love Never Fails" – * "Life Is A Cycle" –

Release

''Chennai Online'' reported that the satellite rights of the film were secured by Sun TV but instead it went to Zee Thamizh. The film was released on 7 September 2012.

Reception

''Paagan'' opened to mixed reviews from critics. ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

s reviewer wrote that the film "promises good fun but sadly, never fulfils it".

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's critic labelled the film as a "light hearted comedy which could have been better if some care was taken over its script". Pavithra Srinivasan from

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cited: "Aslam's dialogues, the village milieu and the feel-good mood make for good viewing. But there are moments when the screenplay turns choppy".

Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ( ...

's reviewer claimed that there was "nothing new by way of script, yet the narrative style and humour quotient makes the film worth a watch". A critic from Behindwoods noted that ''Paagan'' did not have "much going in its favor and turns out a bland fare". Chennaionline wrote: "Overall movie is good time pass". in.com rated 2.5/5 and wrote that it was "worth a watch".

Box-office

The film took a below average opening and grossed Rs. 15,40,132 in first week.

References

{{reflist 2012 films 2010s Tamil-language films Indian comedy films Films scored by James Vasanthan 2012 directorial debut films