''Puthira Punithama'' is a 2000

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 written and directed by Mathrubootham. The film stars Mathrubootham himself in the lead role, alongside Nizhalgal Ravi and

Vinodhini Vinodhini is an Indian actress, who has appeared in Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films and Tamil serials. Beginning her acting career as a child artist, she went on to play lead and supporting roles before acting in television series as well. ...

. The film had musical score by Siddhartha and was released on 28 July 2000.

Cast

* Mathrubootham as himself * Nizhalgal Ravi *

* S. S. Chandran *

Delhi Ganesh Delhi Ganesh is an Indian actor who mostly acts in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He has acted in more than 400 films from 1976 to present. Before films, he was a member of the Delhi-based theatre troupe, ''Dakshina Bharata Natak ...

*S. R. Vathsala *Pratap Chandran *

C. R. Saraswathi C. R. Saraswathi is an Indian actress and politician who has predominantly appeared in Tamil films. She is currently acting as spokesperson of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam, a split group from All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Caree ...

* P. R. Varalakshmi *Usha Rani *J. Lalita *

K. S. Jayalakshmi K. S. Jayalakshmi is an Indian actress who works in the Tamil cinema, Tamil film and television industries. She has acted in comedy roles in movies. Jayalakshmi made her acting debut in the Tamil film ''Etharkum Thuninthavan'' released in 1976 ...

Production

In July 1999, Chennai-based

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists a ...

Mathrubootham, who worked on popular television show, announced plans to make an educative Tamil film titled ''Puthira Punithama''. He cast himself in the lead role, while an ensemble cast led by Nizhalgal Ravi,

, S. S. Chandran,

and

were also a part of the film. Mathrubootham wrote the film alongside A. R. Naavannan. The film was briefly titled as ''Idhu Puthira Punithama''. The shoot of the film took place in Courtallam and Ambasamudram 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 ...

Soundtrack

Mathrubootham wrote two songs for the film's soundtrack. The recording of these songs took place in July 1999, with Jayachandran, Swarnalatha and Anuradha Sriram working as playback singers.

Release and reception

The film was released on 28 July 2000 across Tamil Nadu, with a final change of title to ''Thambathyam Puthira Punithama'', though it was better known by the shorter version of ''Puthira Punithama''. A reviewer of the film from the entertainment portal ''ChennaiOnline'' noted "when Dr. Mathrubootham ventures into feature film making, he is clearly a fish out of water". The reviewer added "the film seems an extension of his TV programmes, with nothing new for one to learn" and "with all those Indian film clichés like songs and dances packed in, one can hardly take it seriously". The critic concluded "he should have stuck to counselling and left film making to people who know the craft". The film performed poorly at the box office, and was taken out of theatres soon after its release.

References

{{reflist 2000 films 2000s Tamil-language films Indian drama films 2000 directorial debut films Films about virginity Films about sexuality Indian erotic drama films