''Seemaraja'' () is a 2018 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

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

written and directed by

Ponram Ponraman Perumal, known professionally as Ponram is an Indian film director and screenwriter. He directed the film '' Thirutham in 2007 Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam'' in 2013. Later on he had directed '' Seema Raja'' in 2018. Career He direct ...

and produced by

R. D. Raja R. D. Raja is an Indian film producer, creative producer, lyricist and movie promotion consultant who primarily works in the Tamil film Industry also known for his films produced in Tamil cinema through his production company, 24AM Studios. E ...

. The film stars

Sivakarthikeyan Sivakarthikeyan (born 17 February 1985), also referred to as SK, is an Indian actor, singer, film producer, lyricist, and television presenter, who works predominantly in Tamil films. He has also won a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, four Edison A ...

in a double role with,

Simran Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ; hi, सिमरण, सिमरन ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Sanskrit word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of ...

in Negative role along with

Samantha Samantha (or the alternatively Samanta) is primarily used as a feminine given name. It was recorded in England in 1633 in Newton Regis, Warwickshire. It was also recorded in the 18th century in New England, but its etymology is uncertain. Specu ...

, with a supporting cast including Soori,

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 ...

Lal Lal ( fa, لعل, hi, लाल, bn, লাল, ur, لال, ps, Lāl) is an Indo-Iranian surname and given name, which means "darling", "precious", or "beloved", from the Sanskrit ''lala'' ("cajoling").''Dictionary of American Family Names''F ...

and

Keerthy Suresh Keerthy Suresh (born 17 October 1992) is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Tamil and Telugu films, in addition to a few Malayalam films. She was recognised as Forbes 30 under 30 in 2021.She won the National Film Award for Best Act ...

in a cameo appearance. The film features music composed by

D. Imman Immanuel Vasanth Dinakaran (born 24 January 1983), better known as D. Imman, is an Indian film composer and singer, predominantly working in Tamil cinema. Also worked in Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, and Hindi film industry. His first film as mu ...

and cinematography by Balasubramaniam. The movie was released on 13 September 2018, coinciding with the festival of

Vinayagar Chathurthi Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and p ...

Plot

Seema Raja is a king of Singampatti, born in a

Zamindar A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...

family and he is grand son of Kadambavel Raja . All time He hangs around with his accountant Kannaku. The principal from a nearby school invites Seema Raja's father, Ariya Raja to the awards ceremony at the school. However, due to his father's busy schedule, Seema Raja offers to go instead. Here, he meets Suthanthira Selvi, a sports teacher and Silambam expert, and immediately falls in love with her. Kaaleeshwari and Kathaadi Kannan are two antagonists of the film. Kannan used to be a butcher but then took on the opportunity to purchase vast swathes of land to create wind farms. His greedy plans begin to put agriculture at risk and thus puts him at loggerheads with Seema Raja. A fight between the two ensues with him kidnapping Selvi and imprisoning her at his house. Here, a flashback occurs showing that Selvi was Kannan's daughter with his first wife. He leaves his first wife for Kaaleeshwari, causing his ex-wife to commit suicide by falling into a well. Ariya Raja attempts to stop this rapid acquisition of land. however, the villagers insult him and mock him for not doing anything for the people when they were under his control. This causes him to die of a broken heart. A funeral is carried out for him. Whilst Seema Raja is mourning his death, and his grandfather chastises him for being so irresponsible. He begins to explain Seema Raja's ancestry, starting off with the brave Kadambavel and his wife Bhoomi. He narrates the stories of Kadambavel's fights against the foreigners, protecting his Tamil land. He explains how he exploited the Vallari, to his advantage to defeat the vast Muslim army, led by Malik Kafur. These stories of sheer chivalry motivate Seema Raja to take on his father's responsibility and become mature. Seema Raja remains unaware of Selvi's love for him. He goes to court and attempts to allow Selvi to leave the house. However, since she has been blackmailed by Kaaleshwari (if she said she was being held against her will, she would kill her sister), she replied, 'ask my father' to every question that the police asked. The police quashed Seema Raja's case, and he was devastated. However, understanding the double meaning behind it, Seema Raja goes to Selvi's foster father and asks him what Selvi meant by it. Here, he finds out about her love for him. Seema Raja first thwarts Kannan's plan for rapid acquisition by meeting and agreeing on a new deal with the Raj of Udaipur. The detail would enable them to construct a wind farm on their land, whilst also allowing them to farm on the land and receive rent for the land that the wind farm is present on, thus providing them with a sustainable income. At first, the villagers were hesitant, but then, they agreed. Kannan is furious. Seema Raja returns to the house to break out Selvi and run away. Kannan and Kaaleeshwari then realize this and begin to chase them. They again recapture her and prepare to kill her by hanging her from the wind turbine as an act of revenge for thwarting their business plans. Seema Raja arrives in time to save her, and a fight ensures, where Kaaleeshwari is crushed to death by the wind turbine, and Kannan is defeated. Seema Raja and Selvi then happily live together.

Cast

in a dual role as Seema Raja and Kadambavel Raja *

as Kaaleeshwari *

as Suthanthira Selvi (alias “Silambuchelvi”) * Soori as Andisamy (Kanakku / Accountant), Seema Raja's assistant *

as Ariya Raja, Titular Raja of Singampatti (Seema Raja's father) *

as Karikkada / Kaathadi Kannan, Selvi's biological father *

Manobala Manobala (born 8 December 1953) is an Indian film director, producer, actor and comedian who predominantly plays supporting roles in Tamil-language films. He started his career in Tamil cinema in the early 1970s and with Kamal Haasan's referen ...

as Headmaster *

Charandeep Charandeep Surneni is an Indian actor who is known for his works in the South Indian film industry. He was noted for his roles in the films like ''Jilla'', ''Sigaram Thodu'' and Boxer. Early life Charandeep Surneni, also known as Charandee ...

as Puliyampatti Tigers Wrestler *

Naadodigal Gopal Naadodigal Gopal was an Indian character actor who worked over 30 films Tamil cinema. Personal life and education KKP Gopalakrishnan is married to Kavitha and has 2 daughters (twins) Surabhi and Sherya .He done his schooling in Diamond ...

as Selvi's adopted father/uncle * Indhumathy Manikandan as Selvi's mother * Sriranjini as Titular Rani * Paunraj as Karikkada/Kaathadi Kannan's assistant * Rishikanth as Kaaleeshwari's brother * Aathma Patrick as Wrestler * Vaishali Thaniga as Jamuna * Surjith Ansary as Bridegroom * NK Krishan as Krishan * Prema Priya * Devu Krishnan as Suthanthira Selvi's sister * Supergood Subramani as Raja's assistant *

as Bhoomi, Kadambavel Raja's wife (special appearance) *

Rajendran A. Rajendran,(born 1 June 1957) credited as Motta Rajendran or ''Naan Kadavul'' Rajendran, is an Indian stunt double and actor working mainly in Tamil cinema. He debuted in 2003 with the Tamil film '' Pithamagan'' and has worked as a stunt doub ...

as Wrestling Coach (special appearance) *

Nawab Shah Nawabshah ( sd, نوابشاھ, ur, ) is a tehsil and headquarters of the Shaheed Benazirabad District of Sindh province, Pakistan. This city is situated in the middle of Sindh province. It is the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 27th ...

* Swaminathan as Puli Murugan (special appearance) * KPY Palani (special appearance as himself) *

Aranthangi Nisha Aranthangi Nisha () (born 12 October 1983) is an Indian film and television actress and comedian who predominantly works in the Tamil films and television industry. She is known for appearing in films such as ''Maari 2'' (2018), '' Aan Devathai' ...

(special appearance as herself) *

(special appearance in the "Vaaren Vaaren Seemaraja") * Balasubramaniem (special appearance in the "Vaaren Vaaren Seemaraja") *

Baba Bhaskar Baba Bhaskar is an Indian dance choreographer, director and actor who works mainly in Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, Telugu language films in addition to some Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada films. Career He was born and brought up i ...

(special appearance in the "Vaaren Vaaren Seemaraja")

Production

On 17 August 2016,

announced that he would produce a film directed by

starring

in the lead role, with the film marking the third collaboration of the pair after the successful ventures of ''

Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam ''Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam'' () is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Ponram, in his directorial debut. Produced by P. Madan under the Escape Artists Motion Pictures banner, it stars Sivakarthikeyan, Sathyaraj, ...

'' (2013) and ''

Rajini Murugan ''Rajinimurugan'' is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by Ponram, and produced by director N. Lingusamy and N. Subash Chandra Bose under the banner Thirrupathi Brothers. This is the second directorial venture of P ...

'' (2016). D Imman has composed the music score for the film which is being bankrolled by 24 AM Studios and slated to hit the screens on Vinayakar Chathurthi. Raja announced that the film would begin in early 2017 and be released for the Diwali season of 2017.

was signed on to star in the film as the lead actress and Soori was also confirmed to be a part of the cast during mid-August 2016. Music composer

, cinematographer Balasubramaniem and editor

Vivek Harshan Vivek Harshan (born 28 May 1981) is a National Film Awards winning Indian film editor who works predominantly in Malayalam and Tamil films. He has frequently collaborated with Amal Neerad since the beginning of his career. '' Big B'', ''Iyobinte ...

were also retained to be a part of the project from the director's previous films. Meanwhile, T. Muthuraj was signed as an

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

for this film, replacing G. Durairaj who earlier works for Ponram's earlier films. For her role in the film, Samantha began learning the art of

silambam Silambam is an Indian martial art originating in South India in the Indian subcontinent. This style is mentioned in Tamil Sangam literature. The World Silambam Association is the official international body of Silambam. Origin References in ...

in late 2016. However, production on the film was postponed to allow Sivakarthikeyan to finish his commitments for Raja's two other ongoing ventures, ''

Remo Remo Inc. is an American musical instruments manufacturing company based in Valencia, California, and founded by Remo Belli in 1957. Products manufactured include drum kits, drumheads, drums, and hardware. History Drummer and founder Re ...

'' (2016) and '' Velaikkaran'' (2017). During the delay, Ponram also denied reports of it being a period film and revealed it would along the lines of his previous ventures. The film commenced with a launch event held on 16 June 2017, with

and

joining the cast. Simran was revealed to play a character with negative shades along with Lal, while Napoleon was signed to portray the father of Sivakarthikeyan. The first schedule started in Thenkasi on the following day, with scenes involving the lead cast shot. By late November 2017, the team revealed that "fifty five per cent" of the film's shoot was over, before starting the third schedule of the shoot. The film progressed untitled until February 2018 when the title of ''Seema Raja'' was announced to the public through a first look poster. In this film, actress

got the third chance to act with Sivakarthikeyan in a cameo role. Actor Soori is sporting a six pack for the film. This film shooting wrapped up on 19 June 2018. The film has some historical portion in which Sivakarthikeyan appears as a King, and Keerthy Suresh puts in a special appearance as Sivakarthikeyan's Queen.

Release

The distribution rights for ''Seema Raja'' in Poland were acquired by 7th Sense Cinematics. The film released on 13 September 2018. This film was sold by Sun TV.

Soundtrack

Development

In 2016, during the announcement of the next venture of

's production company 24AM Studios, which was directed by

was roped in to compose the soundtrack, which will be their third collaboration with

-Ponram combo.

Release

The first single was released on 25 July 2018. The audio launch was held on 17 August 2018, at

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

, featuring the cast and crew and all other celebrities in attendance. After the audio release, 24AM Studios and Think Music India teamed up with Can-Lah Studio, to organise a Karaoke Booth, for the film's promotional purposes. The first Karaoke Booth event held on 25 August 2018, at Phoenix Marketcity, Velachery,

Chennai 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 ...

and another Karaoke Booth held on 30 August 2018, at Madurai and

Coimbatore Coimbatore, also spelt as Koyamputhur (), sometimes shortened as Kovai (), is one of the major metropolitan cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyyal River and surrounded by the Western Ghats. Coimbato ...

respectively.

Track listing

The soundtrack album features twelve songs composed by

, with four songs as Karaoke versions, and one instrumental version.

Box office

The film was Sivakarthikeyan's biggest opening and collected at the opening weekend at the box office.

Reception

Critical reception

''Seemaraja'' received mostly negative reviews from critics. Janani.K of Indiatoday wrote "Director Ponram's Seema Raja starring Sivakarthikeyan and Samantha is a pointless rural drama that has nothing new in it. It is a brainless mass film." Srinivasa Ramanujam of

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

says "Director Ponram seems to have clearly missed a trick by trying out to put in too many commercial elements and excelling in none." Priyanka Sundar of

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

wrote "This Sivakarthikeyan movie is a colourless comedy."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 8011328 2018 films 2010s Tamil-language films 2010s action comedy-drama films Indian action comedy-drama films Films scored by D. Imman Films about reincarnation Indian historical action films 2018 comedy-drama films Indian films about revenge 2010s masala films 2010s historical action films