''Thunai Mudhalvar'' is a 2015 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

political satire Political satire is satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where Political discourse analysis, political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing ...

film written by

K. Bhagyaraj Krishnasaamy Bhagyaraj (born 7 January 1953) is an Indian director, actor, screenwriter, music director, producer and politician active mainly in Tamil films. He has also written and directed Hindi and Telugu films and TV serials. As an actor, ...

and directed by R. Vivekanandan. The film stars

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam,Tamil films, along with a few Telugu films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasiona ...

in the lead roles while

Shweta Menon Shwetha Menon is an Indian actress, model and television anchor. She won '' Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994''. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number of Telugu and Tamil Language Fil ...

Bhagyaraj Krishnasaamy Bhagyaraj (born 7 January 1953) is an Indian director, actor, screenwriter, music director, producer and politician active mainly in Tamil films. He has also written and directed Hindi and Telugu films and TV serials. As an actor, ...

and Sandhya among others form an ensemble cast. Music for the film was composed by four different music directors and the film opened to negative reviews in April 2015.

Cast

as Chinna Paandi * Sandhya as Rukmani *

Swetha Menon Shwetha Menon is an Indian actress, model and News presenter, television anchor. She won ''Femina Miss India, Femina Miss India Asia Pacific 1994''. She has predominantly acted in Malayalam and Hindi language films, besides appearing in a number ...

as Thangam *

as Periya Pandi *

Junior Balaiah Raghu Balaiah, popularly known as Junior Balaiah (born 28 June 1953) is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. The son of actor T. S. Balaiah, Junior Balaiah has primarily featured in supporting roles throughout his career, w ...

* Tarun Kumar *

Mohan Raman Mohan Raman, also known as Mohan V. Ram (born 3 April 1956), is an Indian actor and writer. In 2017 and 2019, he was a Jury member for the National Film Award for Best Writing on Cinema. Raman is a film historian and writes for ''The Hindu''. He ...

Kovai Senthil Kumarasamy, known by his stage name, Kovai Senthil, was a Tamil film character artist who appeared in Tamil films starting with Bhagyaraj's ''Oru Kai Osai''. He appeared in over 400 Tamil films. Career During his career, Kovai Senthil made ...

Nellai Siva Tirunelveli (, ta, திருநெல்வேலி, translit=Tirunelveli) also known as Nellai ( ta, நெல்லை, translit=Nellai) and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tami ...

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 ...

* T. P. Gajendran * Ranganathan * Sembuli Jagan * Gowtham (vijith) * Koshr *

Raju Jeyamohan Raju Jeyamohan (born 2 July 1991) is an Indian actor, television host and model in the Indian film industry, who has worked predominantly in Tamil television shows and films. Raju made his debut in the movie Natpuna Ennanu Theriyuma in the year 20 ...

Production

During the audio launch of

Bharathiraja Bharathiraja (born 17 July 1941) is an Indian film director and actor who works mainly in the Tamil film industry. Making his debut in 1977 with ''16 Vayathinile'', he is known for realistic and sensitive portrayals of rural life in his films. ...

's ''

Annakodi ''Annakodi'' is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language film directed and written by Bharathiraja. It stars Lakshman Narayan, Karthika Nair and Manoj Bharathiraja. The film has music by G. V. Prakash Kumar. The film was earlier titled ''Annakodiyum Kodive ...

'' (2013) in January 2013, Bhagyaraj announced that he was working a script titled ''Thunai Mudhalvar Unopposed'' and that he was finalising the cast for the project. The film was launched in December 2013, with

signed on to appear alongside Bhagyaraj in the lead roles, while newcomer Vivekanandan would handle the film's direction.

was also signed on, marking her fourth film in the Tamil film industry, as was

Meenakshi Meenakshi (Sanskrit: ; Tamil: ; sometimes spelled as Minakshi; also known as , and ), is a Hindu goddess and tutelary deity of Madurai who is considered an avatar of the Goddess Parvati also referred to as Durga. She is the divine consort of ...

, and the team began shoot in

Pollachi Pollachi is a town and a taluk headquarters in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu state, India. Located about to the south of Coimbatore, it is the second largest town in the district after Coimbatore. Pollachi is a popular Marketplace for ja ...

. Bhagyaraj "ghost-directed" the film, often changing the script and dialogues of the film on location. Meenakshi later opted out of the project and was replaced by Sandhya, who played Jayaram's wife in the film.

Soundtrack

Music composed by Jai; Balaji; PradeepHarish-Jai.

Release

The film opened to negative reviews in April 2015, with a critic from

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 ...

noting it "is an outdated film that verges on the obscene" and that "its plot, its setting, its pace, its depiction of women — is dated". Likewise, a critic from

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 ...

noted "the whole enterprise feels like some badly made TV serial", particularly criticizing the film's depiction of women.

References

{{K. Bhagyaraj 2015 films 2010s Tamil-language films Indian political satire films Films with screenplays by K. Bhagyaraj 2015 directorial debut films