''Vetri Kodi Kattu'' () is a 2000 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
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-g ...
written and directed by
Cheran. The film stars starring
Murali,
Parthiban
R. Parthiban (born 14 October 1958) is an Indian actor and filmmaker who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He has directed 15 films, produced 13 films and acted in more than 70 films. He started his career as assistant director for K. Bhagyaraj in ...
,
Meena
Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the sta ...
, and
Malavika, while
Vadivelu
Kumaravadivel Natarajan (born 12 September 1960), known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and playback singer, having acted in supporting and lead roles in Tamil cinema. He gained widespread acclaim in Kollywood in the 2 ...
,
Manorama,
Anandaraj
Anandaraj (born May 15, 1959) is an Indian actor. He has acted in villain roles in several Tamil films and has appeared in over a two hundred films in different languages including Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.
Career
Anandaraj was bor ...
,
Vijayakumar, and
Charle
Velmurugan Thangasamy Manohar (born 6 March 1960), professionally credited as Charle, is an Indian actor who works in Tamil cinema. He has acted in more than 800 Tamil films as a comedian and supporting actor. He was named after the English co ...
play supporting roles. The film's score and music was composed by
Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
. The film released on 30 June 2000, and the comedy track between Parthiban and Vadivelu in this film was well received."Karupputhan Enakku pidicha colouru"song was well appreciated.
Plot
Sekhar lives in a village near Tenkasi with his mother Deivanai and two sisters. A drought hits their village, his elder sister's husband sends her home to get back her due dowry amount, and Sekar's agriculture does not prove to be profitable, which prompts Sekhar to grab the opportunity to leave for Dubai. Despite being a graduate, he sells a portion of his land and gives Rs.1 Lakh to
Anandaraj
Anandaraj (born May 15, 1959) is an Indian actor. He has acted in villain roles in several Tamil films and has appeared in over a two hundred films in different languages including Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.
Career
Anandaraj was bor ...
, who manages a firm dealing in arranging work visas to people and enabling them to migrate to Dubai for manual labour.
Muthuraman lives in a village near
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 ...
. Despite being a graduate, he works for the village landlord as accountant. He falls in love with the landlord's only daughter Valli, and the couple get married without the landlord's consent. Valli challenges her father that she will lead a good life with Muthu. To earn money, Muthu also enrolls with Anandaraj's firm to go to Dubai. Anandaraj takes all the people enrolled with him to
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 the flight is scheduled to leave the next day. To everyone's shock, Anandaraj runs away with the corpus fund collected the same night. The police informs that Anandaraj is a fraud involved in looting money.
Everyone leaves the place with much disappointment except Sekhar and Muthu as they are scared much thinking of the consequences to their families if they get to know about the loss of money. They clearly guess that their respective families will have to commit suicide out of shame and loss. Sekhar and Muthu get to know about each other's family situation and come up with a plan. Sekar goes to Muthu's home and vice versa. Sekhar introduces himself as Muthu's orphan friend who has returned from Dubai. Similarly, Muthu introduces to Sekhar's family as Sekhar's friend from Dubai.
Muthu understands that though the soil in Sekhar's land is not fit for agriculture, it can be used for grazing of cows, so he decides to buy a couple of cows with the help of Sudalaimuthu and starts a milk business. Meanwhile, Sekhar starts a small restaurant business, as Valli cooks very well. Muthu's sister Amudha falls in love with Sekhar, but he does not reciprocate, thinking that it would be betraying Muthu's trust. Both the family situations improve, and within 8 months, Valli-Sekhar duo rent a building in City for their restaurant. Valli feels proud that she has won the challenge against her father.
On the day of restaurant opening, Valli gets furious knowing about Amudha's love towards Sekhar and asks him to leave home. Sekhar stays in a place opposite Valli's home. That night, Valli, who was already pregnant, suffers the pains of labour. Sekhar admits her in a hospital, informs Muthu about the situation, and asks him to come immediately. Deivanai overhears Muthu's telephone conversation with Sekhar and understands that her son is not in Dubai, as believed by everyone. Muthu apologizes to Deivanai, and everyone leaves to his village to visit Valli, where she gives birth to a baby girl. Everyone learns of Muthu and Sekhar's plans, and they feel proud about their sacrifice for the well-being of their family members.
Pazhani, who is also cheated by Anandaraj, finds him in Coimbatore under another name and running another fake agency and informs Muthu and Sekhar. Now, Muthu and Sekhar rush to place and badly thrash Anandaraj and his men for looting the hard-earned money from the poor. Anandaraj is handed over to the police, and the Police Commissioner who had reprimanded them for losing their money to Anandaraj in Chennai and is now posted in Coimbatore assures everyone that the money lost will be recovered. Meanwhile, Muthu and Sekhar make the others realize that there are plenty of opportunities available in India to earn money, and instead there is no need to leave to another country to make money leaving all the relatives and family members back there, and the Police Commissioner praises them for their views. Muthu and Sekhar reconcile with their families at the Commissioner's office, and go to Muthu's village for lunch. There Muthu and Valli openly agree to get Amudha married to Sekhar.
Cast
Awards
;
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...
*2000 :
National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues
The National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues is one of the category in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in Ind ...
-
Shivashakti Pandian
;
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards were given for excellence in Tamil cinema in India. They were given annually to honour the best talents and provide encouragement and incentive to the South Indian film industry by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The aw ...
*2000 :
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film
The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film is given by the Government of Tamil Nadu as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films. It includes prizes for three top places.
Key
List of winners
Reference ...
-
Third Prize - Shivashakti Pandian
Soundtrack
The soundtrack features five songs composed by
Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
. "Karupputhan Enakku" was a huge hit at that time. Lyrics were written by
Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953) is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first ...
, Kalaikumar,
Pa. Vijay
Pa. Vijay is an Indian actor, poet, writer, director, producer and film lyricist for Tamil cinema. He won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics in India for his song '' Ovvoru Pookalume'' in Cheran's ''Autograph'' (2004).
Career
Vijay is a na ...
, Ra. Ravishankar and Deva.
Production
This film was Cheran's third and last combo with Murali, Meena and second with Parthiban.
Thangar Bachan
Thangar Bachan (born 1961) is an Indian film director and actor, cinematographer and novelist. He has served as jury member in National Film Awards.
Early life
Thankar Bachan was born in Pathirakottai, a village near Panruti, Cuddalore distric ...
was replaced by Priyan as cinematographer. The shooting for the film was held at places like
Gobichettipalayam
Gobichettipalayam () is the Selection grade municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Gobichettipalayam taluk. It is situated at the center of the South Indian Peninsula, from the district hea ...
,
Dindigul
Dindigul, also spelt Thindukkal (), is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Dindigul district. Dindigul is located southwest from the state capital, Chennai, away from Tiruchirappalli, away ...
and
Palani
Palani ( or ''Palni'' as in British records, is a town and a taluk headquarters in Dindigul district of the western part of Tamil Nadu state in India. It is located about south-east of Coimbatore and north-west of Madurai, from Kodaikanal ...
among other places.
Reviews
Malathi Ranagarajan 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 ...
'' wrote "The director, in his eagerness to drive home his message, makes certain scenes so pedantic that they tire one after a point." Indolink wrote: "Vetrikkodi Kattu is your average, predictable, clean, and reasonably engaging Tamil movie fare". Chennaionline wrote:"'Vettrikkodi Kattu' is a well-intentioned film and fairly entertaining too. It may not be as neatly scripted and as good as Cheran's first two films. But it proves that he is on the right track". Subash of oocities.org wrote, "Wonderful story, JUST DON'T PREACH SO MUCH, Cheran."
References
External links
Review by thenisai
{{TamilNaduStateFilmAwardBestFilm
2000 films
Films directed by Cheran
Films about poverty in India
2000s Tamil-language films
Films about immigration
Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award winners
Films shot in Palani