''Uchithanai Muharnthaal'' is a 2011 Indian
Tamil-language film directed by
Pugazhendhi Thangaraj
Pughazhendhi Thangaraj is an Indian film director and screenwriter who has worked on Tamil films. He often makes films set in the backdrop of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Career
Pughazhendhi began his career with '' Kaatrukkenna Veli'' (2001), be ...
and assisted by Prashanth Ramamurthy. The plot revolves around a 13-year-old
Sri Lankan Tamil girl, portrayed by child actress Neenika. The film also stars
Sathyaraj,
Seeman and
Sangeetha, while featuring music scored by
D. Imman. The film released on 16 December 2011, delayed from August.
Plot
Punithavadhi is a 13-year-old
Sri Lankan Tamil girl who lives with her parents in Batticaloa,
Sri Lanka. The neighborhood and the surrounding more often remains a mute victim to the atrocities perpetrated on unarmed men, women and children by the heavily armed SL army troops. As it happens, tragedy strikes Punitha’s family as she becomes the latest
gang rape victim by the SL soldiers. As a result, Punitha gets pregnant.
Punitha’s mother, in order to save her child from further trouble, lands up on Indian shores by illegal means. Professor Nadesan, who is under fire from the local police for offering refuge to illegal immigrants from SL, patronizes Punitha and her mother. He and his wife Nirmala take Punitha to Rekha, a doctor, for regular medical checkups.
When Natesan and Nirmala are away on some work, Punitha disappears from their house and lands up in the clutches of some local rowdies. She gets unexpected help from a transgender security guard who saves her from the custody of the rowdies and reaches her safely to Natesan’s residence. With the security guard’s help, Natesan brings the culprits to book. During the course of this case, Natesan befriends the local police inspector Charles Anthony.
The story takes a turn when Punitha is known to have
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
contracted from the gang rape. The rest of the film revolves around the struggle to save Punitha and her child. Punitha is unable to be saved in the end, though, and dies along with her father, who dies earlier in the film as a result of being shot by the SL Army, and her mother, who also dies in the film after being abducted by the SL army when looking for her husband. The end credits portray all three of them walking along the beach of Batticoloa happily.
Cast
* Neenika as Punithavadhi
*
Sathyaraj as Nadesan
*
Seeman as Charles Antony
*
Sangeetha as Nirmala Nadesan
*
Nassar as Dr. Deivanayagam
*
Lakshmi Ramakrishnan as Dr. Rekha
*
Lavanya as Mrs. Charles Antony
*
Aishwarya
Aishwarya (Devanagari : ''ऐश्वर्य'') is a Hindu Indian or Nepalese male or feminine given name, which means "prosperity" and "wealth".
Notable people named Aishwarya
* Aishwariyaa Bhaskaran (born 1971), Indian actress
* Aishwar ...
as Security Guard
* Sathik Basha as Sathik Basha (Cameo appearance)
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by
D. Imman.
Reception
''
Sify
Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
'' gave the movie a positive verdict calling it a bold film while highlighting Neenika's performance. ''IndiaGlitz'' said, "Pughazhendhi Thangaraj deserves applause for making an honest attempt without bowing to commercial pressures". The film won the
Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Third Best Film.
References
External links
*
{{TamilNaduStateFilmAwardBestFilm
2011 films
2010s Tamil-language films