Paruthiveeran
Search: The Web India Abroad Newsletters Sign up today! Mobile Downloads Article Tools Paruthiveeran: A remarkable effort Sriram Iyer February 26, 2007 15:25 IST A still from Paruthiveeran Ameer continues his streak of attempting off beat plots, and it looks like he will pull out a triple whammy with his latest flick. He has surely made a bold move by attempting a film like Paruthiveeran, given the general aversion of the urban audience these days to village based plots. A remarkable output, nevertheless. Veeran and his uncle Chevvazhai (Saravanan) live a no holds barred life.
They don't believe in second thoughts- even if it's about committing a serious crime. There is Muthazhagu (Priya Mani), deeply in love with Veeran. However, Veeran does not understand, leave alone reciprocate the feelings of Muthazhagu.To make matters worse, Muthazhagu's father (Ponvannan) does not approve of his daughter's affection for Muthazhagu.
She rejects attempts to get her married off by attempting suicide. Veeran, on the other hand, takes quite some time to understand her unconditional love and when he does, his character undergoes a massive change of heart.
Throughout all this, Muthazhagu's father stands his ground. The story then deals with the coming of age of different characters. Ameer successfully brings alive the feel of the pastures. Cinematographer Ramji and music director Yuvan Shankar Raja's contribution adds to the magic. Debutante Karthi's performance is excellent. He does complete justice to demands of the character. The performance from the cast as a whole is commendable too.
Priya Mani has done a fairly good job in her deglamourised role. Saravanan excels and doesn't look like someone back from a long break. The movie is a good opportunity to get back the rural feel.
Rediff rating.
Some of the movies we watch never draws first blood. But it grows on you slowly and steadily like poison. This is one of those.
That effect reaches new heights when you realize that it is based on a true story. Ameer I think has taken the 90:10 ratio. Keep the audience happy for 90% of the movie and shock them to hell in the last 10. His mentor Bala does that with similar if not more success. Though the new comer Karthik (though there were shades of Surya his brother) has done a nice job, Priya Mani steals it in the last 10 min. Like how Kamal hassan steals Mundram Pirai right out of Sreedevi in the last 10 min. You will enjoy Saravanan with his dialogue delivery and the ease with which he carries his role.
If you want entertainment avoid the last 10 minutes. Otherwise watch it fully for a whole new meaning. After long time, a great movie for Tamil cinema from Ameer Ameer, his third movie. He made a great impact in Tamil cinema with 'Raam'. Now another magic with the name Paruthi Veeran. The film made with excellent sense of film making. Well written story and screenplay with perfect support from cinematography.
Yvan as usual, did it again with Ameer, with wonderful nativity songs and background score that travels well with the story. The song with Ilayaraja (Ariyatha vayasu.) still occupies my mind. Karthi (brother of Surya, son of Sivakumar) did a fabulous job. No one will believe this is his first movie.
Paruthiveeran's cross cousin Muththazhagu (Priyamani) is the daughter of his snobbish uncle who is a respected member of the village's council and a caste sectarian. Muththazhagu has been in love with Paruthiveeran since childhood, but he remains unmoved and keeps her at bay. Stream & watch back to back Full Movies only on Eros Now - http://www. Paruthiveeran is a 2007 award-winning Indian blockbuster Tamil feature film written and directed by Ameer Sultan.The film marks the acting debut of actor Sivakumar's younger son and actor Surya's younger brother Karthi Sivakumar, playing the lead title role, whilst Priyamani essayed the lead female role and Ponvannan, Saravanan and Kanja Karuppu supporting roles.
Amazing effort in his debut.Priyamani, after long time a lady lead has a great chance to perform and she did a fabulous job. This movie will change the career for both Karthi and Priyamani. This is a kind of movie that changes the way of Tamil cinema.
Paruthiveeran is a great effort. With remarkable photography and great performances by the main actors. Karthik plays Paruthiveeran, a low-class orphan who is used to being a free personality, doing whatever he likes without any concern for custom or law.
Priyamani plays Muthagalu, a stubborn, free minded, educated girl who is in love with him. They are, in fact, cross-cousins, and so, in a way (according to rural custom), should marry. But there was caste inter-marriage, and so, Paruthiveeran is considered unsuitable. Once Paruthiveeran falls in love with Muthagalu, everything changes. In a way, both have to sacrifice their freedom (and therefor themselves). This is a love that cannot be, but also cannot be stopped. It ends, perhaps appropriately, and very typical of Tamil folk stories and cinema (Kaadhal for example), in shocking tragedy.
The story is original and compelling. Both characters are not generic, they surprise us with their decisions and choices. There is an inner tension between freedom and love (independence and belonging) and the tragic but inevitable way they conflict with each other.
There are several great cinematic moments and inventions. The one in which Paruthiveeran, after tattooing his name next to his lover's on his chest, reaches for a peacock feather and caresses it, is memorable. The film tempers with some generic conventions - no makeup, no professional dancing and lip syncing. Some outside shots are taken from inside buildings, giving us a kind of 'peeping' feel.
In one memorable shot, Muthagalu's father sits in a corner of his yard sadly watching as an entire day goes. There are two 'spaces' in the film. The first - the open land, shot widely, almost 180 degrees of earth kissing sky. It is rural land, vast, limitless but also hopeless, unchanging. And the other space - an inside, between the walls of the house. The place were laws are kept and honor is upheld.
It is a violent space, where freedom has to obey dignity, and so, our heroes have to act violently in order to stay free of it. Once they begin to love each other mutually, they pass from the first space to the second - from chance meetings outside, to planned ones inside. Like the earth and the sky, our couple's confinement signals their doom, they can only live outside, meet by chance, do whatever they wish to do, but only love each other in sudden bursts never by commitment. Once they let their love bond them, they start obeying its law, which crushes them. This is the inside, our second space, where change is possible, but our heroes can't survive it, their past freedom becomes their undoing (Paruthiveeran's friends, used to his visiting whores, attack Muthagalu, who is alone and unprotected because she has alienated her family). There is a tendency, among some western viewers, to regard any non-American or European cinema as some kind of an exotic artifact, showing us 'how people live over there'. If we wish to appreciate a movie for what it is, this arrogant attitude should change.
This is not a film about 'the caste problem' (there is no 'caste problem', caste is a valid social construct with its own set of conflicts and paradoxes like any other). While some cultural knowledge may help, you don't have to speak Tamil to enjoy this film. It is a great work of art, coming from a remarkable cinematic tradition. An instant classic that has brought tears to my eyes. Tamil cinema deserves to be much more well known worldwide.
Its main point of strength, for me, is in the way it uniquely utilizes folk elements (as opposed to 'pop' elements), contesting hegemonic perceptions without being subversive. It is a mature cinema, yielding many excellent movies, with its own distinct film grammar and editing techniques. Paruthiveeran is a good entry point. When I got the Ticket, I didn't expect that I am going to a Village called Paruthiyur.
Actually I saw each and every Character very near to me. I can smell the village.
Its like a Fresh air. I saw the Local Dance and Festival mood. Karthi (Debut) 's portrayal of the character is impressive and he doesn't look like a debut-ant. He is so confident and have the casualness of an Experienced Actor.
Then 'Muthazhagu', Priyamani (National Award Winner) what a Performance! Her voice is very powerful and is very apt for this particular role. At Many scenes her performance can match any actress in the world and is the best role done by any actress in India in recent times, at a time when actresses are used as a Barbie doll. Saravanan and Kanja Karuppu. They give high level of support to the main cast for delivering the entertaining and tragic story of Paruthiyur. Yuvan Shankar Raja's Music was a milestone on his way to become the most versatile of all. Let it be the BGM or the Songs, Yuvan scores well and he once again proves this is Yuvan Yugam.
After watching the movie at one stress you are not going to forget the song 'Aiyyayyoo' or 'Ariyatha Vayasu'., Masterpiece. Great and Splendid. He is so much talented that he proves again and again. After Bharathiraja's movies like 16 Vayathinile or Muthal Mariyathe, we had lost the touch of Tamil Earthy Movie thats so realistic and natural.
Here comes the Paruthiveeran. The story is very simple but the way Ameer had handled the script is terrific and hard to convert in letters. I wonder how this movie missed as the entry for best foreign film for Oscars. This is one of the rare movie that shows our tradition and nativity. Watching the movie in big theater will take you literally to the Village, and should watch this in at least Home theater not because this movie has 3D efx like Avatar or Roaring sound of Whistle like Sivaji or Special Efx extravagance Inception but for living along with the characters of the story. To see the beauty and simplicity of the Tamil Nadu Village.
Paruthiveeran Memes
One can trust Ameer for strong characters in his films. Karthi and Priyamani could have been slightly more better at emoting but considering the fact that they are new, it's no big deal. One can delight at the routine and sets of a beautiful traditional Tamil village visuals. The screenplay has its highs and lows; blink during a rapid sequence of events and you'll miss a lot of the proceedings. Otherwise, the script is a simple love story. The climax is definitely one of the highlights, if not THE highlight. The ending is guaranteed to leave you in tears.
Madurai lingo may be a little hard to grasp for those who aren't that well-versed in Tamil. Nice background score by Yuvan. Songs consist mostly of folk. It is the romantic ballad Iyyaiyo that will remain at the back of your mind. I went 2 movie on first day and was totally surprised after the first half and totally shocked after the second. It is a flawless script backed by extra ordinary acting and superb directing.
Songs are too good and every scene of the movie is natural. Karthi makes an impressive debut and it's unbelievable that he has chosen this kind of role for his first film and he more than delivers. Another surprise package is saravanan.
We never knew he can play a role to such perfection. Priyamani also rocks and i don't remember any other tamil movie heaving a heroin like this one. Kudos to ameer 4 using her so well. I could have given perfect 10 for this movie but i give it 9/10 because the climax was so shocking and i'm not able 2 get out of it's impact till now. As the movies promos, trailers and stills promised a total catchy & natural village subject, I went in to see this movie on the opening day and I wasn't disappointed in any form.
The story was very simple and an age old one but the way Ameer has handled the script was just too good!! The film moves from the present to a series of flashbacks which are very well interwined and leaves the viewers in total aaaaah. The dialogues are totally down south TN and very natural indeed.
The acting department too has supported the works of the director in an exceptional way. Be it Karthik (never can anyone say that its his first film), Priya, Saravanan or Ponvannan, its flawless throughout the way and you will remember these characters for long even after the move folds out.
A special mention must be made for Yuvan's background score which brought in the right kind of magic for this offbeat film. A tragic ending is the perfect one for this beautifully narrated poem and kudos to Ameer for going through with it doing total justice to his work. When lookin into the negative side of this movie, Ameer could have taken care to reduce the abusive actions and words a bit. One wonders whether there is something called as a censor board!!
Hello people in the board. Its time to wake-up!! And Karthk watch out for your expressions, as in certain scenes it reminded us of your bro!! In today's movie buzz its very rare to find a movie that has an excellent screenplay, wonderful acting and good technical backup. Paruthi Veeran is one such gem.
Don't miss this movie!! Its tamil cinema at its best!! My rating for this one would be a high 8.5 out of 10.
If you watch a movie in a language which you don't understand a word of and the movie does not let you realize this fact for whole of its length, that is a good enough reason to praise a movie. Parutheeveeran is a Tamil movie which I watched with subtitles and though I don't understand a word of Tamil other than 'macha' or 'Naan unnai Kathalikkireen', I can guess that the Tamil used in the movie is very original countryside old Tamil. And the characters spoke so fast that at times I had to pause and read what the they said, but it was all worth it.
Story is very simple. Parutheeveeran is a country brash, loafer who spends his time doing petty crimes with him uncle and wants to become famous by going in Chennai jail. Muththazhagu loves him unconditionally because he saved her life when they were kid but her father is against it. Parutheeveeran ignores Muththazhagu and keeps her at distance. But when he realizes her love towards her the story takes an interesting turn and reaches to a climax which most of the viewers will not expect. Music is high point of the movie and is nowhere near to conventional music. The songs (some would doubt its existence in the movie) are used to create the mood for the what happens in the movie.
The movie starts with a village festival and the collage of various folk style song snippets leave the aroma of rustic yet colorful and joyous village which lasts till we reach towards the climax of the movie. Acting is top notch, not only by main actors but also by all supporting characters. Most of them has been handpicked from the locality where the movies was shot, which makes them look very original. Very rightly Pramani got National Award for best actress for her portrayal of Muththazhagu in the movie. If you have any doubts, check out this scene. There is no set so to say, whole movie seems to be shot in real locations and they are mesmerizing. It makes you want to go to a village outside of Madurai and live there for a day or two just to admire their life.
Direction is awesome but I guess the actors, cinematographer, editor etc have made the job of the director very easy. Now the climax. I feel climax is an art and as I have described in another article leaving the movie at right note is as important as garnishing the meal. The climax of the movie may sound disturbing and depressing to some, but I felt that movie could not have a better ending. The act by Parutheeveeran and the end not only justifies his eccentric character but also epitomizes his love for Muththazhagu in a very peculiar way which requires some pondering.