Porkkaalam
Porkaalam (Tamil: பொற்காலம் transl. Golden Age) is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Cheran. The film has Murali, Meena, Sanghavi, Rajeshwari and Vadivelu in key roles. It was later remade in Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. Porkaalam was one among 1997 Deepavali releases and became a huge success.
| Porkkaalam | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Cheran |
| Written by | Cheran |
| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Priyan |
| Edited by | K. Thanikachalam |
| Music by | Deva |
| Distributed by | Roja Combines |
Release date |
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| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
The film deals with the social stigma associated with a disabled girl in a rural milieu. Manikkam (Murali) is a potter by profession. He has a sister, who is born dumb. Murali has to struggle a lot as the handicraft industry is a dying industry and a good amount of money is taken away by his father (Manivannan), who is a drunkard and a gambler. But, he tries to hide his sorrows by having fun with his sister and servant (Vadivelu), who is also his trusted friend. He is in love with his neighbour Maragatham (Meena), a weaver. He wants to get his sister married to a noble man. But many reject her as she is dumb. Finally, one man agrees to marry his sister but on condition that Manikkam must offer dowry. Manikkam then sells many things dearer to him to get money for the dowry. But, that money is taken away by his father and the marriage falls through. Yet (Vadivelu) offers to marry his sister without asking dowry and Murali goes home along with Vadivelu to convey this happy news to his sister. But it was too late as the sister commits suicide. Manikkam as a penance decides to marry a disabled girl.
Cast
- Murali as Manikkam
- Meena as Maragadham
- Sanghavi
- Ilavarasu as Rasu
- Vadivelu
- Delhi Ganesh
- Manivannan as Manikam's father
- C. R. Saraswathi
- Bala Singh
- Crane Manohar
- Scissor Manohar
- Kanal Kannan as Postman (special appearance)
- Cheran as Photographer (special appearance)
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album and background score were composed by Deva. The lyrics were penned by Vairamuthu.
Track list
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chinna Kanangkuruvi" | Krishnaraj, Febi Mani, Malaysia Vasudevan | 06:13 |
| 2. | "Karuvella Kaatukkulae" | Sujatha Mohan, Anuradha Sriram, Arunmozhi | 05:28 |
| 3. | "Thanjavooru Mannu Eduthu" | Krishnaraj | 05:25 |
| 4. | "Chingucha Chingucha" | K. S. Chithra | 04:40 |
| 5. | "Oona Oonam" | Deva, Kovai Kamala | 04:49 |
| Total length: | 26:35 | ||
Reception
Krishna Sivarampuram of Indolink said, "... very few have the ability to make the viewers think... And only two or three have the rare ability to combine a good comedy line with a tear-jerker...Cheran seems to have revived this genre of film making".[1]Arunachalam movie 100th day function 'superstar' Rajinikanth praised well this movie and he appreciated gifted a gold chain to director Cheran.[2] Ji of Kalki wrote[clarification needed].[3]
Remakes
| Year | Title | Main cast | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Manikyam | Meka Srikanth | Telugu |
| 2001 | Meri Pyaari Bahania Banegi Dulhania | Mithun Chakraborty | Hindi |
| 2006 | Odahuttidavalu | Ravichandran | Kannada |
Awards
References
- ^ Krishna Sivarampurams. "Porkaalam Movie Review". Retrieved 16 February 2012.
- ^ P, Dineshkumar (30 October 2017). "மாற்றுத்திறனாளிகளின் குரலாக ஒலித்த பொற்காலம்..! #20yearsOfPorkkaalam | 20 years of porkkaalam movie special article". vikatan.com (in Tamil). Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ ஜி. (30 November 1997). "பொற்காலம்". Kalki (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
External links
- Porkaalam at IMDb