''Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai'' () is a 2011 Tamil-language mystery

comedy drama film Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

directed by

Suseenthiran Suseenthiran is an Indian film director and screenwriter in Tamil cinema. He rose to fame with his directorial debut ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu'' (2009). Career Suseenthiran, who originally hails from a small village called Amarapoondi in Palani ...

, based on the short story of the same name penned by writer Bhaskar Sakthi. The film stars Appukutty and Saranya Mohan in lead and features music by

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...

. The film was initially reported to be jointly produced by

Gautham Vasudev Menon Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, film producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu, Hindi cinema, Hindi and Ma ...

's Photon Kathaas and Escape Artists Motion Pictures. but was then produced by the latter only, while Cloud Nine Movies would distribute film. The film released on 12 May 2011 to critical acclaim but commercially did average collections. The film was screened at the

2011 Toronto International Film Festival The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, between September 8 and September 18, 2011. Buenos Aires, Argentina was selected to be showcased for the 2011 City to City programme. The opening fil ...

, becoming the second

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

film to be screened there after '' Kannathil Muthamittal'' (2002). In 2012, the film was honored with two

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

Plot

The story is set in a village called Mallayapuram near Theni. The villagers believe the Rain Gods will favour them after the annual Temple Festival (Thiruvizha), during which the deity is taken around the village on a wooden horse. They are in for a rude shock when the horse goes missing. At the same time, Azhagarsami, a youngster who earns his livelihood by ferrying loads on his horse in Aagamalai village in Periyakulam, gets ready for his marriage. His horse also goes missing, and his marriage is put on hold. Whether the villagers and Azhagarsami find their respective horses or not forms the rest of the story.

Cast

Production

The film was made in 90 days on a budget of ₹5.85 crore (worth ₹14 crore in 2021 prices).

Release

Critical reception

The film opened to very positive reviews.

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's Pavithra Srinivasan labelled the film as "brilliant" and "a must-watch for its unconventional story-line, protagonists and plot-points", giving it 3.5/5.

Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and ...

's critic described the film as "good" that deserved a "viewing because films like this are hard and few to find in these days of mass masala",further citing that Suseenthiran had "come out with another beautiful feel good film that pulls at your heart strings." A reviewer from Behindwoods gave the film 3/5, terming the film as "a charming and happy rural tale which is fairly engaging". The critic praised the film as a "simple heartwarming and realistic film" and one of those film "where content is the king" as well as the director "for having his heart at the right place and making the movie entirely realistic".

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

critic Malathi Rangarajan, too, gave a positive feedback, describing the film as an "innovative" and "interesting attempt" that stayed "within the format of commercial cinema even while steering clear of formula!" Anupama Subramanian from

Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an English-language daily newspaper based in Hyderabad, India. Founded in 1938, it was initially launched as a Weekly newspaper, weekly and later converted into a daily. The newspaper's name reflects its origins in the ...

termed the film as a "simple, heartwarming and refreshing deviation from the mainstream mayhem

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

definitely warrants a watch", while giving it three out of five too. Rohit Ramachandran of nowrunning.com gave it 3/5 stars stating that "Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai is an original satirical comedy that's well executed,thanks to a talented writer-director duo that's to be kept an eye on. You will walk out smiling."

International screenings

The film is the only South Indian candidate to be selected for screening at the

in the contemporary world cinema category.

Awards

;

Soundtrack

Following collaborations with V. Selvaganesh and

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja (born 31 August 1979), is an Indian composer and playback singer. He mainly scores music for Tamil films along with few Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use o ...

, Suseenthiran worked with

for the musical score of ''Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai''. The soundtrack album, consisting of only three songs, was released at a grand event on 16 March 2011 at Sathyam Cinemas, with several prominent celebrities participating, while Ilaiyaraaja himself launched the audio. The song "Poovakkelu" is set in Pahadi.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Indian mystery comedy-drama films 2010s mystery comedy-drama films Films based on short fiction Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor National Film Award–winning performance Films directed by Suseenthiran 2011 films Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja 2010s Tamil-language films Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award winners 2011 comedy-drama films