''Ilami'' is a 2016 Indian Tamil

period drama film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as c ...

directed by J. Julian Prakash, based on the backdrop of

Jallikattu Jallikattu (or Sallikkattu), also known as Eru Taḻuvuṭal and Manju-virattu, is a traditional event in which a zebu bull ('' Bos indicus''), such as the Pulikulam or Kangayam breeds, is released into a crowd of people, and many people attemp ...

. It features

Yuvan Yuvan may refer to: * Yuvan, Iran, a village in Miyan Darband Rural District, Kermanshah Province, Iran * Yuvan (actor), Indian film actor * Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja (born 31 August 1979), is an Indian composer and playback sing ...

and

Anu Krishna Anu Krishna is an Indian actress who has appeared in Tamil films. She has starred in ''Kaththi'' (2014) and ''Ilami'' (2016). Personal life and career Anu Krishna is from a Malayali family in Chennai. She made her acting debut as a child actress ...

in the lead roles, with Akhil and

Ravi Mariya S. Ravi Mariya (born August 4, 1979) is an Indian film director and actor who works primarily in Tamil cinema. He appears in villainous and supporting roles. Career Ravi Mariya started working as S. J. Suryah assistant with cameo in the movie ...

in supporting roles, and

Kishore Kishore () may refer to: * Kishore (name), an Indian given name and surname * '' Captain Kishore'', a 1940 Bollywood film * '' K for Kishore'', a 2007–2008 Indian television singing contest * '' Kishore Bangla'', Bengali-language juvenile week ...

in a guest appearance. ''Ilami'' had a low profile theatrical release on 25 November 2016.

Cast

as Karuppu *

as Ilami * Akhil as Sadai Puli *

as Verayyan *

as a king (guest appearance)

Production

Julian Prakash revealed that he was inspired to make a film about vadam

jallikattu Jallikattu (or Sallikkattu), also known as Eru Taḻuvuṭal and Manju-virattu, is a traditional event in which a zebu bull ('' Bos indicus''), such as the Pulikulam or Kangayam breeds, is released into a crowd of people, and many people attemp ...

as a result of his fascination with the sport, while growing up as a youngster in Madurai and called for more Tamil people to celebrate their culture. While rookie actors

and Akhil were cast in the film in the leading and lead negative roles,

, previously seen in ''

Kaththi ''Kaththi'' () is a 2014 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action drama film, action thriller film written and directed by AR Murugadoss. It is produced by Subaskaran Allirajah's Lyca Productions. The film stars Vijay (actor), Vijay in dual ...

'' (2014), was signed on to portray the titular character. To resemble scenes from the year 1715, director Prakash and his team constructed a huge set in Talakona, a forested area in Andhra Pradesh. This came after the team trialled a smaller set at Theni, near Madurai, in Tamil Nadu, but found it difficult to find any place in the state that was untouched by 21st century development. To prepare for his role, actor Yuvan bulked up and grew long hair, to resemble a tribal settler from the 18th century.

Soundtrack

The music composed by

Srikanth Deva Srikanth Deva is an Indian music director of Tamil films. He made his debut as music director in the Tamil movie '' Doubles'' in 2000. He is the son of composer Deva, nephew of the famous music director duo Sabesh–Murali and the cousin of acto ...

Release

The film had a low key theatrical release across

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

in November 2016. Anupama Subramaniam of the Deccan Chronicle wrote "that the director has narrated his story neatly, without much deviation and executed it well" adding that "Srikanth Deva’s music, cinematography by Yuga and art direction by John Britto aids the narration in a big way, but the graphically generated bulls are tacky", while concluding "though there are few flaws, nevertheless the film is worth a watch!" A reviewer from the Hindustan Times, noted "Given the budget constraints of a small independent director, Prakash’s effort is laudable, though one felt disappointed with Yuvan’s wooden performance and Krishna was of course expressively engaging". Another reviewer pointed out the crew's amateur film making process was an evident drawback of the film.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ilami 2016 films 2010s Tamil-language films Films set in ancient India Indian historical drama films Indian epic films Films scored by Srikanth Deva