Pariyerum Perumal
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''Pariyerum Perumal'' () is a 2018 Indian
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 ...
-language
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
written and directed by
Mari Selvaraj Mariselvam Selvaraj is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in the Tamil film industry. He worked as an assistant director to Ram. He made his directorial debut with '' Pariyerum Perumal'' (2018), which opened to highly positive re ...
, and produced by Pa. Ranjith. The film stars
Kathir Kathir is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. Early life Kathir was born in kalkarai, a small village in the Radhapuram Taluk of Tirunelveli District, state of Tamil Nadu, India. Kathi ...
and Anandhi, while
Yogi Babu Yogi Babu (born 22 July 1985) is an Indian actor and comedian, who appears in Tamil films. He has won Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award for '' Aandavan Kattalai'' (2016), '' Kolamavu Kokila'' (2018), '' Pariyerum Perumal'' (2018), '' Love Today'' ( ...
and G. Marimuthu appear in supporting roles. It follows Pariyan (Kathir), who belongs to an oppressed caste and enters into law college with a lot of hope, and strikes up a friendship with Jothi Mahalakshmi (Anandhi), who belongs to an upper caste, which irks Jothi's family members. He wakes up to the realities of caste oppression and discrimination, after being harassed by them. ''Pariyerum Perumal'' is the directorial debut of Selvaraj, and drew inspiration from his 2012 short story collection ''Thamirabaraniyil Kollapadathavaragal'' () and 2013 serial ''Marakave Ninaikiraen'' (). It is the first feature film produced by Ranjith's Neelam Productions. The film, announced in October 2016, was shot between January 2017 and March 2018, with
Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...
and
Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...
as the primary filming locations.
The music The Music was an English alternative rock band, formed in Kippax, Leeds in 1999. Comprising Robert Harvey (vocals, guitar), Adam Nutter (lead guitar), Stuart Coleman (bass) and Phil Jordan (drums), the band came to prominence with the releas ...
was composed by
Santhosh Narayanan Santhosh Narayanan (born 15 May 1983) is an Indian film composer and musician who has predominately worked in Tamil cinema, while also having some Telugu and Malayalam films to his credit. He is known for his collaborations with Pa. Ranjith ...
, with cinematography handled by Sridhar and editing done by Selva R. K. ''Pariyerum Perumal'' released on 28 September 2018, and received critical acclaim, with critics praising the technical aspects, direction, screenplay, performance of the film's cast, especially Kathir's performance. The film received four
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards The Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards are annual awards in recognition for cinematic merit in the Tamil film industry. The awards ceremony is presented by the Tamil language weekly magazine ''Ananda Vikatan''. The awards were introduced in the year ...
, including Best Story and Best Director for Selvaraj, six nominations at the 8th SIIMA Awards, receiving two wins, four nominations at the
66th Filmfare Awards South The 66th Filmfare Awards South ceremony honoring the winners and nominees of the best of South Indian cinema in 2018 is an event that was held on 21 December 2019 in Chennai. The nominations for all the main awards were announced on 13 December ...
, winning Best Film. The film was honoured at the 16th
Chennai International Film Festival The Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) is a festival organised in the city of Chennai, India, by a film society, the Indo Cine Appreciation Foundation (ICAF), with the support of government of Tamil Nadu, The Government of Tamil Nadu, ...
, receiving an award for the best feature, and was also screened at the 49th International Film Festival of India.


Plot

Pariyerum Perumal, alias Pariyan is a youth hailing from Puliyankulam village near
Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...
, and belongs to an oppressed caste. The film begins with the murder of his beloved black dog, Karuppi () due to caste hegemony. Pariyan moves on to secure a seat at Government Law College, Tirunelveli, where he wishes to become a lawyer like
B. R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...
. He meets Jothi Mahalakshmi, alias Jo, a naive girl from
Ambasamudram Ambasamudram is the principal town of the Ambasamudram taluk in Tirunelveli district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The entire taluk had a population of 392,226 as of 2001, with 42.5% classified as rural. The town of Ambasamudram had a popul ...
who takes it upon herself to teach English to Pariyan. She eventually falls for his innocence and honesty. This newfound friendship irks Sankaralingam, a fellow law student and Jo's cousin. He awaits a chance to teach a lesson to Pariyan and establish his caste superiority. He does so while the blissfully unaware Jo invites Pariyan to a family wedding. In another part of the town, an old man is seen engineering unique methods to kill innocent people, for example, strangling a young girl, then hanging her, and drowning a student in the river. At the wedding that he was invited to, Pariyan is almost beaten to death by Sankaralingam and his fellows, and they also urinate on him. It is stopped, and Pariyan is warned by Jo's father to stay out of her life. Jo, unaware of all this, berates Pariyan the next day for not attending her sister's marriage as he was the only one from her college, who she had invited. Pariyan, who becomes upset the next day, drinks alcohol and attends the class, which leads him to the principal's room. When he is asked to bring his father, he bribes a person to be his father, and the man does the job successfully. Another day, Pariyan's teacher tries to solve the problem between Pariyan and Jo, but Pariyan points out that Jo gave an invitation-only to him, making it clear that he treats her only as his friend, which infuriates her. On the same day, he sits on Sankaralingam's bench. The latter gets infuriated as he does not see Pariyan as his equal, pushes Pariyan into the ladies' toilet, and locks the door. This gets Pariyan in to trouble once again, and Pariyan is called to the principal's room. Pariyan is again asked to bring his father. This time, he brings his real father, who is a folk dancer who dances in drag clothing. The principal understands Pariyan's innocence and asks him to be bold and continue to fight like this. As Pariyan comes out of the principal's room, he finds his father brutally hazed by Sankaralingam and his fellow mates, and they pull Pariyan's father's
dhoti The dhoti is an ankle-length breechcloth, wrapped around the waist and the legs, in resemblance to the shape of trousers. The dhoti is a garment of ethnic wear for men in the Indian subcontinent. The dhoti is fashioned out of a rectangular p ...
. Pariyan's father runs out of college half-naked, followed by Sankaralingam and his group, and Pariyan runs after them. Pariyan takes his father to a hospital for medical treatment. Meanwhile, Jo's father realises that his daughter is madly in love with Pariyan. Fearing humiliation and ostracisation from his caste if his daughter elopes with someone from a lower caste, he hires the old man, "Thatha Maistry." It is then revealed that Maistry is an assassin who murders people to protect the honour of the people of his caste. Maistry reveals that he looks at his work as a divine ordinance and promises that the day that he is unsuccessful, he will kill himself. Maistry and Pariyan know each other, and Maistry even offers to fix the problem by talking to Pariyan. Pariyan, who is by his father's bedside at the hospital, contemplates taking revenge, but his mother asks him not to do so. She reminds him that humiliation and oppression are things that they have dealt with their whole lives, and that violence will not fix anything. He is informed that Jo is waiting in the hospital for him. An emotional Jo makes Pariyan realise how important he is for her, and though she loves him, she asks him to be the same old Pariyan, who was very friendly with her. Pariyan makes a promise to be like that. Maistry asks for a lift in Pariyan's cycle and tries to kill him. He then puts Pariyan on a railway track to kill him in the same way that Karuppi was killed, but Pariyan wakes up and escapes, which leads to a heavy fight between Maistry and Pariyan. Pariyan realises that he was sent by Jo's father and Sankaralingam. He beats Sankaralingam and others brutally. He then tells Jo's father that the life he is living is a gift given by Pariyan because if Jo becomes aware of the activities of her father, she will not spare him. He asks him to leave him and he goes. Maistry, having failed to kill his mark for the first time, commits suicide on the railway track. Jo, who remains completely oblivious to the violence around her, brings her father to meet Pariyan, and as she goes to buy tea for them, Jo's father asks for an apology for his mistake. He speaks cordially to Pariyan, who replies that as long as he remains the same and expects Pariyan to remain a dog, nothing will change.


Cast


Production


Development

Pa. Ranjith registered his maiden film production company, Neelam Productions in late October 2016. Although the company had produced two documentary films, the director announced his debut as a feature film producer, with his association with
Mari Selvaraj Mariselvam Selvaraj is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in the Tamil film industry. He worked as an assistant director to Ram. He made his directorial debut with '' Pariyerum Perumal'' (2018), which opened to highly positive re ...
, a former assistant of
Ram Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...
, in his directorial debut, titled ''Pariyerum Perumal'', in December 2016. The film was inspired by Selvaraj's ''Thamirabaraniyil Kollapadathavaragal'', a short story collection and ''Marakave Ninaikiraen'', a serial in ''
Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 was not publishe ...
''. Ranjith's regular collaborator
Santhosh Narayanan Santhosh Narayanan (born 15 May 1983) is an Indian film composer and musician who has predominately worked in Tamil cinema, while also having some Telugu and Malayalam films to his credit. He is known for his collaborations with Pa. Ranjith ...
, Sridhar, Selva R. K. and Ramu joined the team as music composer, cinematographer, editor and art director respectively.


Casting and filming

Mari Selvaraj stated, "I wanted faces that reflected a kind of simplicity and innocence, and
Kathir Kathir is an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. Early life Kathir was born in kalkarai, a small village in the Radhapuram Taluk of Tirunelveli District, state of Tamil Nadu, India. Kathi ...
and Anandhi fit that description perfectly". Anandhi's role was inspired from the characterisation of Shweta Tripathi in '' Masaan'' (2015). The film notably features a cross-breed dog named "Karuppi" onscreen, which has the traits of the Chippiparai breed. According to the director, "The film incidentally starts and ends with her travel".
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
commenced in late January 2017, with
Tirunelveli Tirunelveli (), also known as Nellai and historically (during British rule) as Tinnevelly, is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirunelveli District. It is the fourth-largest munici ...
and
Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...
regions serving as the principal shooting locations. The film's shooting was completed in March 2018. That November, the makers released a video titled "Pariyerum Perumal Making Video", showing how some of the film's perceived disturbing scenes were shot.


Music

Pa. Ranjith's regular composer
Santhosh Narayanan Santhosh Narayanan (born 15 May 1983) is an Indian film composer and musician who has predominately worked in Tamil cinema, while also having some Telugu and Malayalam films to his credit. He is known for his collaborations with Pa. Ranjith ...
, was assigned to compose the music and background score of ''Pariyerum Perumal''. The album was launched by
Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, filmmaker, lyricist and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. Having starred in Dhanush filmography, 50 films over his car ...
on 9 September 2018.


Release

The film's first promotional poster which released on 14 February 2018, featured a dog with a collar and leash around its neck in the foreground while the silhouettes of a number of people can be seen in the background. The film was originally slated to release in March 2018, but its release was postponed due to the standoff between
Nadigar Sangam The Nadigar Sangam (), officially known as the South Indian Artistes' Association (), is a Trade union, union for film, television, and stage (theatre), stage actors in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, based in Chennai. Formed in 1952, the grou ...
and Digital Service Providers on the increase of
Virtual Print Fee Virtual Print Fee (VPF) is a subsidy paid by a film distributor towards the purchase of digital cinema Digital cinema is the digital technology used within the film industry to distribute or project motion pictures as opposed to the historical ...
charges. The first trailer of the film was unveiled in June 2018, and received rave response from all corners. The film was released theatrically on 28 September 2018, after receiving a U certificate from the
Central Board of Film Certification The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory Motion picture content rating system, film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of ...
with no cuts but two mutes. Despite being released in 121 theatres, the film got limited screens, due to the higher profile ''
Chekka Chivantha Vaanam ''Chekka Chivantha Vaanam'' () is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film directed by Mani Ratnam, co-written with Siva Ananth. Produced by Ratnam under the banner Madras Talkies, along with Lyca Productions, the film stars Arvind Swamy, ...
''. However, after the positive response received by the audience, theatre owners increased the number of shows and screens. Many filmmakers and actors heaped praise among the film, including the then DMK president
M. K. Stalin Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin (born 1 March 1953) is an Indian politician and former actor serving as the 8th and current List of chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, chief minister of Tamil Nadu since 2021. He is the third son of the former Chief Min ...
. The film opened to theatres across
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
on 12 October 2018, and in
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
on 26 October 2018, following its positive critical acclaim. After its successful theatrical run, the film was made available to stream on
Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...
from 11 November 2018. The film was screened at the inaugural New York Dalit Film and Cultural Festival in 2019 along with '' Masaan'' (2015), '' Kaala'' (2018) and '' Fandry'' (2013). Along with few other Tamil films, the movie was showcased at the 49th International Film Festival of India.


Reception


Critical reception

Srinivasa Ramanujam of ''
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 ...
'' wrote "With such strong statements to make against caste, the film could have easily adopted a dark theme but it prefers to stay hopeful. The climax is easily among its most touching moments. If there’s one film you’re watching this year, it has to be ''Pariyerum Perumal''." M Suganth of ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' gave the film 4 out of 5 stars "''Pariyerum Perumal'' is a hard-hitting anti-caste drama." Anupama Subramanian of ''
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 ...
'' rated 4.5 out of 5 and then stated it as "Pariyerum Perumal is a film that goes beyond your expectations and should not be missed at any cost!" Kirubhakar Purushothaman of ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media, Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' laun ...
'' gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and stated "Pariyerum Perumal is more depressing when you realise everything that pans out in this disturbing film has actually happened or is happening or will continue to happen in our country." Anjana Shekar of ''
The News Minute ''The News Minute'' is an Indian digital news platform based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by Vignesh Vellore who is also the current CEO in 2014. Apart from Karnataka, it also has bureaus in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, ...
'' reviewed as It can be quite easy to bind a film under seals of approvals like ‘masterpiece’ and ‘milestone’. But there are few films that venture beyond the confines of such labels and ''Pariyerum Perumal'' is one such example. At a time when Tamil cinema is turning to look back at its portrayal of caste, more importantly, to rewrite its portrayals, ''Pariyerum Perumal'' can effortlessly be called its luminary."
Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan () is an Indian film critic and writer. A chemical engineering graduate with no formal training in filmmaking or cinema writing, he has a diverse career in advertising, IT consulting, and cinema writing. He has authored two boo ...
, writing for ''
Film Companion Anupama Vinod Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist and film critic who served as the festival director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival from 2015 to 2023. She is also the founder and editor of the now-defunct digital platform Film Compani ...
'', gave 3.5 out of 5 stars and stated "This film is a powerful, yet level-headed, drama about an oppressed youth carving out a place of his own." ''
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 ...
'' gave the rating 3.5 out of 5 and stated "''Pariyerum Perumal'' is an artistic masterpiece from debutant filmmaker Mari Selvaraj and set the standards high for directors who have noble intentions but end up making preachy propaganda films." Ashameera Aiyappan of ''
Cinema Express ''Cinema Express'' was an Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language entertainment fortnightly magazine published from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was a part of The New Indian Express, The New Indian Express Group, which also publishes ''Samakalika Mal ...
'' gave the film 4 out of 5 and stated "The subtexts are painfully brilliant in a film that doesnt paint the world black and white." Ravichandran Bathran, writing for ''
Firstpost Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions. The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...
'', said, "''Pariyerum Perumal'' is a great movie to watch. However, the movie is neither anti-caste nor casteist. Rather, it merely discusses popular forms of discrimination and evokes memories of some earlier instances of caste violence. The movie eventually tries to find solutions within the caste system itself." Manoj Kumar R of ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932 by P. Varadarajulu Naidu. It is headquartered in Noida, owned by the ''Indian Express Group''. It was later taken over by Ramnath Goenka. In 1999, eight y ...
'' said, "Pariyerum Perumal shows it’s not easy to overcome the challenges of all-pervasive caste. But it may not be impossible either."


Box office

''Pariyerum Perumal'' collected in its lifetime box office collection, also receiving a share of , and became a
sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game or other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release, but eventually became a surprise success. A sleeper hit may have ...
.


Accolades


Legacy

The portrayal of the film's central dog character Karuppi, became popular among audiences. Inspired from the famous ‘ Dogelore’ (which refers to the meme universe featuring dogs), the character was featured as the new addition. Some of the film's plot inspired the 2020 Telugu film '' Colour Photo''.


Remakes

''Pariyerum Perumal'' was remade in Kannada as '' Karki'' (2024). The film is being remade in Hindi as '' Dhadak 2'' (2025).


References


External links

* * {{SIIMA Award for Best Film – Tamil 2010s Indian films 2010s Tamil-language films 2018 directorial debut films 2018 drama films 2018 films Cross-dressing in Indian films Films about animal cruelty Films about dogs Films about father–son relationships Films about hazing Films about honor killing Films about the caste system in India Films directed by Mari Selvaraj Films produced by Pa. Ranjith Films set in Tamil Nadu Films set in universities and colleges Films shot in Thoothukudi Films shot in Tirunelveli Indian drama films Tamil-language drama films Tamil-language Indian films Tamil films remade in other languages Works about reservation in India