''Periyar'' is a 2007 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

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

, made about the life of the social reformer and rationalist Periyar E. V. Ramasamy with

Sathyaraj Rangaraj Subbiah (born 3 October 1954), known professionally as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, film producer, film director and a media personality who appears predominantly in Tamil films. He also appears in works in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam ...

who himself is a rationalist in the lead role. This movie was partly funded by the then Tamil Nadu government headed by Karunanidhi. The film was dubbed in Telugu and released as ''Periyar Ramaswamy Naicker''.

Plot

The film details the life of Periyar right from childhood to his marriage to Nagammal to his pilgrimage to Kashi which changed his life where he understands the cruelty of the Caste System that only

Brahmins Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

are welcomed and he was refused meals at choultries which exclusively fed Brahmins forbidding other Hindu castes. Having starved severely, Periyar found no other better way than to enter a choultry disguises himself with the appearance of a Brahmin wearing a thread on his bare chest but it is found out and is disgusted with life in Kashi. Periyar returns and joins his father's business and later becomes the Chairman of the Erode Municipality. Later, which he resigns from this post and joins the freedom struggle. He becomes the President of Congress party of

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

. Later he quits the Congress party and joins the Justice Party. He goes on to form the DK. His role in the Anti-Hindi agitation and Vaikom struggle, his second marriage, the formation of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) by his lieutenant C. N. Annadurai, and Periyar's death and its aftermath.

Cast

Production

Gnana Rajasekaran revealed he prompted to do ''Periyar'' due to the "enormous pressure" from audience after the success of ''Bharathi''. It took four years for him to complete the script. The film's budget was funded by ₹95 lakh (worth ₹3.9 crore in 2021 prices) grant by Government of Tamil Nadu. The filming was held at various locations in Tamilnadu and also at Malaysia and Russia.

Music

The music for the film has been scored by Vidyasagar.

Reception

''Rediff'' wrote "Whether it is well-received or not, just as the last line of the film says, this film will hopefully help the spirit of Periyar live forever and ever". ''Filmy South'' wrote "Overall, Gnana Rajashekharan has done a commendable job in depicting a legendary leader’s life.Though there are some inadequacies in the narration the bold attempt should be appreciated and encouraged so that more such efforts would be made.". ''Sify'' wrote "Rajasekharan has done a decent job in presenting the majestic life and times of Periyar, with a brilliant performance from Sathyaraj in the title role. What makes it convincing is that the director has conveyed dramatic tension and an underlining of the humane moments in a very subtle manner".

References

External links

CM Speaks At Periyar Function
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Periyar (Film) 2007 films 2000s Tamil-language films Indian films based on actual events Indian biographical films Films shot in Tiruchirappalli Films scored by Vidyasagar (composer) Films set in Tiruchirappalli Cultural depictions of B. R. Ambedkar Best Tamil Feature Film National Film Award winners 2000s biographical films Periyar E. V. Ramasamy Films directed by Gnana Rajasekaran Tamil-language Indian films