Dharmapuri (film)

Plot

The movie is set in a remote village in Dharmapuri, known for making dolls from clay. It is the livelihood of people in the village. A Mokkaiyan (Manivannan) along with his sons Silandhy Karuppu (Raj Kapoor) and Peruchali Karuppu (Bobby) grab the land and give it on a lease for a local MLA Konda Mookan.

Humiliated and agitated, the villagers decide to put an end to their shenanigans. They set off in search of Sivaraman, son of Meiyappan (Vijayakumar), who once strived for the welfare of the village and later forced to flee the village due to Mokkaiyan's family.

They finally spot Sivaraman (Vijayakanth) in Rameshwaram, where he works tirelessly for the uplift of the people. They convince him to return to the village and teach Mokkaiyan and his family a lesson.

Enters Sivaraman on a mission. He comes across Valarmathy (Lakshmi Rai) and falls in love with her. Meanwhile, he also embarks on a mission to teach the baddies a lesson.

Cast

Production

After the success of Thirupathi, Perarasu announced a project called "Pandigai" with S. J. Suryah but the project was cancelled and he announced his next project "Dharmapuri" with Vijaykanth in 2006 since Producer A M Rathnam expressed his desire of Perarasu directing a film for him. Incidentally it was Rathnam who suggested Vijayakanth’s name for the film. When Rathnam and captain heard the ‘one liner’ of the movie, they both liked it instantly and thus ‘Dharmapuri’ was born without even a heroine. Crew wanted Nayanthara as heroine but she rejected as the film had political overtones instead Lakshmi Rai was selected. while shooting at Srirangam, Vijaykanth slapped a person which caused a stir but he clarified on media that it was his old friend. A song sequence for the movie was shot at a village called Sarukani near Devakkottai.

Critical reception

Indiaglitz wrote: "Perarasu has dished out a movie that would certainly appease front-benchers. A commercial pot-boiler, the movie will be lapped by Vijayakanth's fans. Sure to make it big in rural centres, the movie also has enough stunt sequences for action-lovers". Sify wrote: "Dharmapuri is pure DMDK propaganda machinery working overtime. Perarasu who has written the story, screenplay, dialogue, lyrics and directed the film has given it a commercial coating – songs, fights, punch lines and a bit of glamour. As a political propaganda film, Perarasu has done a fairly decent job as he has worked the script to suit Captain’s screen image". Nowrunning wrote: "Though the movie is mainly for the B and C class audience — that form large part of his fans base, A-class audience may be hard pushed not to enjoy the film. On the whole it is good natured movie".

Box office

The film grossed $6,200 (31,00,000 rupees) at the box office.