Thamizh

Plot

Thamizh (Prashanth) leads a happy life with his mother (Manorama) and sister-in-law Kalaichelvi (Urvasi). His brother (Livingston) is working in Kuwait, and Thamizh too dreams of joining him there. Meenakshi (Simran), their tenant, and Thamizh fall in love. When the goons of Periyavar (Ashish Vidyarthi) injure Thamizh's niece, he stops Periyavar's car on the road and questions him. He then beats up one of Periyavar's goons when insulted. This makes him Periyavar's target, and though he tries to withdraw from the violence, he is forced to join forces with Rathnam (Nassar), Periyavar's sworn enemy, and eventually defeats him.

Cast

Production

The film marked the debut of director Hari, who earlier worked as an assistant director to K. Balachander, while Prashanth agreed to work in the film in early 2001. The film's title of Thamizh was given by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who also helped create the film's logo. Simran was selected as heroine pairing with Prashanth, for fourth time after successful collaborations in Kannedhirey Thondrinal (1998), Jodi (1999) and Parthen Rasithen (2000). Director Saran assisted Hari with the dialogues in the film, supervising his writing. The team had worked on pre-production for close to a year and the script was ready prior to the start of the shoot, with Hari revealing he was inspired by the 1989 Malayalam film Kireedam. For his role, Prashanth worked out at the gym, grew a beard and began smoking cigarettes to get into character. Shooting commenced in Chennai and proceeded in locations like Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. Scenes were also shot in Sikkim, reportedly becoming the first time that a Tamil film shot there. A few scenes were also later picturised on Prashanth, Charlie, Vadivelu, and Crane Manohar in Karaikudi. Prashanth had performed a lengthy dialogue in front of Madurai Meenakshi Temple which gained accolades from the onlookers. Prashanth shot action scenes for the film through pain after he had injured his knee during the making of Majunu (2001).

The similarities of title and same release date between Thamizh and Vijay starrer Thamizhan created confusion with the Producer of both films unable to accommodate any changes. The film, made at a cost of 20 million rupees, failed to get a distributor before release due to competition from other films, so producer Amudha Durairaj marketed the venture herself.

Release

The film gained positive reviews upon release, with a critic noting the "debutant director has woven an action packed entertainer and has etched out the roles well". Another critic wrote "When one leaves the theatre, one gets the satisfaction of watching a good film. This feeling has been rare in recent lives. Thamizh has turned out as the thirst quencher". Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu noted "Thamizh is backed by a strong storyline and a significant end [sic] and the positive twist is appealing."

The film became a box office success despite opening with little publicity, with positive word of mouth significantly helping the film's prospects.

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by film composer Bharadwaj. The soundtrack, released in 2002, features 7 tracks. Lyrics written by Vaali, Palani Bharathi, Thamarai, Viveka and Snehan.