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Arasu
Arasu
Directed by	Suresh
Written by	Suresh
Produced by	R. B. Choudary; (presenter); Babu Raaja
Starring	Sarath Kumar; Simran; Roja
Cinematography	Y. N. Murali
Edited by	V. Jaishankar
Music by	Mani Sharma
Production; company	JJ Good Films
Distributed by	Super Good Films
Release date	14 April 2003;
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Arasu (transl. Kingdom) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by Suresh and produced by Babu Raaja. The film stars Sarath Kumar in dual lead roles alongside Simran and Roja, while Sai Kumar, Vadivelu, Delhi Ganesh and Riyaz Khan play supporting roles. The score and soundtrack was composed by Mani Sharma. Arasu was released on 14 April 2003 and became a commercial success at the box office. The film was remade in Kannada as Indra (2008).^[1]

Plot

Thirunavukkarasu alias Arasu is employed in a temple by Venu Shastri at Kumbakonam and stays in Pichumani's house. Arasu's calm nature and responsible behaviour impresses the locality people and Venu Shastri's daughter Meera, who falls in love with Arasu. One day, Arasu sees the news about the release of a convict from prison where he violently kills the convict with the help of a few men, but Meera and Venu Shastri witnesses the murder. Arasu meets Venu Shastri's family and discloses his past.

Past: Arasu is the son of Periyavar Nataraj, a kind-hearted gangster who is striving hard for the welfare of slum dwellers in Chennai. Sabapathy is a business tycoon who goes to any extent for earning money. Trouble erupts between Sabapathy and Periyavar, following which Sabapathy is arrested and sentenced to imprisonment for his illegal activities which led to the deaths of a few young girls. In order to exact vengeance, Sabapathy's brother Gunashekharan and his henchmen kill Periyavar and his wife Sivagami. Arasu gets enraged and swears vengeance against Sabapathy and Gunashekharan.

Present: Venu Shastri and Meera understands Arasu's position and decide to save him by not disclosing his whereabouts to the police. Despite all the attempts by the cops, Arasu successfully kills Sabapathy and Gunashekharan, where he surrenders to the police and is sentenced to imprisonment. Five years later, Arasu finally reunites with Meera and lead a happy life.

Cast

Sarath Kumar in a dual role as:
- Thirunavukkarasu (Arasu)
- Periyavar Nataraj, Arasu's father
Simran as Meera, Arasu's love interest
Roja as Sivagami, Periyavar's wife and Arasu's mother
Sai Kumar as Sabapathy, the main villain
Vadivelu as Pichumani
Delhi Ganesh as Venu Shastri, Meera's father
Murali as Harikrishnan, CBI Officer
Bhanu Chander as Sundaramurthy
Sudha as Meera's mother
Riyaz Khan as Gunashekharan, Sabapathy's brother
Manivannan as Rahim Bhai
Bharathi as Meera's friend
Minnal Deepa as Thenmozhi
Kottachi as Photographer
Chitti Babu as Lawyer
Sampath Ram as Periyavar's Henchman
Kiran Rathod in an item number

Production

The film marked the debut of Suresh who had worked with directors like N. Maharajan (Vallarasu), Dharani, and Lingusamy.

Most of the shooting took place at Kumbakonam, in and around the temple areas. Other locations were Mumbai and Kolkata.^[2] A fight scene was picturised at the Kumbakonam market area. Five cameras were used and it took ten days to shoot the fight scene. The scene choreographed by Peter Hayen and canned by cinematographer Y. N. Murali, was shot amidst a large crowd including the hero, some stuntmen, character artistes and the locals. Close-up shots of the fight scene was shot again in Chennai Studio where a set resembling the market place was erected.^[3] The film's title was credited in titles as Arasu Darbar with Arasu on top with large letters and Darbar placed below with small letters since the title Arasu was already registered.^[4]

Soundtrack

Song	Singers	Lyrics
"Aalaana Dhegam Engum"	Anuradha Sriram	Kabilan
"Bull Bull Thara"	Pop Shalini	Kalaikumar
"Ilesha Kattumaram"	Tippu, Kalpana Raghavendar	Kalaikumar
"Kattha Kattha"	Karthik, Ganga	Kabilan
"Malligai Malligai"	Vijay Yesudas, Sujatha	Kabilan

Critical reception

Sify wrote "the narration is told in a gripping fashion with all the essential ‘masalas’ like punchy dialogues, action, song ‘n’ dance and item numbers".^[5] Malini Mannath of Chennai Online wrote, "An 'Arasu' for Sharat, like a 'Baashah' for Rajnikant, one thought. Till the debutant director, who showed so much promise in the first half, belied it in the second".^[6]

References

^ Vijayasarathy, R. G. (30 May 2008). "Indra: Only for Darshan fans". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
^ "New Year Releases". Chennai Online. 13 April 2003. Archived from the original on 27 November 2003. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
^ Mannath, Malini (2 April 2003). "Arasu". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 21 April 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^ "AVM gets lawyer notice for Ajith's film". Cinesouth. 30 January 2006. Archived from the original on 18 October 2006. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
^ "Arasu". Sify. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
^ Mannath, Malini (27 April 2003). "Arasu". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 8 April 2005. Retrieved 19 April 2022.