Kadavul

Kadavul
Poster
Directed byVelu Prabhakaran
Written byVelu Prabhakaran
Produced byH.Anraaj
Starring
CinematographyVelu Prabhakaran
Edited byNandamuri Haribabu
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Deccan Pictures PVT. LTD.
Release date
  • 5 December 1997 (1997-12-05)
Running time
130 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Kadavul (transl. God) is a 1997 Indian Tamil language film directed by Velu Prabhakaran. The film stars Velu Prabhakaran, Manivannan, Arun Pandiyan, Mansoor Ali Khan and Roja. It was released on 5 December 1997.[1] Despite having controversial themes, the film was well received.[2][3][4]

Plot

Parvathi (Roja), a young woman, is a goddess believer while her father (V. Gopalakrishnan) is the priest of a temple. After a quarrel between two castes during a Hindu festival, the temple was closed off. Five years later, the temple reopens.

Muthu (Rahul) and Thenmozhi (Nandhini) are in love but they are not of the same caste. Velusamy (Karikalan), Thenmozhi's uncle, finds out their love and forces her to marry him.

K. Shanmugam (Mansoor Ali Khan), a corrupt MLA, kills a girl and blames Thamizharasan (Arun Pandian). Thamizharasan fights against injustice and is a revolutionary. Angry, Thamizharasan tries to kill him but fails and eventually steals his money. In the process, Thamizharasan is injured and the prostitute Shenbagam (Rupasri) takes care of him.

Rajapandi (Velu Prabhakaran), an atheist, propagates the non-existence of God. One day, he saves Parvathi from her uncle K. Shanmugam and accidentally marries her. Soon, Rajapandi gets beaten by the devotees. In anger, Rajapandi challenges God to become a human and understand the humans, and God (Manivannan) appears as a human.

Cast

Production

Sathyaraj had been first choice to play the lead role, but his refusal prompted Velu Prabhakaran to take on the lead role himself.[5] Delhi-based model and former air hostess Nandhini was signed on to play a role after the director had seen her modelling pictures.[6]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyrics written by Pulamaipithan.[7]

Song Singer(s) Duration
"Aadi Sivan Tholil Irukkum" Bhavatharini 5:40
"Ariviruntha Konjam" Malaysia Vasudevan 4:51
"Enakku Oru Raasa" Amudha 5:08
"Kaathalai" P. Unni Krishnan, Sujatha 5:07
"Kovilukku Irukkum" K. S. Chithra 4:52
"Poovarasan Poove" Arunmozhi, Sujatha 5:20

Reception

Yugandhan of Kalki wrote though Kadavul speaks about atheism, it is not a complete effort. He also added approaching the theme superficially, by adding a bit of crudeness, can be more dangerous than blue films. Yugandhan praised Ilaiyaraaja's background score as the only highlight of the film.[8] Prabhakaran won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Screenplay Writer.[9]

Potential sequel

In January 2018, Prabhakaran announced that he would be making a sequel, titled Kadavul 2.[10] The film has stars Tamil Selvan and Swathy with Imman Annachi and veteran Seetha in supporting roles.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Kadavul / கடவுள்". Screen 4 Screen. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  2. ^ "A-Z Continued..." INDOlink. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  3. ^ Ashok Kumar, S. R. (26 June 2009). "Grill Mill". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  4. ^ "'Manaivikku nadanda thirumanam'". Behindwoods.com. 19 July 2007. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  5. ^ "KADAVAL [sic]: Prabhakaran's one-man show!". Screen. Archived from the original on 22 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  6. ^ "1997–98'ன் கோடம்பாக்கக் குஞ்சுகள்" [1997–98 Kodambakkam babies]. INDOlink. Archived from the original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Kadavul (1997)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  8. ^ யுகாந்தன் (4 January 1998). "கடவுள்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 25. Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ "Tamilnadu Government Cinema Awards For 1997 Announced: Best Film Award For "Arunachalam", "Surya Vamsam"". Dinakaran. 27 November 1998. Archived from the original on 3 February 1999. Retrieved 11 October 2023.
  10. ^ "OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: SEEMAN'S NEXT FILM!". Behindwoods. 16 January 2018. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Kadavul 2 coming soon". Deccan Chronicle. 2 January 2019. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.