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Paruthiveeran () is a 2007 Indian Tamil language-language romantic film action film drama film written and directed by Ameer. The film stars Karthi in his feature film debut as the title character, with Priyamani as the female lead and Ponvannan, Saravanan, Ganja Karuppu, Sampath Raj, and Sujatha Sivakumar playing supporting roles. Produced by Ameer, it features a soundtrack and score composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, cinematograhy by Ramji and editing by Raja Mohammad.
Paruthiveeran was entirely shot in Madurai and its surroundings. After two years of making, the film was released on 23 February 2007 and received universal critical acclaim. The female lead of this film Priyamani has won the National Film Award for Best Actress (2007) for her intense performance as a gang rape victim. The film won prizes at major film award ceremonies in India, including two National Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards South and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, among others, while being screened at several international film festivals such as the Berlin International Film Festival and the Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema as well. It also emerged as a huge commercial success, running successfully for more than one year in theatres.
Paruthi's paternal cousin, Muththazhagu, is the daughter of his snobbish uncle, Kazhuvathevan Servai, who is a respected member of the village and a caste sectarian. Muththazhagu has been in love with Paruthi since their childhood, but he remains unmoved and keeps her at bay. When they were children, Paruthi saved Muththazhagu from drowning in a well. She promised to marry him and be by his side forever and starts to love him against her parents' will as they do not approve of Parututhi's inter-caste background. In order to delay her marriage with anybody else, she fails in her tests at school on purpose to be in the same grade class as she might be married off if she finishes school. At times, Paruthi is violent towards her, but she still loves him. When Paruthi finally accepts Muththazhagu's love for him and decides to marry her, the feud between the two families comes in the way.
Determined to marry Muththazhagu, he goes to Kazhuvathevan's house and formally asks for her hand in marriage. He is again shamed off, and in the ensuing melee he warns her against marrying anyone else by threatening to cut her into pieces. Undeterred by his threats, her parents press ahead with the preparations for her marriage with a boy of their choice. Since Muththazhagu is not able to convince her parents otherwise, she runs away from home in order to elope with Paruthi. However, while hiding away in an abandoned building while Paruthi is away making the necessary marital arrangements, she comes across four of Paruthi's acquaintances who mistake her for one of his prostitutes. They brutally gang rape and leave her to die.
Later, Paruthiveeran returns and finds her dying from bleeding. She beseeches Paruthi to cut her into pieces as she does not want anybody to find her in her present state and dies. He tries to take her out from there, but sees people approaching the house. He comes back inside with her dead body and locks the house from the inside. When he realises it is Kazhuvathevan and her family that have come to kill him, he does not want them to see her in that state. He goes mad and chops her body up and runs towards them saying he will not allow her to marry anyone else. Kazhuvathevan and his henchmen see her mutilated dead body inside and brutally thrash Paruthi. His time with Muththazhagu flashes before his eyes as he breathes his last.
About 60 debutants, mostly real-time people from the region, appeared in the film. The number of newcomers who acted in the film, notably, outweighed the number of professional artists, with Priyamani, Ponvannan, Saravanan and Ganja Karuppu being the only four experienced actors. Furthermore, no dubbing artists were involved in the production and all artists were brought to Chennai had dubbed their original voice.
Yuvan Shankar Raja received critical acclaim for his score, while the soundtrack album initially got mostly unfavorable reviews, being described as a "letdown" and "disappointment", raising to question whether it could attract today's "modern" audience. Following the film's release however, critics unanimously made very positive remarks in regards to the film score. Baradwaj Rangan labelled it a "magnificently earthy score", while Malathi Rangarajan noted that the composer "proves he is a chip off the old block in rustic music too". Other critics hailed his music as "excellent", and as "unmistakably a milestone on his road to the pinnacle that his father Ilayaraja has reached". Due to its successful run at the box office, the songs enjoyed popularity as well, particularly among the younger generation. The song "Oororam Puliyamaram" in particular was the Chartbuster number, also being chosen as the "Best Folk Song of the Year 2007" at the Isaiyaruvi Tamil Music Awards, whilst the entire album itself was named as "Isaiyaruvi Best Album of the Year 2007".
Baradwaj Rangan called Paruthiveeran a "classic, one for the ages" and a "showcase for how good filmmaking can (almost) overcome mediocre material", while noting that Karthi gave "a superb first-film performance by any standard, and it makes you reach for that oldest of movie-myth cliches: A star is born." Other critics have offered criticism of the violence and brutality of some sequences in the film. A Sify critic wrote that it was "undoubtedly ... a brave film and full credit goes to the director for making every scene realistic and characters life-like", while criticizing that Ameer's script was "too thin on logic" and the climax "too heavy, dark and morbid." However, in regards to the performances, the reviewer, too, heaped praise on the actors, describing Karthi as "spectacular" and Saravanan as "terrific" and adding that Priya Mani "... steals the show with her spontaneity and authenticity". Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu claimed that the film was "the genuine depiction of village life" that "transports you to the era of classics in a rustic ambience, Bharatiraaja style", further citing that "all the same, when graphic pictures of gang rape and killing in cold blood dominate, things becomes too much to stomach" and that Ameer "only creates the impression that village folks as a whole are a belligerent lot." Lajjavathi of Kalki praised the acting of Karthi, Priyamani and other cast, Ramji's cinematography and Yuvan's music and praised Ameer for giving quality film and the efforts is visible in every scene but panned the violent climax and portrayal of transgenders.
2006 National Film Awards (India)
2007 Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema
2008 Berlin International Film Festival (Germany)
2006 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
2007 Cinema Journalists Association Awards
2007 Filmfare Awards South (India)
2007 Vijay Awards
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