Cheran Pandian

Cheran Pandian is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by K. S. Ravikumar, from a story by Erode Soundar. The film stars Vijayakumar, Sarathkumar, Anand Babu and Sreeja. It was released on 31 May 1991, emerged a box office success and won several Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. The film was remade in Telugu as Balarama Krishnulu (1992), and in Hindi in as Sautela (1999).

Cheran Pandian
Theatrical release poster
Directed byK. S. Ravikumar
Screenplay byK. S. Ravikumar
Story byErode Soundar
Produced byR. B. Choudary
StarringVijayakumar
Sarathkumar
Sreeja
CinematographyAshok Rajan
Edited byK. Thanikachalam
Music bySoundaryan
Production
company
Release date
  • 31 May 1991 (1991-05-31)
Running time
144 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot

Manicheran Gounder or Periya Gounder, the rich head of the Muthupalayam village in Coimbatore District, living with his wife Paarvathi and daughter Vennila, is a person who strictly adheres to the caste system. Rajapaandi Gounder or Chinna Gounder is Periya Gounder's half brother and also a rich landlord in the same village, and Parimalam is his sister. Since Rajapaandi's mother was from a suppressed caste, Periya Gounder stays aloof from him and always ignores and berates Rajapaandi and Parimalam. Manicheran had split his share of ancestral properties and went separate at age 18, when his father Bunglow Gounder married Rajapaandi's mother. Still Bunglow Gounder, before dying, had divided his entire self-earned property, including the house, equally between the two brothers, and they live on either side of the bungalow house, split by a wall in the middle. Yet, Periya Gounder's family gets first respect within the village and the local temple, and he refuses to yield any privilege to Rajapaandi.

Chandran, a first cousin of Rajapaandi through his maternal uncle, comes to meet and work under him in the village since his parents are dead, and he could not manage to find a job in Tirupur. He also falls in love with Vennila. Periya Gounder is furious when he learns of this and tries to get Vennila married to his brother-in-law, and after being rebuked by him, he makes arrangements for Vennila's marriage with a womanising thug, son of a devious village elder, since he belongs to his own caste. After a serious turn of events, Periya Gounder has a change of heart with some heartfelt advice from Paarvathi, renounces his casteist mindset and accepts Rajapaandi as his equal sibling and Chandran and Vennila end up getting married.

Cast

Production

Cheran Pandian is K. S. Ravikumar's second film as director.[1] Producer R. B. Choudary had previously stated he would finance Ravikumar's second directorial film, regardless of how well his first (Puriyaadha Pudhir) performed at the box office.[2]

Soundtrack

The music composed by Soundaryan, who also wrote the lyrics.[3][4] The song "Kadhal Kaditham" is set in Mohanam raga.[5]

TitleSinger(s)Length
"Kangal Ondraga"Mano, K. S. Chithra04:49
"Kadhal Kaditham"Mano, Swarnalatha04:34
"Samba Naathu"Swarnalatha04:41
"Va Va Endhan"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam04:43
"Kodiyum thoranamum"Malaysia Vasudevan, Sunandha05:05
"Chinna Thangam"K. J. Yesudas4:33
"Ethirveetu Jannal"Malaysia Vasudevan, Krishnaraj5:22
"Ooru Vittu Ooru"S. P. Sailaja5:24

Release and reception

Cheran Pandian was released on 31 May 1991.[6] C. R. K. of Kalki appreciated the songs, but criticised their abundance. He also criticised Ravikumar's direction and writing.[7] Cheran Pandian won the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Special Prize for Best Film, Best Story Writer (Erode Soundar) and Best Sound Recording (Sampath).[8][9] Vijayakumar won the Cinema Express Award for Best Character Actor.[10]

Legacy

After the film's success, Ravikumar regularly collaborated with Sarathkumar, in films like Nattamai (1994), Natpukkaga (1998), Paattali (1999) and Samudhiram (2001) after which he became a highly sought-after filmmaker in the Tamil film industry.[11] Cheran Pandian was remade in Telugu as Balarama Krishnulu (1992), and in Hindi in as Sautela (1999).[12]

References
  1. Darshan, Navein (22 April 2021). "Pariyerum Perumal is a masala film, says filmmaker KS Ravikumar". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  2. Lakshmi, V (7 September 2020). "#30YearsOfKSRavikumar: I came into the film industry because of piracy: KS Ravikumar". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  3. "Cheran Pandiyan (1991) Tamil Super Hit Film LP Vinyl Record by Soundaryan". Disco Music Center. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  4. "Cheran Pandiyan (1991)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 21 May 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  5. Parameswaran, Prathibha (7 February 2006). "A Sunday vibrates with razzmatazz". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  6. "Cheran Pandian". The Indian Express. 31 May 1991. p. 5. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  7. சி.ஆர்.கே. (6 June 1991). "சேரன்–பாண்டியன்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 64. Archived from the original on 11 September 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  8. "Chinnathambi bags six awards". The Indian Express. 30 October 1992. p. 3. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  9. Saravanan, T. (23 June 2016). "Sound knowledge". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  10. "'Chinnathambhi' bags Cinema Express award". The Indian Express. 25 February 1992. p. 3. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  11. "Its a special day for KSRavikumar". IndiaGlitz. 30 May 2014. Archived from the original on 16 January 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  12. "RIP Chitra: A seasoned performer who left an impact". Deccan Herald. 21 August 2021. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
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