# Indhu

Indhu is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language dance film directed by Pavithran and produced by N. A. Sudhakar and K. P. Unnikrishnan. The film featured Prabhu Deva, appearing in his first leading role as the newcomer, alongside Roja Selvamani, while Sarathkumar and Khushbu play supporting roles. It was released on 14 April 1994.

## Plot

Chinnasamy a.k.a Pattas (Prabhudeva), Peter, Sottai, and Pazhani are daily wagers working in Pollachi market. One day, Pattas accidentally drops fish on Indhu (Roja) and she gets into tussle with them. After a series of tit for tat incidents, she becomes friends with them. She mentions that she is a rich girl but her father is working abroad and she is living her life alone in a hostel.
Veeraiyan (Ponnambalam) is a rowdy who terrorizes the market demanding mamool from petty shopkeepers. Soon it is revealed that Kasi (R. Sarathkumar) will be released from jail.
In the past, Veeraiyan brother impregnated Kasi sister and after marriage, Veeraiyan burned her when she resisted his molestation attempt.
Meanwhile, Indhu goes to her uncle's house in Madras after getting dismissed from college due to an incident.
The friends Pattas, Peter, Pazhani, and Sottai visit her uncle's house in Madras but are chased by their uncle due to a misunderstanding. Later her uncle's colleagues plan to sleep with her in return for helping her uncle.
She runs away and rowdies thrash the friends, Sottai dies and is cremated.
Whether Indhu and Pattas unite and whether Kasi takes revenge on Veeraiyan is revealed later in the film.

## Cast

* Prabhu Deva as Chinnasamy (Pattasu)
* Roja as Indhu
* Sukran as Antony Felix Peter
* Jawahar as Pazhani
* Rajkumar as Sottai
* Ponnambalam as Veeraiyan
* Sandhya Rani as Jameela
* Kumarimuthu as Tea master
* Oru Viral Krishna Rao as Millworker
* Mannangatti Subramaniam as Kanakku
* Ennathe Kannaiah as Servant
* Kalidoss as Police inspector
* Krishnamoorthy as Police inspector
* Sarathkumar as Kaasi (guest appearance)
* Khushbu in a special appearance

## Production

The film marked Prabhu Deva's debut as an actor in the leading role, after he appeared as a dancer in several earlier films.

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film composed by Deva, was well received by the audience. During the audio release of Mattuthavani (2012), Deva paid tribute to the director Pavithran for giving him the opportunity to score the music for his earlier films like Indhu. The lyrics were written by Vaali. The song Aeye Gnanam was inspired by R. D. Burman's Hindi song Jaana O Meri Jaana, sung by Kishore Kumar from the 1982 film Sanam Teri Kasam. For the dubbed Telugu version, all lyrics were written by Rajasri.

## Release and reception

Indhu was released on 14 April 1994. The Indian Express wrote that, given Prabhu Deva's reputation as a dancer, the director "has been careful enough not to attempt any drastic change in the image of Deva. The film is hence dance-oriented with the storyline given a go by". R. P. R. of Kalki praised Prabhu Deva's dance and Sarathkumar's acting but panned Ashok Kumar's cinematography as out of focus and also panned the vulgar dialogues and lyrics. The film's release in Malaysia was marred by heavy censorship, with several fight scenes omitted.
It was reported that Pavithran was considering making a film titled Mookkuthi Kaasi featuring Sarathkumar's character from Indhu, and the project started in 1996. However Sarathkumar was ousted from the project soon after and replaced by Bhaskar Raj, who had appeared in Nethaji. The film, which also featured Kushboo and Roja, was later shelved.