# Arinthum Ariyamalum

Arinthum Ariyamalum (transl. Knowingly and Unknowingly) is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language crime action film written and directed by Vishnuvardhan. It stars Navdeep, Arya, Prakash Raj, and Sameksha, while Adithya, Sangili Murugan, Krishna, and Yog Japee play pivotal roles. The film marks the debut of Arya and the Tamil debut of Sameksha. The film's music was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja with cinematography by Nirav Shah and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad. "Punnagai Poo" Gheetha, an RJ at a Malaysian radio station THR Raaga, produced the film.
The film was released theatrically on 20 May 2005. It completed a 175-day run at the box office. The film eventually went on to receive Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut – South for Arya. It was remade in Odia as Prema Rutu Asilare in 2006.

## Plot

Satya, a naive Brahmin boy, comes from Nagercoil to Chennai, to join an engineering college. His problems begin, one by one, when he encounters his father, the dreaded don, Adhi Narayanan, and the latter's hot-blooded adopted son Kutty. Satya's girlfriend Sandhya is accidentally wounded in a shootout between Adhi's gang and his rivals. Satya, on the prodding of ACP Thiagarajan, is all set to identify Kutty as the culprit. Intimidated and threatened by the gang and in a state of confusion, Satya is shocked when Adhi suddenly changes track and makes friendly overtures to him, claiming kinship with him. With Kutty too going overboard with his brotherly overprotective attitude, Satya's life takes a comical and drastic turn.

## Cast

* Navdeep as Sathya Narayanan, Adhi Narayanan's biological son
* Arya as Kutty Narayanan, Adhi Narayanan's foster son
* Prakash Raj as Adhi Narayanan, Sathya's biological father and Lakshmi's husband
* Lakshmi Vasudevan as Lakshmi Narayanan, Adhi Narayanan's wife and Sathya's biological mother
* Sameksha as Sandhya, Sathya's love interest
* Adithya as ACP Thiyagarajan
* Sangili Murugan as Ganapathi, Adhi Narayanan's brother
* Krishna as Krishna, Sathya's college friend
* Yog Japee as Mani
* Punnagai Poo Gheetha as The Collector
* ‘Nair’ Raman as Sathya's uncle's father
* Ravi Raj as Subramani, Sandhya's father
* Boys Rajan as a Police officer
* Master Sachin as Sathya's friend
* Supriya as a special appearance in the song Theepidika Theepidika

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack and film score were composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, joining again with director Vishnuvardhan after Kurumbu (2003). The soundtrack was released on 10 April 2005 and featured five tracks with lyrics penned by Pa. Vijay and Snehan. Yuvan garnered high praise for the "racy" and "peppy songs", the album becoming one of the most successful albums of 2005, while Behindwoods placed "Yuvan's music in Arindhum Ariyamalum" on the fifth spot in the list of Top 5 Innovations of the year in Tamil cinema. The album features the singers Mahua Kamat and Anushka Manchanda, former members of the girl group Viva!, foraying into the Tamil music industry.
The song "Theepidika", in particular, gained cult status, becoming the "anthem of the season". It incorporates elements of the song "Bhoomiyil Maanida Jenmam" from the 1941 Tamil film Ashok Kumar, featuring the voice of M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar; composed by Papanasam Sivan.

## Reception

Sify wrote that "The highlight of the film is that it is racy and the casting is perfect. The designer look, comic one-liners and great action scenes makes the film watchable. The sentimental happy ending contributes considerably towards tugging at the heartstrings. Prakash Raj, clearly having a Ghilli hangover is extraordinary". Kalki rated the film "above average". The Hindu wrote, "Sometimes striking a serious note, suddenly lending it a comic twist and eventually wrapping it all up in absolute bonhomie, writer-director Vishnuvardhan's palatable treatment is a pleasant surprise".