# Thenmerku Paruvakaatru

Thenmerku Paruvakatru (transl. Southwest Monsoon Breeze) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Seenu Ramasamy and produced by Shibu Issac. The film is named after a song composed by A. R. Rahman for the 1994 film, Karuthamma. It stars Vijay Sethupathi (in his lead debut), Vasundhara Kashyap and Saranya Ponvannan in her 100th film. The music was composed by debutant N. R. Raghunanthan with cinematography by Chezhiyan and editing by Mu. Kasivishwanathan.
Thenmerku Paruvakkaatru was released on 24 December 2010. The film won multiple awards at the 58th National Film Awards ceremony, including Best Tamil Feature Film while Saranya and lyricist Vairamuthu were awarded the Best Actress and Best Lyricist prizes, respectively.

## Plot

Set in the backdrop of Theni, the story is about Murugaiyan (aka Murugan), who is a goatherd. He has a loving mother, Veerayi, who is a widow. She struggles hard to raise Murugan but has an overflowing affection for him. Meanwhile, there is a gang which attacks the villagers at night and steals their goats. Murugan, along with his group, manages to catch one of the members in an attack and discovers that it is a girl. Her name is Pechi, and her family steals goats for their livelihood. While Murugan develops feelings for her, Pechi's family is known to be quite dangerous. Veerayi learns of this and asked Murugan to marry a girl of her choice. He refuses to accept her wish. However, complications arise between them. An old lady of her house tells Veerayi to let her son marry the girl whom he loves. A possessive widow tells how her husband was killed to that old lady. Her husband was killed by a group of thieves. The head of the gang is none other than the father of the girl whom her son loves.

## Cast

* Vijay Sethupathi as Murugaiyan
* Vasundhara Kashyap as Pechi
* Saranya Ponvannan as Veerayi
* Aruldoss as Mokkaiyan
* Kadhal Sukumar
* Ajayan Bala
* Theepetti Ganesan
* "Stills" Kumar as Marichami
* Hemalatha as Kalaichelvi
* Jyothi
* Meenakshi
* Shobana
* Kambam Guna
* Seenu Ramasamy as Doctor (cameo appearance)

## Soundtrack

The music was composed by N. R. Raghunanthan, in his debut.
All lyrics are written by Vairamuthu

## Release and reception

Thenmerku Paruvakkaatru was released on 24 December 2010. The Hindu wrote, "Thenmerku Paruvakkaatru with its mother sentiment makes a mark among films with rural themes". Sify called the film "OK" and wrote, "It is made like a [1970s] tear jerker with the central character being the all sacrificing mother". The New Indian Express wrote, "A film that has worked out well in all departments, Thenmerku Paruvakaatru is worth a watch.

## Accolades

| Event | Category | Recipient(s) | Ref. |
| 58th National Film Awards | Best Actress | Saranya Ponvannan | [8] [9] |
| 58th National Film Awards | Best Lyricist | Vairamuthu (for "Kallikattil Pirantha Thayae...") | [8] [9] |
| 58th National Film Awards | Best Tamil Feature Film | Seenu Ramasamy | [8] [9] |
| 58th Filmfare Awards South | Best Supporting Actress – Tamil | Saranya Ponvannan | |
| 5th Vijay Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Saranya Ponvannan | |
| 5th Vijay Awards | Best Lyricist | Vairamuthu | |
| 5th Vijay Awards | Special Jury Award | Thenmerku Paruvakaatru | |