Aayirathil Oruvan (2010 film)

***Aayirathil Oruvan*** (Template:Translation) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action-adventure film written and directed by Selvaraghavan and produced by R. Ravindran. The film stars Karthi, Reemma Sen and Andrea Jeremiah with Parthiban playing a pivotal role. It revolves around three characters, Muthu (Karthi), Lavanya (Andrea Jeremiah) and Anitha (Reemma Sen) who embark on an adventure to search for a missing archaeologist. It is inspired loosely by the historical decline of the Tamil Chola dynasty and the rise of the Tamil Pandya dynasty.

The film's principal photography commenced in July 2007, and continued till 2008; shooting of the film took place in various locations with 2,000 extras in areas including Chalakudy, Kerala and Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, and also filmed in Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. The title *Aayirathil Oruvan* is taken from the 1965 film of the same name. The cinematography was handled by Ramji and editing work is done by Kola Bhaskar. The film's background score and soundtrack album is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, replacing Selvaraghavan's usual collaborator Yuvan Shankar Raja, whom he composed for his earlier films. The soundtrack received rave critical acclaim and emerged as one of the composer's best works till date.

The film languished in development hell due to slow progress of the shoot and the extensive pre-and post-production works, evading release dates ranging one year, *Aayirathil Oruvan* was released during the Thai Pongal festival, on 14 January 2010. The distribution rights were bought by Ayngaran International. Though the original film length was 181 minutes, it was then trimmed to 154 minutes for the theatrical release.

Upon release, the film garnered critical acclaim from both the critics and audience, alike. However, the film developed a cult status over the following years. At the 58th Filmfare Awards South, the film won Best Supporting Actor award for R. Parthiepan.

## Plot

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In 1279 A.D., the downfall of the Chola dynasty seems imminent as the Pandyas drive the Chola people out of their kingdom in southern India. To escape them and save the life of his successor, the Chola emperor sends his son, his royal advisor (Raja Guru), and the remaining Chola people to a secret territory. The refugees take along an idol sacred to the Pandyas, angering them. To capture the escaped Cholas and the stolen idol, the Pandyas extend their invasion to unexplored territories, but are unable to find them.

Centuries later, in 2008, Indian archaeologists are searching for the secret land of the lost Chola group using clues left by the ancient Pandyan warriors, but the searchers always disappear. After the sudden disappearance of archaeologist Chandramouli, the government organizes a search expedition led by the cruel and arrogant officer Anitha to find him and what became of the Cholas. She is assisted by a detachment of the Indian army led by Ravisekharan. They recruit Chandramouli's estranged daughter, the aloof and quiet archaeologist Lavanya. She supplies crucial documents about the Chola dynasty prepared by her father, which contain route information. Anitha also employs a group of porters headed by Muthu, who she and the army continually ill-treat.

The expedition arrives at an island called Min-gua, on the borders of Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia. There they face seven traps set by the Cholas: sea creatures, which they flee from; cannibals, who cannot eat them as long as they do not look them in the face; warriors whose land they invade and who they brutally kill; snakes; hunger; quicksand; and a village. Many porters and soldiers die, Anitha forcing the porters, who she had not warned of the dangers, to carry on and emotionally manipulating Muthu into not retreating by insulting his masculinity.

Muthu, Anitha and Lavanya then become separated from the others. They reach a ruined village, where they realize that someone is following them. Under the influence of black magic, they are almost driven mad, and surrender to the follower, who reveals himself as the aged Raja Guru, the royal advisor who was sent away 800 years ago. The Chola people have become an ethnically isolated primitive Tamil group ruled by Rajendra Chola III. They are living in poverty and suffering from drought while awaiting the arrival of the messenger who, it is foretold, will lead them back to their motherland of Thanjavur. When Muthu, Anitha, and Lavanya strip in front of themselves in front of the Raja Guru, a tattoo of a tiger is revealed on Muthu's back.

After Muthu, Anitha, and Lavanya are revived to consciousness by the Raja Guru, other priests and physicians. Consulting the gods for omens, the king and priests are told that one of them is a Chola, one is a Pandya, and one is a commoner. The king and Raja Guru hypnotize Muthu, attempting to have him reveal himself as the messenger, but the king rejects the possibility because of Muthu's appearance and his incoherent babbling, and orders all three to be burnt alive as sacrifices.

At this point Anitha suddenly pricks herself and uses her blood to perform black magic. She tells the king that she is the messenger. All the Chola people are ecstatic. Muthu and Lavanya are enslaved.

Unbeknownst to the Chola people, it is revealed to the audience that Anitha's account of her ancestry reveals her true identity as a descendant of the Pandya Dynasty. On glimpsing the Pandyas' sacred idol, she cries out. The minister sponsoring the expedition and Army officer Ravishekaran, who escaped the traps and is the sole survivor of the expeditionary force, are also revealed to be Pandyas. Anitha attempts to seduce the king and to persuade him to march immediately to the homeland so he can be formally crowned there, but he grows suspicious since her actions do not match the traditions about the messenger. The prophecy was that on arrival, the messenger will be beaten, it will rain, and finally, he will console the destitute. Giving up on persuading the king, Anitha attempts to kill the Raja Guru and poisons the wells, then hypnotizes a Chola girl into passing information to Ravishekaran, who returns with reinforcements. The king, horrified that he ever believed in her, realizes that Muthu is the true messenger. The Raja Guru gives all of his magical powers, including invisibility and invulnerability, to Muthu and dies.

The Cholas fight bravely against Ravishekaran's troops but are overwhelmed by modern technology. Rajendra Chola III and his people are taken prisoners, their women raped by the soldiers. The king dies, and the remaining enslaved Cholas drown themselves in the sea with his body. Muthu then breaks free from his shackles, and saves the king's son, the last remaining heir of Chola dynasty. Using the powers given to him by the Raja Guru, he escapes from Anitha and the army with the Chola prince, presumably to India, thus fulfilling the prophecy that the messenger will take the seed of Chola dynasty to their homeland.

## Cast

* Karthi as Muthu, a porter from Chennai
* Reema Sen as Anitha Pandiyan (Nambirattiyaar), an intelligence officer
* Andrea Jeremiah as archaeologist Lavanya Chandramouli
* R. Parthiban as Meignanandha Sivapaadha Sekara Chozhar, a descendant of Rajendra Chola III and a king of the Chola dynasty in exile. Parthiepan signed for the role after much speculation that Dhanush would be selected.
* Pratap K. Pothen as Chandramouli, an archaeologist and father of Lavanya Chandramouli
* Azhagam Perumal as army officer Ravisekharan
* Crane Manohar as Muthu's uncle
* V.Nambirajan as Chola's Rajaguru
* Abhinaya as daughter of Chola king
* Mathan as Uncredited Role Side Soldier

## Music

The film was announced in 2007 with Selvaraghavan's regular music director, Yuvan Shankar Raja, following five successive successful albums together, but after his ouster during filming, work for the soundtrack began again from scratch under new music director G. V. Prakash Kumar. "Adada Vaa", the only song composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja for the film, was removed after his departure and instead used in *Sarvam*,. As
Selvaraghavan had already filmed the visuals for that song, Prakash Kumar had to match the visuals and the choreography. "Un Mela Aasadhan", which he composed as the replacement, was noted for sounding similar to "Adada Vaa".

The album was well received. It features ten tunes; six songs, two alternate versions and another two theme songs, with vocals from singers Karthik, Vijay Yesudas, Bombay Jayashri, Nithyasree Mahadevan and P. B. Sreenivas, who made a comeback to playback singing with his song. Moreover, Dhanush and Aishwarya sang for the album along with the composer, Prakash Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah. Lyrics for the songs were written by Vairamuthu, Veturi, Selvaraghavan and Andrea Jeremiah. For a song set in the thirteenth century, research was carried out to find instruments used during that period. A Yaazh, a melodic instrument used in the Sangam Period, and a horn made from animal horns from Bhutan were used.

The soundtrack to *Aayirathil Oruvan* was released on 4 November 2009 at a University Auditorium in Chennai, in a critically praised event. Prominent film personalities across the South Indian film industry attended the launch, which became one of the first films to play live music at the audio launch. It featured live performances from G. V. Prakash Kumar and Andrea Jeremiah for several songs, as well as songs from Dhanush and Aishwarya Dhanush. Furthermore, the night featured a fashion show from Erum Ali, a Kalari performance, *Chenda Melam* by women from Kerala, a classical dance performance by an actress Poorna and choreographed by Sivashankar. The soundtrack garnered critical acclaim and was considered Prakash Kumar's finest work to date. Furthermore, shortly after the music release, an album success meet was held on 20 November 2009.

In the film, only five songs from the album are used in their entirety. Moreover, one song in the film, not included in the soundtrack, is the original version of "Atho Andha Paravai" from the 1965 film *Aayirathil Oruvan*, which was bought from the original copyright holders of the song in December 2007. The film's picturisation of the three exploring the ruins of the fallen kingdom in the song, were praised.

All music is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, except the track "Un Mela Aasadhaan" was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja and remixed and recorded by the former. The remix version of "Atho Andha Paravai" from the 1965 Tamil film *Aayirathil Oruvan* was not included in the soundtrack release, despite being featured in the film.

## Sequel

On 1 January 2021, Selvaraghavan released the first-look poster for the sequel *Aayirathil Oruvan 2*, confirming that it starred Dhanush. A character sketch of his role was released by Dhanush through his Twitter page. It is scheduled for release in 2024.

## References

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1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 [TBA Aayirathil Oruvan (2009)] (18 January 2010).
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Devi Rani, Bhama (16 January 2010). [TBA "Aayirathil Oruvan"] Check `|url=` value (help). *Times of India*. Retrieved 15 January 2010. Check `|archive-url=` value (help)
3. ↑ [TBA Aayirathil Oruvan (2010) - Selvaraghavan].
4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `rajdr`
5. ↑ [TBA Aayirathil Oruvan: Movie Preview] (2010).
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Srinivasan, Pavithra (2009). [TBA Aayirathil Oruvan's music works]. Rediff.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `earlyint`
8. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Surendhar MK (8 April 2019). [TBA "GV Prakash on Kuppathu Raja, Suriya 38, and being appreciated by Ilaiyaraja, AR Rahman"] Check `|url=` value (help). *Firstpost*. Retrieved 7 April 2020. Check `|archive-url=` value (help)
9. ↑ [TBA Karthi as MGR fan] (2007).
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Srinivasan, Pavithra (2010). [TBA Aayirathil Oruvan is not for the faint hearted].
11. ↑ [TBA Selvaraghavan on his relationship with Andrea] (2009).
12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `anewt`
13. ↑ [TBA Yuvan splits with Selva] (2008).
14. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Pillai, Sreedhar (1 November 2009). [TBA "Selvaraghavan talks music"] Check `|url=` value (help). Times of India. Retrieved 3 November 2009. Check `|archive-url=` value (help)
15. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `akyuvan`
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Moviebuzz (2009). [TBA Selvaraghavan's super show].
17. ↑ Moviebuzz (2009). [TBA Sony Music throws AO audio success party!].
18. ↑ [TBA Parthiban reveals his Ayirathil Oruvan looks] (14 May 2008).
19. ↑ [TBA Selvaraghavan's Instagram profile post: "இது வரை கேட்டிருந்த , காத்திருந்த என் அன்பு உள்ளங்களுக்கு இதோ உங்கள் முன்னால் #ao2 @dhanushkraja"] (en).Template:Cbignore

## External links

* Template:IMDb
* Template:Allmovie
* TBA

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