Kovil (film)

Kovil (English: Temple) is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Hari. It starred Silambarasan and Sonia Agarwal in the lead roles. It was dubbed into Telugu as Rudrudu.

Plot

Puliangulam and Veppangulam are nearby villages with enmity lasting for a few generations. Periyasamy (Rajkiran) is from Puliangulam and is widely respected by the villagers. Michael Soosai (Nasser) is from Veppangulam but is short tempered. Sakthivel (Simlambarasan) is Periaysamy’s son and he studies in a college in Nagercoil. Angel (Soni Agarwal) is the daughter of Soosai and she also studies in the same college. Soosai is very much orthodox and does not trust other religions.

Sakthivel and Angel meets in college and they develop a bonding but Angel fears for her father as he will never allow her marrying a Hindu especially from the rival village. Soosai and Periyasamy get to know about the relationship between Sakthivel and Angel. Soosai gets angry and scolds Angel while Periasamy agrees for the wedding. Soosai do not want an inter caste marriage and decides to make his daughter become a nun in the church. At that time, Periyasamy arrives and tells a truth in front of everyone that Angel is Soosai’s adopted daughter. He also reveals that Angel was born to Muslim parents. Soosai realises his mistake and agrees for the wedding.

Cast

• Silambarasan as Saktivel
• Sonia Agarwal as Michael Angel Devi
• Vadivelu as 'Bullet' Pandi (Shaktivel's uncle)
• Charlie as Muruga
• Rajkiran as Periyasamy Shaktivel's father
• Nassar as Michael Soosai, Angel's father
• Rekha as Angel's mother
• Bava Lakshmanan as Cycle Soosai
• S. Ramana Girivasan as Police control room officer

Production

One of the high points of the film is cycle race where hero Silambarasan and villain Sathyan take part. There are 3 fights in the film, but they've been very realistically picturised, says the director. The entirely village-based subject has been shot at locations in Nagercoil, Kuttralam, Munnar among other places. Says Hari, "For the cycle race we shot, we collected about a 1,000 people for the scene. We took about five days to shoot. The total shooting for the film was wrapped up in 59 days".^[1]

Critical reception

Hindu praised simbhu's performance as "restraint and maturity".^[2]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack comprises six songs composed by Harris Jayaraj. Lyrics written by Snehan (exceptions are noted). The soundtrack received positive reviews upon release and became a commercial hit.

Telugu track list

Lyrics are written by Sahithi and Ponduri

Box office

• The film grossed $1 million at the box office.
• The film was a hit.

References