Arul (transl. Grace) is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Hari. It stars Vikram in the titular role, alongside Jyothika, Pasupathy, Kollam Thulasi and Vadivelu. The music was composed by Harris Jayaraj, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Priyan and V. T. Vijayan respectively.
| Arul | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Hari |
| Written by | Hari |
| Produced by | T. Rama Rao (Presenter) T. Ajay Kumar |
| Starring | Vikram Jyothika Pasupathy Kollam Thulasi Vadivelu |
| Cinematography | Priyan |
| Edited by | V. T. Vijayan |
| Music by | Harris Jayaraj |
Production company | Lakshmi Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 163 minutes (2 hours 43 minutes) |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Arul was released on 1 May 2004 and became a commercial success at the box office.
Plot
editArul Kumaran, a factory worker separated from his family of goldsmiths in Coimbatore, gets into a verbal fight with the corrupt MLA Gajapathy, which results in Arul killing Gajapathy. Arul surrenders to the cops, but is later released from prison. Sethupathy, Gajapathy's brother and a political kingmaker, wants to exact revenge on Arul for Gajapathy's death. A cat and mouse game ensues in which Arul takes responsibility of cleaning anti social elements and also becomes the kingmaker of Coimbatore.
Cast
edit- Vikram as Arul Kumaran
- Jyothika as Kanmani
- Pasupathy as MLA Gajapathi
- Kollam Thulasi as Sethupathi, a Kingmaker
- Vadivelu as Thangamani
- Sathyan as Senthil Kumaran, Arul's younger brother
- Vinu Chakravarthy as Bala Dhandayuthapani, Arul's father
- Sujatha as Sornam, Arul's mother
- Saranya Ponvannan as Bhagyam, Arul's elder sister
- Thalaivasal Vijay as Thiru Kumaran, Arul's elder brother
- K. S. Ravikumar as Thirupathi, Arul's elder brother-in-law
- Aarthi as Neelaveni, Kanmani's younger sister
- Vanitha Krishnachandran as Durga, Thiru Kumaran's wife
- Manobala as Paramasivam
- Ponnambalam as Paalayamkottai Kasilingam
- Kuyili as Kaveri, Kanmani & Neelaveni's mother
- Charan Raj as Inspector Ramanathan
- Rekha as Saroja, Gajapathi's wife
- Sarath Babu as Dr. Viswanathan
- Vaiyapuri as Raja
- Benjamin as Mani
- Sivanarayana Moorthy as Shanmuga Pandi, a textile shop owner
- Thambi Ramaiah as Moorthi, Sethupathi's assistant
- Besant Ravi as Ravi, Sethupathi's assistant
- Minnal Deepa as Aarthi, Arul's second elder sister-in-law
- Priyanka as Veni
- Chaya Singh as Ponni (Special appearance in the song "Venam Ponni")
- Sampath Ram as Sundar (uncredited)
Production
editAfter the success of Saamy, Hari decided to renew the collaboration with Vikram for second time with Arul. Jyothika was selected as heroine pairing with Vikram for second time after Dhool.[1] Vivek was originally a part of the cast but fell out with the director and was subsequently replaced by Vadivelu in the film.[2]
Though the film's plot is set in the backdrop of Coimbatore, the film was entirely shot at Karaikudi and was completed within 45 days.[3]
Music
edit| Arul | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 15 April 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2004 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 26:51 | |||
| Label | Hit Musics Vega Music Think Music Bayshore Divo | |||
| Producer | Harris Jayaraj | |||
| Harris Jayaraj chronology | ||||
| ||||
The soundtrack album and background score were composed by Harris Jayaraj collaborating with Hari and Vikram for the third time.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Arul Theme" (Instrumental) | 1:33 | ||
| 2. | "Ukkadathu Papadame" | Na. Muthukumar | Tippu, L. R. Easwari, Theni Kunjarammal | 5:29 |
| 3. | "Oddiyaanam" | Vairamuthu | Hariharan, Srimathumitha | 5:01 |
| 4. | "Patthu Viral" | Vairamuthu | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Swarnalatha | 5:18 |
| 5. | "Punnakunnu" | Na. Muthukumar | Tippu, Sriram, Manikka Vinayagam | 4:44 |
| 6. | "Soodamani" | Snehan | Ranjith, Pop Shalini | 4:46 |
| Total length: | 26:51 | |||
Release and reception
editThe film was released on 1 May 2004.
Arul received mixed reviews from critics. Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote "In story and screenplay Hari could have done better. First of all a fearless, infallible hero pitted against a bunch of hoodlums and brutal, power-crazy politicians is too stereotypical for words. And when a completely unexpected twist occurs just before the break, the rest of the tale should be able to sustain the tempo created at the halfway point. Then, of course, you have the disjointed comic sequences".[4] Nowrunning termed it as "long, stale, tedious and drab."[5] Sify wrote "If you like Rambo style of films, Arul is worth investing".[6] Indiaglitz wrote "An action-packed film for frontbenchers."[7] Chennai Online called it "a major let-down".[8]
References
edit- ^ "Reel Talk - One name sells". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Reel Talk - Unconventional Aparna". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 3 June 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Arul". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 16 May 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (7 May 2004). "Arul". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
- ^ "Arul Review | Arul Tamil Movie Review by Franco". Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2013.
- ^ "Movie Review : Arul". Sify. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "Arul Review". Indiaglitz. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ Mannath, Malini (10 May 2004). "Arul". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 6 February 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2024.