Meiyazhagan

Meiyazhagan (transl. Man with truth as beauty) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by C. Prem Kumar. It is produced by Jyothika and Suriya under 2D Entertainment. The film stars Karthi and Arvind Swamy in the lead roles alongside Rajkiran, Sri Divya, Devadarshini, Jayaprakash, Sriranjani, Ilavarasu, Karunakaran and Saran Shakthi.

Meiyazhagan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	C. Prem Kumar
Written by	C. Prem Kumar
Produced by	Jyothika Suriya
Starring	Karthi Arvind Swamy
Cinematography	Mahendiran Jayaraju
Edited by	R. Govindraj
Music by	Govind Vasantha
Production company	2D Entertainment
Distributed by	Sakthi Film Factory
Release date	27 September 2024 (2024-09-27)
Running time	178 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

The film was officially announced in February 2023 under the tentative title Karthi 27, as it is the actor's 27th film as a lead actor, and the official title was announced in the following May. Principal photography commenced in November 2023 and was predominantly shot in Chennai and Kodambakkam before wrapping by late-February 2024. The film has music composed by Govind Vasantha, cinematography handled by Mahendiran Jayaraju and editing by R. Govindraj.

Meiyazhagan released worldwide on 27 September 2024 to critical acclaim from critics who praised the lead cast's performances (especially Karthi and Aravind Swamy), storyline, Govind Vasantha's background score, emotional scenes and Premkumar's screenplay and direction.

Plot

In 1996, Arulmozhi Varman "Arul" bids farewell to his hometown, Thanjavur, after his ancestral house is partitioned amongst his relatives. With a heavy heart, Arul, his father Arivudai Nambi, a school teacher, mother Valliyammal "Valli", and older brother relocate to Madras.

Twenty-two years later, in 2018, Arul's younger cousin, Bhuvaneshwari "Bhuvana", invites him to her wedding. Unable to decline, he plans to attend the reception in Needamangalam, intending to depart immediately after the ceremony. He takes a train to Thanjavur where he visits his ancestral home, making him nostalgic. Upon seeing his ancestral home, Arul decides to purchase their rented residence in Chennai and shares the idea with his wife, Hema. During his bus journey to Needamangalam, Arul meets a bus conductor, Jagadeesan "Jaggu", a former student of his father who drops Arul near the Needamangalam Railway gate, from where the marriage hall is within walking distance. At the venue, Arul reunites with Sudalamuthu alias "Sokku mama", who is overcome with emotion upon learning that his parents have not come. Arul becomes saddened by his cousin Latha's tale of her troubled marriage and her regret about not marrying him.

Arul meets an unfamiliar relative with a contagious, childlike smile, and infectious enthusiasm who affectionately calls Arul, "Athaan" (transl. 'Aunt's son/ Cousin' or 'elder sister's husband/ Brother-in-law'), but Arul does not recognise him. The relative helps Arul settle into the marriage hall and also dines with him. Initially, Arul finds him bothersome, providing the wrong phone number to distance himself. However, the relative persists, even speaking with Hema. Neither Arul nor Hema muster the courage to ask about his identity. Arul gifts Bhuvana, the bride, beautiful gold jewellery, and their heartfelt reunion touches everyone in the marriage hall, while Bhuvana's groom, Giridharan, also acknowledges her affection for Arul. Despite Bhuvana's pleas, Arul clandestinely leaves the reception with the mysterious relative, intending to depart without attending the wedding in the morning. However, the relative deliberately delays Arul, thereby, convincing him to stay overnight. When Arul seeks a place to stay, the relative invites him home, citing the poor quality of the local lodges.

Arul meets Nandhini, the relative's pregnant wife. After a shower, the men share beers. In the backyard, the relative proudly introduces Arul to his Kangeyam Bull named Dhoni, a veteran of Jallikattu competitions. Seeing him affectionately refer to the bull as his "son", Arul is surprised. Nandhini warns them about cobras in the dark, but her husband reassures her, showing no fear, referring to the snakes as harmless "fellows". Arul's mysterious relative shows him Arul's old bicycle, left behind in Thanjavur over two decades ago. The bicycle holds sentimental value, as the mysterious relative's father, Santhanam, used it to sell sarees and has also been their family's reliable mode of transportation, earning its place as a cherished "god" in their household. Arul is overjoyed seeing his bicycle being meticulously maintained and they both stroll to the Vennaaru dam. There, Nandhini's husband shares the news of his impending parenthood and plans to name their child Arulmozhi after his Athaan. This revelation further deepens Arul's emotional connection and guilt for not knowing his relative's name.

Upon returning home, Nandhini's husband requests Arul to forgive those who deceitfully grabbed his ancestral property and asks Arul to finally address him by his name, bless his wife, unborn child and him before leaving the next morning. Arul, moved by his relative's selfless nature and overwhelmed with guilt for still not recognising him, slips away before dawn. En route to Thanjavur, he recollects Kovilvenni and makes an impromptu visit, and while sitting there peacefully he reflects on his journey.

On reaching Chennai, Arul's silence concerns Hema, and he tells her about his emotional encounter with the unknown relative, expressing regret for not knowing his name despite the pure love and care shown, thereby exclaiming that, that is how a person should be. Arul begins preparations to purchase the house but faces a shortfall of ₹25 lakhs, for which he fortunately gets assistance from his boss. Arul's daughter, Jhanvi, recognising her father's emotional connection during his trip, discovers the relative's phone number, makes a call, and hands the phone to Arul. Without hesitation, Nandhini's husband offers the remaining ₹25 lakhs for Arul's house. Touched, Arul musters enough courage to inquire about his identity. Hearing this, Nandhini's husband bursts into tears understanding that Arul had forgotten him. But, he begins providing clues, leading Arul to recall the nickname "Potato," which he had affectionately given him during his visit in 1994 Summer Vacation.

As memories flood back, Arul refrains from revealing his discovery over the phone, but instead, rushes to Needamangalam, stopping at the temple to request a special offering through the flower vendor he had met earlier. Arul arrives at Nandhini's house and knocks on the door, but it remains closed. Arul continues to knock on the door without getting any response. Finally, Arul call out his relative by his name "Meiyazhagan". The relative immediately opens the door, overwhelmed with happiness at Arul finally remembering his actual name.

Cast

• Karthi as Meiyazhagan, a distinct cousin of Arulmozhi
  • S. Sanjay as Young Meiyazhagan
• Arvind Swamy as Arulmozhi "Arul" Varman
  • Saran Shakthi as Young Arulmozhi
• Rajkiran as Sudalamuthu "Sokku Mama", Arul's maternal uncle
• Sri Divya as Nandhini, Meiyazhagan's wife
• Swathi Konde as Bhuvaneswari "Bhuvana", Arul's cousin
• Devadarshini as Hema, Arul's wife
• Jayaprakash as Arivudai Nambi, Arul's father
• Sriranjani as Valliyammal "Valli", Arul's mother and Sudalamuthu's sister
• Ilavarasu as Ekambaram, a caterer
• Karunakaran as Jagadeesh (Jaggu), a bus conductor
• Raichal Rabecca as a flower vendor
• Merku Thodarchi Malai Antony as Santhanam, the relative father
• Rajkumar as Giridharan, Bhuvana's fiance
• Indumathy Manikandan as Latha
• Rani Samyuktha
• Kayal Subramani
• Ashok Pandian as Bhuvana's father
• Vetrivel Raja as a travel agent
• M. S. Bhaskar as a jallikattu commentator (cameo appearance)

Production

Development

Meiyazhagan was initially written as a novel. Five years after the release of '96 in 2018, C. Prem Kumar was reported to collaborate with Karthi for his upcoming directorial. Production would reportedly begin after the actor completed filming for Japan (2023) and 2D Entertainment, headed by Suriya and Jyothika, were reported to produce the venture. That July, cinematographer P. C. Sreeram confirmed the project. Including his inclusion, he also announced the inclusion of Govind Vasantha and Arvind Swamy. However, on 24 May 2024, Sreeram was revealed to have been replaced by Mahendiran Jayaraju due to reasons unknown. In addition to Mahendiran, editor R. Govindraj, production designer Rajeevan, art director S. Ayyappan and costume designer Subhashree Kaarthik Vijay were revealed. The film's official title, Meiyazhagan, was announced the same day.

Filming

Principal photography began with an inaugural puja ceremony on 9 November 2023 in Chennai, while the first schedule commenced on 17 November 2023 in Kodambakkam. Filming was wrapped by 24 February 2024.

Music

The music and background score is composed by Govind Vasantha, in his second collaboration with Prem Kumar and Karthi after '96 and Thambi (2019) respectively. The soundtrack album was released on 31 August 2024.

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Poraen Naa Poraen"	Uma Devi	Vijay Narain, Kamal Haasan	5:05
2.	"Delta Kalyanam"	Karthik Netha	VM Mahalingam, Senthil Ganesh, Govind Vasantha	3:34
3.	"Oor Manney"	Karthik Netha	Vijay Prakash	6:28
4.	"Yaaro Ivan Yaaro"	Uma Devi	Kamal Haasan	4:03
5.	"Veri"	Karthik Netha	VM Mahalingam, Aruna	4:17
6.	"Arul Mei"	Karthik Netha	Govind Vasantha	3:59
Total length:				26:07

Release

Theatrical

Meiyazhagan released worldwide on 27 September 2024.

Home media

The post-theatrical rights of the film were acquired by Netflix. It began streaming there from 25 October 2024.

Reception

Critical response

Meiyazhagan received critical acclaim with critics who praised the lead cast's performances (especially Karthi and Aravind Swamy), storyline, Govind Vasantha's background score, emotional scenes and Premkumar's screenplay and direction.

Gopinath Rajendran of OTTPlay gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Meiyazhagan is a film that truly holds the meaning of beauty in each of its frames. Brimming with emotions that get hard to put into words, Karthi and Arvind Swamy brilliantly shoulder the film with their simple yet nuanced performances. There is enough meat to chew, but Prem Kumar serves you with a neatly told narrative, very much like how the delicacies are served on the banana leaf in the delta kalyanam Arulmozhi and the relative visits." Sudhir Srinivasan of Cinema Express gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Meiyazhagan is a sweet, sensitive film. It’s a story about stories, about forgotten memories and quiet reflections".

M. Suganth of The Times of India gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Despite the potential for overblown melodrama inherent in the plot, in Meiyazhagan, Prem Kumar goes for a tone that’s somewhere between melancholy and heartwarming." Kaushik Rajaraman of DT Next gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Karthi's innocence and Arvind Swami's many emotions make us sit through this emotional roller coaster. Govind Vasantha has done his part really well with playing along with the story and the emotions of characters we meet. The live sync sound takes us closer to the landscape along with Mahendhiran Jayaraju's visuals. Meiyazhagan is beautiful in its own way and will pull the family audience to theatres."

Controversies

Deleted Scenes

A few days after the film's release the makers announced that they were shortening the length of the film by around 10 minutes due to audience feedback, and that the new trimmed version would play in domestic theaters starting from September 30, 2024. Foreign showings of the film still played the original untrimmed version, but the scenes stayed deleted as the film entered streaming.

This decision was met by mixed reviews from fans. Many felt that the scenes were too vital to be removed from the movie, and that they added a layer of depth that wasn't present in the new trimmed version. On the other hand, many critics and reviewers had previously stated that the long runtime of the film was one of their main criticisms, including the previously mentioned M. Suganth of The Times of India.

The scenes in question were a continuation of Arul and Meiyazhagan's stroll at the dam. Before returning home, they stroll to a new spot where they continue their conversation, this time mainly discussing various socio-political issues. They talk about the Thoothukudi massacre of 2018, and Meiyazhagan discusses how unfair the situation was and mourns the deaths of the protestors, who he saw as family. They also discuss the jallikattu ban of 2017, and Meiyazhagan talks about how despite the brief blow to Tamil culture the people came together in protest of the ban. He goes on to explain how he secretly conducted a makeshift jallikattu match in his village, and more and more people began to join. At one point the police showed up, seemingly to shut down the match, before they too began to join, standing up for their culture. They also discuss a few other topics, such as how in the land they occupied, centuries ago there a huge battle among various Tamil kings, and their Chola ancestors turned the tide and won a massive, unexpected victory.

External links

• Meiyazhagan at IMDb 
• Meiyazhagan at Rotten Tomatoes