| Pooveli | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Selva |
| Written by | Murthy Ramesh Nagulan Ponnusamy (dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | Selva |
| Story by | Selva |
| Produced by | Rajam Balachander Pushpa Kandaswamy |
| Starring | Karthik Abbas Kausalya Heera |
| Cinematography | R. Raghunatha Reddy |
| Edited by | Suresh Urs |
| Music by | Bharadwaj |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 144 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Pooveli (/puːveɪlɪ/transl. Floral fence) is a 1998 IndianTamil-languageromantic drama film directed bySelva, who also co-wrote the screenplay. An unofficial remake (with Indian twist) ofA Walk in the Clouds (1995), the film starsKarthik,Abbas,Kausalya andHeera Rajagopal. It was released on 4 December 1998. The film was remade in Telugu asAlludugaaru Vachcharu (1999) with Kausalya, Abbas and Heera reprising their roles.[1]
The film opens with the main characters revealing their thoughts on love. Maha (Kausalya) feels one must love before the wedding while Shalini (Heera) feels love is for after the wedding.Radha Ravi is totally opposed to love and feels it is a way in which children cheat their parents while Murali (Karthik) is totally for it.
Murali follows Shalini around expressing his love for her. But when she insults his love, he promises he wouldn't trouble her again and that one day, she would understand him and come to him. He runs into Maha, his classmate in school, who has recently lost her lover in an accident. To force her father to accept her love, she had already told him that she was married. Circumstances force her uncle to think Murali is her husband and they go back to her house in the village.
Their plan is for Murali to earn the displeasure of the members of her household so that he can leave, but his plans backfire and earn him their love and affection. As he continues living there, he starts to like having a family around and also falls in love with Maha. The only black sheep in their family isAnandaraj, who keeps troubling them.
Maha's grandmother (Manorama), finds out the arrangement between her and Murali, but since she likes Murali, plays a trick to get them both married.
Shalini, who has meanwhile developed feelings for Murali, shows up at the village before the wedding creating doubts in the minds of the other. This leads to some confusion and problems, which are cleared in the climax.
Music is composed byBharadwaj, with lyrics written byVairamuthu.[2][3] The song "Oru Poo Ezhuthum" is based onHamsanadam raga.[4]
| Song | Singers | Length |
|---|---|---|
| "Itharku Peyar" | Sujatha,Hariharan | 04:53 |
| "Oru Poo Ezhuthum Kavithai" | P. Unnikrishnan,K. S. Chithra | 05:26 |
| "Kathai Solla" | Karthik,Sunanda,Nizhalgal Ravi,Charle,Manorama | 05:01 |
| "O Shalini" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 05:08 |
| "Muthu Muthu" | Pushpavanam Kuppusamy,Swarnalatha | 04:49 |
| "Vaazhkaiye Vazhkai" | Srinivas | 03:23 |
| "Itharku Peyar" | Hariharan | 04:53 |
| "Nathiyil Saayum" | Bharadwaj, Reshmi | 03:34 |
| "Pooveli" | Instrumental | 02:24 |
| "Kathai Solla" | Bharadwaj, Sunandha, Manorama, Nizhalgal Ravi, Charle | 05:01 |
Pooveli was released on 5 December 1998.[5] Ji ofKalki wrote it should have got the status of the best film, but because of mixingmasala elements, it becomes just a good film.[6] A reviewer fromDeccan Herald wrote "Pooveli prompts one to look at the possibility that the life of the city may be excluding us from fuller pastures, possibilities with more life."[7] K. N. Vijiyan ofNew Straits Times wrote, "This one is different from the boy-meets-rich girl stuff we have been getting. The turn in events in the movie are also quite difficult to predict".[8] D. S. Ramanujam ofThe Hindu wrote, "A powerful love story, visualised, structured and essayed by the screenplay of seasoned director Selvaa, engages the viewer's mind right through" in the film.[9] Kausalya won theFilmfare Award for Best Actress – Tamil,[10] and Karthik won theTamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize.[11]
