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The film has been critically acclaimed and is considered a landmark film in Tamil cinema.<ref name="thehindu1" /><ref name="hindu2007">{{Cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2007/07/13/stories/2007071350330100.htm |title=Filmmakers’ favourites |date=2007-07-13 |work=The Hindu |access-date=2007-10-06}}</ref><ref name="hindu3">{{Cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/09/06/stories/2007090650500400.htm |title=The magic of Mahendran |date=2007-09-06 |work=The Hindu |access-date=2007-10-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2003/11/28/stories/2003112801480200.htm |title=A tale rooted in the soil |date=2003-11-28 |work=The Hindu |access-date=2013-12-30}}</ref> Mahendran won the [[Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Director]] and [[S. Janaki]] won the [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback]]. In 2013, [[IBN Live]] included the film in its list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time. Although no print of ''Uthiripookkal'' is known to survive, the film is still available on home video.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/The-chronicler-of-Kollywood/articleshow/7745961.cms |title=The chronicler of Kollywood |last=Venkateswaran |first=N. |date=20 March 2011 |work=The Times of India |access-date=2019-08-11}}</ref>
The film has been critically acclaimed and is considered a landmark film in Tamil cinema.<ref name="thehindu1" /><ref name="hindu2007">{{Cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2007/07/13/stories/2007071350330100.htm |title=Filmmakers’ favourites |date=2007-07-13 |work=The Hindu |access-date=2007-10-06}}</ref><ref name="hindu3">{{Cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2007/09/06/stories/2007090650500400.htm |title=The magic of Mahendran |date=2007-09-06 |work=The Hindu |access-date=2007-10-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.hindu.com/fr/2003/11/28/stories/2003112801480200.htm |title=A tale rooted in the soil |date=2003-11-28 |work=The Hindu |access-date=2013-12-30}}</ref> Mahendran won the [[Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Director]] and [[S. Janaki]] won the [[Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback]]. In 2013, [[IBN Live]] included the film in its list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time. Although no print of ''Uthiripookkal'' is known to survive, the film is still available on home video.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/The-chronicler-of-Kollywood/articleshow/7745961.cms |title=The chronicler of Kollywood |last=Venkateswaran |first=N. |date=20 March 2011 |work=The Times of India |access-date=2019-08-11}}</ref>


==Plot==
== Plot ==
Sundaravadivelu is a rich villager with a feudalistic attitude. He is also the manager of the local school, and manages it authoritatively without respecting anyone; he siphons the school's money for his own needs. His wife Lakshmi has chronic health problems and they have two children: a son Raja and a daughter Bhavani. Lakshmi's father Thambusamy, a pensioner, lives in the same village with his second daughter Shenbagam. Sundaravadivelu, who has lent money to his father-in-law, keeps demanding it back and also insults him on several occasions. Shenbagam falls in love with Prakash, a new teacher in the school. Sundaravadivelu does not approve of their relationship as he wants to marry Shenbagam, citing the chronic sickness of Lakshmi as a reason. He puts the proposal before his father-in-law and offers to write off his debt if he agrees. However, Thambusamy does not agree and Sundaravadivelu vents his anger on his wife.


Once when Bhavani is sick, Lakshmi takes her to the recently-appointed village health inspector. When they meet, they realise that they had been neighbours some years back and had met when he had come to meet her father to seek her hand in marriage. By then, Lakshmi was already engaged to Sundaravadivelu, hence the health inspector left in disappointment. Recollecting this, he tries to help her. When Thambusamy, unable to tolerate the harassment of his son-in-law, plans to leave the village, the health inspector offers money to settle the loan. When Sundaravadivelu learns this, he alleges an extramarital affair between his wife and the health inspector. With the help of the village Panchayat, he throws Lakshmi out of his house, keeping the children with himself. The health inspector leaves the village to avoid causing further strain in Lakshmi's life, while Lakshmi goes to her father's place. Unable to withstand separation from her children, she dies.
Sundaravadivelu is a wealthy school manager and a landlord who is a hedonist and a sadist. He finds pleasure in torturing people emotionally, including his own family members. He also siphons the school's money for his own needs. His wife Lakshmi is a good-hearted homely wife, and he has two children. Sundaravadivelu never respects his wife's feelings. He is an irresponsible husband and father. Lakshmi's father Thambuswamy is indebted to Sundaravadivelu as he had borrowed money from him. Using this as a trump card, Sundaravadivelu proposes Lakshmi's sister Shenbagam. But Shenbagam and her father do not approve of this. Sundaravadivelu is infuriated and forces Lakshmi from his house, falsely accusing her of having an affair with the health inspector of the village (Sarath Babu). Lakshmi, who is seriously ill, passes away soon. Sundaravadivelu marries again, and his second wife shows no love or care towards him as well as his kids. Meanwhile, Shenbagam develops a liking towards a school teacher working at Sundaravadivelu's school. The school's management gets to know about Sundavadivelu's mismanagement and they decide to take action against him. The marriage of Shenbagam with her lover is set, and on the previous day, Shenbagam goes to Sundaravadivelu's house, requesting him to send his kids with her, so that she can take care of them. But Sundaravadivelu molests her, which is seen by his second wife. His wife ditches him and goes way. The villagers are provoked and maddened now. They corner Sundaravadivelu and ask him to choose his way of death, and finish his life. Sundaravadivelu commits suicide, and in his last moments, he realises that he was always a sadist. Moments before his death, he shares a tender moment with his children.

Sundaravadivelu marries another woman and neglects his children, who keep visiting Shenbagam for food and care. Prakash meets Thambusamy and proposes to marry Shenbagam. Thambusamy readily accepts and the marriage is fixed. Prakash tells Sundaravadivelu that the school's management has learnt about his mismanagement and has decided to take action against him. Shenbagam visits Sundaravadivelu to seek custody of his children so she can take care of them. Sundaravadivelu, who is jealous of her new status and enraged that she rejected his marriage proposal, degrades her modesty by undressing her forcibly and proudly declares that he is the first person to see her nude; he further taunts Shenbagam by saying that whenever her husband sees her, she would be reminded of this incident. Sundaravadivelu's new wife witnesses this and disowns him. The villagers too learn of this; angered, they corner Sundaravadivelu, take him to the river and ask him to choose his way of death. Sundaravadivelu, after sharing a tender moment with his children, drowns himself in the river.


==Cast==
==Cast==

Revision as of 15:15, 12 August 2019

Uthiripookkal
File:Uthiripookkal.jpg
Title card
Directed byJ. Mahendran
Screenplay byJ. Mahendran
Based onChitrannai
by Pudhumaipithan
Produced byRadha Balakrishnan
StarringVijayan
Ashwini
Madhu Malini
CinematographyAshok Kumar
Edited byB. Lenin
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Dimple Creations
Release date
19 October 1979 (1979-10-19)
Running time
129 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Uthiri Pookkal (transl. Scattered Flowers)[1] is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language drama film, written and directed by J. Mahendran. It is based on a short story titled Chitrannai by Pudhumaipithan.[2] It starred then newcomers Vijayan, Ashwini, Madhumalini, Charuhasan, Master Haja Sheriff and Baby Anju in prominent roles while Sarath Babu plays a cameo. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. Ashok Kumar handled the cinematography, while B. Lenin made his debut as an independent editor with the film.[3]

The film has been critically acclaimed and is considered a landmark film in Tamil cinema.[2][4][5][6] Mahendran won the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Director and S. Janaki won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback. In 2013, IBN Live included the film in its list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time. Although no print of Uthiripookkal is known to survive, the film is still available on home video.[7]

Plot

Sundaravadivelu is a rich villager with a feudalistic attitude. He is also the manager of the local school, and manages it authoritatively without respecting anyone; he siphons the school's money for his own needs. His wife Lakshmi has chronic health problems and they have two children: a son Raja and a daughter Bhavani. Lakshmi's father Thambusamy, a pensioner, lives in the same village with his second daughter Shenbagam. Sundaravadivelu, who has lent money to his father-in-law, keeps demanding it back and also insults him on several occasions. Shenbagam falls in love with Prakash, a new teacher in the school. Sundaravadivelu does not approve of their relationship as he wants to marry Shenbagam, citing the chronic sickness of Lakshmi as a reason. He puts the proposal before his father-in-law and offers to write off his debt if he agrees. However, Thambusamy does not agree and Sundaravadivelu vents his anger on his wife.

Once when Bhavani is sick, Lakshmi takes her to the recently-appointed village health inspector. When they meet, they realise that they had been neighbours some years back and had met when he had come to meet her father to seek her hand in marriage. By then, Lakshmi was already engaged to Sundaravadivelu, hence the health inspector left in disappointment. Recollecting this, he tries to help her. When Thambusamy, unable to tolerate the harassment of his son-in-law, plans to leave the village, the health inspector offers money to settle the loan. When Sundaravadivelu learns this, he alleges an extramarital affair between his wife and the health inspector. With the help of the village Panchayat, he throws Lakshmi out of his house, keeping the children with himself. The health inspector leaves the village to avoid causing further strain in Lakshmi's life, while Lakshmi goes to her father's place. Unable to withstand separation from her children, she dies.

Sundaravadivelu marries another woman and neglects his children, who keep visiting Shenbagam for food and care. Prakash meets Thambusamy and proposes to marry Shenbagam. Thambusamy readily accepts and the marriage is fixed. Prakash tells Sundaravadivelu that the school's management has learnt about his mismanagement and has decided to take action against him. Shenbagam visits Sundaravadivelu to seek custody of his children so she can take care of them. Sundaravadivelu, who is jealous of her new status and enraged that she rejected his marriage proposal, degrades her modesty by undressing her forcibly and proudly declares that he is the first person to see her nude; he further taunts Shenbagam by saying that whenever her husband sees her, she would be reminded of this incident. Sundaravadivelu's new wife witnesses this and disowns him. The villagers too learn of this; angered, they corner Sundaravadivelu, take him to the river and ask him to choose his way of death. Sundaravadivelu, after sharing a tender moment with his children, drowns himself in the river.

Cast

Release and reception

Uthiripookkal was released on 19 October 1979.[11] It is among Ananda Vikatan's highest-rated films.[12]

Soundtrack

This movie features five songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with lyrics written by Kannadasan, Ilaiyaraaja, Gangai Amaran, M. G. Vallaban and Muthulingam.

  • "Antha Poongathu" - Ilaiyaraaja - Gangai Amaran
  • "Naan Paada" - S. Janaki - M. G. Vallabhan
  • "Azhagiya Kanne" - S. Janaki - Kannadasan
  • "Kalyaanam Paaru" - S. P. Sailaja - Muthulingham
  • "Poodaa Poodaa Pokkai" - S. Janaki - Ilaiyaraaja

Legacy

The film is considered as a breakthrough in commercial Tamil cinema and has been lauded by many film makers.[4] In a 2002 interview with The Hindu, Mani Ratnam remarked "If I get anywhere near what Mahendran did in Udhiri Pookkal, I’ll be a happy man."[5][13] The Times of India wrote "1979 was the year of Uthiripookkal".[14] IBN Live included the film in its list of 100 greatest Indian films of all time in 2013.[15]

Awards

References

  1. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20190329082258/https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/142_IPCatalogue1979-80.pdf
  2. ^ a b Muralidharan, Kavitha (11 August 2013). "Second coming?". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  3. ^ "Master of creative final touches". Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  4. ^ a b "Filmmakers' favourites". The Hindu. 13 July 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
  5. ^ a b "The magic of Mahendran". The Hindu. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
  6. ^ "A tale rooted in the soil". The Hindu. 28 November 2003. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  7. ^ Venkateswaran, N. (20 March 2011). "The chronicler of Kollywood". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  8. ^ a b Mahendran 2013, p. 351.
  9. ^ a b c Mahendran 2013, p. 353.
  10. ^ a b c Mahendran 2013, p. 352.
  11. ^ Mahendran 2013, p. 344.
  12. ^ "உதிரிப்பூக்கள், 16 வயதினிலே, மூன்றாம் பிறை… அன்றும் இன்றும்.. திறமைக்கு மரியாதை #VikatanReviews #VikatanAwards". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 3 January 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Cannes is not my goal". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 12 April 2002. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  14. ^ "Ninaithale Inikkum". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  15. ^ "100 Years of Indian Cinema: The 100 greatest Indian films of all time". IBN Live. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  16. ^ "Awards and Achievements". Retrieved 27 November 2012.

Bibliography

  • Mahendran, J. (2013) [2004]. Cinemavum Naanum [Cinema and Me] (in Tamil). Karpagam Publications. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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