Aval Paavam (transl. She is Poor) is a 2000 Tamil-language drama film directed by M. K. Arundhava Raja. The film stars Prabhukanth and Ritika, with Ishari K. Ganesh playing a supporting role. The film, produced by K. Rajan, had musical score by Pradeep Ravi and was released on 22 December 2000.[1]
| Aval Paavam | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | M. K. Arundhava Raja |
| Produced by | K. Rajan |
| Starring |
|
| Music by | Pradeep Ravi |
Production company | KR Films |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
The film marked the feature film debut of director M. K. Arundhava Raja, who had earlier worked on television series.[2] K. Rajan, who had taken on the role of the president of Chennai Distributors Association during 2000, announced that he would produce Aval Paavam on a low budget.[3] Rajan's son, Prabhukanth, acted in his first lead role. He had earlier featured as the antagonist in Doubles (2000), and later worked on Ninaikkatha Naalillai (2001).[2] The lead actress, Lakshmi, took on the stage name of Ritika for the film. She head earlier appeared in a supporting role in Thalaimurai (1998) and shot for Aval Paavam alongside seven other film projects in early 2000.[4] Rajan had also signed the actress on for another project during the period, Babu Ganesh's Kudumbam Oru Koiyil starring Ramki, although the project was later dropped.[3] The film was briefly retitled as Chembaruthi Poove as the team wanted to avoid the title sounding Malayalam, but later reverted to the original title of Aval Paavam.[3]
| Aval Paavam | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Pradeep Ravi | |
| Released | 2000 |
| Recorded | 2000 |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Length | 25:47 |
| Label | Star Music |
| Producer | Pradeep Ravi |
The film score and the soundtrack were composed by Pradeep Ravi. The soundtrack, released in 2000 by Star Music, features six tracks.[5]
| Track | Song | Singer(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Kuyile Poonkuyile" | Prashanna, Harini | 4:30 |
| 2 | "Ponnanaval" | Unni Menon | 4:20 |
| 3 | "Nitham Yethanai" | Anuradha Sriram | 4:17 |
| 4 | "Collegeile Teenageile" | Prashanna, Harini | 4:23 |
| 5 | "Chembaruthi Poove" | Anuradha Sriram | 4:17 |
| 6 | "Myalapre Mama" | Sabesh | 3:59 |
The film was released on 22 December 2000 across Tamil Nadu. A reviewer of the film from the entertainment portal ChennaiOnline compared the film's theme to K. Balachander's Arangetram (1973), where about a woman takes to prostitution to support her family, but noted that changing times meant that the topic was less of a taboo in Tamil Nadu.[2] The critic praised the film, adding "it is a well-planned screenplay and there is no attempt to preach or make it a melodrama" and that "there is no sexual exploitation of the theme to distract the viewers, though there was enough room for it."[2]