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Iyarkai (pronunciation (help·info), transl. Nature) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film that was written and directed by S. P. Jananathan in his directorial debut. The film stars Shaam and Radhika, Bollywood actor Seema Biswas plays a supporting role, and Arun Vijay—who at the time was known as Arun Kumar—makes a special appearance. The film's story is set against the backdrop of a lost ship in the port town of Rameswaram, and revolves around a young woman and two men who love her.

Iyarkai
Poster
Directed by	S. P. Jananathan
Written by	S. P. Jananathan
Screenplay by	N. Kalyanakrishnan
Based on	White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Produced by	V. R. Kumar A. E. Gunasekaran G. Natarajan
Starring	Shaam Radhika
Cinematography	N. K. Ekambaram
Edited by	N. Ganesh Kumar
Music by	Vidyasagar
Production company	Prisem Films
Distributed by	Prisem Films
Release date	21 November 2003 (2003-11-21)
Running time	140 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Budget	₹1 crore[1]

Iyarkai marks the Tamil debuts of Radhika and Biswas. It is loosely based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's 1848 short story "White Nights". The film was produced by V. R. Kumar, A. E. Gunasekaran, and G. Natarajan, and it was made on a low budget. The soundtrack was composed by Vidyasagar.

Iyarkai was released on 21 November 2003. Although the film was not very successful at the box office, it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil at the 51st National Film Awards in 2004, and N. K. Ekambaram won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer.

Plot

Marudhu, a Tamil man, is an orphaned ship mechanic and sailor who works on international cargo ships. After many years, he returns to Tamil Nadu, India, when his ship arrives at Rameshwaram port, where it remains for ninety days for repair and reloading. Marudhu wants to give up his sailing life and settle down in Tamil Nadu with the money he has saved. He develops a liking for Nancy, who sells fruits and other items to sailors on ships at the port. Nancy, however, is in love with Mukundan, the captain of a ship that docked three years before. Though Nancy had earlier proposed to Mukundan, he declined because he was 17, which he considered a very young age to marry. Mukundan told Nancy to wait for him or marry someone else at her will. Before leaving, he promised Nancy he would return in a year but failed to do so. Three years later, Nancy is still awaiting Mukundan's return.

Marudhu befriends Nancy and helps her search for Mukundan but when he reveals he loves Nancy, she distances herself from him. They reconcile and become friends. Mukundan cannot be found and they see the captain's junior, who is now the first officer of another ship, and tells them Mukundan's ship was destroyed in an explosion. Marudhu's ship is scheduled to leave on Christmas night. All of them try to persuade Nancy to forget about Mukundan and marry Marudhu. After considering the idea, of Christmas Eve night she agrees to the marriage and arrangements are made for the wedding next day. Mukundan returns, surprises Nancy and Marudhu, and finds him kissing her hand. Mukundan decides he is the best man for her. Nancy must choose between Mukundan or Marudhu, and finally selects the former. Marudhu boards his ship and leaves India in his ship, seeking more journeys and promising never to return to Tamil Nadu.

Cast

• Shaam as Marudhu[2]
• Arun as Mukundan (special appearance)[2]
• Radhika as Nancy[2]
• Seema Biswas as Mercy[2]
• Pasupathy as a priest[3]

Production

Development

In 2001, S. P. Jananathan, who worked under B. Lenin, Bharathan, Vincent Selva and Keyaar, began working on his directorial debut Iyarkai.[4] The story is based on Jananathan's friend's uncle, who right after getting married, went alone on a boat voyage in the Mediterranean Sea and got lost at sea while his wife who waited for him to return.[5] Jananathan told the story to Ramkumar Ganesan, whose cousin V. R. Kumar became the producer after liking the story.[5] The film was titled Iyarkai (transl. Nature) because nature was the film's antagonist.[6]

Casting and filming

Suriya was initially offered the lead role but did not accept the film, saying he was not interested in doing romantic films.[7] He was later replaced with Shaam, with whom Jananathan worked with as an assistant editor in 12B (2001).[8] He was cast in the role of a sailor who knew everything about life except for love.[9] Kannada actress Radhika debuted in Tamil cinema with this film; the media referred to her as "Kutti" Radhika to differentiate her from the Tamil actress of the same name.[10] Radhika played Nancy, a strong, independent women who chooses the man with whom she wants a relationship.[11] Her character was based on Jananathan's friend's uncle's wife.[12] Arun Kumar was chosen to play the ship captain, a character based on the life of Jananathan's friend's uncle.[5] Since the role was only a cameo, he initially rejected the role; however, he later accepted it after Jananathan explained the importance of the role.[13] Bollywood actor Seema Biswas was cast as Nancy's sister-in-law, marking her Tamil film debut.[2] The film was shot at the Andaman Islands, Rameshwaram, Tiruchendur and Tuticorin.[14] Art directors Sabu Cyril and Selvam erected a lighthouse set for the film.[15]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Vidyasagar and lyrics written by Vairamuthu.[16] The first song Vidyasagar composed for the film, "Kaadhal Vandhaal" was well received upon release.[17]

Release and reception

Iyarkai was scheduled to be released on 24 October 2003 coinciding with the Deepavali festival[lower-alpha 1] but was delayed to 7 November 2003.[20] It enjoyed little success in the Tamil Nadu box office due to the lack of publicity and the film's delay. The film did not lose money because it was produced on a low budget.[5]

Malathi Ranagarajan of The Hindu praised the cinematographer and art directors, stating; "Together with Sabu Cyril-Selvan's art, K. Ekambaram's lens paints a bewitching picture on screen". She also praised the performances of Shaam, Kutty Radhika, and Arun Kumar.[2] Visual Dasan of Kalki appreciated the montage shots of the cinematographer and Kutty Radhika's performance but said Seema Biswas was underused.[21] R. Rangaraj of ChennaiOnline gave the film a positive review and wrote: "The debutant director, S P Jhananathan, has handled the build-up to the climax and the climax scenes too effectively. The end is rather stunning and unexpected for a Tamil movie". He also said the film's box office prospects could be low due to the lack of commercial elements.[22] A critic opined that "Though the film has the same old love triangle story, the director has presented it in a novel way. Camerawork by Ekambaram is commendable. Visuals are exotic".[23]

Accolades

Upon release, Ekambaram sent Iyarkai to the National Awards committee and it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for 2003, competing with Virumaandi and Pithamagan as that year's submissions.[5] Jananathan wanted to return the award, but he did not do so.[24][lower-alpha 2]

Event	Category	Recipient	Ref.
51st National Film Awards	Best Feature Film in Tamil	Iyarkai	[25]
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards	Best Cinematographer	Ekambaram	[26]

Cancelled remake and sequel

Despite the film's box office failure, K. C. Bokadia expressed interest in remaking the film with Salman Khan but the film never entered production. "White Nights" was later made in Hindi as Saawariya (2007) by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Jananathan criticised Bhansali for reusing the script deviations that the former made for Iyarkai, in Saawariya.[27]

Jananathan had prepared a script for a sequel, but the film never entered production.[28]

Notes

References

External links

• Iyarkai at IMDb

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