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Porkaalam (Tamil: பொற்காலம் transl. Golden Age) is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Cheran. The film has Murali, Meena, Sanghavi, Rajeshwari and Vadivelu in key roles. It was later remade in Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. Porkaalam was one among 1997 Deepavali releases and became a huge success.

Porkkaalam
Directed by	Cheran
Written by	Cheran
Produced by	M. Kaja Mydeen V. Gnanavelu V. Jaya Prakash
Starring	Murali Meena Sanghavi Vadivelu Rajeshwari Manivannan
Cinematography	Priyan
Edited by	K. Thanikachalam
Music by	Deva
Distributed by	Roja Combines
Release date	30 October 1997 (1997-10-30)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

The film deals with the social stigma associated with a disabled girl in a rural milieu. Manikkam (Murali) is a potter by profession. He has a sister, who is born dumb. Murali has to struggle a lot as the handicraft industry is a dying industry and a good amount of money is taken away by his father (Manivannan), who is a drunkard and a gambler. But, he tries to hide his sorrows by having fun with his sister and servant (Vadivelu), who is also his trusted friend. He is in love with his neighbour Maragatham (Meena), a weaver. He wants to get his sister married to a noble man. But many reject her as she is dumb. Finally, one man agrees to marry his sister but on condition that Manikkam must offer dowry. Manikkam then sells many things dearer to him to get money for the dowry. But, that money is taken away by his father and the marriage falls through. Yet (Vadivelu) offers to marry his sister without asking dowry and Murali goes home along with Vadivelu to convey this happy news to his sister. But it was too late as the sister commits suicide. Manikkam as a penance decides to marry a disabled girl.

Cast

• Murali as Manikkam
• Meena as Maragadham
• Sanghavi
• Ilavarasu as Rasu
• Vadivelu
• Delhi Ganesh
• Manivannan as Manikam's father
• C. R. Saraswathi
• Bala Singh
• Crane Manohar
• Scissor Manohar
• Kanal Kannan as Postman (special appearance)
• Cheran as Photographer (special appearance)

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album and background score were composed by Deva. The lyrics were penned by Vairamuthu.

Track list

Release

Critical reception

The movie generally received positive reviews. Krishna Sivarampuram said, "... very few have the ability to make the viewers think... And only two or three have the rare ability to combine a good comedy line with a tear-jerker...Cheran seems to have revived this genre of film making".[1] Arunachalam movie 100th day function 'superstar' Rajinikanth praised well this movie and he appreciated gifted a gold chain to director Cheran.[2][3]

Remakes

Year	Title	Main cast	Language
1998	Manikyam	Meka Srikanth	Telugu
2001	Meri Pyaari Bahania Banegi Dulhania	Mithun Chakraborty	Hindi
2006	Odahuttidavalu	Ravichandran	Kannada

Awards

• Cheran won Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Director
• Meena won Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress

References

External links

• Porkaalam at IMDb

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