Thayagam

Thayagam
DVD cover
Directed byA. R. Ramesh
Screenplay byNethaji M
Story byRaja Rajendran
Produced byS. Mani
S. Ramuvasanthan
A. S. Ibrahim Rowther(presenter)
Starring
CinematographyRajarajan
Edited byG. Jeyachandran
Music byDeva
Production
company
Seranaadu Movie Creations
Release date
  • 15 January 1996 (1996-01-15)
Running time
155 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Thayagam (/θɑːjəɡəm/ transl. Motherland) is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by A. R. Ramesh. The film stars Vijayakanth, Arun Pandian and Napoleon. It was released on 15 January 1996.[1] Vijayakanth won Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for this film.

Plot

Three death row prisoners escape from the jail and hijack a plane where Abdul Salim, a scientist, owns a miracle drug. The pilot, instead of listening to the hijackers' instruction, manages to land in the Kashmir mountain. There, Snobir, a sadistic terrorist leader threatens the passengers for recovering the drugs. The pilot and the national boxing champion Pailwan plan to save the passengers and try to escape but they are caught during the plan taken as prisoners. Both attack and kill many terrorists; everyone escapes with them everything goes smoothly until an ambush occurs on a bridge so the brave Pailwan sacrifices himself to save the pilot and the passengers. Elsewhere, the short-tempered Sakthivel who is a family friend of Abdul Salim, and Abdul Salim's daughter Shakeela plan to save everyone so they find their crashed plane and they enter as prisoners. Sakthivel also lies that he is the scientist and tells the terrorist head to release everyone. The film ends with Sakthivel single-handedly killing all the terrorists and saving the day.

Cast

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Deva, with lyrics written by Piraisoodan.[2][3] The song "En Kannil" is based on "In The Name of Love" by Grover Washington Jr. from Winelight.[citation needed]

Song Singer(s) Duration
"Cu Cu Tara" K. S. Chithra, Malaysia Vasudevan 4:48
"Monalisa" Mano, K. S. Chithra 4:52
"Oru Indiya Paravai" K. S. Chithra, S. Kuzhanthaivelu 5:06
"Rangeela" Gopal Sharma 4:28
"Yen Kannil" K. J. Yesudas, K. S. Chithra 5:29

Reception

Kalki called dialogues, cinematography and grandeur as positives but felt Arun Pandian, Ranjitha and Napoleon were wasted and concluded saying what can one say and praise the director who has given a comedy film with an action coating with a serious subject like Kashmir.[4] D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "Thaayagam, a costly movie made in the snowy regions, will offer visual thrill and action, despite the obvious flaws in narration and screenplay". He added, "Netaji's dialogue driving home this bitter truth. But his screenplay has lot of loopholes, which the director A. R. Ramesh has not corrected".[5] The film won the Tamil Nadu State Film Special Award for Best Actor (Vijayakanth) and Best Lyricist (Piraisoodan).[6][7]

References

  1. ^ "நட்சத்திர படப் பட்டியல்". Cinema Express (in Tamil). 1 December 2002. pp. 41–43. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Thaayagam (1995)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Thayagam / Deva / Manitha Manitha". AVDigital. Archived from the original on 28 May 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  4. ^ "தாயகம்". Kalki (in Tamil). 11 February 1996. p. 13. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 30 May 2023.
  5. ^ Ramanujam, D. S. (26 January 1996). "Cinema: Kizhakku Mugam/Thaayagam/Aruvaa Velu/Bandit Queen". The Hindu. p. 26. Archived from the original on 21 December 1996. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
  6. ^ "1996 CINEMA STATE AWARDS". Dinakaran. Archived from the original on 3 February 1999. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  7. ^ Sundar, Anusha (9 October 2021). "Veteran Tamil Poet and Lyricist Piraisoodan Dies at 65, Tamil Industry Mourns His Demise". Silverscreen India. Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2023.