E (2006 film)

E is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language medical thriller film directed by S. P. Jananathan. The film stars Jiiva and Nayanthara, while Ashish Vidyarthi, Pasupathy and Karunas played supporting roles. The film's music is composed by director Srikanth Deva. The film was a commercial failure but received mixed-to-positive reviews.

Plot
The movie revolves around Easwaran alias E, an orphan brought up in the musty, teeming slums of Chennai by an old woman. For him, money is God. He comes across Jothy, a bar dancer who settles down in the same locality. After a few encounters, they get acquainted with each other. E's simple ways attract Jothy. Coming to know of E's past, Jothy tries desperately to correct his ways and set him on the right path. Meanwhile, Dr. Ramakrishnan takes up the task of testing a medicine devised by a foreign company, which may come handy in killing people in thousands, especially during times of war. Ramakrishnan chooses Jothy's sister and E's grandmother as specimens for the test. He cashes in on the ignorance to slum dwellers. Things take a turn when E rescues Ramakrishnan from a murder bid by Nellai Mani. A sequence of events brings Nellai Mani and E together. Without knowing Nellai Mani's motive, E hides him in a secret place and decides to hand him over to Ramakrishnan for a huge sum. Slowly, E gets attracted by Nellai Mani's good ways. Through him, E discovers Ramakrishnan's ulterior motives. Nellai Mani, a revolutionary fighting for a cause, tries to bring about a change in E's heart. Succeeding in his attempt, Nellai Mani lays down his life, leaving E to complete his task. The rest is all about how E puts an end to Ramakrishnan and his evil ways.

Soundtrack
The music was composed by Srikanth Deva and released by Star Music. The album was negatively reviewed by Shyam Balasubramanian of Rediff.com.

Reception
Behindwoods wrote "The plot seems to be out of the world for an Indian movie, but Jananadhan manages his best to do justice to the movie. Power packed with some amazing performances by Jeeva, Pasupathy, Ashish Vidhyarthi, and Nayantara, E is definitely worth the money that is spent on the tickets". Malini Mannath of Chennai Online wrote "If the director here had focused more on the issue he was tackling, and not got distracted by commercial trappings and compromises, 'E..' would have turned out to be a better product". Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote, "It is apparent that maker Jhananathan of the national award-winning [Iyarkai] has worked hard on a new thought. That in itself warrants much credit". IndiaGlitz wrote, "This is a serious issue which maybe far from the understanding of the common man. But thanks to a neat screenplay, Jananthan has ensured the front-benchers too can understand the crux with ease". Atishay Abbhi of Rediff.com wrote, "Jeeva's hard-hitting performance is the sole saving grace. This is one of the few reasons why one can spend money on this movie". Lajjavathi of Kalki praised the acting of Jeeva, Nayanthara and other actors while also praised music, cinematography and art direction and concluded saying Jananathan has worked hard to make people understand the socially responsible film.