Thalaimurai

Thalaimurai is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Saravana Pandian and produced by M. K. Hari Shankar. The film stars director K. S. Adhiyaman in leading role along with Rajkiran, Kanaka, Bhanupriya, Revathi and Rajkapoor playing supporting roles. Revathi received Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize for Best Actress. Adhiyaman, the lead actor of this film later directed Telugu remake of this film Bobbili Vamsam.

Plot
Pandithurai (Raj Kiran) and Naachchiyaa (Revathi) are a respectable couple in the village. Naachchiyaa manages to conceive after 7 seven long years of marriage. She has a still born baby – Pandithurai replaces the dead baby with an illegitimate baby born to Panchavarnam (Bhanupriya) in the same hospital the same day, out of love for his wife, since he thinks that she would die if she hears that her baby was born dead. Raj Kapoor is the villain who is the father of this baby; Panchavarnam and Pandithurai promise each other that they wouldn't reveal this secret to anybody; but their conversation is overheard by Radha Ravi (Naachchiyaa's loving elder brother) and starts hating Muthu since he thinks he is an illegitimate child born to Panchavarnam and Pandithurai, but manages to keep it to himself out of fear of breaking up his sister's family. Panchavarnam joins the thurai household as domestic help. The son Muthu grows up to be an irresponsible but a very tender man (Adhiyaman), he is greatly hated by his uncle and the entire village. Radha Ravi's daughter (played by newcomer Lakshmi) and Muthu are in love and are supported by the entire family except Radha Ravi, who knows the secret of Muthu's parentage. He blurts the truth out to his sister in anger when she asks the reason for his opposition to their children's marital union. How the various characters involved (Pandithurai, Naachchiyaa, Muthu and Panchavarnam) come to terms with this new revelation, forms the rest of the story.

Cast

 * Rajkiran as Pandithurai
 * Revathi as Nachiyar
 * Bhanupriya as Panchavarnam
 * K. S. Adhiyaman as Muthuppandithurai "Muthu"
 * Kanaka
 * Vadivelu
 * Manobala
 * Raj Kapoor
 * Lakshmi

Production
Actress Lakshmi made her debut in the film under her original name. For her next ventures, including K. Rajan's Aval Paavam (2000), she changed her name to Ritika.

Soundtrack
The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

Reception
D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "Though the story belongs to director K. S. Gopalakrishnan's period, director Saravana Pandiyan gives a new glossy mould to the story through his dialogue and screenplay in Muthu Movies' Thalaimurai. It touches a raw nerve or two when the director stokes the flames of ruffled relations between the husband and wife when she learns the truth about the son, the husband standing firm in keeping his promise to the real mother".