Saivam

Saivam
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVijay
Written byVijay
Produced byA. L. Azhagappan
Starring
CinematographyNirav Shah
Edited byAnthony
Music byG. V. Prakash Kumar
Production
company
Think Big Studios
Distributed byRed Giant Movies
Release date
  • 27 June 2014 (2014-06-27)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Saivam (transl. Vegetarianism) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written, directed and produced by Vijay. The film features Nassar in the lead role and child actress Sara Arjun plays another pivotal role. The film's cinematography was handled by Nirav Shah and music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar.

Saivam was released on 27 June 2014. The film was remade in Telugu as Dagudumootha Dandakor (2015), with Arjun reprising her role.[1]

Plot

Kathiresan Chettiyar is the head of a large family which consists of three sons and a daughter and their respective families. The families get together at the house for vacation. When the entire family goes to their temple on a given day, certain ill-fated events occur. The family believes that it is because it had forgotten to perform a ritual sacrifice which involves the slaughter of a rooster. This thought is fuelled all the more by each family member blaming this to be the cause for all their problems both at home and at work. Kathiresan decides to sacrifice Paappa, their pet rooster, in the upcoming festival, and the family is assured that all their problems will disappear eventually after the ritual. Then, suddenly, Paappa goes missing.

The members of the family are shocked at Paappa's disappearance and begin searching for it. It is revealed out that Kathiresan's granddaughter Tamizhselvi hid Paappa in the attic in order to save it from getting slaughtered, as she loves Paappa so much that she cannot stand to see it die. The rest of the story revolves around Tamizhselvi's attempts to save Paappa from being slaughtered and the family's attempts to find the rooster and performing the ritual.

Ultimately she convinces everyone not to kill Paappa, as God if he care for one species should care for others too.

In the mid-credit scene, everyone realises the truth and turn vegetarian indicating that they wouldn't harm any species.

Cast

  • Nassar as Kathiresan
  • Sara Arjun as Tamizhselvi
  • Luthfudeen as Senthil
  • Twara Desai as Abhirami
  • Suresh as Meiyappan
  • Shanmugarajan as AL. K. S. Swamigal
  • Vidya Pradeep as Thenmozhi, Tamizh's mother
  • George Maryan as Raja
  • Rajyalakshmi as Dhanalakshmi
  • Ray Paul as Saravanan
  • Lakshmanan Ganesh as Ganeshan
  • Shakti as Kumaran
  • KS Suchitra Shetty as Usha
  • Kousalya as Vishalakshi
  • Kalyani Natarajan as Meenakshi
  • Vittal as Ramanathan
  • Ravi as Balamurugan
  • Master Rahil Singhi as Karthik
  • Kala as Kala
  • Savithri as Kamatchi
  • Malathi as Servant

Production

Saivam is the first film produced by director Vijay via his then newly established production studio, Think Big Studios. Production was underway by November 2013. The film was shot primarily in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu,[2] where filming lasted 38–40 days.[3][4] Luthfudeen, son of actor Nassar, would make his acting debut in the film, playing the grandson of Nassar's character. He would appear alongside another debutant, Twara Desai.[5] Vijay revealed that Saivam would be about family values and hoped it would instill lost family traditions into the audiences, noting that he was inspired by his visits back to his home village.[6][7]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar. The album features five songs, with two instrumental tracks; all songs were written by Na. Muthukumar.[8] It was released on 5 April 2014 at Chennai.[9][10]

Marketing and release

In April 2014, the film's release was stalled due to a court order by SG Films.[11] The film was eventually released on 27 June the same year.[12] Red Giant Movies acquired the distribution rights.[13][14] Prior to the film's release, the makers unveiled a tie-in game which revolves around a rooster trying to evade people catching it.[15]

Reception

S. Saraswathi of Rediff.com praised the film, saying "Good dialogues, great characterisation with opportunities for everyone to prove themselves, plenty of humour and a light-hearted romance makes this family drama an extremely engaging affair."[16] M. Suganth of The Times of India said, "In all of his films so far, Vijay has struggled with the pacing but here, he is bang on and the slightly laid-back pace of the film fits its setting beautifully. It is no surprise that Saivam is his best — not to mention, his most original — film yet."[17] Writing for The Hindu, Baradwaj Rangan praised it as "a film that infuses artistry into a generally light-hearted entertainment. You can sense that Saivam is an all-round labour of love. There isn't an iota of cynical calculation in it."[18]

Accolades

At the 62nd National Film Awards, Uthara Unnikrishnan won the award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Azhagu",[19] becoming the youngest winner in that category.[20] Na. Muthukumar received the National Award for Best Lyricist for the same song.[21] At the 62nd Filmfare Awards South, they won the Best Playback Singer – Female and Best Lyricist awards respectively,[22] the film's only two nominations at the ceremony.[23] Uthara also won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer.[24] However, her National Award win became the subject of controversy; singer Pradip Somasundaran felt she was undeserving of the award because her vocals seemed to have been adjusted through pitch correction software,[25] and writer V. M. Girija criticised the jury for awarding the song, criticising its quality; she felt Uthara was not even worth the state award.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Krishnamoorthy, Suresh (6 February 2015). "Will this combination rule the 'roost'?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 December 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  2. ↑ "Vijay gets into production!". Sify. 15 November 2013. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  3. ↑ Chowdhary, Y. Sunita (2 December 2017). "Kalyani Natarajan: 'My base is home'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  4. ↑ Kumar, S. R. Ashok (7 March 2014). "Shotcuts: Look who's crooning!". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  5. ↑ "Brahma actor Nassar's son to make his acting debut". The Times of India. 28 January 2014. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  6. ↑ "A L Vijay wants to instill Family Traditions with his Tamil Film Saivam". Biharprabha News. IANS. 7 March 2014. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014. Retrieved 7 March 2014.
  7. ↑ Naig, Udhav (8 March 2014). "Back to the roots". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 December 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "SAIVAM — G.V. Prakash Kumar Tamil Audio Cd (FACTORY SEALED PACK)". Audio CDs World. Archived from the original on 27 June 2026. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  9. ↑ "Saivam audio launch, a family function!". Sify. 6 April 2014. Archived from the original on 6 April 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Saivam takes the traditional route". The Times of India. 11 April 2014. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Chennai court stays release of Tamil movie 'Saivam'". The Times of India. 11 April 2014. Archived from the original on 12 April 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Saivam ready to hit screens". The Times of India. 15 June 2014. Archived from the original on 11 November 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  13. ↑ "Red Giant to distribute Vijay's 'Saivam'". The Times of India. 29 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "Red Giant set for Saivam distribution". The New Indian Express. 30 April 2014. Archived from the original on 7 September 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  15. ↑ Suganth, M (3 May 2014). "Now, Tamil films turn into mobile games". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 October 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  16. ↑ Saraswathi, S (27 June 2014). "Review: Saivam is worth a watch". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  17. ↑ Suganth, M (27 June 2014). "Saivam". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  18. ↑ Rangan, Baradwaj (28 June 2014). "Saivam: Something to crow about". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  19. ↑ "62nd National Film Awards: Complete list of winners". IBNLive. 24 March 2015. Archived from the original on 26 March 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  20. ↑ Bhaskaran, Gautaman (25 March 2015). "Uthara, merely 10 and a National Award winner already!". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 19 January 2025. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "62nd NATIONAL FILM AWARDS FOR 2014" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Winners of 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards South". Filmfare. 27 June 2015. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Nominations for the 62nd Britannia Filmfare Awards (South)". Filmfare. 3 June 2015. Archived from the original on 24 June 2026. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  24. ↑ "TN Govt. announces Tamil Film Awards for six years". The Hindu. 14 July 2017. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  25. ↑ Soman, Deepa (25 March 2015). "Best female singer award is amusing". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
  26. ↑ "Writer Girija questions National Award given to singer Unnikrishnan's daughter Uthara". The News Minute. 1 April 2015. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
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