Jama | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Pari Elavazhagan |
Written by | Pari Elavazhagan |
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Gopal Krishna |
Edited by | Partha M.A |
Music by | Ilaiyaraaja |
Production companies | SSBV Learn and Teach Production Private Limited |
Distributed by | Picture Box Company |
Release date |
|
Country | India |
Language | Tamil |
Jama is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Pari Elavazhagan. The film stars Pari Elavazhagan, Ammu Abhirami and Chetan along with Sri Krishna Dayal, KVN Manimegalai, Vasant Marimuthu, Siva Maran, A. K. Elavazhagan and Kaala Kumar in supporting roles. [1]
In the village of Pallikondapattu, Tiruvannamalai, Kalyanam portrays as a female artist in the Ramachandran Nadaga Sabha (transl. Ramachandran Drama Association), a Therukoothu troupe, a form of streetplay currently led by Thandavam, a drunkard. The troupe was originally founded by Kalyanam's father, Elavarasan. The troupe consists of 16 members, but Kalyanam is the only member who doesn't play male characters.
Kalyanam's mother worries about his marriage prospects due to his feminine behavior as he socializes with village women, chatting and gossiping, and his consistent portrayal of female lead characters, particularly Draupadi which earns him ridicule from the village youths. However, Kalyanam is uninterested in marriage, and his true ambition is to own a drama troupe, preferably the one that once belonged to his father. Kalyanam's mother pressures him to tell Thandavam that he will no longer portray female characters, or else he will leave the troupe. Thandavam who was already angry with Chandran leaving the troupe and when Kalyanam, oblivious to the situation, requests a male lead role, mocks Kalyanam, saying he is unfit for male roles, causing Kalyanam to break down in tears. But Thandavam convinces Kalyanam to continue with female roles, ensuring he stays in the troupe. Ganesan aka Poonai, the senior member of the troupe, encourages Kalyanam to seek support from fellow members. However, they demand money or favors in exchange for their support but refuse to confront Thandavam.
Thandavam's daughter, Jegathambiga "Jega", loves Kalyanam, but he doesn't reciprocate due to her being his teacher's daughter. Kalyanam recalls his past, where he dropped out of school and took up farm work to support Jega's education, promising never to leave her. His father, indebted to Thandavam, accepts Kalyanam's decision. Jega too uses her scholarship to rescue Kalyanam from bonded farm work. To support, Jega's higher education, Kalyanam joins Thandavam's troupe where his salary can be used to fund Jega's education. Kalyanam feels inferior and hesitant to marry Jega, fearing public ridicule. However, Jega motivates him to be the "man" she loves. Kalyanam and his mother visit Thandavam's house to propose Jega's marriage to Kalyanam but, Thandavam humiliates and beats Kalyanam. Enraged, Jega leaves the house, but Kalyanam brings her back, shocking everyone by declaring he doesn't love her and only wants to rejoin the troupe. Jega returns to her studies, vowing never to come back.
Kalyanam sells his land, gives the money to troupe members as advance, and books a program. However, no one shows up on the day of the program, as they refuse to work under Kalyanam due to his status and behavior. Kalyanam lies to his mother, saying he's selling the land for a government job. When she discovers the truth, she dies, grief-stricken. Eleven years have passed since Kalyanam's father's death, and the Mottaparai village festival hasn't begun properly due to the spiritual possessed not granting permission. Thandavam consistently prevents Kalyanam from participating in the ritual, while Poonai urges Kalyanam to take the spiritual pot despite the villagers' resistance. Poonai reveals a flashback where Elavarasan, Kalyanam's father, learns street play and becomes a great performer. He brings street play to his village, with the whole village's involvement. Poonai, Elavarasan, and Thandavam start their own troupe, Ambalavanan Nadaga Sabha, sharing investments. Thandavam bonds his elder daughter to farm work for his share of the money, prompting Kalyanam to encourage Jega to pursue her studies. Thandavam becomes infuriated when his daughter doesn't give him the scholarship and when Kalyanam joins the troupe, fears that he'll be sidelined, then plots to split the troupe.
Thandavam with his relative and a few villagers' support, gain permission to perform Elavarasan's Arjunan character in the Mottapaarai ritual, thereby, successfully driving Elavarasan out of the village. Elavarasan becomes addicted to alcohol and abandons street play, but Kalyanam is determined to reclaim his father's troupe. Elavarasan advises Kalyanam to control his anger, unlike him, while overcome with depression, he dances to death in the Mottapparai hills. Thandavam becomes the lead of the troupe and begins performing. At the festival's commencement, Kalyanam joins the villagers, angering Thandavam. However, the divine force possesses Kalyanam, granting permission for him to perform. The villagers support Kalyanam in portraying Arjunan's character, following in his father's footsteps. Kalyanam tries to reconcile with Jega, explaining that he stays in Thandavam's troupe only to perform, gather people, and eventually form a new troupe. Thandavam again humiliates Kalyanam, but he retaliates by accusing Thandavam of betraying his father, which infuriates Thandavam who changes Kalyanam's character from Draupadi to a new role of Kunthi and takes the role of a relatively easy Karnan for himself.
The play begins, depicting Karnan's defeat in the Kurukshetra War and Kunthi, played by Kalyanam, who has to lament over her son's death. Kalyanam's performance as Kunthi turns out to be extraordinary, leaving the audience in awe. Even Thandavam is impressed, and overcome with regret for betraying Kalyanam's father and belittling him, he falls at Kalyanam's feet and dies. Two months later, Kalyanam dresses as Arjunan, fulfilling his mother's last wish and a challenge from a troupe member. He begins to perform solo, astonishing the entire troupe with his ferocious portrayal of Arjunan. The same members who rejected him earlier are now impressed by his talent.
The film is a directorial debut for the director, Pari Elavazhagan. [2] The film was shot in Thiruvannamalai. [3] The film was produced by Sai Devanand S, Sasikala S and Sai Venkateswaran S [4] under the banner of SSBV Learn and Teach Production Private Limited. [5] The cinematography was done by Gopal Krishna [6] while editing was handled by Partha M.A [7] and music composed by Ilaiyaraaja. [8] [9]
The film was released on 2 August 2024 in theatres. [10]
Abhinav Subramanian of The Times of India gave it two-and-a-half out of five stars and wrote, "Jama, despite its narrative shortcomings, offers a genuine tribute to Theru Koothu and strives to revive a fading art form." [11] Anusha Sundar of OTTplay gave it three out of five stars and wrote, "The film takes a heartfelt look into a drama troupe led by Pari Elavazhagan. The movie shows the conflicts and politics within the group, but it also has its limitations". [12]
Karuthamma is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language drama film produced and directed by Bharathiraja from a story by M. Rathnakumar. The film stars Raja, Rajashree and Maheswari, with Saranya, Periyar Dasan, Ponvannan, Vadivukkarasi, Vaani, Vadivelu, and Janagaraj in supporting roles. It is set in a village where female infanticide is prevalent and considered acceptable, but the title character is against the practice. The music was scored by A. R. Rahman with cinematography by B. Kannan and editing by K. Pazhanivel.
Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen is 1997 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by R. Sundarrajan. The film stars Vijay and Dimple, while Sundarrajan, Jaishankar, Srividya, Karan, Manivannan play other pivotal roles. It was released on 14 January 1997, during Pongal and did well at the box office, despite facing competition from other Pongal releases such as Iruvar, Minsara Kanavu and Nesam.
Sakalakala Vallavan is a 1982 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by S. P. Muthuraman and written by Panchu Arunachalam. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Ambika, Raveendran and Tulasi. Produced by AVM Productions, it revolves around a villager whose sister is raped by the village head's son when the former refuses to abide by his dictatorship. The villager vows to seek revenge and get his sister married to her rapist.
Karakattakkaran is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy dance film written and directed by Gangai Amaran. The film stars Ramarajan and debutant Kanaka, while Santhana Bharathi, Chandrasekhar, Goundamani, Senthil, Shanmugasundaram, Raja Bahadur, Gandhimathi and Kovai Sarala play supporting roles. It revolves around two karakattam dancers who fall in love with each other, but circumstances prevent them from confessing their love for one another. How they overcome these forms the rest of the story.
Ananda Thandavam is a 2009 Tamil-language romantic drama film, an adaptation of Sujatha's serialized novel Pirivom Santhippom. The film was directed by A. R. Gandhi Krishna and produced by V. Ravichandran of Aascar Films. The music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar with editing by V. T. Vijayan and cinematography by Jeeva Shankar.
Karpagam is a 1963 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by K. S. Gopalakrishnan. The film features an ensemble cast including Gemini Ganesan, Savitri, S. V. Ranga Rao, M. R. Radha, R. Muthuraman, V. K. Ramasamy, V. Nagayya, Karikol Raju, Sheeladevi, K. R. Vijaya and Baby Shakila. In Karpagam, a rich farmer makes his newly married daughter (Vijaya) and her husband (Ganesan) live in his house to take care of his business. Problems arise when his estranged son (Muthuraman) starts to squander his money.
Karnan is a 1964 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film produced and directed by B. R. Panthulu. It stars Sivaji Ganesan leading an ensemble cast consisting of N. T. Rama Rao, S. A. Ashokan, R. Muthuraman, Savitri, Devika and M. V. Rajamma. The film is based on the story of Karna, a character from the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
Aasaiyil Oru Kaditham is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Selva. The film stars Prashanth, Kausalya, Anand, and Chandni alongside an ensemble supporting cast including Vivek, Vijayakumar, Sathyapriya, Rajan P. Dev, and Santhana Bharathi. It is a remake of the Telugu film Snehithulu (1998). The music was composed by Deva with cinematography by K. S. Selvaraj and editing by Venkateswara Rao. The film was released on 17 December 1999.
Rosappu Ravikkaikari is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language historical romance film directed by Devaraj–Mohan. A remake of the 1978 Kannada film Parasangada Gendethimma, itself based on Srikrishna Alanahalli's novella of the same name, the film stars Sivakumar, Deepa and Sivachandran, with Vinu Chakravarthy and Nagarathnamma in supporting roles. Set in British-ruled India, it revolves around a modern woman who cannot tolerate her rustic husband and her mother-in-law, and engages in an extramarital affair.
Engaeyum Eppothum is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy drama road film written and directed by M. Saravanan in his Tamil debut, he had earlier directed the Telugu film Ganesh (2009). Starring Jai, Sharwanand, Anjali and Ananya, it was produced by A. R. Murugadoss in association with Fox Star Studios, marking the studio's entry into Tamil cinema.
Pattakkathi Bhairavan is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by V. B. Rajendra Prasad, starring Sivaji Ganesan, Jai Ganesh, Sridevi and Jayasudha. It is a remake of the 1978 Telugu film Katakataala Rudrayya. The film was released on 19 October 1979.
Avatharam (transl. Avatar) is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language film written and directed by Nassar, making his directorial debut. The film stars him and Revathi. It was released on 9 June 1995 and failed at the box office, but won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Third Best Film.
Narasimhan, popularly known as Omakuchi, was an Indian stage and film actor. He acted in over 1,500 films in 14 Indian languages, predominantly in Tamil. In Telugu, he was credited as Juttu Narasimham.
Kavalan Avan Kovalan is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by Visu, starring Prabhu, Rekha and Madhuri. It was released on 29 May 1987.
Vinodhini Vaidyanathan is an Indian actress and writer who has mainly worked in Tamil cinema and theatre. She made her debut in A. R. Murugadoss's Engaeyum Eppothum portraying Ananya's sister. She is best known for her performances in OK Kanmani (2015), Appa (2016), Aandavan Kattalai (2016), Ratsasan (2018), Comali (2019), Game Over (2019), Ponmagal Vandhal (2020) and Soorarai Pottru (2020), Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023).
Dowry Kalyanam is a 1983 Indian Tamil-language black comedy film, directed by Visu and produced by S. Suseela. The film stars Visu, Vijayakanth, Srividya, S. Ve. Shekher and Viji. It is based on Visu's play Dowry Kalyana Vaibhogame. The films depicts the relationship betweet two best friends. One of them is financially struggling, and he increasingly depends financially on his friend. When an arranged marriage between his friend and his sister is proposed, the impoverished friend tries to collect the necessary dowry on his own. The film was released on 1 July 1983.
Vaidehi Kalyanam is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Manivasagam. The film stars R. Sarathkumar, Rekha, Ramarjun and Uthra, with Delhi Ganesh, Goundamani, Senthil, Ilavarasan and Kavitha playing supporting roles. It was released on 11 July 1991.
Vanakkam Vathiyare is a 1991 Indian Tamil language action film directed by Ameerjan. The film stars Karthik and Saranya. It was released on 1 February 1991.
Karaikkal Ammaiyar is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film, written and directed by A. P. Nagarajan and produced by EVR Films. The film stars Lakshmi, who played the younger-age Punithavathi role, and K. B. Sundarambal, who played the old-age role—as the title characters, with R. Muthuraman, Manorama, Suruli Rajan, V. S. Raghavan, S. V. Sahasranamam, Sivakumar and Srividya playing supporting roles. Karaikkal Ammaiyar is one of the three women saints among the 63 Nayanmars and is considered one of the greatest figure of Tamil literature.
C. K. Saraswathi was an Indian actress who featured mainly in Tamil films. She was active in the field from 1945 till 1998. During the early days she featured in character roles and in comedy tracks. Later she became famous for her acting in negative character roles. Due to her physical appearance, she was mostly given the role of a mother in rich families. The more noteworthy character she did was in Thillana Mohanambal as Vadivambal (Vadivu), mother of Mohanambal.