Kovil

<p>Puliyankulam and are nearby villages with an enmity that has lasted for a number of generations. Periyasamy is a from Puliyankulam and is widely respected by the villagers. Michael Soosai is a devout from Veppankulam and does not trust other religions. Sakthivel is Periyasamy’s son, who studies in a college in . Angel is Michael’s daughter, who also attends the same college. Sakthivel and Angel meet in college and fall in love. Angel is afraid that her father will never allow her to marry a Hindu, especially from the rival village. Michael and Periyasamy learn about the relationship between Sakthivel and Angel. Michael gets enraged and scolds his daughter, while Periyasamy agrees for the wedding. Michael does not want an inter- marriage and decides to force his daughter to become a . Periyasamy arrives and tells the truth in front of everyone that Angel Devi is Michael Susai’s adopted daughter whose real name is Fathima Begum was born to parents Jaffer Hussain and Ayesha Beevi. Michael realises his mistake and agrees for the wedding. Filming was held in locations including Tenkasi, Coutralam, Nagercoil and Munnar, and was completed within 59 days and two duet songs were shot at Thirunelveli. The soundtrack was composed by . All lyrics were written by , except for “Collegikku” ( ). was released on 10 January 2004. Malathi Rangarajan of praised Silambarasan’s performance as being “restrained and mature”, but criticised the story for lack of originality. reviewed the film more negatively, criticising its similarities to (1981) and said, “Anyone who sees the film can find this out and is sure to compare it with the original”. The reviewer appreciated Silambarasan because he was lacking “his usual mannerisms and style looks cool and is a relief to watch”, although they criticised Aggarwal’s performance and Harris Jayaraj’s music. Visual Dasan of praised Hari for handling a controversial subject while also appreciating Priyan’s cinematography and Harris Jayaraj’s music. Malini Mannath wrote for , “The director’s two earlier films and reveald him as a maker who thought differently. But this film is a routine, same romance, predictable and a little outdated”. wrote “The screenplay fumbles like the lovers do when they arent able to make the right decision. Unfortunately, the solutions they think up only gets the screenplay into further troubles”. wrote “Hari beginning the movie with scene of religious misunderstanding between two sects of people arouses inter- But the screenplay is inconsistent and is predictable”.</p>