Pasanga

<p>The story unfolds in a dry and barren village. The protagonist Anbukkarasu ( ) wants to excel in life as a collector and is a precious child. He meets Jeevanandam ( ), the son of the school teacher Chokkulingam ( ). The meeting occurs on the first day of school. In the long run, Jeeva develops an instant dislike for Anbu even when the good-hearted Anbu tries to befriend him. However, Jeeva continues to hate Anbu with a passion. Enters Manonmani (Dharini), Jeeva’s cousin, who develops an affinity towards Anbu. This makes Jeeva detest Anbu further. Anbu excels academically and in extracurricular activities, which contributes to widening the rift between the two. Anbu’s parents have different opinions on life, resulting in a fight between them that Jeeva uses as a means to hurt Anbu further. A fight between Anbu and Jeeva escalates to involve their parents, and this divides their families. The elders smooth out their differences when Jeeva’s father speaks to Anbu’s father about forgiveness, leading Anbu’s father to get along better with his wife. In a twist, Meenakshi Sundaram ( ), Anbu’s uncle, falls in love with Soppikannu ( ), Jeeva’s sister. The families unite when they agree to the marriage of Meenakshi Sundaram and Soppikannu, much to the chagrin of Jeeva and Anbu, whose rift deepens. At the end of their sixth grade, Jeeva’s father asks the class to a write a letter about good and bad events in their past year, and this causes Anbu and Jeeva to share their feelings about one another. Anbu expresses his liking of Jeeva, while Jeeva continues to express his dislike of Anbu. However, Manonmani helps Jeeva understand that Anbu has changed his life for the better. When Anbu meets with a sudden accident, Jeeva’s encouragement helps Anbu recover. Jeeva apologises, they become friends, and the film ends with Meenakshi Sundaram’s marriage to Soppikannu. was initially offered a lead role by Pandiraj, who was Ramakrishnan’s colleague when they were assistants to director . As Ramakrishnan was busy with the shoot of (2009), Vemal was cast in the role instead. The soundtrack was composed by . , wrote, “Prosaic yet profound, , subtly driving its homily, makes for a fine family fare”. appreciated the film’s lack of dialogues and exaggeration of emotions, “but it is not wanting in romance, family sentiment, or humour at the same time”. Still, the critic appreciated the story and “consistent” screenplay. wrote, “This film, along with , are two of the most enjoyable and natural […] films to have graced Tamil screens in recent years and I’m happy that someone had the sense to make films like this in this age of mindless action and hero worship”. The film was remade in Sri Lanka by Sinhala-language under the title in 2012.</p>