Sandakozhi

<p>Balu, an engineering student studying in Chennai, visits his classmate and friend Karthik’s home in after the final exams. Balu meets Karthik’s sister Hema and they develop an affection which transforms into love. Kasi, a local gangster in Chidambaram, is feared by the entire town. On his way back to his place, Balu sees Kasi chasing a man with an . When Kasi was about to kill the man, Balu interferes and stops Kasi, who gets enraged and immediately tries to attack Balu, but Balu smashes Kasi in front of everyone and leaves. Kasi is furious and wants vengeance against Balu. Kasi’s men trap Karthik/Hema’s father and learn about Balu’s native place. Kasi sets goons to kill Balu, but gets shocked when he learns that Balu’s father is Durai, a powerful chieftain of , and it will be difficult to attack them. Kasi leaves to Theni and waits for the right moment to kill Balu and his family. Balu meets Hema, Karthik and their family at a temple. Hema/Karthik’s father is initially angered by seeing Balu as he was responsible to bring trouble by hitting Kasi, but Balu convinces him and both families approve Balu and Hema’s relationship. One day, Kasi tries to kill Balu, but Durai gets attacked instead. Durai understands that Balu is being targeted and decides to protect him. A localite in Theni hates Durai and his family and decides to help Kasi kill Durai. Kasi utilises the opportunity to kill Balu and Durai during a temple festival, but Balu saves Durai. Durai asks Balu to fight with Kasi, where Balu thrashes Kasi and leaves, challenging him to return if he still has guts to finish him. and , uncredited, play Balu and Karthik’s friends. was originally narrated for , but he declined the project without listening to the full script. Discussions with proved unsuccessful too, as who was then attached as producer had a dispute with Linguswamy over his set remuneration. was subsequently approached for the film, marking his second film. Vishal worked hard for the role by taking courses in acting and dancing. A fight scene involving Vishal and was picturised in for seven days. The songs were shot at locations in Australia, New Zealand and . An introduction song for was shot at . The song “Ennamo Nadakirathe” was shot at Mauritius for six days. The soundtrack, composed by , teaming up for the first time with director and Vishal, was released on 25 November 2005. Both the film score as well as the songs were appreciated and praised as outstanding with the song “Dhavanipotta Deepavali” considered as the pick of the album. The audio launch for the Telugu dubbed version took place on 7 May 2006 at Fortune Katriya Hotel in Hyderabad. wrote ” is a well-packaged film without any big stars or unwanted sentiments.” Malini Mannath of wrote “Sandakozhi is an engaging entertainer, an action-flick with a difference”. Lajjavathi of wrote ” which came out without major stars and any unnecessary sentiments is a (winning rooster).” wrote that Lingusamy’s mixed taste shines in the tumultuous romance and thrilling action knots; only if the liveliness and excitement of the first half had been the same in the second half, could have been given a loud whistle. The film was a commercial success grossing $4.5 million at the box office. After the success of , Vishal’s father G. K. Reddy decided to dub the film in Telugu as , which was released in May 2006. The Telugu dubbed version was also successful collecting a of ₹2.5-3 crore. won two : (Rajkiran) and ( ). In December 2015, Linguswamy announced that he would direct the sequel of with Vishal again, which was shelved. However, the project was revived in 2017 with Vishal confirming his presence in the sequel. Rajkiran from the original has been retained in the sequel, with additional new cast involving and . The film was released in 2018; however, it failed to replicate the success of its original film.</p>