Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei

2006 film by Chimbu Deven

Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikesi
Deven approached Vadivelu in October 2005 and offered him the lead roles. Vadivelu was initially hesitant to accept the offer as he felt that the audience would not want to see him as the central character, but after Vadivelu read the script, he decided to take up the role. Regarding the selection of Vadivelu for the roles, Deven noted that one of the royal characters from his comic book strip in Ananda Vikatan closely resembled Vadivelu, including his complexion and nativity. Swarnamalya and actress Nagma were considered for the female leads, but Monica and Tejashree eventually got the parts. Director actor Ilavarasu played the role of Pulikesi's minister, Mangunipandiyan. Actress M. N. Rajam played Ukraputhan's mother. Nagesh played Raja Mokkayappar.

Principal photography began at Prasad Studios on 16 November 2005, under the working title of Imsai Mannan 23am Pulikesi. It was the first historical film made in Tamil cinema since Madhuraiyai Meetta Sundharapandiyan (1978) almost three decades previously. The song "Aah Adivaa" was shot at Prasad Studios and choreographed by Sivasankar. A total of eleven sets were created for all of the filming schedules. Spoofs on Sivaji Ganesan, M. G. Ramachandran and Avvaiyar are seen in the film.

Sabesh–Murali composed both the film's soundtrack album and background score. The soundtrack album features five songs with lyrics written by Pulamaipithan. The album was received positively by critics. G. Dhananjayan, in his book Best of Tamil Cinema, said the songs contributed to the film's success and were popular during its theatrical run. Praises were directed mainly towards the musicians, the melodious interludes of "Aah Aadivaa" and the fusion of modern western and traditional Indian music in "Vaanam Namakul".

The film was originally scheduled for release on 19 May 2006. However, the film's release was delayed due to its use of animals without prior approval from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI). According to a rule issued in 2001, film producers must obtain prior approval from the AWBI to use animals in a film. Further, scenes with animals must be filmed with a veterinary physician on the set. Crucial to the film's story, the scenes were not re edited. In an interview, Deven stated that the elephants and horses in the film were not subjected to any cruelty. When Shankar approached the AWBI for a No Objection Certificate (NOC), he was denied. This led to the initial postponement of the film's release until 9 June. On 13 June,

Shankar and Vadivelu requested the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M. Karunanidhi, to intervene. A week before the release date, and with the help of Karunanidhi, Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei was cleared by the Central Government. The film received an NOC, and was subsequently given a 'U' (Universal) certificate without any cuts by the CBFC. After months of delay, the film's release finally occurred on 8 July in 135 screens across Tamil Nadu. Vadivelu's voice was dubbed by Brahmanandam in the Telugu version. The film was banned in Karnataka as the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce objected to a spoof film with Pulikecei's name in the title being released in their state. Pulakesi II was a famous king who belonged to the Western Chalukya Empire and ruled the Karnataka region in the seventh century. Post release, vendors sold unauthorised copies of the film on VCD in many areas of Tamil Nadu, especially in Chennai, where CDs were sold for 35 to 40, and Madurai and Dindigul, where CDs were sold at 45 to 50. Police conducted raids in the Avadi and Ambattur areas of Chennai where they seized 6636 VCDs. Although infringement helped increase the film's popularity, its theatrical run at the box office was still a financial success. Sri Lankan Cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan watched the film in Kamala Theatres in Chennai with his family on 11 July 2006. He praised the film's innovative story, further saying that Vadivelu had developed a huge fan following in Sri Lanka through this film. To further promote the film, 50 children who watched it were given "Pulikesi moustaches". Distributed by AP International, it was released on DVD in single disc format. The satellite rights of the film were sold to Kalaignar TV, and the worldwide premiere occurred on channel's launch date 15 September 2007.

Critics responded positively to Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikesi, noting the quality of its story, Vadivelu's performance, its highlighting of contemporary political and social concerns, and the film's art direction, cinematography, and music. Film historian Sundararaj Theodore Baskaran described Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei as "a parody with healthy concerns". Ananda Vikatan, in its original review of the film dated 23 July 2006, lauded Vadivelu's performance. S. Sudha of Rediff. com said that Vadivelu was the strength of the film. She credited the film's art direction and cinematography as one of its major highlights. According to Theodore Baskaran, Arthur A. Wilson's cinematography "creates a series of arresting images" which helps facilitate the directorial narrative. Lajjavathi of Kalki praised the acting of Vadivelu, the film's humour, Sabesh Murali's background score and Krishnamoorthy's art direction and concluded saying amidst gangster and affair based films, a Tamil film to be watched with family and children itself is a historical achievement.

Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei was a box office success. The film opened to full houses in theatres across Chennai, Coimbatore and Madurai. At the Mayajaal Multiplex centre in Chennai, the film grossed 301,000 in its first week and a total of 427,000 by the end of the second week of its theatrical run. Tickets were sold in black at the Devi Cineplex in Chennai for 150 against the original theatre price of 50. The film completed a theatrical run of 100 days at the box office. The film's 100th day celebration function was held on 14 October 2006 at the Kalaivanar Arangam located in the Chepauk district of Chennai. Rajinikanth, Vijay, Vivek, Sathyaraj, Prabhu Ganesan, Abirami Ramanathan and directors Lingusamy and Balaji Sakthivel attended the function. Rajinikanth presented Vadivelu with a trophy for his performance in the film. Technicians who were involved with the film were also honoured. According to an analysis in 2007 by T. V. Mahalingam of Business Today, the film earned a worldwide box office collection of 150 million.

The film won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. Vadivelu won the Best Comedian award while P. Krishnamoorthy won the Best Art Director award. Vadivelu also won the Filmfare Award for Best Comedian for his performance in the film.

Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei became an important film in Vadivelu's career. It continued a trend of films with different themes that focused on social issues. K. Jeshi of The Hindu placed it in a category of films that discuss social issues like Sethu (1999), Kaadhal (2004), Veyil (2006), Mozhi (2007) and Paruthiveeran (2007). Another critic from The Hindu, Sumit Bhattacharjee, compared it with other period films like The Ten Commandements (1956) Ben Hur (1959) Titanic (1997), Gladiator (2000), 300 (2007) and Jodhaa Akbar (2008). Mahendran included Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei in his list of all time favourite films. H. Murali, who produced the film Jaganmohini (2009), in an interview with Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu, says the success of Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei inspired him to make Jaganmohini. Subha J. Rao and K. Jeshi of The Hindu placed the film in league with other successful comedy films like Kadhalikka Neramillai (1964), Thillu Mullu (1981) and Michael Madana Kama Rajan (1990). Behindwoods included the "Pulikesi moustache" in its list of "Best accessories used in Tamil Cinema". A dialogue spoken by Vadivelu in the film, "Ka Ka Ka Po", which expands into Karuththukkalai Katchithamaaga Kavvikkondir Pongal (You have understood what I am saying), became a very popular meme used on social networking sites. Behindwoods included this dialogue in its list of Vadivelu memes. "Ka Ka Ka Po" also served as the title for a 2016 Tamil film by P. S. Vijay and as an acronym for director Nalan Kumarasamy's romantic comedy Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum (2016). The dialogue "Pandrikku Nandri Solli" (Saying thank you to the Pig) inspired the title of a 2022 film.

In August 2017, Shankar announced that a sequel, titled Imsai Arasan 24th Pulikecei, was scheduled for release in 2018. Vadivelu signed on to reprise his role as Pulikesi while Chimbu Deven and Shankar were to return as director and producer respectively. Shankar would have co produced the film with Allirajah Subaskaran of Lyca Productions. Parvathy Omanakuttan was cast as the film's heroine. Ghibran joined as the music composer while R. Saravanan, a former assistant to Nirav Shah, was hired to handle the cinematography. Vivek Harshan and T. Muthuraj was chosen the editing and art direction respectively. Vadivelu later opted out, citing creative differences, and the project was dropped mid way through shoot.