Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai

WATCH TRAILER AT : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Lj1mo77Qhw

Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai (Tamil: புறம்போக்கு என்கிற பொது உடமை) is an upcoming Indian Tamil drama film co-produced, written and directed by S. P. Jananathan. It features Arya, Shaam, Vijay Sethupathi and Karthika Nair in the lead cast.^[2] The theme of the film revolves around the relevance of capital punishment in a democratic and free society.^[3] The movie is jointly produced by UTV Motion Pictures and S. P. Jananathan's production house Binary Pictures.^[4] The film was earlier titledPurampokku, a term used for a piece of land that is common to all, like a lake or a graveyard.^[5] The film was listed in the "Top 10 most Anticipated films of 2014"

Production

Development

Three years after his last directorial Peranmai (2009), Jananathan announced that his next directorial would feature Jiiva andJayam Ravi, who both starred in Jananathan's earlier films, playing lead roles.^[7] Yuvan Shankar Raja was reported to be the composer of the film,^[8] which was to begin in mid-January 2013.^[9] Since the actors were busy with other commitments, the project failed to take off. In 2013, Jananathan announced the project titled Purampokku with Arya and Vijay Sethupathi in lead roles,^[10] with the music direction handled by newcomer Varshan instead of Yuvan Shankar Raja.^[11] and N.K.Ekambaram wielding the camera.^[11]

Casting

Jananathan revealed that the film would be a political action thriller with Arya portraying role as a social and financial analyst, while Vijay Sethupathi would appear as a railwayKhalasi.^[12] Posters released from the production unit revealed Arya with a resemblance of Bhagat Singh.^[13][14] In December 2013, Karthika Nair was signed to play the lead female role, as she could speak Tamil fluently and had to share screen space with two tall heroes.^[15] Her role was said to be an action-packed one where she would perform her stunt sequences herself.^[16] Jananathan stated that though there are two heroes in the film, there will be just one heroine.^[17] Later Shaam, who earlier appeared in director's debut film Iyarkai (2003), was selected to play the role of police officer.^[18] A promotional photo-shoot with Arya, Vijay Sethupathy and Shaam was held in December.^[19]

Filming

Principal photography of the film started on 11 January 2014 in Kulu Manali.^[20] The film was shot extensively around Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chennai.^[20] When filming an emotional scene involving Shaam and Vijay Sethupathi, Jananathan shot the scene in a unique way such that he allowed the actors to enact the entire sequence at one stretch. Though it was tough to shoot, the method ensured that the improvisations the actors had in mind were implemented on the spot. Later, the director broke the sequence into shots and got exactly what he wanted and made the actors enact certain portions again.^[21] The shooting was postponed for a while in June 2014 as the lead actors went to complete their other projects.^[22] The lead actors had to learn to ride a camel for a few scenes in the film shot in Jaisalmer.^[23] Arya had to perform the risky stunt of running on top of a moving train in an important sequence in the film.^[24] A huge prison set was erected in Chennai where an extensive 45 day production schedule was shot with the lead actors of the film.^[25][26][27] On 4 August 2014, the shooting of the film was temporarily cancelled by the production unit and joined the protest declared by the Tamilnadu Film Director's union against the Government of Sri Lanka's army for writing articles on their official website degrading the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalitha.^[28] The principal photography of the film was completed on 17th December 2014.^[29]

Release

The teaser of the film was released on 15 August 2014 in theatres across the country.^[30][31] The trailer of the film was released on 04 February 2015 in theaters and social media platforms. ^[32]Satellite rights of the film were secured by STAR Vijay

Controversies

In August 2013, cinematographer Natraj Subramaniam claimed that he had already registered the title Purampokku for a future film, and claiming that he did not give anyone permission to use the title, threatened to take legal action against anyone who did so.^[33][34] In November 2013, UTV Motion Pictures confirmed that the title Purampokku will be retained for the film as confirmed by the South Indian Film Chamber, Tamil Film Producers Council and Film & Television Producers's Guild.^[35] However, the film was later retitledPurampokku Engira Podhuvudamai,^[36] with the director saying, "the word 'Purampokku' has become abusive today...the title was needed to stress upon the forgotten fact that everything is common for all".