| Aval Paavam | |
| Director: | M. K. Arundhava Raja |
| Producer: | K. Rajan |
| Music: | Pradeep Ravi |
| Studio: | KR Films |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Tamil |
Aval Paavam is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by M. K. Arundhava Raja. The film stars Prabhukanth and Ritika, with Ishari K. Ganesh playing a supporting role. The film, produced by K. Rajan, was released on 22 December 2000.[1]
The film marked the feature film debut of director M. K. Arundhava Raja, who had earlier worked on television series.[2] K. Rajan, who had taken on the role of the president of Chennai Distributors Association during 2000, announced that he would produce Aval Paavam on a low budget.[3] Rajan's son, Prabhukanth, acted in his first lead role. He had earlier featured as the antagonist in Doubles (2000), and later worked on Ninaikkatha Naalillai (2001).[2] The lead actress, Lakshmi, took on the stage name of Ritika for the film. She head earlier appeared in a supporting role in Thalaimurai (1998) and shot for Aval Paavam alongside seven other film projects in early 2000.[4] Rajan had also signed the actress on for another project during the period, Babu Ganesh's Kudumbam Oru Koiyil starring Ramki, although the project was later dropped.[3] The film was briefly retitled as Chembaruthi Poove as the team wanted to avoid the title sounding Malayalam, but later reverted to the original title of Aval Paavam.[3]
The soundtrack was composed by Pradeep Ravi.[5]
| Song | Singer(s) | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Kuyile Poonkuyile" | 4:30 | ||
| "Ponnanaval" | 4:20 | ||
| "Nitham Yethanai" | 4:17 | ||
| "Collegeile Teenageile" | 4:23 | ||
| "Chembaruthi Poove" | 4:17 | ||
| "Myalapre Mama" | 3:59 |
The film was released on 22 December 2000 across Tamil Nadu. Malini Mannath of Chennai Online compared the film's theme to K. Balachander's Arangetram (1973), where about a woman takes to prostitution to support her family, but noted that changing times meant that the topic was less of a taboo in Tamil Nadu. The critic praised the film, adding "it is a well-planned screenplay and there is no attempt to preach or make it a melodrama" and that "there is no sexual exploitation of the theme to distract the viewers, though there was enough room for it."[2]