| Director: | S. P. Jananathan |
| Screenplay: | N. Kalyanakrishnan |
| Producer: | V. R. Kumar A. E. Gunasekaran G. Natarajan |
| Starring: | Shaam Radhika |
| Cinematography: | N. K. Ekambaram |
| Editing: | N. Ganesh Kumar |
| Music: | Vidyasagar |
| Studio: | Prisem Films |
| Distributor: | Prisem Films |
| Runtime: | 140 minutes |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Tamil |
| Budget: | 1 crore[1] |
Iyarkai is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by S. P. Jananathan in his directorial debut. The film stars Shaam and Radhika. Arun Vijay—who at the time was known as Arun Kumar—makes a cameo appearance and Bollywood actor Seema Biswas plays a supporting role. Iyarkai marks the debuts of Radhika and Biswas in Tamil cinema.
Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's short story White Nights, the film revolves around a young woman who is unable to accept the love of a sailor because she is in love with a ship captain who was lost at sea. It was made on a budget of one crore . Vidyasagar composed the music for the film.
Iyarkai was released on 21 November 2003. Although the film was not successful at the box office, it won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil at the 51st National Film Awards in 2004, and N. K. Ekambaram won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer.
Marudhu, a sailor, arrives at Rameshwaram port from Rome, after being away for fourteen years. At Senthil Aandavar Bar, a popular bar in the port, he meets Nandu while playing cards against Dorai and his posse at the bar. Marudhu asks Nandhu where the church is. Nandu directs Marudhu to the church, where he tells the church father, Stephen, the story of a captain who attempted to escape from his capsized ship. Marudhu later meets Nancy, who overheard his conversation with Stephen, at a roadside restaurant run by her sister-in-law, Mercy.
One day, Nandu comes to the bar with a bandaged nose. After seeing that Nandu is hurt, Marudhu looks for Dorai. A man from Durai's posse tells Dorai that Marudhu is looking for him and Durai goes in search of Marudhu. Marudhu finds Dorai fights him and his men. While fighting Dorai, Marudhu asks him who is he looking for, and if it is his lover. Nancy, overhears their conversation and, distracted by her thoughts, gets her dress stuck on train tracks as she is walking. Marudhu saves Nancy from an incoming train. She tells Marudhu to come to the only lighthouse in town at 6p.m.
Later that day, Marudhu is directed to remove a stuck object from his ship's propeller. While effecting the repair, the propeller turns on and Marudhu is injured, making him unable to go to the lighthouse. To Marudhu's dismay, Nancy tells Marudhu that she was not waiting for him, but for a ship captain that she had met three years ago while selling mangoes and had fallen in love with. The ship captain had told her not to wait for him because she was too young to make a proper judgement about love, but he gave her a ring. Nancy also persuaded him to promise to return in one year.
Marudhu decides to help Nancy in her search for the ship captain. The search proves difficult, however, because Nancy does not know the captain's name, as she only addressed him as "Sir" and "Officer". After Marudhu reveals his love for Nancy, she distances herself from him. One day, Nancy comes across Joe, a crewman who sailed under the ship captain, after recognizing him in the bar. Joe tells Nancy that the ship captain's name is Mukundan and that he died in a shipwreck. The next day, Mercy wakes up and realizes that Nancy is missing. She tells Marudhu to go find Nancy. He gets on a ship docked at the port going to Sri Lanka after being directed there by one of the people working in the port. He finds an emotionally unstable Nancy sitting in the ship. Marudhu tries to get Nancy off the ship, but a man named Adam tells him that he cannot take her unless he fights him. After they fight, Nancy jumps off the ship and Marudhu follows to save her.
At night, Nancy and Marudhu sail on a canoe in search of Mukundan, when Marudhu accidentally loses Nancy's ring. The next day, he returns the ring to Nancy and tells the church father that he and his ship crew are planning to leave Christmas night. He writes his name on one piece of paper and "Captain" on the other and asks the church father to choose one of the papers, which he takes with him. On Christmas Eve, a man, unbeknownst to Nancy, arrives in the port. Marudhu helps the man get off his boat although Marudhu does not know that the man that he helped is Mukundan.
Marudhu asks Nancy if she is willing to accept his love. He starts to open the piece of paper to sees whose name is written, before Nancy stops him and agrees to marry him the next day, on Christmas. During their wedding, Nancy sees Marudhu and a group of other men dancing with Santa Claus masks. One of the men kneels and presents a ring on Nancy. To Nancy's surprise, the man removes his mask and reveals that he is Mukundan, not Marudhu. A depressed Marudhu leaves aboard his ship and drops the piece of paper into the ocean.
S. P. Jananathan began work on Iyarkai in 2001.[2] Jananathan was reported to have taken inspiration for the story from his friend's uncle, who, immediately after getting married, went alone on a boat voyage in the Mediterranean Sea. He was lost and his body was nowhere to be found. Unaware of the situation, his wife awaited his return. However, the film is actually an unofficial adaptation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's short story "White Nights".[3] The film reuses several sub-plots from the short story, such as a man falling in love with a distressed woman, the woman telling him about her failed romance, and the man about to tell her his love right when the past lover returns.[3] He told the story to producer Ramkumar Ganesan, whose cousin V. R. Kumar became the producer after liking the story. The film was titled Iyarkai because the conflict between man and nature causes a woman to wait for her past lover to return.[4]
Suriya turned down the offer to play the lead role, saying he was not interested in doing romantic films.[5] Shaam, whom Jananathan worked with as an assistant editor on 12B (2001), was cast instead.[6] The film was shot in a coastal hamlet, where Shaam interacted with the locals to imitate their mannerisms.[7]
Kannadathi actress Radhika made her Tamil cinema debut as Nancy. The media referred to her as "Kutti" (;) Radhika to differentiate her from the Tamil actress of the same name.[8] Jananathan based Nancy on his friend's uncle's wife, and described her as an independent women with the autonomy to choose the man with whom she wants a relationship.[9] [10]
Arun Kumar was chosen to play the ship captain, a character based on the life of Jananathan's friend's uncle. He turned down the role because he was not interested in a cameo, but he later changed his mind after Jananathan explained the role's importance in the film.[11] Bollywood actor Seema Biswas was cast as Nancy's sister-in-law, marking her Tamil film debut. Although he was advised not to, Pasupathy accepted the role of the priest.[12] Pop singer Karunas was cast in a singing role in the film.[13] [14]
The film's first and second schedules were shot in the first half of 2003. The film's first schedule was a twenty-one day shoot at Rameshwaram, Tiruchendur, and Tuticorin.[15] The second schedule was shot on the Andaman Islands.
Art directors Sabu Cyril and V. Selvakumar erected a lighthouse set for the film.[16] [17] Since Jananathan demanded an abandoned, slanted lighthouse be erected on the Andaman Islands, Sabu spotted an island an hour away from Port Blair and built a five-foot lighthouse there with the help of thirty crew members (including ten carpenters, three molders and two painters) in eight days during the twelve days of filming at the location.[18]
The music was composed by Vidyasagar with lyrics by Vairamuthu.[19] [20] The first song Vidyasagar composed for the film, "Kaadhal Vandhaal", was recorded before the film's first schedule in Tuticorin.[21] The song was well received upon release.[22] The song "Iyarkai Thaaye" from the film's soundtrack was not included in the film.[19]
Iyarkai was scheduled to be released on 24 October 2003, coinciding with the Deepavali festival, but the release was delayed.[23] The film released to positive reviews,[24] but it was a box office failure due to a lack of publicity and its delayed release. The film did not lose money because it was produced on a low budget.
Malathi Ranagarajan of The Hindu praised the cinematography and art direction, stating: "Together with Sabu Cyril-Selvan's art, K. Ekambaram's lens paints a bewitching picture on screen". She also praised the performances of Shaam, Kutty Radhika, Arun Kumar, and several foreign actors. Visual Dasan of Kalki appreciated the use of montage shots and Radhika's performance, but opined that Seema Biswas was underused.[25]
R. Rangaraj of Chennai Online gave the film a positive review and wrote: "The debutant director, S P Jhananathan, has handled the build-up to the climax and the climax scenes too effectively. The end is rather stunning and unexpected for a Tamil movie". He also noted that the film may not have succeeded at the box office because it lacked commercial elements.[26]
A critic from Sify wrote that "The three characters Shaam, Radhika and Arun Kumar are excellent. Shaam laces his portrayal with seriousness and dry wit, which he has not been able to do earlier. Newcomer Radhika looks fresh but has to improve in her acting. Arun Kumar is a revelation but Seema Biswas is wasted in an insignificant role. The interwoven screenplay is fresh and the climax is strange, intriguing and riveting".[27]
Nineteen years after the release of the film on 21 November 2022, several netizens celebrated the film on Twitter.[28]
Upon release, Ekambaram sent Iyarkai to the National Awards committee. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for 2003, competing with Virumaandi and Pithamagan.[29] Jananathan wanted to return the award in protest of the death penalty for the hanging of Dhananjoy Chatterjee, but he did not do so.[30]
| 51st National Film Awards | Best Feature Film in Tamil | Iyarkai | [31] | |
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | Best Cinematographer | N. K. Ekambaram | [32] |
Jananathan wanted to shoot the film's sequel in Fiji, but the film never entered production.[33]
