The film ‘Padaiyaanda Maveera’, directed by V. Gauthaman, stars V. Gauthaman, Samuthirakani, Pujitha Ponnada, Ilavarasu, ‘Baahubali’ Prabhakar, Saranya Ponvannan, ‘Aadukalam’ Narain, Mansoor Ali Khan, Redin Kingsley, Madhusudhan Rao, ‘Nizhalgal’ Ravi, ‘Thalaivasal’ Vijay, Sai Deena and others. The cinematography of this film is done by Gopi Jagatheeswaran and the music is composed by G.V. Prakash Kumar and Sam C. S. This film, which is based on the autobiography of the late ‘Kaduvetti’ Guru, who was a beacon of hope for the majority of people living in North Tamil Nadu, has been jointly produced by Nirmal Saravananaraj and S. Krishnamoorthy on behalf of V K Productions. V. Gauthaman, E. Kuralamuthan, U .M. Umadevan, K. Bhaskar, K. Parameswari have played a role as co-producers in this film.
The film team is enthusiastically involved in the promotion of this film, which will be released in theaters worldwide on the 19th. Sushma Cine Arts G. N. Alagar is releasing the film in theaters worldwide. In this context, the press meet of the film was held in Chennai. Director V. Gauthaman, lyricist Kaviperarasu Vairamuthu, dialogue writer Balamurali Varma, cinematographer Gopi Jagatheeswaran, actors Ilavarasu, Karate Raja, Tamil Gauthaman, producers, co-producers, along with producer Suresh Kamatchi, producer, director, and actor Thangar Bachchan, and actor Egan were special guests.
Speaking at the event, dialogue writer Balamurali Varma said, “A film starts with a white sheet of paper and comes to the silver screen. When we started working on this film, we faced many questions. One of them was why is this work being done? Because we are now living in a narrative society. We approach everything based on what we have already been told, what we have been told in our ears. In other words, we are only giving voice through our ears. That is why this race is being defeated in the propaganda war. Whenever a Tamil leader emerges, they are easily brought down with various slanders. One real leader of the people who was brought down like that is brother Kaduvetti Guru. If he has fallen, he has not fallen. But if we see what kind of image is recorded in everyone’s mind today about him…! It is our duty as creators to correct that and tell who the real Kaduvetti Guru is, how an MLA should act, how a leader should act for the people he loves.
When we created Auto Shankar’s biography and Maveeran Veerappan’s biography for Makkal Television, we got the opportunity to meet and talk to Doctor Aiya Ramadoss and Kaduvetti Guru in our office in Chennai. The image that has been constructed about him here has nothing to do with him. He is like a child. He also has a sense of humor. We thought about the image that has been constructed about him at that moment.
People do not know how an MLA should act for the people in the Legislative Assembly. But when the Neyveli Coal Company planned to dig a mine in Jayankondam, it was Kaduvetti Guru who fought bravely against it and prevented it from coming. It was Kaduvetti Guru who said that if relief was not provided to the flood-affected people in Ariyalur, he would set the Taluk office on fire. It was Kaduvetti Guru who locked the office and took away the key, saying that the Perambalur District Collectorate was not working for the welfare of the people. He erected a full-length statue of Ambedkar in Alagappuram. He garlanded the oppressed people and took them to the temple. When an electricity tower was built in the fields, he fought for the farmers who depend on it as their livelihood. In this way, Kaduvetti Guru is a leader who lived for the people. This face of Kaduvetti Guru, who lived for the people, has been hidden. They deliberately hid this. Having worked actively in the political field for 37 years, he did not keep anything for himself. He did not accumulate anything. He spent what he had on the leadership and the people who had faith in him. He was also a leader who could not be bought with money during the reign of the late revolutionary leader Jayalalithaa. The true image of such an honest leader was not conveyed to the people. They deliberately created another image of him.
Today, people living in areas including Neyveli, Vadalur, Kurinjipadi, Ariyalur are suffering from lung infections. There are also many cases of kidney failure. The reason for this is the cement factories operating in Ariyalur. Due to this, the air in the area is more polluted than normal. Studies have confirmed that there is mercury and selenium in the water there. The Pollution Control Board itself reports that the carbon dioxide in the air is eight times more than the permissible level. People in the area live with damage to their lungs, kidneys, and liver. It was in this environment that Kaduvetti Guru, without saving himself, ran and worked for the people. People are facing death there every day. Did anyone fight against this? Kaduvetti Guru was the one who fought against this. We had a duty to express this through our work. That is why we have made this film. At the same time, this film is not a film that only speaks opinions, but also a work full of entertainment. I request you to make this film a success,” he said.
Actor Ilavarasu said, “I first heard the people of Amman call Virudhachalam ‘Virudhachalam’ through Thangar Bachchan. Gauthaman came from Thangar Bachchan’s school. I have played the role of a police constable in this film. When I went to areas including Jayankondam for shooting, I was happy to see that ‘peanut’ farming still exists there. I wish director Gauthaman’s sincere hard work and his heartfelt commitment to be a great success. I request the media and fans to cooperate in this,” he said.
Producer Krishnamoorthy said, “On September 19, we are releasing the life story of Kaduvetti Guru as a film. The reason why I agreed to participate in the production of this film is because Kaduvetti Guru worked hard for all the people living in that area.
I have been visiting social media for the past week. I was shocked to see that the comments appearing there are bad. “I don’t understand casteism,” he said.
Producer Kuralamuthan said, “I am basically a civil engineer. I have nothing to do with cinema. Director Gauthaman met me and told me that we should make a film about the late hero Kaduvetti Guru, who lived with us in our time. When he told us the story, we were amazed. After that, we planned how to make it. We decided that this work should be a great history and to make it a record that there was a leader like Guru who saved the soil and saved women. Hence, we started raising funds for the film through crowdfunding.
We are running a business in more than 30 places in North Tamil Nadu under the name VK Super Store. Its owner Neelamegam gave full support to this. We planned to make the film at a cost of about six crore rupees. Also, this film has many star actors. It has become a very big film. Due to this, the budget was more than planned. In this situation Producer Krishnamoorthy joined us. Following him, producer Saravanan Raj also expressed his support.
Don’t leave this film out. Everyone should watch this film. If the two major communities in Tamil Nadu come together, Tamil Nadu will develop. This has been directed with emotion by Director Gauthaman. He has made this film after three years of penance. I request you to make this film a success without any discrimination,” he said.
Producer Umadevan said, ”We have given birth to our first child, named Maveera, who is a warrior. When Director Gauthaman discussed the film with us, we had doubts that we could do it.
The economy is important in the current state of the country. Like education and employment, economy is also important. Based on this, VK Business Group has contributed to the production of the film. We made this film with the aim of informing the people about the history of the people’s leader who lived and passed away in this region.
When we first met Kaviperarasu Vairamuthu for the songs of the film, he said that he would write songs that would uplift that community and tell us about various historical events that were unknown to us. I am happy to say this here.
In Tamil Nadu, which is divided into two major communities, they should unite as a Tamil community. It is with this aim that V. Gauthaman has made this film. Therefore, it is your golden duty to make this film a success,” he said.
Producer Ayyanar Kannan said, ”A man who follows the footsteps is a man. A man who leaves a mark is a great man. This film tells the life story of the forest cutter Guru, who lived and passed away as such a great man, the charity and good deeds he did for the backward people of this Tamil society, for all the downtrodden and oppressed communities. The film has been made by director V. Gauthaman, who traveled with him. This is a huge joint effort. Most of the time, producers do not come forward to make good cinema. People who have made progress in other fields unrelated to cinema have supported this film. Many people, including students, are partners in the production of this film. Why is there so much commotion? The life story of a leader who spoke out for social justice, a leader of all communities, should be told to the people.
In a village called Kudithangi, permission is denied to carry the body of a downtrodden person through a road. At that moment, Kaduvetti Guru, following the doctor’s orders, carried the body on his shoulders and walked through that road. That is why the people praise him as a hero. Kaduvetti Guru also abolished the double-pot system that was practiced in those villages. In that way, Kaduvetti Guru is a leader who worked for social justice.
We should all come together to support the songs and the film to make it a success. We should celebrate the late Kaduvetti Guru as a leader of the people,” he said.
Producer ‘Kriyatech’ Bhaskar said, “When I met director Gauthaman in a restaurant in Chennai in 2021, he talked about his work and said that he should make a film about the life of the forest cutter Guru. At that time, I was an entrepreneur and an educationist.
Then I received a message from the Tamil Nadu Governor’s Office that a study on hidden people’s leaders could be submitted. We found out that many political leaders who worked for the people after the freedom struggle and in the contemporary era are hidden. We also found that there are political leaders like him who worked for the people in all communities. We made this film to tell the people about such leaders.
When a politician is identified, he is a politician who does boastful politics. But people’s leaders have lived simply.
The film’s opening ceremony was held in 2023. The film is now being released after a tough struggle. This film speaks of life. The level to which a common man can rise, when he can rise, and when he can be appreciated by the people, is when he thinks selflessly for the people and goes out on the field and fights.
I traveled to countries including Singapore and the United States to attract investments for this film. When I talked to them, they asked why cinema is not your field. They said that a wrong image has been built about someone due to political reasons. It is our duty to tell the people his real face – about a leader who loved all the people. I also emphasized our responsibility as a citizen. We have also made the film to tell the next generation the history of such hidden leaders like the forest cutter Guru.
This film is made without pornography and violence. Therefore, this film is prepared in a way that families and girls can go to the theater and watch it,” he said.
Speaking, Kaviperarasu Vairamuthu said, “Gauthaman is a respected director in the contemporary era. An uncompromising fighter. He is one of the few who works with Tamil ethnic and linguistic consciousness in the field of art. I will celebrate him as my younger brother. Therefore, the work directed by Gauthaman should be successful. I have come to wish him that his work should be celebrated by the people.
The vision and trend of today’s films are in a state of distress. It should be noted that out of 200 films released today, only 10 films come close to success.
The film Padiyaanda Maveerar has great strength. We have great actors, great producers, great cinematographers, great technicians. The best cinematographers in Asia are in Tamil Nadu. Despite all this, the reason why films are not successful in Tamil Nadu is that they make films by watching life and not by watching the film. A film is an image. Life is reality. A true image mixed with blood, tears, and sweat. If you film the life that has passed from that life, the life that has touched, the life that has suffered, the life that has caused suffering, the life that has caused suffering to fellow human beings… there will be a connection between the audience and the work. I think that many film fans have become alienated from this connection because this connection has disappeared.
In Tamil Nadu, which has a population of eight crores, the number of people who go to the cinema to watch cinema has shrunk to 3.5 million. If we look at the reason for this, cinema has been fragmented by technology. Cinema, which grew with technology, is today heading towards regression due to the same technology. I find this regrettable.
There was a storyteller in Tamil cinema, who killed him? There was a screenwriter, who destroyed him? There was a dialogue writer, who misled him?
If a hundred people take the Mahabharata, if they take it right, it will be a victory. If a hundred people take the Ramayana, if they take it right, it will be a victory. The people know the stories of these two epics.
As for the film Padiyaanda Maveera, since it is a story of the struggle of a real fighter with life, blood, tears, and sweat, there is no room for imagination in it. There is no room for irony. I think the reality in it is not only the strength of the film, but also the matter of winning.
The success of a film depends on the fans who come to see it. I believe it depends on the Tamils.
People will celebrate and admire the indomitable courage of heroes like Malaiyur Mampattiyan, Karimedu Karuvayan, and Chandanak Kattu Veerappan. In that vein, people will also enjoy this film, Padiyaanda Maveera. I hope they will celebrate it,” he said.
Actor Egan said, ”My dear friend Tamil Gauthaman has acted in this film. He has also acted in action-packed fight scenes in it. I wish him all the best. I also extend my best wishes to this film crew,” he said.
Actor Tamil Gauthaman said, ”This is my first film. I have acted in fight scenes in the very first film. The film is releasing on September 19th. I request everyone to visit the theater and support it,” he said.
Producer Suresh Kamatchi said, ”Gauthaman first gave me the screenplay of this film. When I started my journey in Tamil national politics, I got to know many people including my brother Gauthaman. I really like the way Gauthaman fights for the interests of the people of Tamil Nadu without any retaliation.
After giving him the screenplay of this film, I informed him of my company’s policy. I said that I would not make a film about any caste. However, out of love for my brother, I read the entire script. It was good. But I had a different image of the forest-cutter Guru. The videos of him speaking in Mahabalipuram were widely shared on social media. After watching them, I had observed him as a caste leader. That was how I understood him.
After reading this script, I contacted my friends on the phone to confirm whether he was writing the truth or exaggerating. I was surprised when they told me the true story about Kaduvetti Guru, but the image of him here is constructed differently.
It was only after May 18, 2009, that I had a political understanding of who I am as a Tamil and what Tamil nationalism is. Not only from that day until today, but throughout my life, if I had a leader, it was only Methagu Prabhakaran.
When I read about Kaduvetti Guru’s life, I was saddened by how wrongly he was constructed. There are many hidden leaders in Tamil society.
I have seen this film. This film is not a caste film. The life story of Kaduvetti Guru. You can learn about how a man has lived honestly, how he has been cheated for living honestly, and about a leader who has kept nothing for himself, left nothing for his family, and lived for his people. Beyond this, I would say that the dialogues and background music in the film are the strength of the film,” he said.
Producer – Director – Actor Thangar Bachchan said, ”V. Gauthaman did not come to the film industry to earn money. Gauthaman has chosen cinema because he is a Tamilian. Gauthaman is a Tamilian who speaks out against whatever happens against this land, be it politics, oppression, violence, against the language, against the Tamils.
The people who are oppressed in this country are Tamils. It is the Tamil language that is being destroyed and oppressed. There are many people who have emerged from time to time in Tamil Nadu to oppose this and to protect the Tamil language. They all come in the form of literature and occasionally in the form of films.
Non-Tamils, knowing the Tamil language and literature, are cultivating discrimination and hostility among Tamils.
There are many mentally ill people in the name of comments and followers on social media. All of them are slaves and pawns of a political party. Today, politics is being structured based on them.
Social media seemed like a huge change for us, who had only heard the news from ten major newspapers and five media outlets. A situation has arisen where every individual can post and share their opinions through social media. If you expect good things to happen through this, you know what happens. It is in the midst of this crisis that real news needs to come out.
We are all used to Maveeran Guru as a Tamilian, not as a politician. He is a very open-minded person.
In the 1990s, the best work released in Indian cinema within the commercial sphere was Marumalarchi. I have worked on it. It is a film about a leader in a village. The entire culture and tradition of Tamil land has been included in that film. It is a film about a leader who respects people, people and women without any enmity. This film did not hurt anyone’s feelings. If a film is made about a popular leader who is loved by the people living in a particular area… it should not be called a caste film. Who classifies it like this? I do not know.
This film should be brought to the people. After watching this film, people should have an impact. A work should bring about a change in the people. I hope that this Padayanda Maveera will be such a work,” he said.
Speaking, director V. Gauthaman said, ”Thank you to everyone from the V K Group, who produced this film with the aim of developing me. Thank you also to Krishnamoorthy from Karnataka, who contributed to the production. Thank you to producer Saravana Raj for his support at the final stage. Thank you to producer Sundaravaradhan for helping to remove obstacles whenever there were obstacles during the work of the film. Thank you to brother Kannan, brother Suresh Kamatchi, and Thangar Bachchan who have been supporting us continuously.
I would like to express my gratitude to all the actors, actresses, and technicians who worked with them for this film at this moment.
In these Tamil communities with a history of fifty thousand years, all the Tamil communities that I love dearly gave me pain and humiliation as a gift due to their selfishness. I still carry that pain and anguish in my mind today. Because no one born in Tamil soil is superior. There are no inferiors. I firmly believe that everyone is one motherland.
Here, a history should start from history. I am not saying that history should be rewritten for that. Only when we tell the history of a person who stood as history, the garbage, dirt, and filth that are lying in darkness on this land will be removed. One such work is ‘Bataiyanda Maveera’.
Many people are working secretly to bring down this work. I have never hurt any community. I have never hurt any race. I have never been an accomplice in defaming any Tamil caste. Then why do you continue this disgusting act?
My father and his (Kaduvetti Guru) father were educated together. He and I have not only good friendship, but also understanding and great love. People with virtue cannot be brought down on this earth. If you want, you can hide them for some time. But they will rise again.
All the actions taken to bring down works and creators are disgusting. Avoid them.
The life history of the Tamil king should be made into a work. The life history of the great Prabhakaran should be made into a work. Because the history of the Tamil nation should be told aloud to everyone. The enemies of the Tamil nation should be brought to their knees.
“The songs of this film are as fiery as the firecrackers. I screened the climax of the film to the artists who provided background vocals for this film. They all hugged me with tears in their eyes and expressed their appreciation. I realized that the story of a virtuous person creates a bond with the audience and creates an impact. At that moment, I began to realize the sacredness of this work. I am confident that this work will win,” he said.
