Wikipedia

Surieyan

Surieyan (/suːrɪjən/ transl. Sun)[a] is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Pavithran, and produced by K. T. Kunjumon. The film, starring R. Sarathkumar, Roja and Babu Antony, revolves around an IPS officer who is forced to flee after being framed for shooting a minister. How he will prove his innocence forms the rest of the story.

Surieyan
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPavithran
Written byPavithran
Produced byK. T. Kunjumon
Starring
CinematographyAshok Kumar
Edited by
Music byDeva
Production
company
A. R. S. Film International
Release date
  • 14 August 1992 (1992-08-14)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Surieyan was released on 14 August 1992. The film became the first major success for Sarathkumar as a hero. It won three Cinema Express Awards, and was a trendsetter for further action films in the Tamil film industry itself.

Plot

edit

One day, a lady called Chettiyar Amma finds a man shivering due to intense cold weather in a truck which arrives in Top Slip, Pollachi. She immediately rescues him and treats him like her own son. The man, who prefers not to speak much, is called as Mottai by the people over there as a reference to him being bald. He gets employed as a driver to Usha, the only arrogant daughter of a rich landlord Koopu Konar. One day, Mottai, while replacing a tyre for Usha's car, lets something slip from his pocket, Upon retrieving the card, Usha is shocked to learn of Mottai's identity as Suriyan, an IPS officer serving in the Special Security Force, who is on the run after murdering the Union Home Minister. When she threatens to expose him, Suriyan rvelas that had he not killed the Home Minister, the nation would have lost the Prime Minister. Suriyan then reveals his back story.

During an international summit in Bangalore, the Union Home Minister urges Suriyan to devise a strategy to assassinate the Prime Minister of India promising him a few thousands of dollars in return. Suriyan gets furious and kills the home minister for which he is wanted by the police. Suriyan escapes from them and hides in Top Slip as he previously overheard home minister's conversation to his henchman Micky. Suriyan hides his identity and keeps monitoring the forest to trace the activities of Micky, so that he can prove his innocence.

Usha falls in love seeing Suriyan's dedication to nation. She elopes from her house and marries Suriyan contrary to her father's wishes. Meanwhile, Suriyan finds some suspicious activities in the forest and keeps track of them to gather evidence. Finally he finds out that Micky is under the protection of Koopu Konar and Micky plans to assassinate Prime Minister during his visit to Pollachi. Police trace the whereabouts of Suriyan and arrest him. Micky and Koopu Konar plan to kill Suriyan, so that they are saved. Koopu Konar secretly plants a bomb while visiting Surieyan in prison, but unfortunately, Koopu Konar himself gets killed in the attack. Suriyan escapes from prison and finds out Micky and kills him. In the end, the Prime Minister visits Surieyan and thanks him for his dedication.

Cast

edit

Production

edit

After the success of Vasanthakala Paravai (1991), K. T. Kunjumon again collaborated with cast member Sarathkumar and director Pavithran for a new project titled Surieyan.[2] During the scene where the title character shaves his hair, Sarathkumar himself did so because the producers were unable to hire a barber. The film was shot at different locations including Top Slip and places in Rajasthan. S. Shankar and A. Venkatesh worked as associate directors.[3]

Soundtrack

edit

The soundtrack was composed by Deva, and the lyrics for the songs were written by Vaali.[4][5] The song "Pathinettu Vayadhu" is based on "Kanda Shasti Kavasam", a Hindu devotional song.[6][7] The song "Laalaku Dole" belongs to the dappankuthu genre, and follows a 6
8 time signature.[8] For the Telugu-dubbed version Mande Suryudu, the lyrics were written by Rajasri.[9]

Tamil
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Laalaku Dole"Deva, Mano, S. Janaki 
2."Kottungadi Kummi"S. Janaki, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 
3."Pathinettu Vayadhu"S. Janaki, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 
4."Mannathi Mannargal"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 
5."Thoongu Moonchi"S. Janaki, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam 
Telugu
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Eay Oye Ayi Jummalaka"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra4:20
2."Piliche Vayasu Palike Sogasu"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra5:16
3."Choodu Choodu Oorantha"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra5:11
4."Maataina Botaina Okatele Needi"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam5:02
5."Mugdaraali Navve"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra4:53
Total length:24:44

Release and reception

edit

Surieyan was released on 14 August 1992.[10] On the same day, Ayyappa Prasad The Indian Express wrote "[Surieyan] is a racy entertainer that keeps the viewers attention engaged till the end".[11] On 22 August, K. Vijiyan of New Straits Times praised the director, saying he "succeeds in keeping the viewers in suspense" but criticised the stunt sequences for being unconvincing.[12] C. R. K. of Kalki praised the acting, comedy and cinematography.[13] At the 13th Cinema Express Awards, Goundamani won the Award for Best Comedian, M. Sundaram won for Best Dance Master, and Sarathkumar received an "extraordinary Special Award" for acting in the film.[14]

Legacy

edit

The film was a major breakthrough for Sarathkumar who previously played mainly negative roles, and its success made him a much sought-after lead actor.[3][15] It also helped popularise Top Slip as a tourist attraction.[16] The comedy track performed by Goundamani became popular, as did his dialogue "Arasiyalla Ithellam Satharanampa" (transl. This is all routine in politics).[17]

Notes

edit
  1. ↑ Also the title character.

References

edit
  1. ↑ Anantharam, Chitra Deepa (20 August 2018). "I taught Salman Tamil, says Prabhu Deva". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 May 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. ↑ Ramanujam, Srinivasa; Menon, Vishal (21 July 2018). "KT Kunjumon and 25 years of 'Gentleman'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  3. 1 2 Ashok Kumar, S. R. (28 May 2020). "Landmark films, golden memories". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  4. ↑ "Surieyan". JioSaavn. 31 August 2014. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  5. ↑ "Suriyan Tamil Audio Cassette By Deva". Banumass. Archived from the original on 10 February 2025. Retrieved 10 February 2025.
  6. ↑ "How Kandha Sashti Kavasam helped Suriya, Vikram, Ajith & Arun Vijay!". The Times of India. 18 July 2020. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  7. ↑ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (18 May 2020). "Deva interview: 'Kushi' proved that I could do more than just 'gaana'". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  8. ↑ Thapliyal, Adesh (10 March 2023). "A Brief History of South Indian Kuthu and Teenmaar Music in 10 Songs". Pitchfork. Retrieved 17 March 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ↑ "Mandey Suryudu". Spotify. August 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  10. ↑ "Tamil Films". Gentleman Film KTK. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  11. ↑ Prasad, Ayyappa (14 August 1992). "A chase without a base". The Indian Express. p. 7. Archived from the original on 4 May 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  12. ↑ Vijiyan, K. (22 August 1992). "Good plot but action flops". New Straits Times. p. 24. Archived from the original on 4 May 2024. Retrieved 25 August 2020 – via Google News Archive.
  13. ↑ சி. ஆர். கே. (23 August 1992). "சூரியன்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 25. Retrieved 15 December 2022 – via Internet Archive.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  14. ↑ "Cinema Express Awards". The Indian Express. Express News Service. 17 March 1993. p. 4. Retrieved 22 February 2021 – via Google News Archive.
  15. ↑ "Sarathkumar on 30 years of Surieyan". The Times of India. 14 August 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  16. ↑ Sujatha, S. (10 February 2009). "Pollachi: Mini Kodambakkam in Tamil Nadu". The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 January 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. ↑ Vankipuram, Meera (8 June 2017). "Netizens ROFL as memes mock volatile TN politics". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Surieyan&oldid=1350529150"