Thalaivaasal

For the town, see Thalaivasal.

Thalaivaasal (transl. The main door) is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Selva. The film has an ensemble cast consisting of S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Anand, Sivaranjani, Bhanu Prakash, Nassar, Napoleon and newcomer Vijay. It was released on 3 September 1992.^[1]

Thalaivaasal
Title card
Directed by	Selva
Written by	Selva Murthy Ramesh (dialogues)
Produced by	Chozha Ponnurangam
Starring	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Anand Sivaranjani Bhanu Prakash Nassar Napoleon Vijay Vichithra
Cinematography	R. Roy
Edited by	Raju KN
Music by	Bala Bharathi
Production company	Chozha Creations
Release date	3 September 1992 (1992-09-03)
Running time	140 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Nachiappan College is considered to be one of the worst colleges of Chennai; everyday violence erupts between two final-year groups. The students are influenced by the local bigwig Beeda Settu (Nassar), who sells ganja to the students and basically rules the college from outside. The first group is led by Sudhakar (Anand) whereas the other one is led by Kalaiarasan (Bhanu Prakash). The college management and the police get tired of that situation. They decide that they need to change the principal. The vice-principal, Chandran, dies to sit in that post but the college management asks the successful Shanmugasundaram (S. P. Balasubrahmanyam) to take the post. His daughter Shobana will study in the same college. The rest of the story is how Shanmugasundaram succeeds in his mission.

Cast

• S. P. Balasubrahmanyam as Shanmugasundaram
• Anand as Sudhakar
• Sivaranjani as Shobana
• Bhanu Prakash as Kalaiarasan
• Nassar as Beeda Settu
• Napoleon as Chandran
• Vijay as Babu
• S. N. Vasanth as Gupta
• Chitti as ACP Devaraj
• Sabitha Anand as Saradha
• Vaishnavi as Anandhi
• Vichithra as 'Madippu' Hamsa
• C.N.A. Parimal
• Sampath Kumar
• Vincent Roy as Vedachalam
• Jayaprakash
• Radhabhai
• Swaminathan
• Master Anand as Siddharth
• Baby Shobana as Meena
• MRK

Production

The success of the television serial Neela Maala facilitated Chozha Creations' re-entry into the film industry and they gave the serial director Selva the opportunity to direct Thalaivasal. Except S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Nassar, most of the cast was new like Bhanu Prakash and Vijay.^[2]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Bala Bharathi, with lyrics by Vairamuthu.^[3]

Song	Singer(s)	Duration
"Athi Kaalai Kaatre Nillu"	S. Janaki	4:35
"Mayajala Ulagam"	Bala Bharathi	3:42
"Naalaikum Naam"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Mano	4:04
"Unnai Thottu"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, K. S. Chithra	4:29
"Vaan Nilave"	Ashok	1:52
"Vaasal Idhu Vaasal"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam	3:46
"Vaazhkai Embadhu"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam	4:41

Reception

The film completed a 100-day run at the box-office.^[4] The Indian Express wrote "Debutant writer-director Chelva has taken up a subject with which he does not seem to be familiar".^[5]

Legacy

After the film's success, Vijay added Thalaivasal as his prefix.^[6]