Ulavuthurai

Ulavuthurai (transl. Vigilance department) is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by D. S. Ramesh Selvan. The film stars Vijayakanth, Meena and Sanghavi, with Radha Ravi, Janagaraj, Carlos, Jassi Singh, and Hemanth Ravan, among others, play supporting roles. It was released on 14 January 1998,^[1][2] and failed at the box office.^[3]

Ulavuthurai
Poster
Directed by	D. S. Ramesh Selvan
Screenplay by	D. S. Ramesh Selvan
Story by	Balu Anand
Produced by	A.S. Ibrahim Rowther (presenter) Vijay Prabhakaran
Starring	Vijayakanth Meena Sanghavi
Cinematography	Rajarajan
Edited by	G. Gopinath
Music by	Shah
Production company	I. V. Cine Arts
Distributed by	Lakshmi Movie Makers
Release date	14 January 1998 (1998-01-14)
Running time	163 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Several people die mysteriously at sea, so the Indian Navy looks for its best officer, Commodore Vasanth Periyasamy to investigate the case. Vasanth changes his identity into Krishnamoorthy. He is now a car driver and lives in disguise for his family's sake. In the past, he was married to the illiterate Meena and has a daughter named Priya. One day, a terrorist kidnapped Meena and threatened to kill her if Vasanth did not release his partners from jail. Meena was then killed in the rescue mission, and the terrorists were released because of corrupt naval officers. The Department of the Navy then sent Vasanth to jail, so Vasanth decides to forget the navy and becomes a simple car driver in disguise. The navy then finds Vasanth and compels him to join them. He finally accepts to solve this odd affair and investigate the sea murders.

Cast

• Vijayakanth as Commodore Vasanth Periyasamy (Krishnamoorthy)
• Meena as Meena (Extended Cameo)
• Sanghavi as Sangeetha
• Radha Ravi as Home Minister Jaidev (Guest Appearance)
• Janagaraj as Duraisamy
• Hemanth Ravan as Terrorist
• Carlos as Terrorist
• Jassi Singh as Terrorist
• Chitti as Terrorist
• Sumithra as Vasanth Periyasamy's mother
• Baby Jennifer as Priya, Vasanth's daughter
• Charuhasan as Sangeetha's grandfather
• Fathima Babu as Sangeetha's mother
• Mohan Raman as Venkatraman (Guest Appearance)
• Ajay Rathnam as Ajay
• Balu Anand as Neurotic
• Sethu Vinayagam as Krishnamoorthy's boss
• Pasi Narayanan
• P. C. Ramakrishna
• Prathapachandran
• Laxmi Rattan as Sharma
• Vincent Roy as Police inspector
• Kallukkul Eeram Ramanathan as Marimuthu
• K. Rajan as Rajaram

Production

Ulavuthurai is the directorial debut of Ramesh Selvan,^[4] and Vijayakanth's 125th film as an actor. It is the first Tamil film to have scenes shot underwater.^[5][6][7]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Shah, with lyrics written by Vairamuthu.^[8][9]

Song	Singer(s)	Duration
"Meena un Kannukulle"	K. S. Chithra, Mano	5:09
"Kandu Piditthaya"	Swarnalatha	4:23
"Love Love"	Annupamaa, Harini	4:47
"Naadu Nam Naadu"	Mano	1:43
"Nitham Uzhaikindra"	S. P. Balasubrahmanyam	4:58
"Ullatthai Thirandhu"	K. S. Chithra, Madhu Balakrishnan	5:16

Reception

Ji of Kalki wrote this film is a treat for action lovers otherwise for people who except Vijayakanth from Chinna Gounder and Vaidehi Kathirunthal will end up getting different kind of alva.^[10] D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "Time lag and continuity have been given a go by and barring the last fight on a moving train, where the hero Vijayakanth involves himself in a risky scene, the rest of the action is an oft- repeated routine". He added that "Age is fast catching up with Vijayakanth, but none can fault his performance".^[11]