Englishkaran

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Englishkaran
Official DVD cover
Directed by	Sakthi Chidambaram
Produced by	Amudha Durairaj
Starring	Sathyaraj Namitha
Cinematography	Suresh Devan
Edited by	V. T. Vijayan
Music by	Deva
Production companies	Seven Hills Film Factory Deivanai Movies
Release date	24 June 2005 (2005-06-24)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Englishkaran (transl. Englishman) is a 2005 Tamil-language comedy film. It stars Sathyaraj and Namitha, while Vadivelu, Madhumitha Siva Balaji, and Santhanam play supporting roles. "Englishkaran" with the tagline "Tamizh Vazhga" is a film from the hit combo from Sathyaraj and Shakthi Chidambaram whose earlier ventures Ennamma Kannu and Maha Nadigan were hits. Englishkaran also has humour, glamour, many puns and is based on a strong theme paced with whimsy humour. The film opened to positive reviews.

Thamizharasan, a reformist, arrives in a village and takes up residence at Dhandapani's guest house. Despite initial reservations, Dhandapani is drawn to Thamizharasan's candid admission of past mistakes. Dhandapani's daughter, Sandhya, aspires to become a singer, but her father's patriarchal views and adherence to traditional ideologies hinder her ambitions. In college, Bala harbors an unrequited love for Sandhya. Meanwhile, the son of former MLA Angalaparameswari misbehaves with Sandhya at a theater, prompting her to defend herself by beating him with her slippers. Thamizharasan joins the college and begins to pursue Sandhya, but she evades him by sharing a bike ride with Bala. As events unfold, Sandhya, who dislikes Thamizharasan, develops feelings for Bala and proposes to him publicly, witnessed by Dhandapani and Thamizharasan.

Thamizharasan, who had secretly recorded Sandhya singing solo, sends the CD to renowned musician Deva. Impressed by Sandhya's talent, Deva visits Dhandapani to persuade him to allow Sandhya to pursue a singing career. However, Dhandapani refuses categorically. Angalaparameswari, with a hidden agenda, presents herself as a demure woman and requests Dhandapani's permission to marry Sandhya to her son, seeking revenge for the public humiliation her son suffered at Sandhya's hands. Dhandapani agrees, hoping to use Angalaparameswari's influence to rid himself of Thamizharasan. Meanwhile, Theeppori Thirumugam, Sandhya's maternal uncle, devises various plans to evict Thamizharasan, but they all fail, and he himself gets caught. As the story unfolds, Bala and Sandhya elope to Chennai with Thamizharasan's clandestine assistance. Unaware of Thamizharasan's involvement, Sandhya confronts Bala upon discovering the truth.

In a flashback, it is revealed that Thamizharasan is, in fact, Sandhya's brother-in-law, married to her elder sister Maheswari, an aspiring athlete. Despite initial concerns that marriage would hinder her athletic pursuits, Maheswari finds support in Thamizharasan, who encourages her to chase her dreams. Sandhya, however, mistakenly perceives Thamizharasan as a male chauvinist, much like her father. Meanwhile, Thamizharasan's mother, bound by traditional values, expects a grandchild and is unaware of Maheswari's passion for sports. Upon discovering Maheswari's athletic ambitions, she orchestrates a plan to sabotage Maheswari's sports career. She manipulates Maheswari into falling down the stairs, then conspires with a doctor to deceive Thamizharasan into believing that Maheswari's backbone is dislocated, rendering her unable to continue her athletic pursuits. Maheswari, however, overhears the conversation. Devastated by the realization that her dreams have been crushed, Maheswari consumes oleander seeds, poisoning herself. Thamizharasan, upon learning of his mother's scheme, discovers that Maheswari's injury is merely a sprain. As she lies dying in Thamizharasan's arms, she extracts a promise from him to support her sister Sandhya's singing aspirations.

With the truth finally revealed, Sandhya gains a newfound understanding and respect for Thamizharasan's selfless actions. Meanwhile, following Angalaparameswari's sudden demise, her son travels to Chennai, determined to fulfill his mother's wish of marrying Sandhya. He attacks Bala and kidnaps Sandhya, but Thamizharasan intervenes, fighting off the goons. Despite being severely injured, Thamizharasan's timely intervention ensures Sandhya's safe escape. Sandhya successfully arrives at Deva's studio and records her first song, an opportunity arranged by Thamizharasan. Thamizharasan, meanwhile, recovers from his injuries.

Later, Thamizharasan witnesses a young boy being beaten by his father for pursuing his passion. Moved by the boy's plight, Thamizharasan takes the boy under his wing, determined to help him fulfill his dreams.

The film's shoot took place in Chennai for 14 days, and for another 25 days at Gobichettipalayam.^[1]

Soundtrack was composed by Deva and released on Bayshore.^[2]

Chennai Online wrote "Let your child pursue his own ambition, don't force yours on him, says the message. But in the loosely etched script with its various issues and distractions, it's a diluted, and confused multi-message that reaches the audience".^[3] P. V. Sathish Kumar of Nowrunning wrote, "Sparky script, great performances, directorial flare, and play's essential revelation makes "Englishkaran" an admirable movie".^[4]

• Englishkaran at IMDb 
• Englishkaran at Rotten Tomatoes