Pachaikili Muthucharam (transl. Green parrot and string of pearls) is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. It is based on the 2005 British-American thriller film Derailed which was an adaptation of James Siegel's 2003 novel Derailed.[1] The film stars R. Sarathkumar as the protagonist and Jyothika as the antagonist, while Andrea Jeremiah and Milind Soman played important supporting roles. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by Harris Jayaraj. The soundtrack was released on 20 January 2007 to positive reviews. The film was released on 13 February 2007. It was dubbed in Telugu as Drohi and was remade in Sinhala as Dakina Dakina Mal in 2010.
Plot
Venkatesh, a medical representative, is happily married to Kalyani, and they both have a son named Nanda. They all have a perfect life. That is, until Nanda falls sick and ends up in a hospital where he is diagnosed with diabetes, and things between Venkat and Kalyani cool down a bit. Kalyani begins to spend more time with Nanda and starts to ignore Venkat involuntarily. Venkat, feeling a bit lonely and neglected, walks in and out of his monotonous life without complaining much. He tries to understand Kalyani's feelings.
One morning while riding the train to work, Venkat notices Geetha and spends a few extra seconds admiring her. The following day again, he happens to stand next to her, and Geetha opens up the conversation with Venkat. Both married with kids, they feel that they have a lot of common things between them and start a friendship together. At first, it is platonic, and they meet only in the train, but they slowly start meeting at restaurants and coffee shops. Geetha begins to get a little physically close to Venkat, and she suggests that they both spend a day together watching movies or doing something alone. Venkat agrees, and they take a taxi and drive to Mayajaal on East Coast Road.
However, at the last minute, Geetha changes her mind and directs the taxi driver to go to a resort along the same road. Venkat books a room on Geetha's insistence. A knock on the door prompts Venkat to open the door. A goon who calls himself as Lawrence barges in, beats him up, robs the couple, and ties Venkat up before raping Geetha. Venkat is grief-stricken, and he and Geetha both part ways. Lawrence starts calling Venkat and Geetha to harass them for money. Venkat takes the full financial responsibility and starts paying off money that he had been saving for Nanda's medical expenses. With no choice left, Venkat confesses to Kalyani. Angry and disappointed, she leaves him, but she returns a few days later after realizing that she is short of money and forgives him.
One day, Venkat finds Geetha and Lawrence laughing down the street. He follows them and realizes that he has been conned and that this is their daily business. When the gang is pulling the same trick on another person named Ramachandran, he beats Lawrence, barges into a hotel, and explains it to Ramachandran. A fight occurs where Ramachandran is killed and Venkat accidentally shoots Geetha on her stomach. Angrily, Lawrence stabs Venkat on his hand and in a fit of rage, Venkat kills Lawrence. Venkat escapes but not before he gets a horrible beating from Geetha's men. He relocates with his family for a while, and then Geetha's men kidnaps Kalyani. Later, he realises that Geetha didn't actually die and she kidnapped Kalyani and his son to avenge Lawrence's death. She orders her men to beat Venkat up, after Venkat refuses to give her the money. After a long fight, Venkat kills Geetha, saves Kalyani. And the family lives happily ever after.
It was previously titled as Vilai Uyirendraalum (Even If the Price Is Life Itself), Parundhu (Eagle) and Silandhi (Spider).[2] Gautham Menon described the title Pachaikili Muthucharam (translated as "a parrot with a string of pearls") as a metaphor to the film's content, saying, "What will happen to a string of pearls if a parrot gets it? The pearls might scatter away."[3] Earlier for the lead female protagonist role several actresses was considered with Tabu, Kamalinee Mukherjee and Shobana as the frontrunners. Finally, the latter was chosen to play the role whom Gautham described as the "finest actor in the country".[4] However, Shobana was replaced by a newcomer Andrea Jeremiah, who previously collaborated with Gautham Menon in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu as a playback singer.[5] Sarath Kumar's character was originally slated for Kamal Haasan, Madhavan and Cheran.
Soundtrack
The film has five songs composed by Harris Jayaraj. The song "Karu Karu Vizhigalal" is based on Westlife’s "Hit You With The Real Thing".[6]
The satellite rights of the film were sold to Kalaignar. The censors cleared the film with an "A" certificate for its theme with no visual cuts but a few dialogue muting.[7]
Reception
A critic from Rediff wrote that "One must hand it to Gautham Menon for keeping the film from degenerating into a melodrama by giving the right mix of action and drama".[8] Lajjavathi of Kalki wrote it cannot be said that everyone will appreciate the softness that permeates the entire film. Although there are various reviews about the story of this film, a new attempt is welcome.[9]
Box office
The film was below average at the box office, especially because it was a typical A center movie. It performed badly at B and C centers due to its storyline. In regard to the average run, Menon went on to claim that Sarath Kumar was "wrong for the film" and that he tweaked the story to fit his image; he also claimed that his father's ailing health and consequent death a week before the release had left him mentally affected.[10][11]
