Thevar Magan

Devar magan is my all time favourite movie.It brings the two versatile actors of Tamil Cine industry,even Indian Film Industry together to give a movie which depicts the reality of most villages and Devar's religion.The scene between Kamal and Shivaji remains one of the best ever scene in tamil cinema.May be Urban people may find it different, but the peoples from villages, will find at least one character or one event similar to their place or peoples.Though two Gems acting in same movie there is lot of scope for others to act and they all used it well.(Nasser,Gautami,Revathi and even Vadivelu).KamalHaasan-Ilayaraja music combination once rocks for the nth time.

Don't forget to watch it.

One of the most successful movies of Kamal Hassan's Rajkamal International production company. A cult classic that got both critical acclaim and huge box office collections. About a dozen movies were released along with it, on Diwali '94 but all these were reduced to box-office disasters(including the Rajinikant starrer 'Pandian'). Such was the impact of Thevar Magan. The thespian Sivaji Ganesan was aptly cast in the role of Kamal's father, the village chief. Nasser, Revathi and Gouthami reveled in their roles and Revathi won the National award for 'Best Supporting actress'.

But more than everything, this is the movie which spawned a deluge of flicks based on the caste-feuds happening in villages, none of which could match the original in terms of grandeur, story or performances. Thevar Magan, upon its release, was literally worshipped by the 'Thevars', a warring caste in Tamil Nadu's rural areas. Some political organizations still argue that the movie itself is the reason for the violence happening in these villages.

The telugu dubbed version 'Kshatriya Putrudu' was an equally big hit. Later the movie was remade in Hindi as 'Virasat', starring Anil Kapoor, Tabu, Amrish Puri and Pooja Batra. The Hindi version too was a success.

Asokan, Thevar Magan is no way similar to Godfather... Nayakan is. It was unnecessary to force the comparison because Thevar Magan is a very original story... and brings out the psyche of the Thevar community, their heroism, violence and honor.

Your review otherwise reflected my opinion on the movie. It's one of the few films where every character has been well-conceived. And what a brilliant performance from all!!! Unfortunately, the director of this classic, Bharatan is no more. (He like many of his peers went unsung, largely due to the step-motherly attitude of the POP media (read Hindi dominated media) to regional movie makers. Thevar Magan is a great movie that deserves a hall of fame in the annals of Indian Films.

N Sharma

The Movie won the all time best Tamil film award in the Vijay awards ceremony(2007), which analyzed the complete list of Tamil movies from the early 1940's. Need i say more?. Its the best movie there is in Tamil cinema even today. The movie is aptly paced and portrays the courage and pride of the Thevar community as realistic as possible. The performance of all the actors are outstanding, especially Kamal Hassan and Nasser in the climax. The duo even outperform the veteran Sivaji Ganeshan, considered to be the greatest Tamil actor of all time, with their stunning acting. Hats off to Kamal and the director for taking Tamil cinema to new unknown heights.

Don't miss the scenes between our dear Kamal and late Shivaji Ganeshan. It's an incredible movie with the best of best performances by Kamal and Sivaji Ganeshan Sir. Kamal is in top form and unmatchable when it comes to method acting. The movie grows on you scene to scene. Illayaraja's music is apt for the script. Support cast Revati and Gautami have done their best. I grew up watching Kamal and watching this masterpiece after decades made me salute to Kamal and the makers of yester years.