Sukran is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written, produced and directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar. The film stars Vijay in an extended cameo in the titular lead role, with Ravi Krishna and Anita Hassanandani. The music was composed by debutant Vijay Antony with the score composed by Pravin Mani.
Plot.
Ravi Shankar and Sandhya, students of a college in Dindigul, are in love, but Sandhya faces a problem at home as her uncle is attracted to her. One day, he peeps into her bathroom while she bathes, and she complains about it to her malevolent stepmother, but she forgives and encourages him and tells her that they will one day marry. Sandhya also encourages Ravi, telling him that they will marry.
When Sandhya's stepmother discovers their affair, she pokes her nose in their wheel. Ravi's father, who is very caring and loving, sends them to Chennai. After they reach Chennai, he checks in on them, and in the middle of the phone call, he is killed by Sandhya's stepmother. After that, a corrupt police officer named Mahesh falsely accuses Ravi of murdering his own father and apprehends Ravi on a complaint given by Sandhya's stepmother that he had murdered his own father when he put his foot down on their affair. Ravi is then put behind bars.
Sandhya is persuaded to seek the help of a judge named Needhi Manikkam to get a bail for Ravi. Manikkam, being an incorrect person, blackmails her into sleeping with him, causing her to spit on his face. Sandhya is taken to a palace by the police, where she gets gang-raped by Mahesh, Manikkam, and Tamil Kumaran (Bobby Bedi), the son of Minister Janardhanan. In the meantime, an honest police officer releases Ravi, so that he can save Sandhya. While Ravi is heading to her destination, the trio removes her clothes, bind her to the bed, and rape her by turns, which they also take a video clip of. Ravi tries to enter the palace to save her but only to be stopped and severely beaten up by Needhi Manikkam's henchmen and getting thrown into the gallows and eventually becomes unconscious. After some time, Sandhya also becomes unconscious.
After a series of events, Sandhya decides to commit suicide, because she says that she has undergone a lot of pain and anguish, and the pain is so terrible that she cannot forget it until she dies. Ravi, unwilling to lose her by death and be separated from her since he had already lost both of his parents, chooses to die along with her so that they are still together after life. At this juncture, a criminal lawyer named Sukran arrives to the beach to save them, teaches them the value of life and advises them to face all the troubles boldly. After that, he tells them to start a new life and to be happy and successful by the time they meet again. They get jobs and money, marry, move into a small house, and have a normal life. One day, when Sandhya is in her nightdress, Mahesh, Manikkam, and Kumaran force her again, causing the couple to get harassed by the police. The incident causes Sandhya to be arrested on false charges of prostitution. All efforts by Ravi to get her out on bail are futile. An agitated Ravi supposedly shoots Mahesh, Manikkam, Kumaran, and Sandhya's stepmother dead and escapes with Sandhya from the court.
Once more, Sukran steps in and promises to save the couple. He appears on Ravi's behalf and puts forward enough evidence to help him out. He also eventually kills Janardhanan, the minister who was responsible for all the wrongdoings and also due to his previous disputes with him, much to the court's shock. After that, Sukran surrenders to the police, stating that even though Janardhanan was a degenerate, he should not have done the murder in front of the judge.
Cast.
 ;templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/ ;*Vijay as Sukran, a criminal lawyer (extended cameo)
Production.
Filming was complete by January 2005. Initially, Vijay was not interested in making an extended cameo as the titular character, but accepted after showing interest in the story. A song featuring Rambha choreographed by Ashokraja was shot on a dhaba set at AVM Studios.
Soundtrack.
The soundtrack was composed by Vijay Antony, in his debut.
Release.
"Sukran" was released worldwide on 18 February 2005. Prior to its release, the film was awarded an "A" (adults only) certificate by the Censor Board with 22 cuts, while the UAE censors objected to the film's content and asked for deletion of footage amounting to 32 minutes, not following which the film got banned.
Critical reception.
Malathi Rangarajan of "The Hindu" wrote, "Producer, writer and director S. A. Chandrasekaran returns after a hiatus, youthful in imagination and agile in execution — at times too much so [..] Chandrasekaran's yen for courtroom drama, make "Sukran" a cocktail of sorts." Malini Mannath of "Chennai Online" wrote that "The first half does move at a fast pace, making one think that the director was on to a love story with a difference" and added that "Sukran not only takes care of the matter but also hogs the whole show, to the detriment of the script, totally sidelining Ravi and Sandhya who had put up such a good show till then!" A critic from "BizHat" wrote that "Though the film has a romantic subject, the treatment of the story is unlike any other love story, from start to finish. Plenty of commercial elements add to the pace of the film".
References.
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