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Koyil Kaalai
Title card
Directed by	Gangai Amaran
Screenplay by	Gangai Amaran
Story by	R. Selvaraj
Produced by	Gangai Amaran Ilaiyaraaja
Starring	Vijayakanth Kanaka Sujatha Veerapandiyan
Cinematography	A. Sabapathy
Edited by	B. Lenin V. T. Vijayan
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Production company	Amma's Pictures
Release date	14 January 1993 (1993-01-14)
Running time	135 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Koyil Kaalai (transl. Temple Bull) is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language action drama film, co-produced and directed by Gangai Amaran. The film stars Vijayakanth, Kanaka, Sujatha and Veera Pandiyan. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja who also co-produced the film. The movie became a hit at the box office. It was released on 14 January 1993, during Pongal.

Plot

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Abandoned at the temple's doorstep, Uppili grows up to be a sort of caretaker of the temple premises, doing odd jobs. His attitude often brings him into conflict with a money-minded man, Sundaralingam, who tries to misuse temple lands leased out to him. Enters Arasayi, the fire-spitting lass who ends up marrying Uppili. She is the daughter of the very man Murugesan whom Uppili caught red-handed stealing temple jewels. While facts distorted, Arasayi believes Uppili to be the culprit and had come with the intention of having her revenge. However, matters get sorted out and all ends well with the villain getting his due. There is also the subplot of Maragathammal who looks after three temple accounts, her dumb daughter Usha, her scraps with Sundaralingam, and Uppili timely help.

Cast

• Vijayakanth as Uppili
• Kanaka as Arasayi
• Sujatha as Maragathammal
• Veera Pandiyan as Sundaralingam
• Yuvarani as Usha
• Mahima
• Valarmathi
• Shanmugasundaram as Murugesan
• Goundamani as Ramasamy
• Senthil
• Vadivelu as Vadivelu
• Periya Karuppu Thevar

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The song "Thaayundu Thanthai" is set in Mayamalavagowla raga.

Reception

The Indian Express wrote, "The film with screenplay-direction by Gangai Amaran has nothing new by way of story or narration". R. P. R. of Kalki criticised the film for its tiring plot, rotten sequences, lack of thrilling twists and three-to-four endings, adding that had the director applied his mind he would have at least made a perfect devotional film.

References

1. Sundaram, Nandhu (27 June 2018). "From 'Gentleman' to 'Amaravathi' : Revisiting popular films which released 25 years ago". The News Minute. Archived from the original on 28 December 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
2. "நட்சத்திர படப் பட்டியல்". Cinema Express (in Tamil). 1 December 2002. pp. 41–43. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
3. "Koyil Kaalai". JioSaavn. 14 January 1993. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
4. "Koyil Kaalai Tamil FIlm Audio Cassette by Ilayaraaja". Mossymart. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
5. ஜி.ராமானுஜன், டாக்டர் (1 June 2018). "ராக யாத்திரை 07: மாரியம்மனும் மரிக்கொழுந்தும்". Hindu Tamil Thisai (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 27 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
6. Sundararaman (2007) . Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Pichhamal Chintamani. p. 161. OCLC 295034757.
7. Mannath, Malini (17 January 1993). "Old stuff". The Indian Express. p. 7. Retrieved 19 January 2019 – via Google News Archive.
8. ஆர்.பி.ஆர். (14 February 1993). "கோயில் காலை". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 30. Archived from the original on 11 February 2023. Retrieved 2 December 2022 – via Internet Archive.

External links

• Koyil Kaalai at IMDb

• 1993 films
• 1990s action drama films
• 1990s Indian films
• 1990s Tamil-language films
• Films directed by Gangai Amaran
• Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja
• Indian action drama films
• Tamil-language Indian films