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Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi

Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi (இம்சை அரசன் 23ம் புலிகேசி; also spelled Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei) is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language historical-comedy film written and directed by Chimbu Deven in his directorial debut, starring the comedian Vadivelu in his first role as a lead actor, playing twin brothers.¹^•² The film was produced and distributed by S. Shankar under his banner S Pictures, with music by Sabesh-Murali and cinematography by Arthur A. Wilson.¹

Key fact	Detail
Release	8 July 2006, Tamil language, U certificate, running time 2h 22m¹
Director	Chimbu Deven, a former political cartoonist and journalist, in his directorial debut¹^•³
Lead	Vadivelu in a dual role as the foolish king Pulikesi and his twin brother Ukraputhan, his first film as lead actor²^•¹
Supporting cast	Nassar as the scheming Rajaguru Sangilimayan, with Nagesh, Manorama, Ilavarasu, Sriman, Monica and Tejashree¹
Budget and gross	Made on a budget of Rs 50 million (Rs 5 crore) and grossed Rs 150 million (Rs 15 crore)⁴
Awards	Two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and one Filmfare Award⁵
Telugu version	Dubbed as Himsinche 23va Raju Pulikesi, with Brahmanandam voicing Vadivelu's character⁶

Spoilers

Plot

The story is set in the fictional South Indian kingdom of Cholapuram Paalayam in 1771. Raja Mokkaiyappar (Nagesh) and his queen Rani Bhavani Ammaiyar (Manorama) have lost 22 children at birth, without knowing that the queen's brother, the Rajaguru Sangilimayan (Nassar), is behind the deaths as part of his plan to seize the throne.¹ When the palace astrologer predicts that the 23rd child will be a dimwit, the queen unexpectedly gives birth to twins. Sangilimayan orders the intelligent child killed, but the baby is saved and raised by a childless couple, while the dimwit survives as 23rd Pulikesi (Vadivelu).¹

Pulikesi becomes king after his father's death, a weak and hedonistic ruler who is a puppet of the Rajaguru, who colludes with the British to loot the state.¹ His twin brother Ukraputhan grows up educated and patriotic, learns his true identity, and takes Pulikesi's place as king to introduce reforms and resist the British.¹ In the climax the brothers unite against Sangilimayan, who repents at his sister's urging; the kingdom attains independence from British rule, and Pulikesi introduces ten ordinances for the welfare of the people.¹

Satire and contemporary references

The film is a comical satire on the Machiavellian politics of the late 18th century, laced with references to present-day happenings in politics, sports and other areas.⁶^•⁴ Reviewers noted jokes about government employees who arrive late and leave early, the tender process for government contracts, and film stars and sports personalities who promote inferior products for money.⁷ S. Sudha of Rediff.com listed references to caste clashes, corruption, propaganda machinery, the endorsement of harmful soft drinks by actors, selling out to multinational companies, and the nexus between rulers and thugs.⁸

The 'jaadhi sandai' scene. In a later interview, Chimbu Deven explained that the film's 'jaadhi sandai maidhanam' (caste battle ground) sequence was designed to show that those in power benefit from keeping casteism alive. He gave the two invented castes similar-sounding names, Naaga padhani and Naagappadhani, to suggest that people are the same but keep looking for chances to establish superiority, and said the ground works as a metaphor that could be replaced with language or religion.⁹ Deven, who had worked as a political cartoonist for a Tamil magazine, said he wrote the script with Vadivelu in mind and deliberately balanced the satire so that the people being caricatured would laugh along with the audience.⁹

Production and release

Shankar's S Pictures produced the film, and Deven, a former journalist, was credited with a taut screenplay.³^•⁸ The release ran into trouble when the Animal Welfare Board of India objected that the filmmakers had used horses and other animals without prior permission; the Regional Censor Board consequently withheld clearance, delaying a release originally planned for May 19, 2006.¹⁰ After the producer and director moved the High Court and the Board relented, the film was cleared and released on 8 July 2006.¹⁰^•¹ It passed censorship with a U certificate and no cuts.¹¹ FilmiBeat lists a release date of 1 December 2006, which differs from the 8 July 2006 date given by TamilMDb, Nowrunning and other sources.¹²^•¹

The film was made on a budget of Rs 50 million (Rs 5 crore) and grossed Rs 150 million (Rs 15 crore), emerging as a commercial success.⁴ It ran for over 100 days in theaters across Tamil Nadu.¹³ Producer Shankar said at the time that it had been 28 years since a Tamil film had revolved around the happenings of a historical period, the king and queen era.¹¹

Reception and legacy

Critics responded positively. S. Sudha of Rediff.com called Vadivelu the strength of the film and described it as a takeoff on the MGR film Nadodi Mannan, praising dialogues that shift between chaste Tamil and contemporary lingo.⁸ A Nowrunning review praised Vadivelu's dual role as a dimwit and a liberator and credited Deven, a cartoonist turned writer-director, with using humor to convey social issues.¹⁴ A Filmibeat review highlighted Arthur Wilson's cinematography, Sabesh-Murali's period-style music, and art director P. Krishnamurthy's palace sets.¹⁵ The film won two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and one Filmfare Award.⁵ A Hindu Tamil retrospective marking 15 years since release described it as the first Tamil film to parody the miseries and absurdities of monarchical rule, breaking the genre's usual glorification of kings, and as a cult classic of Tamil cinema.¹⁶

The film established Vadivelu as a lead actor after years as a supporting comedian, and it made Deven's career.¹⁷ In 2012, Deven announced that a sequel was being contemplated with Vadivelu.⁴

The stalled sequel. Imsai Arasan 24am Pulikesi, again directed by Deven and produced by Shankar, went on floors in August 2017, but shooting stopped because of differences between the team and Vadivelu. Shankar filed a complaint against the actor with the Tamil Film Producers Council in November 2017, alleging that only 10 days of shooting had taken place between August and November while rent was being paid for the erected sets, and claimed losses reported variously as Rs 60 million (Rs 6 crore) and Rs 70 million (Rs 7 crore).¹⁸^•¹⁹ In 2021 the dispute was settled, with Vadivelu agreeing to pay Rs 40 million (Rs 4 crore) in installments after mediation by Ishari K Ganesh; no resumption date for the sequel was announced.¹⁸^•²⁰

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026