General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20264 min read

Senthoora Poove (செந்தூரப்பூவே)

Senthoora Poove (செந்தூரப்பூவே; also rendered Sendhoora Poove, translated as "Saffron Flower") is a 1988 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by P. R. Devaraj, starring Vijayakanth, Ramki, and Nirosha in the lead roles.¹ It was written and produced by Aabavanan under the banner Tamil Ponni Arts and released on 23 September 1988.² The film was a commercial success, running over 200 days in theaters and grossing more than 25 million (2.5 crore), and it won Vijayakanth his first Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor.³^•²

Key fact	Detail
Release	23 September 1988 (India), Tamil language, 165 minutes, UA certificate¹^•⁴
Director and writer	Directed by P. R. Devaraj; story, screenplay, and dialogue by Aabavanan¹^•²
Lead cast	Vijayakanth as Captain Sundara Pandian, Ramki as Ashok, Nirosha as Ponni⁵
Music	Manoj–Gyan; eight songs, with lyrics by Vairamuthu, Pulavar Muthulingam, and Aabavanan⁶^•²
Box office	Ran over 200 days and grossed over 25 million (2.5 crore); among the highest-grossing Tamil films of 1988³
Award	Vijayakanth's first Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor²
Other versions	Dubbed into Telugu as Sendhoora Puvva; remade in 1992 as Mallige Hoove³

Spoilers

Plot

Ponni is a young widowed woman forced to live with her father and her cruel stepmother, Poonnamma, who mistreats her continually. Ashok, a city dweller, moves to her village and the two fall in love, but they must overcome numerous obstacles before they can be united.¹^•⁷ A third major character, Captain Sundara Pandian (Vijayakanth), is introduced after a flashback sequence and is revealed to suffer from an unusual illness; how he protects the couple forms the core of the story.³^•⁸ The film combines the romance between Ramki and Nirosha's characters with action sequences typical of Vijayakanth's roles.⁸

Production

The film was produced by Aabavanan together with C. Arunpandian, B. Sakthivel, and K. Vijayakumar, with Aabavanan also writing the story, screenplay, and dialogue.² M. M. Rangaswamy served as director of photography and R. T. Annadurai as editor.² Aabavanan, a graduate of the Madras Film Institute's screenplay and direction program, took the film's title from the first word of a popular song associated with the actress Sridevi.⁹^•³

The supporting cast included Sripriya, Anandaraj, Vagai Chandrasekar, Charle, Senthil, Vijayalalitha, and C. L. Anandan.¹⁰

Music

The soundtrack was composed by the duo Manoj–Gyan and contains eight songs.⁶ The title song, "Sendhoora Poove", was sung by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and B. S. Sasirekha with lyrics by Pulavar Muthulingam.⁶ Other songs include "Kiliye Ilangkiliye" (Malaysia Vasudevan and S. P. Sailaja, lyrics by Vairamuthu), "Sothanai Theeravillae" (P. Jayachandran), "Chinna Kannan" (S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and K. S. Chithra), and "Vaadi Pulla" (Malaysia Vasudevan).⁶ The songs became popular hits, and the title song in particular is remembered as a chartbuster.⁸^•¹¹ The album was released on 19 December 1988 by Vijay Musicals.¹²

Reception and legacy

The film completed a run of more than 200 days at the box office and grossed over 25 million (2.5 crore), placing it among the highest-grossing Tamil films released in 1988.³ Vijayakanth received the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor for the film, the first such award of his career.² The climax action sequence, performed with considerable risk, and the film's extensive use of train sequences were singled out in retrospective coverage as its highlights.⁸

The film made Ramki, who had debuted with Chinna Poove Mellapesu, widely popular, and his hairstyle became a favorite among young men of the period.³ For Nirosha, daughter of the actor M. R. Radha and sister of the actress Radhika, the film brought acceptance among audiences.³ Ramki and Nirosha, paired romantically in the film, later married in real life.³

Following the Tamil original's success, the film was dubbed into Telugu as Sendhoora Puvva and remade in 1992 as Mallige Hoove.³ The title was reused decades later for an unrelated Tamil soap opera broadcast on Star Vijay from 2022, about the family of a businessman named Duraisingam.¹³

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Tamil films before 2000 › Released 1952 to 1991

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

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