# Sivakasi (film)
**Sivakasi** (சிவகாசி) is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written, directed, and lyricized by Perarasu, starring Vijay as a Chennai welder who returns to his home village to rescue his mother and sister from his abusive elder brother.[1](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/sivakasi/umc.cmc.4rtoxg4esisldqvi7ovls5nih) Produced by A.M. Rathnam for Sri Surya Movies, it was released on 1 November 2005 as a Deepavali (Diwali) release and opened strongly across [Tamil Nadu](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-nadu).[2](https://www.district.in/movies/sivakasi-2005-movie-tickets-MV219654) • [3](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/sivakasi-precariously-perched-on-top/4881/story.htm) The title borrows the name of the Tamil Nadu town famous for its firecrackers, fitting the festival season.[4](https://www.rediff.com/movies/2005/oct/27south1.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 1 November 2005 (Deepavali), Tamil language, U certificate[2](https://www.district.in/movies/sivakasi-2005-movie-tickets-MV219654) |
| Director and writer | Perarasu, his second film after *Thirupaatchi*, handling story, screenplay, dialogues, and lyrics[5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2547/tamil/sivakasi/604/review.htm) |
| Producer and studio | A.M. Rathnam, Sri Surya Movies[1](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/sivakasi/umc.cmc.4rtoxg4esisldqvi7ovls5nih) |
| Cast | Vijay, Asin, Prakash Raj, Geetha, with Nayanthara in an item number[6](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/deepavali-releases-preview/4654/story.htm) |
| Music | Srikanth Deva; six songs, all with lyrics by Perarasu[7](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/music-review-of-sivakasi/4578/story.htm) |
| Runtime | 2 hours 55 minutes[1](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/sivakasi/umc.cmc.4rtoxg4esisldqvi7ovls5nih) |
| Box office | Biggest opening of the 2005 Deepavali releases, ahead of Vikram's *Majaa*, but collections did not sustain[3](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/sivakasi-precariously-perched-on-top/4881/story.htm) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Vijay plays the title character Sivakasi, a hot-headed welder living in Chennai, where he has settled after leaving his village years earlier.[6](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/deepavali-releases-preview/4654/story.htm) • [8](https://www.geocities.ws/bbreviews/2005/sivakasi.html) As a boy he ran away from home after his elder brother tricked him into accepting the blame for a wrongdoing.[8](https://www.geocities.ws/bbreviews/2005/sivakasi.html) In Chennai he falls in love with Hema (Asin), the college-going daughter of a rich jeweler, and reveals his past to her.[8](https://www.geocities.ws/bbreviews/2005/sivakasi.html)
When he returns to his hometown, he finds his father dead, his mother (Geetha) living in disgrace, and his sister married off in a humiliating way, all through the machinations of his elder brother Udhayappa ([Prakash Raj](https://www.edgepedia.org/prakash-raj)).[5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2547/tamil/sivakasi/604/review.htm) • [1](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/sivakasi/umc.cmc.4rtoxg4esisldqvi7ovls5nih) The rest of the film follows Sivakasi setting things right.[5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2547/tamil/sivakasi/604/review.htm) Perarasu described the theme as the immense love a mother has for her child, and how a bad son ill-treats his mother in her old age while another son cares for her and saves her.[9](https://www.behindwoods.com/features/News/News1/20-6-05/vijay.html) • [10](https://m.rediff.com/movies/review/sivakasi/20051108.htm)
## Production and structure
Perarasu made *Sivakasi* as his second directorial venture, again with Vijay after the hit *Thirupaatchi* (2005).[5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2547/tamil/sivakasi/604/review.htm) The film deliberately reverses the structure of *Thirupachi*: where that film began in a village and ended in Chennai, *Sivakasi* starts in the city and moves to the village in the second half.[10](https://m.rediff.com/movies/review/sivakasi/20051108.htm) • [5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2547/tamil/sivakasi/604/review.htm) Where *Thirupachi* carried brother-sister sentiment, *Sivakasi* works the mother-son angle.[4](https://www.rediff.com/movies/2005/oct/27south1.htm)
The film was positioned squarely as a Vijay vehicle. Rediff's reviewer Shobha Warrier noted that nobody associated with the production claimed it was different or pathbreaking; it was made for the audience that had made *Ghilli*, *Madurai*, and *Thirupachi* successes.[10](https://m.rediff.com/movies/review/sivakasi/20051108.htm) In an interview before release, Perarasu said the film was referred to as "Vijay's film" and that it would take time, and several more hits, before his own name carried that weight.[11](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/per/20051031.htm)
## Music
[Srikanth Deva](https://www.edgepedia.org/srikanth-deva) composed the soundtrack, recommended to producer A.M. Rathnam by Vijay himself.[12](https://www.behindwoods.com/News/22-4-05/srikanthdeva_new.htm) The album has six songs, all with lyrics by Perarasu.[7](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/music-review-of-sivakasi/4578/story.htm) The tracks include the hero-introduction number "Vaada Vaada", the soft "Edhu Enna", the dappanguthu item number "Kodambakkam Area" featuring [Nayanthara](https://www.edgepedia.org/nayanthara), the Deepavali-themed "Deepavali Deepavali", the peppy "Ada Ennatha Solvenungo", and the emotional mother-son pathos song "Enn Theivathukkei".[7](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/music-review-of-sivakasi/4578/story.htm) "Vaada Vaada Tholah" and "Deepavali Deepavali" became popular with radio listeners before release.[13](https://vijayrulez.blogspot.com/2005/11/)
## Reception
**Opening and box office.** *Sivakasi* had what Rediff called a fantastic opening across Tamil Nadu, and by mid-November it topped the charts among the Deepavali releases, with an opening much bigger than Vikram's *Majaa*, the other Deepavali release.[10](https://m.rediff.com/movies/review/sivakasi/20051108.htm) • [3](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/sivakasi-precariously-perched-on-top/4881/story.htm) An IANS report of 19 November 2005, however, said the film had not been able to sustain its great opening; the filmmaker blamed torrential rains in Tamil Nadu, while critics called it a rehash of *Thirupachi*. It remained the top Tamil film of that week.[3](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/sivakasi-precariously-perched-on-top/4881/story.htm)
**Critical response.** Reviewers consistently read the film as a formula picture aimed at Vijay's fan base. [The Hindu](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hindu)'s review called it "another commercial venture so typically Vijay" and criticized the protracted climax and the villain's predictable remorse.[13](https://vijayrulez.blogspot.com/2005/11/) Rediff judged that Vijay excelled in all departments while Asin had little to do, and that Nayanthara's item number drew the whistles and claps.[10](https://m.rediff.com/movies/review/sivakasi/20051108.htm) A nowrunning review credited the film's momentum and called it an out-and-out entertainer, highlighting the stunt scenes and the dialogue exchanges between Vijay and Prakash Raj.[5](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2547/tamil/sivakasi/604/review.htm)
**Later view.** In a 2019 Indian Express retrospective comparing Vijay's *Bigil* with *Sivakasi*, Manoj Kumar R described the 2005 character as a very conservative working-class youth and quoted the scene in which Sivakasi slut-shames Hema over her clothing, an element that has drawn sustained criticism in later years.[14](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/vijay-bigil-sivakasi-tamil-movie-6093460/)
## Legal case
On 11 November 2005, a law college student named Praveen of Madurai filed a case against the film, stating that five scenes portrayed lawyers in an abusive manner and that such scenes undermined students' willpower and self-confidence. Vijay and Asin, who performed those scenes, along with director Perarasu and producer A.M. Ratnam, were named in the case, which was postponed to 14 November for further hearing.[15](https://www.behindwoods.com/features/News/News37/11-11-05e/tamil-movies-news-sivakasi.html) Advocates protesting the film burned Vijay's effigy, and the actor responded that he had always had great regard for advocates and never intended to hurt the legal fraternity's sentiments.[16](https://vijayrulez.blogspot.com/2005/)
## Other films of the same name
A separate Telugu-language film also titled *Sivakasi*, a Mumbai gangster drama directed and produced by Arjun starring Arjun and Jagapati Babu, was completed in 2005 and slated for Sankranthi 2006 release; it is unrelated to the Tamil film.[17](https://www.idlebrain.com/news/functions/pressmeet-sivakasi.html)
## References
1. [Sivakasi, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/sivakasi/umc.cmc.4rtoxg4esisldqvi7ovls5nih)
2. [Sivakasi (2005), District](https://www.district.in/movies/sivakasi-2005-movie-tickets-MV219654)
3. ['Sivakasi' precariously perched on top, Nowrunning/IANS, 19 November 2005](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/sivakasi-precariously-perched-on-top/4881/story.htm)
4. [rediff.com: Tamil releases this Diwali/ Eid](https://www.rediff.com/movies/2005/oct/27south1.htm)
5. [Sivakasi Movie Review by TT, Nowrunning, 19 October 2005](https://www.nowrunning.com/movie/2547/tamil/sivakasi/604/review.htm)
6. [Deepavali releases preview, Nowrunning, 27 October 2005](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/deepavali-releases-preview/4654/story.htm)
7. [Music Review of 'Sivakasi', Nowrunning, 22 October 2005](https://www.nowrunning.com/news/tamil/music-review-of-sivakasi/4578/story.htm)
8. [Sivakasi review by Balaji Balasubramaniam](https://www.geocities.ws/bbreviews/2005/sivakasi.html)
9. [Sivakasi Story, Behindwoods, 20 June 2005](https://www.behindwoods.com/features/News/News1/20-6-05/vijay.html)
10. [Sivakasi: for Vijay fans only, Rediff.com, 8 November 2005](https://m.rediff.com/movies/review/sivakasi/20051108.htm)
11. ['Sivakasi is not a typical Vijay film', Rediff.com, 31 October 2005](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/per/20051031.htm)
12. [Srikanth Deva with Vijay, Behindwoods, 22 April 2005](https://www.behindwoods.com/News/22-4-05/srikanthdeva_new.htm)
13. [Vijay blog archive of The Hindu review and Rediff review, November 2005](https://vijayrulez.blogspot.com/2005/11/)
14. [Vijay vs Vijay: Bigil would have hated Sivakasi, The Indian Express, 30 October 2019](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/opinion-entertainment/vijay-bigil-sivakasi-tamil-movie-6093460/)
15. [Case against Vijay for the movie Sivakasi, Behindwoods, 11 November 2005](https://www.behindwoods.com/features/News/News37/11-11-05e/tamil-movies-news-sivakasi.html)
16. [Vijay 2005 news archive, including advocate protests](https://vijayrulez.blogspot.com/2005/)
17. [Sivakasi press meet, Idlebrain, 29 November 2005](https://www.idlebrain.com/news/functions/pressmeet-sivakasi.html)
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*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 of the 2000s › Tamil films of the late 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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