# Thalainagaram (தலைநகரம்)
**Thalainagaram** (தலைநகரம், "Capital city") is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language action comedy drama directed by Suraj, starring Sundar C in his debut as a leading actor, with [Jyothirmayi](https://www.edgepedia.org/jyothirmayi), Vadivelu, Prakash Raj, and Bose Venkat in supporting roles[1](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/thalainagaram). It is a remake of the 1991 Malayalam film *Abhimanyu*, directed by [Priyadarshan](https://www.edgepedia.org/priyadarshan) and starring Mohanlal[1](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/thalainagaram) • [2](https://www.puthiyathalaimurai.com/amp/story/cinema/sundar-c-thalainagaram-2-official-teaser-released). Released on 19 May 2006, the film was initially shunned by distributors but went on to become a commercial success, and Vadivelu's comedy track as Naai Sekar remained popular with audiences long after release[3](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/bhagyaraj-back-with-parijatham/story-MzKlGOEaC464FWlxaVErEI_amp.html) • [4](https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/1012096-thalainagaram-2-trailer-analysis.html).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 19 May 2006, India, wide theatrical release; Tamil language[1](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/thalainagaram) |
| Director / producer | Suraj (director); V Ravichandran for Aascar Films[1](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/thalainagaram) |
| Lead cast | Sundar C as Right (Subramaniam), Jyothirmayi as Divya, Prakash Raj as ACP Gopinath, Vadivelu as Naai Sekar, Bose Venkat as Balu, Judo Rathnam as Bhai[1](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/thalainagaram) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1365514/fullcredits/) |
| Source | Remake of the Malayalam film *Abhimanyu* (1991)[1](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/thalainagaram) |
| Music and camera | Music by D Imman; cinematography by K.S. Selvaraj[1](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/thalainagaram) |
| Runtime | 2 hours 33 minutes per Moviebuff; 2 hours 28 minutes per IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes[1](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/thalainagaram) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thalai_nagaram) |
| Commercial outcome | Listed as a hit by July 2006 after a slow start; later remade in Kannada as *Devru*[3](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/bhagyaraj-back-with-parijatham/story-MzKlGOEaC464FWlxaVErEI_amp.html) • [7](https://wiki1.tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%A8%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D_%28%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D%29) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film follows Right (Sundar C), a hit-man working for the don Kasim Bhai (Judo Rathnam), alongside his friend Balu (Bose Venkat)[8](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/thal/20060519.htm) • [1](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/thalainagaram). Trouble begins when Right refuses to hand over Divya (Jyothirmayi), an aspiring model who escapes from Bhai's son; a false case sends Right to jail, and his accomplices gun down the don's son in retaliation, sparking a gang war[8](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/thal/20060519.htm).
After Kasim Bhai shoots Right's close friend dead, Right decides to leave violence behind, and he and his men start a soda-manufacturing unit[8](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/thal/20060519.htm). Their peaceful life ends when a newly appointed corrupt police officer, ACP Gopinath ([Prakash Raj](https://www.edgepedia.org/prakash-raj)), wants Right back in the underworld so he can collect more bribes; when Right refuses, the officer revives old cases, jails him, and, backed by the don and a minister, plans to kill him in a staged encounter[8](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/thal/20060519.htm). With the help of an upright officer Right escapes and vows revenge[8](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/thal/20060519.htm).
## Production and cast
The film marked the acting debut of Sundar C, until then a director of successful comedies and the husband of actress Khushboo; he chose newcomer Suraj to direct rather than helm his own first film[8](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/thal/20060519.htm) • [9](https://www.geocities.ws/bbreviews/2006/tnagaram.html). For Jyothirmayi, a Malayalam actress, it was also a first Tamil film[10](https://tamilonline.com/thendral/article.aspx?aid=828). The supporting cast included [Delhi Ganesh](https://www.edgepedia.org/delhi-ganesh) as a minister, Imman Annachi as a gang member, and Mumait Khan in a special appearance[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1365514/fullcredits/). T. Damodaran is credited with the story[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1365514/fullcredits/).
## Reception
**Contemporary reviews** were mixed. Rediff's reviewer called the film "routine fare", finding the first half gripping but the second half dragging, and judged the premise of a corrupt cop forcing a reformed gangster back into crime for bribe money to be silly; she praised Judo Rathnam's performance, Dinesh's action choreography, and Selvaraj's cinematography, while calling Sundar wooden in romantic and song sequences and Imman's music pedestrian[8](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/thal/20060519.htm). Balaji Balasubramaniam's review argued that style triumphed over story: fast cuts and slick editing made the familiar rowdy-versus-boss plot feel fresh, the action sequences were the film's best parts, and the middle sagged during romance and comedy[9](https://www.geocities.ws/bbreviews/2006/tnagaram.html).
**Commercial performance** followed a different path from the reviews. A July 2006 [Hindustan Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindustan-times) box-office roundup reported that *Thalainagaram* was a mediocre film that no distributor was willing to touch at first, but something about it struck a chord with audiences, and by that month it was listed as a hit, ranking second among Tamil films behind *Parijatham*[3](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/bhagyaraj-back-with-parijatham/story-MzKlGOEaC464FWlxaVErEI_amp.html). Vadivelu's comedy, including the Naai Sekar character and dialogue lines such as "Naanum Roudythaan" and "Trisha Illana Divya", was a major contributor to the film's success and is still celebrated by fans[2](https://www.puthiyathalaimurai.com/amp/story/cinema/sundar-c-thalainagaram-2-official-teaser-released) • [4](https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/1012096-thalainagaram-2-trailer-analysis.html). Sundar C received a best newcomer actor nomination in the IdlyVadai 2006 awards list compiled by the Snap Judgment blog[11](https://snapjudge.blog/2007/01/02/tamil-cinema-2006-top-movies-list/).
## Legacy and sequel
The film's success established Sundar C as a viable leading actor and began a Sundar C–Vadivelu combination that produced seven films through April 2025[12](https://tamil.samayam.com/web-stories/entertainment/top-movies-with-vadivelu-sundar-c-combo/photoshow/121212110.cms). A second film, *Thalainagaram 2*, was launched in September 2021 with Sundar C returning as Right, directed by V.Z. Durai (known for *Mugavaree* and *Thotti Jaya*) and produced by S.M. Prabhakaran under Right Eye Theater[13](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2021/Sep/23/sundar-c-vz-dhorai-filmthalainagaram-2-launched-26840.html). Durai clarified that it would be a spiritual sequel rather than a direct continuation, retaining the Right character in a more violent form[14](https://www.ottplay.com/news/thalainagaram-2-heres-when-sundar-cs-gangster-drama-will-be-released-in-theatres/560cfcd9ad478). Vadivelu did not appear in the sequel, which reviewers noted as a weakness given how much his comedy had contributed to the first film[4](https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/1012096-thalainagaram-2-trailer-analysis.html) • [15](https://tamil.indianexpress.com/entertainment/sundar-c-thalainagaram-2-movie-review-704758/). *Thalainagaram 2* released on 23 June 2023, about 17 years after the original, with music by Ghibran and Pallak Lalwani as the female lead[16](https://cinema.dinamalar.com/review/thalainagaram-2/3312) • [13](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2021/Sep/23/sundar-c-vz-dhorai-filmthalainagaram-2-launched-26840.html).
## References
1. [Thalainagaram (2006), Moviebuff](https://d1f72a6kha0tf8.cloudfront.net/thalainagaram)
2. [ரத்தம் தெறிக்கும் வன்முறை காட்சிகளுடன் 'தலைநகரம் 2' டீசர், Puthiya Thalaimurai](https://www.puthiyathalaimurai.com/amp/story/cinema/sundar-c-thalainagaram-2-official-teaser-released)
3. [Bhagyaraj back with Parijatham, Hindustan Times (14 July 2006)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/bhagyaraj-back-with-parijatham/story-MzKlGOEaC464FWlxaVErEI_amp.html)
4. [மீண்டும் நாயகனாக சுந்தர்.சி - 'தலைநகரம் 2' ட்ரெய்லர் எப்படி?, Hindu Tamil Thisai](https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/1012096-thalainagaram-2-trailer-analysis.html)
5. [Thalai Nagaram (2006) full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1365514/fullcredits/)
6. [Thalai Nagaram (2006), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/thalai_nagaram)
7. [தலைநகரம் (திரைப்படம்), TamilArWiki](https://wiki1.tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%A8%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D_%28%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%BF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AA%E0%AE%9F%E0%AE%AE%E0%AF%8D%29)
8. [Thalainagaram: Routine fare, Rediff.com (19 May 2006)](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/thal/20060519.htm)
9. [Thalainagaram, review by Balaji Balasubramaniam](https://www.geocities.ws/bbreviews/2006/tnagaram.html)
10. [இயக்குநர் நாயகனாகிறார், Thendral Tamil Magazine (February 2006)](https://tamilonline.com/thendral/article.aspx?aid=828)
11. [Tamil Cinema – 2006 Top Movies List, Snap Judgment](https://snapjudge.blog/2007/01/02/tamil-cinema-2006-top-movies-list/)
12. [சுந்தர் சி - வடிவேலு கோம்போவில் வெளியான தமிழ் திரைப்படங்கள், Samayam Tamil](https://tamil.samayam.com/web-stories/entertainment/top-movies-with-vadivelu-sundar-c-combo/photoshow/121212110.cms)
13. [Sundar C, VZ Dhorai film Thalainagaram 2 launched, Cinema Express (23 September 2021)](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2021/Sep/23/sundar-c-vz-dhorai-filmthalainagaram-2-launched-26840.html)
14. [Thalainagaram 2: Here's when Sundar C's gangster drama will be released in theatres, OTTplay](https://www.ottplay.com/news/thalainagaram-2-heres-when-sundar-cs-gangster-drama-will-be-released-in-theatres/560cfcd9ad478)
15. [Thalainagaram 2 movie review, Indian Express Tamil](https://tamil.indianexpress.com/entertainment/sundar-c-thalainagaram-2-movie-review-704758/)
16. [தலைநகரம் 2 விமர்சனம், Dinamalar](https://cinema.dinamalar.com/review/thalainagaram-2/3312)
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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 Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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