# Veyil (வெயில்)
**Veyil** (வெயில், "sunshine" or "scorching heat") is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Vasanthabalan and produced by [S. Shankar](https://www.edgepedia.org/s-shankar) under his banner S Pictures. It stars [Pasupathy](https://www.edgepedia.org/pasupathy) as Murugesan, a man who runs away from home as a teenager after a severe punishment by his father and returns twenty years later, with Bharath as his younger brother Kathir, and Bhavana, Sriya Reddy, and [Priyanka Nair](https://www.edgepedia.org/priyanka-nair) in the principal female roles.[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/4456/2006-veyil) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045898/fullcredits/) The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for 2006 and was the first Tamil film screened at the Cannes Film Festival.[3](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/48_54sthNfaArchives.pdf) • [4](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/veyil/20070402.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 8 December 2006, Tamil-language drama, running time listed as 2h 16m[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/4456/2006-veyil) |
| Director and producer | Written and directed by Vasanthabalan; produced by S. Shankar for S Pictures[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/4456/2006-veyil) |
| Lead cast | Pasupathy (Murugesan), Bharath (Kathir), Bhavana (Meenakshi), Sriya Reddy (Pandi), Priyanka Nair (Thangam), G. M. Kumar (the father)[2](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045898/fullcredits/) |
| Music | Debut score by G. V. Prakash Kumar; cinematography by R. Madhi[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/4456/2006-veyil) • [5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/15-years-of-vasanthabalans-veyil-interesting-facts-about-the-film/amp_etphotostory/88212619.cms) |
| National award | Best Feature Film in Tamil, 54th National Film Awards (for 2006); Rajat Kamal and Rs. 100,000 each to producer S. Shankar and director G. Vasanta Balan[3](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/48_54sthNfaArchives.pdf) |
| Cannes | First Tamil film screened at the Cannes Film Festival, in the Tous les Cinemas du Monde section on 19 May 2007[4](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/veyil/20070402.htm) |
| Commercial result | Budget ₹20 million against a reported box office collection of ₹300 million[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/4456/2006-veyil) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story is an emotional drama centered on a father and his two sons. Mayandi Thevar, a butcher, works to raise his four children, two boys and two girls. His elder son Murugesan dotes on his younger brother Kathir, but his weakness is a love for movies, especially MGR films, screened at a local theater. When his father catches him bunking school at the theater, Murugesan is severely punished and runs away from home, taking money and jewels.[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/4456/2006-veyil)
Distracted along the way by an MGR movie poster, Murugesan spends his stolen money on films, clothes, and food, then wakes at a temple to find his possessions gone. A theater projectionist in a nearby town takes him in, and the theater becomes his home. As an adult he falls in love with Thangam, who lives opposite the theater. Her father and relatives, disliking him, beat and hang Murugesan; when Thangam threatens to kill herself unless he is released and they refuse, she cuts her throat and dies. Murugesan, released after her death, begins to drink heavily, and the theater is later demolished after the owner cites loss of business.[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/4456/2006-veyil)
Murugesan returns home after twenty years. The second half of the film follows his turmoil as he is caught between the deep love of his brother Kathir, who now runs a successful advertising agency, and his guilt at not having been a responsible son or elder brother; his childhood sweetheart Paandi also reappears.[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/4456/2006-veyil) • [6](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/veyil/2000155458/) The local gangsters Bose and Annachi ruin Kathir's agency, and after jewels go missing in the house and the father insults Murugesan as the thief, their sister reveals she took them. When Bose's and Annachi's men stab Kathir at a bus station, Murugesan believes his brother dead, kills Bose and his men in a duel at Annachi's place, and is himself fatally stabbed. Kathir recovers in hospital, and the father is left with remorse for not having trusted his son while he was alive.[1](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/4456/2006-veyil)
## Production and personal origins
Vasanthabalan scripted the film from his own experiences, with his hometown Virudhunagar as the backdrop. He said the protagonist was inspired by his own younger brother, and that although his characters were based in a small place, the emotions were universal.[4](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/veyil/20070402.htm) In a later account he described the film as his own life story, saying he had turned what he dissolved in tears into images and shot it in Virudhunagar, where he was born and grew up.[7](https://annakannan.blogspot.com/2006/12/blog-post_31.html?showComment=1167731400000)
Vasanthabalan had begun his career as an assistant to S. Shankar on *Gentleman* and three further Shankar films, made his directorial debut with *Album* (2002), and considered *Veyil* his breakthrough.[8](https://www.thenewsminute.com/tamil-nadu/veyil-director-vasanthabalan-hospitalised-due-covid-19-148366) The team first approached the actress Sandhya for the role eventually played by Bhavana, for whom it was her second film after *Chithiram Pesudhadi*.[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/15-years-of-vasanthabalans-veyil-interesting-facts-about-the-film/amp_etphotostory/88212619.cms)
## Music
*Veyil* marked the debut of [G. V. Prakash Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/g-v-prakash-kumar), a nephew of the composer [A. R. Rahman](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-r-rahman), as a music director; he had earlier been the child voice in "Chikku Bukku Rayile" from *Gentleman*.[9](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/veyil/20060918.htm) The album comprises eight songs with lyrics by [Na. Muthukumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/na-muthukumar), and "Veyilodu Vilayadi" and "Urugudhe" became chartbusters.[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/15-years-of-vasanthabalans-veyil-interesting-facts-about-the-film/amp_etphotostory/88212619.cms) Prakash Kumar later said he was committed to the film in 2005 and that its songs, including "Uruguthey maruguthey" and "Veyilodu vilaiyadi", still played on FM radio nearly a decade later.[10](https://indiaglitz.com/content-tamil-news-136807) The soundtrack was released on the Ayngaran label in 2006, with singers including Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal, Kailash Kher, and Karthik.[11](https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/veyil-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-gv-prakash-kumar-namuthukumar-ekadesi-karisal-karunanidhi/qt54q3ey0u4ja)
## Reception and awards
The film was both a critical and commercial success. A Rediff review at release called it "a film filled with energy from the word go", praising Pasupathy's portrayal of Murugesan as the star performance and noting that Vasanthabalan maintained an energetic pace that kept the predictable plot from becoming monotonous.[12](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/veyil/20061211.htm)
The 54th [National Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-awards) named *Veyil* Best Feature Film in Tamil of 2006, citing it "for a moving portrayal of sibling bonding in a turbulent family", with Rajat Kamal awards and cash prizes of Rs. 100,000 each to producer S. Shankar and director G. Vasanta Balan.[3](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/48_54sthNfaArchives.pdf) It also won the Filmfare Award for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Lyricist (Na. Muthukumar) in the Tamil category, and a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film.[13](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045898/awards/) The Tamil Nadu state government named Shankar best producer for the film in its 2006 awards.[14](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news/oct-07-03/16-10-07-award.html)
## Cannes and festival screenings
*Veyil* was selected for the 2007 Cannes Film Festival in the Tous les Cinemas du Monde section and screened at the Le Cinema du Monde theater at 6:30 pm on 19 May, a first for a Tamil film.[4](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/veyil/20070402.htm) Vasanthabalan, Shankar, and Pasupathy attended. For the festival screening the film was cut from 120 minutes to the prescribed 100, with two songs removed, and Vasanthabalan told the audience that the title meant sunshine and that, like sunshine, the place where the story unfolds is harsh on its people.[15](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/ssveyil/20070607.htm) The film was also screened at the Shanghai International Film Festival 2007, where it was a nominee under the Asian New Talent Award, the Habitat International Film Festival 2007, and the Pune International Film Festival 2007.[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/15-years-of-vasanthabalans-veyil-interesting-facts-about-the-film/amp_etphotostory/88212619.cms) • [16](https://www.directorvasanthabalan.com/awards)
## Legacy
The film's success established Vasanthabalan's reputation; his next film *Angadi Theru* (2010) followed four years later.[8](https://www.thenewsminute.com/tamil-nadu/veyil-director-vasanthabalan-hospitalised-due-covid-19-148366) *Veyil* was remade in Bangladesh as *Antor Jala*, starring [Zayed Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/zayed-khan) and Pori Muni.[5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/15-years-of-vasanthabalans-veyil-interesting-facts-about-the-film/amp_etphotostory/88212619.cms) The name was later used for an unrelated 2022 Malayalam-language drama directed by Sarath Menon, starring [Shane Nigam](https://www.edgepedia.org/shane-nigam) and [Shine Tom Chacko](https://www.edgepedia.org/shine-tom-chacko), released on 25 February 2022.[17](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=E781AB27C5C5B523MV)
## References
1. [Veyil (2006), TamilMDb](https://www.tamilmdb.com/movie/4456/2006-veyil)
2. [Veyil (2006) full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045898/fullcredits/)
3. [54th National Film Awards archives, Directorate of Film Festivals](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/48_54sthNfaArchives.pdf)
4. [Veyil: First Tamil film at Cannes, Rediff.com (2 April 2007)](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/veyil/20070402.htm)
5. [15 years of Vasanthabalan's Veyil: Interesting facts about the film, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/15-years-of-vasanthabalans-veyil-interesting-facts-about-the-film/amp_etphotostory/88212619.cms)
6. [Veyil, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/veyil/2000155458/)
7. [வெயில் - திரை விமர்சனம், Annakannan blog (31 December 2006)](https://annakannan.blogspot.com/2006/12/blog-post_31.html?showComment=1167731400000)
8. ['Veyil' director Vasanthabalan hospitalised due to COVID-19, The News Minute](https://www.thenewsminute.com/tamil-nadu/veyil-director-vasanthabalan-hospitalised-due-covid-19-148366)
9. [Impressive debut from Rahman's nephew, Rediff.com (18 September 2006)](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/veyil/20060918.htm)
10. [G.V. Prakash Kumar exclusive interview, IndiaGlitz](https://indiaglitz.com/content-tamil-news-136807)
11. [Veyil (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Qobuz](https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/veyil-original-motion-picture-soundtrack-gv-prakash-kumar-namuthukumar-ekadesi-karisal-karunanidhi/qt54q3ey0u4ja)
12. [Watch Veyil for its energy, Rediff.com (11 December 2006)](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/veyil/20061211.htm)
13. [Veyil (2006) awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045898/awards/)
14. [Tamil Nadu state government film awards 2005 and 2006, Behindwoods (16 October 2007)](https://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news/oct-07-03/16-10-07-award.html)
15. ['Cannes gives you an indescribable feeling', Rediff.com (7 June 2007)](https://www.rediff.com/movies/report/ssveyil/20070607.htm)
16. [Awards, directorvasanthabalan.com](https://www.directorvasanthabalan.com/awards)
17. [Veyil (2022), Google Play Movies](https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=E781AB27C5C5B523MV)
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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 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license