Diwan is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language film starring Sarathkumar in dual role, Kiran Rathod, and Vadivelu. It was directed by Surya Prakash, who previously directed Maayi with Sarathkumar. S. A. Rajkumar composed the music. This film had an average run at the box office.^[1]

Plot

Raghavan (Sarathkumar) and Velu (Vadivelu) work as cooks in a non-veg hotel. Raghavan falls in love with Geetha (Kiran Rathod), who is the daughter of a rich man (Vijayan), but her father is against this love and insults him as a poor man. Raghavan challenges him that he will be rich in a year. There is a subplot in the story, for Aishwarya (Sharmili), a daughter from a rich family; she is the apple of the eye of the family. Aishwarya ran home with her lover Raju, who worked as a driver to her house. He tells that his friend Dinesh will help them. However, Raju escaped because he had a bad dream where he is killed by her family as if it will happen in reality. Due to that, he vanishes. Raghavan understands her plight and helps her. Raghavan fights Dinesh and his men and escapes to Rajapalayam along with Meenakshi.

Suddenly, he comes to a place where all call him "Duraisingam". Raghavan does not know who Duraisingam is. A woman (Manorama) tells Raghavan that he is the grandson of Duraisingam. The film goes into a flashback, where Duraisingam is depicted as a do-gooder who helps poor people. He has a clash with a big gangster Kandhavel (Jaya Prakash Reddy), who wants be the next minister. Duraisingam could not kill him because he promised his wife that she will never become a widow. In the clash, Duraisingam's two sons are killed, and the baby (the son of Duraisingam's older son) is lost. The baby happens to be Raghavan. Duraisingam surrenders to the police, after killing Kandhavel's brothers and chopping Kandhavel's right hand. After the flashback, Raghavan visits the jail only to know that Duraisingam had died a few years back. Kandhavel becomes furious after getting to know that his son Dinesh succumbed to the injuries caused by Raghavan during the fight to safeguard Aishwarya. Kandhavel sends his henchmen to kill Raghavan and Meenakshi. During a car chase, the car in which Raghavan and Aishwarya were in tumbles down near a riverbed. Miraculously, Raghavan and Aishwarya escape from this accident and reach the defunct mill of Aishwarya's family. Aishwarya's father and relatives, while attempting to kill each other, receive a call from Raghavan. Raghavan acts like a kidnapper and demands ransom from Aishwarya's family. Eventually, Meenakshi's father and the relatives find Raghavan and Aishwarya in their mill and beats Raghavan but apologize to him after knowing the truth from Aishwarya. Kandhavel along with his men reach the mill and engages in a fight with Aishwarya's family. Raghavan fights them all but forgives Kandhavel and cautions that he should live as a reformed man. Aishwarya marries the groom selected by her parents, and Raghavan unites with Geetha.

Cast

Production

After directing Telugu film Bharatasimha Reddy with Rajasekhar, Surya Prakash announced his fourth directorial titled "Diwaan" with Sarathkumar collaborating with him for second time after Maayi.

Shooting for the film commenced at Chennai and neighbouring areas. In this film, the actor reportedly has done yet another risky scene without the help of a double. He had to climb a high-rise building using a rope hanging from the roof. A stunt scene was shot on "grandpa" Sharat Kumar and about 20 stuntmen. A romantic scene and a song was picturised at the Besant Nagar Beach in Chennai, where Sharat and Kiran took part. A few songs were also shot at exotic locations in New Zealand.^[2]

Soundtrack

Reviews

The film received mixed reviews.^[3] Lollu express criticized the film comparing it to Lion King.^[4] Thiraipadam.com wrote:"Diwaan boasts of one of the most shoddy screenplays and atrocious editing in recent times. The movie has a lot of things going on, which is usually a good thing since it contributes to the pace of the movie. But the director fails to keep a rein on things and the movie soon spirals out of his control. There are just too many loose ends and unanswered questions".^[5][6]

References