Uzhaippali

Uzhaippali
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	P. Vasu
Written by	P. Vasu
Produced by	B. Venkatarama Reddy
Starring	Rajinikanth Roja
Cinematography	M. C. Sekar
Edited by	P. Mohanraj
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja (songs) Karthik Raja (background score)
Production company	Vijaya Productions
Distributed by	Ramana Film Distributors
Release date	24 June 1993 (1993-06-24)
Running time	162 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Uzhaippali (pronounced [uɻaɪpaːɭi] transl. Hard worker) is a 1993 Indian Tamil-language action drama film, written and directed by P. Vasu. The film stars Rajinikanth and Roja. It was released on 24 June 1993 and was a Commercial Success.

Tamilarasan is a daily wage laborer who works as a porter in a factory. He lives a simple life and earns his living through physical work. One day, three wealthy brothers — Radha Ravi, Nizhalgal Ravi, and S. S. Chandran — approach him with a plan. They ask him to pretend to be a long-lost heir who has returned from abroad. Their goal is to use Tamilarasan’s impersonation to gain control over a valuable estate.

Tamilarasan agrees, seeing it as a temporary opportunity. He takes on the identity of "Tamilazhagan" and plays the role as instructed. However, he quickly begins to notice inconsistencies and becomes suspicious of the brothers' real intentions. He tries to distance himself from the plan more than once, but they convince him to stay.

During this time, Tamilarasan meets Janaki, a woman who has been mentally unwell and living in an institution. He later finds out that she is his biological mother. Through her, he learns that the three brothers who recruited him are actually his maternal uncles. They had killed his father years ago to take control of the family’s assets, and Tamilarasan himself had been separated from his mother and presumed lost.

Realizing the full truth, Tamilarasan decides to stop cooperating with the brothers and instead begins to resist their control. He works with a family lawyer named Balasubramaniam to take legal and strategic steps to protect his mother’s rightful property. The brothers try several ways to prove that Tamilarasan is a fraud, but he manages to counter each of their attempts.

As Janaki regains her mental stability, she publicly supports Tamilarasan’s identity and helps establish his legitimacy. With her support and his own efforts, Tamilarasan is able to stop his uncles from taking over the estate.

In the end, although Tamilarasan is now recognized as the true heir, he chooses not to accept the property or the wealth. He tells his mother and others that he prefers to continue living as a laborer and does not want to inherit the family’s assets. The film ends with Tamilarasan returning to his old life, satisfied with his decision.

Uzhaippali marked the comeback of Vijaya Productions who stopped producing for 20 years. This was P. Vasu's third collaboration with Rajinikanth after Panakkaran and Mannan. Unlike those films, this was not a remake, but an original story written by Vasu.^[5] Distributors issued a red card against Rajinikanth when he participated in a meeting with them and arguing about actors not slashing their salaries.^[6]

Uzhaippali was launched with a pooja at Vijaya Vauhini studio on 5 February 1993. The pooja was conducted even though the distributors were not willing to distribute the film and the Red Card against Rajinikanth was not removed.^[6]

During the shooting in Chikmagalur, the cast and crew were denied rooms in a five-star hotel because P. Vasu's manager forgot to book the rooms in advance and missed paying the booking amount, so Rajinikanth had to sleep in a car. Vasu completed the film in 58 days.^[7]

The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, and the lyrics were written by Vaali.^[8]

Uzhaippali was released on 24 June 1993.^[9] The film was much in news as distributors banned Rajinikanth films and to resolve the issue, Rajinikanth met Kamal Haasan and the next day, Uzhaippali was announced. The film was released straight in theatres without the support of distributors and become a hit by running more than 100 days.^[10][11] When the film was ready for release, producer was in doldrums how to release it when there is Red Card on Rajinikanth. Rajinikanth came up with an idea to distribute the film directly to theatres. Rajinikanth distributed the film in NSC through his distribution company Ramana Film Distributors. In Chennai, Uzhaippali released in Albert, Abirami, Kamala, Crown and Sri Brinda. The film opening reservation was fabulous and almost 15 days houseful in reservation. The opening report was fantastic and became talk of the town. Uzhaippali had a non-stop run for 116 days in Chennai's Albert and Abirami and 150 days in Madurai's Cine Priya. The film released in overseas too especially in Singapore and Malaysia doing decent business.^[5]

Malini Mannath of The Indian Express wrotem "Uzhaippali is a neat, unpretentious entertainer from reel one and Vasu has kept up the pace of narration without a moment's boredom".^[12] At the 14th Cinema Express Awards, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam won the Best Playback Singer award.^[13]

• Uzhaippali at IMDb