Nellu (2010 film)

Nellu (transl. Unhusked rice) is a 2010 Indian Tamil language drama film written and directed by M. Shiva Shankar. It stars Sathya and debutante Bhagyanjali in the lead roles, while Senthil Rajan handled the camera and S. S. Kumaran composed the music. The film is based on the Kilvenmani massacre incident that happened in 1968.^[1]

Nellu
Poster
Directed by	Shiva Shankar
Produced by	B. Senthil Kumar
Starring	Sathya Bhagyanjali
Cinematography	Senthil Rajan
Music by	S. S. Kumaran
Production company	Karthik Jaya Movies
Release date	24 December 2010 (2010-12-24)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Cast

• Sathya as Kathir
• Karthik Jai as the tea stall owner
• Anjali Nair as Thamara
• OAK Sundar as a village landlord
• Kaali Venkat as Kaalimuthu
• Vasu Vikram
• Singamuthu as an astrologer
• Bonda Mani
• Crane Manohar

Soundtrack

The music of the film is composed by S. S. Kumaran. Lyrics are written by Thamarai and Na. Muthukumar.^[2][3]

Song Title	Singers
"Achu Vellam"	Prasanna, Chandran, SS Kumaran, Rajeev
"Kadhal Jodi Onnu"	Srimathi, Aadhavan, Srimathumitha
"Kannakkol Thiruda"	Silambarasan, Saindhavi
"Kodiyodu Thamara Poo"	Chinmayi, Kaushik, SS Kumaran
"Muthu Muthu"	Mahathi, SS Kumaran, Yash Golcha

Release and reception

The film was originally denied a certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification who alleged "it explicitly dealt with caste conflicts".^[4]

Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu opined that "The subject is interesting, but treatment goes awry".^[5] A critic from The New Indian Express wrote that "Nellu could have been a poignant depiction of a relevant issue and happening. But the director lets go the chance".^[6] Sify criticised the filmmakers for making a mainstream, populist film disguised as a documentary and also felt the editing suffered due to censorship.^[7]