Kuselan (2008)

Kuselan (Tamil: குசேலன்) is a 2008 Tamil drama film directed by P. Vasu. A remake of the Malayalam film Kadha Parayumbol, it was produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy, Aswani Dutt and G. P. Vijayakumar in two languages. Kuselan stars Pasupathy and Meena in lead roles. Rajinikanth plays an extended cameo role, as does Nayantara. The film was simultaneously made in Telugu as Kathanayakudu with a slightly different cast.

The plot revolves around a villager, who had shared a strong friendship with a popular cinema actor in his youth. However, due to their different careers they were forced to part ways, one becoming a national figure, the other, a village barber. Decades later, the actor returns to the village to participate in his film's shooting. Whilst the entire village become excited about the prospect of seeing the actor, the barber fears that his old friend would have forgotten him and would neglect him.

Kuselan opened to audiences on 1 August 2008, taking the third largest opening for a Tamil film up until the date of release. Despite the hype before release, the film ended up evoking negative reviews, mainly because it was termed as a Rajinikanth-starrer, although he made it clear that it was a guest appearance.

Synopsis

Balakrishnan (Pasupathy) is the owner of a barber shop in a remote village. His family consists of his wife Sridevi (Meena) and three children. Balakrishnan struggles to persuade customers to visit his barber shop while his competitor Shanmugham (Vadivelu), former worker of Balakrishnan who has his own barber shop across from Balakrishnan's, uses cunning means to make business in haircutting. Balakrishnan's downfall in business causes him to neglect paying his children's school fees. Although he struggles to make a living, he still enjoys spending time with his family.

Actors