Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei 2006

Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei[b] (English: The King of Torture, Pulikecei the 23rd) is a 2006 Indian Tamil language historical-comedy film written and directed by Chimbu Deven. The film stars Vadivelu in his debut as a lead actor. Monica and Tejashree play the female leads, while Manorama, Nassar, Ilavarasu, Sreeman and Nagesh play supporting roles. Sabesh-Murali composed the soundtrack album and background score. S. Shankar produced and distributed the film under his production banner S Pictures.

Set in the late 18th century during the early stages of the British Raj, the film tells the story of twin brothers separated at birth. Pulikecei XXIII, the foolish elder brother, becomes a puppet of his uncle, the Chief Minister, while Ukraputhan, the wise younger brother, becomes a patriot intent on saving his land and his brother.

Story

In the South Indian kingdom of Cholapuram Paalayam in the year 1771, Raja Mokkaiyappar and his queen, Rajamatha Bhavani Ammaiyar are desperate for a child, as all their previous twenty-two children have died at birth. Unknown to them, Bhavani's brother, Sangilimayan, who is also the Rajaguru (High priest), is responsible for the death of their children. Sangilimayan is shocked to see that his sister has given birth to twins. Before informing the king about the birth, he calls the palace astrologer, Chinnavadayaan, who predicts that the elder twin will be incapable of making decisions on his own while the younger one will be smarter. Sangilimayan orders the palace doctor, Kailasakaruppan, to kill the younger one, but Chinnavadayaan tells Sangilimayan that his actions would not be good for the kingdom. Instead, Sangilimayan orders the palace doctor to abandon the child in a nearby river. The elder child is named Pulikecei XXIII. Maragathavalli, Kailasakaruppan's childless wife, rescues the abandoned child from the river, and the couple decides to raise him as their own, naming him Ukraputhan.

Twenty-five years pass, and Pulikecei is now the king of Cholapuram Paalayam. As foretold, he is foolish as well as lecherous. He is a puppet in the hands of Sangilimayan, who collaborates with the British for his own personal gain, and does not attend to the needs of the people of his kingdom. Pulikecei also tortures his subjects. He creates an outdoor stadium for different castes to fight against each other and punishes his palace guards even when they make the slightest of mistakes; he also uses his guards as targets for shooting practice. Ukraputhan, now an educated revolutionary, collaborates with his friends to overthrow the British. Ukraputhan falls in love with Vasantha Sundari, who reciprocates his feelings. When Ukraputhan tries to kill Pulikecei, he is shocked to see that they look alike.