Iyarkai

Marudhu (Shaam), a Tamil man is an orphaned ship mechanic and sailor, who works on international cargo ships. After multiple years he fulfills his desire of returning to Tamil Nadu as his ship reaches Rameshwaram port and halts 90 days to repair and reload. Marudhu wants to give up his sailing life and settle down there with his huge savings. He develops a liking for Nancy (Radhika), who sells fruits and other items to sailors on ships at the port, but she holds a candle everyday for the captain of a ship Mukundan (Arun Vijay) that docked there three years ago. Though Nancy had proposed to him then, but he declined stating that 17 was a very young age to marry. He told her to wait for him or marry someone else at her will. before leaving, He had promised her that he would return in a year, but three years later, Nancy has still not given up hope.

Marudhu befriends and helps Nancy search for Mukundan, but when he reveals that he loves Nancy, she distances herself from him. They reconcile and become friends. All hope is lost to find Mukundan as they see the captain's junior, now as the first officer of another ship. The captain junior reveals that the captain's ship was destroyed in a blast. Soon, Marudhu's ship is scheduled to leave to Africa on Christmas night. Marudhu can decide to either join the ship or leave work by then. All of them pressurize Nancy to leave her ideas about Mukundan and marry Marudhu. After a very long thought, she agrees by the night of Christmas Eve, and arrangements are made for the wedding next day, but Mukundan returns, surprises Nancy and Marudhu, and finds him kissing her hand in the crowd. He decides that he is the best for her. She is in a dilemma whether to choose Mukundan or Marudhu, and finally selects the former, leaving mixed feelings of joy and sorrow. Marudhu leaves India in his ship, seeking more journeys and promising never to return to Tamil Nadu.

• Shaam as Marudhu[4]
• Arun as Mukundan (special appearance)[4]
• Radhika as Nancy[4]
• Senthil as Marudhu's friend[5]
• Seema Biswas as Mercy[4]
• Chinni Jayanth as Marudhu's guide[5]
• Pasupathy as a priest[5]
• Karunas as Marudhu's friend[5]
• Crane Manohar as a magician[5]

Freddy Odiyo, Antony Paul, and Ahmed Adam play the roles of foreigners.[5][4]

In 2001, debutant S. P. Jananathan, who worked under B. Lenin, Bharathan, Vincent Selva and Keyaar, began work for his directorial debut Iyarkai.[7] Shaam was selected after Jananthan saw Shaaam's performance in 12B while working as an editor for the film under Lenin.[8] Shaam joined the film while he was filming for Girivalam.[8] Suriya was initially offered the lead role, but left the film citing that he wasn't interested in doing romantic films.[9] In an interview with Rediff, Jananathan revealed that the reason the backdrop of the sea was chosen was because he was attached to the sea as he "grew up on the sea shore". The story of the film was also influenced by his own life: his friend's uncle boat sunk in the Mediterranean Sea and his uncle was never found.[3] Jananathan told the story to Ramkumar Ganesan, whose cousin, Kumar, became the producer after liking the story.[10] Kannada actress Radhika was cast as the lead actress while Arun Kumar, who was last seen in Pandavar Bhoomi, was roped in to play a cameo as a ship captain.[4][11] The film was shot at the Tuticorin harbour and the Andaman Islands.[8][11] Art directors Sabu Cyril and Selvam erected a lighthouse set for the film.[11] Bollywood actress Seema Biswas was cast as Radhika's sister-in-law.[11]

The music was composed by Vidyasagar and lyrics written by Vairamuthu.[4] Sify stated that "the music of Vidyasagar is soothing and melodious".[11]

It enjoyed little success in the Tamil Nadu box office, but did not lose money the film was produced on a low budget.[10] Upon release, the films's cinematographer, Ekambaram, sent the film to the National Awards committee. Much to Jananathan's surprise, the film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil for 2003, competing with Virumaandi and Pithamagan as that year's submissions.[3][12] The National Film Award was the first award that Jananathan had received in his career.[10][8]

Jananathan had a script ready for a sequel, but he was hesitant to make it into a film.[13][14] S. P. Jananathan collaborated with Shaam again for the latter's 25th film titled Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai in 2015.[15]

• Iyarkai at IMDb