Kanchivaram

Kanchivaram is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language period drama film written and directed by Priyadarshan. The film stars Prakash Raj and Shriya Reddy and has music by M. G. Sreekumar, cinematography by Tirru, editing by Arun Kumar, and art direction by Sabu Cyril. The audiography was done by M. R. Rajakrishnan. The movie depicts the pitiable state of the silk weavers in the town of Kanchipuram as they were unorganized and marginalized to live a perpetual ‘hand-to-mouth’ existence. The movie depicts their struggles and ends with a comment about the cooperative movement that emerged to take care of the interests of the workers.

The film was certified by the censor board in 2007, and opened at the 33rd Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September 2008. It was also shown at the Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival in Pittsburgh. The film eventually went on to receive Best Film and Best Actor for Prakash Raj at the 55th National Film Awards. Priyadarshan won the Zenith Asia Award for best director for this film. The story is set in the silk weavers' town of Kanchipuram, in post-independence India, though the film was shot mainly in Mandya (Melukote Temple) and Mysore.