Poomani has died at 79.
Poomani won the Sahitya Akademi in 2014.
He's well-known for writing Dhanush-starrer Asuran.
Tamil literary giant Poomani passed away on Sunday following age-related health issues. He was 79.
Poomani was born in 1947 into a family of marginal farmers in Andipatti, a village near Kovilpatti. Poomani’s fame surged with the release of the hit movie Asuran that drew from his renowned novel Vekkai. The film, starring Dhanush, Manju Warrier and Pasupathy, became one of the most celebrated Tamil movies of recent years and brought Poomani’s writing to a much wider audience. Asuran released in 2019 and was directed by Vetrimaaran. It brought Dhanush a Best Actor National Award win. There had been some controversy. Poomani had dismissed the notion that his novel portrays the victory of Dalits over their oppressors. Insisting on it as the director’s freedom to alter the script from a story about a family defending its honour to the idea of a Dalit revolt against the oppression, the writer praised Vetrimaran for handling the violence well. Poomani had himself directed a movie, Karuvelam Pookkal, for the National Film Development Corporation of India.
2014 marked yet another milestone in his career when his novel Agnyaadi bagged the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award. The novel spans a period of more than 170 years from the beginning of the 19th century, revolving mainly around the lives and fortunes of several families dispersed over villages in the region: Kalingal, Kazhugumalai, Chatrapatti, Veppankadu, Chinnaiahpuram and Sivakasi. The families are from a range of castes (Pallars, Vannaars, Panaiyeri Nadars, Naickers and Thevars) and occupations (farmers, washermen, toddy-tappers, landed squires and warriors). Poomani received a 28-month study and research grant from Indian Foundation of the Arts in Bengaluru. The novel won the inaugural Gitanjali Literary Prize. In 2017, the writer appealed for greater transparency in doling out the Sahitya Akademi prizes.
Poomani’s books and the screen adaptations created stories that continue to inspire readers, filmmakers and cinema lovers across generations. Last rites of the departed soul will be performed on July 13.
