Padikkadavan (transl. Illiterate) is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Suraj and produced by B. Venkatarama Reddy. It stars Dhanush and Tamannaah Bhatia alongside an ensemble supporting cast including Vivek, Atul Kulkarni, Suman, and Sayaji Shinde. The music was composed by Mani Sharma with cinematography by A. Venkatesh and editing by Manoj. Filming began on 5th April 2008, with an inaugural pooja, and the movie was finally released on 14 January 2009 during Pongal festival and received a huge positive response. The film was successful, grossing ₹15 crore in Tamil Nadu and established Dhanush as one of the top five bankable heroes of Tamil cinema after then.