Don Chera

The jobless and carefree young man Cheran (Ranjith) lives with his parents Sundaram (Chandrasekhar) and Dhanalakshmi (Meera Krishnan) and his elder brother Ravi (Ramesh Maali). His father wants Cheran to find a job, and Cheran sets up a roadside street food business along with his friends. One day, an exchange with a customer escalates, and Cheran has to kill him to save his friend Kutty (Velmurugan). The killed customer turns out to be the brother of the rowdy gangster Ezhumalai (V. K. R. Ragu).

Cheran and Kutty have no choice but to hide from the police, and they then meet Ezhumalai's archenemy "Royapuram" Bava (R. N. R. Manohar), who promises to offer them protection. Kamal Bhai (S. Rajasekar), a pious man who solves underworld crime issue, arranges a meeting between Cheran and Ezhumalai. During the meeting, Ezhumalai, who is full of rage, tries to kill Cheran, but Cheran takes a gun and shoots him dead. Bava then hires Cheran and Kutty as his henchmen. Cheran starts drinking alcohol, gets addicted to drugs, and spends his nights in a brothel, where he meets the young prostitute Geetha (Sujibala). Cheran slowly begins to rise in Bava's ranks. When Bava gets killed by his enemies, a vengeful Cheran kills them all. Cheran becomes the most dangerous don of Chennai, and he is now called Don Chera by his henchmen. In the meantime, Cheran and Geetha fall in love with each other, and they get married with the blessings of their parents.

Cheran then starts working for Home Minister Perumal (Ilavarasu), who orders him to kill innocent people. Thereafter, Geetha gives birth to a baby boy. Cheran's family advises him to leave the criminal underworld and surrender to the police, but he refuses. Perumal is soon under serious pressure from the public and government. They suspect him of employing Cheran. He orders the police to encounter Cheran. Perumal's henchmen and Kutty get killed in an encounter. Cheran, who is now on the run, must protect his family as they too are in danger. Kamal Bhai arranges a meeting between Cheran and Perumal; Cheran kills Perumal as he would spoil others' lives like his in the future. In the process, Kamal Bhai is killed by the police, and Cheran escapes from the place. Cheran returns to his home and asks his family to save him. Cheran, who could not sleep peacefully since he entered the criminal underworld, begs his mother to make him sleep, and Dhanalakshmi shoots him dead.

The film ends with the family fulfilling the annual rites of Cheran on the Chennai beach and with Dhanalakshmi explaining all that happened to her young grandson.

{{cast listing|

• Ranjith as Cheran (Don Chera)
• Sujibala as Geetha
• Chandrasekhar as Sundaram, Cheran's father
• Meera Krishnan as Dhanalakshmi, Cheran's mother
• S. Rajasekar as Kamal Bhai
• R. N. R. Manohar as "Royapuram" Bava
• Ilavarasu as Perumal
• Velmurugan as Kutty
• Ramesh Maali as Ravi
• V. K. R. Ragu as Ezhumalai
• Vasu Vikram
• Pasi Sathya as Kutty's mother
• Tirupur Ramasamy as Kutty's father
• Bava Lakshmanan as Murugesan
• P. Soundara Rajan as Kunji Chetta
• Jayashree as Sindhu
• Sathya as Sathya
• Shanthi Ganesh
• Seetha Ravishankar
• Nisha
• Balendran

}}

K. S. Saravanan, who had worked with various directors, including Keyaar and Vikraman, made his directorial debut with Don Chera under the banner of Sivasankaralaya. Ranjith was selected to play the title role, while Sujibala was chosen to play his love interest. Sivamanoharan took in charge of cinematography while newcomer Prince G. who worked with Harris Jayaraj as his keyboard player, had taken care of the music and editing was done by R. T. Annadurai.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/story-of-a-don/article3217716.ece|title=Story of a Don|work=The Hindu|author=S. R. Ashok Kumar|date=7 April 2006}}{{cite web|url=http://www.cinesouth.com/scopes/previews/new/donsera.shtml|title=Don Chera Preview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060719091259/http://www.cinesouth.com/scopes/previews/new/donsera.shtml|archive-date=19 July 2006|access-date=5 September 2019|url-status=dead|website=Cinesouth}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sify.com/movies/don-sera-review-tamil-pclvVAeaejbji.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905111211/https://www.sify.com/movies/don-sera-review-tamil-pclvVAeaejbji.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 September 2019|title= Don Sera|access-date=5 September 2019|website=Sify}} The film was launched at AVM Studios.{{cite web|url=http://cinesouth.com/masala/hotnews/new/11112005-4.shtml|date=11 November 2005|access-date=16 April 2025|title=Ranjith acts in 'Chera' - pooja pics|website=Cinesouth|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203061653/http://cinesouth.com/masala/hotnews/new/11112005-4.shtml|archive-date=3 February 2007}} Speaking about the film, the director said, "It is a movie certainly different from other films on gangsters. Not just the story and the script, but the making itself would be totally different from other films. The whole cast and crew have given their best".{{cite web|url=https://www.indiaglitz.com/don-sera-preview-tamil-movie-7979|title=Don Sera Tamil Movie Preview|access-date=5 September 2019|website=IndiaGlitz.com}}

{{Infobox album|

| name = Don Chera

| type = soundtrack

| artist = Prince G.

| cover =

| alt =

| released = 2006

| recorded = 2006

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Feature film soundtrack

| length = 22:45

| label =

| producer = Prince G.

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by Prince G.. The soundtrack features 5 tracks.{{cite web|url=https://mio.to/album/Prince/Don+Cera+(2006)|title=Don Cera (2006) - Prince|access-date=5 September 2019|publisher=MusicIndiaOnline|archive-date=5 September 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905111211/https://mio.to/album/Prince/Don%2BCera%2B(2006)|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/don-chera-mw0002000263|title=Don Chera - Original Soundtrack|access-date=5 September 2019|publisher=allmusic.com}}

{{track listing|

|extra_column=Singer(s)

|headline = Tracklist

|all_lyrics=Snehan

|total_length=22:45

|title1=Appadi Paar Ippadi|extra1=Anuradha Sriram|length1=4:32

|title2=Vennila Vennila (duet)|extra2=Prasanna Rao, Kanchana|length2=5:09

|title3=Vennila Vennila (solo)|extra3=Prasanna Rao|length3=5:09

|title4=Aathuichodi Paadikittu|extra4=Kanchana|length4=4:05

|title5=Chinnapaya Naa Chinnaponnu|extra5=Kanchana|length5=3:50

}}

Initially, the film had its release date fixed on 26 May 2006, but it was postponed to 2 June 2006 to avoid a clash with Selvaraghavan's gangster film Pudhupettai (2006).{{cite web|url=https://www.sify.com/movies/don-sera-postponed-news-tamil-kkfvkLcfbcjsi.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190905112608/https://www.sify.com/movies/don-sera-postponed-news-tamil-kkfvkLcfbcjsi.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 September 2019|title='Don Sera' postponed!|access-date=5 September 2019|website=Sify}}

Indiaglitz said, "From start to finish, this gangster movie has ripped off some scene from every other gangster movie. So there is little novelty ore novelty. The director's other major failing, it would seem, is in not wresting compelling performances from his cast. Leading with Ranjith, everyone hams outrageously and the film is left adrift for lack of feel".{{cite web|url=https://www.indiaglitz.com/don-sera-review-tamil-movie-7979|title=Don Sera review. Don Sera Tamil movie review, story, rating  - IndiaGlitz.com|date=7 June 2006|access-date=5 September 2019|website=IndiaGlitz.com}} Another reviewer praised Ranjith's acting and gave the film a mixed review.{{cite web|url=http://koodal.com/tamil/movies/reviews/225/donsera|title=DONSERA Review|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202184532/http://koodal.com/tamil/movies/reviews/225/donsera|archive-date=2 February 2010|access-date=5 September 2019|language=Tamil|publisher=koodal.com}}

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title}}

Category:2006 films

Category:2000s Tamil-language films

Category:2000s Indian films

Category:Films set in Chennai

Category:Films shot in Chennai

Category:Films about organised crime in India

Category:Indian gangster films

Category:Indian crime action films

Category:Indian crime drama films

Category:2006 directorial debut films

Category:2000s crime action films

Category:2006 crime drama films

Category:Tamil-language Indian films