Thanga Meenkal

Thanga Meenkal (also spelt as Thanga Meengal; transl. Gold Fish) is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language coming-of-age drama film directed by Ram. The story was written by Ram and his daughter Shri Sankara Gomathy Ram, with the former, besides, played the lead role as well alongside newcomers Sadhana and Shelly Kishore. The film is jointly produced by Gautham Vasudev Menon and J. Satish Kumar under the banners Photon Kathaas and JSK Film Corporation, respectively.

The film follows Kalyani, a poor man forced to live under the shade of his father, taking up a job beyond his reach to provide his daughter a good living. The film offers a critique of primary education in Tamil Nadu and makes poignant observations through social commentary.

The film's cinematography was handled by Arbhindu Saaraa, and editing done by A. Sreekar Prasad. The film's score and soundtrack composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The film's shooting commenced in mid-January 2011 and was completed by late 2011. The film was released on 30 August 2013, to positive reviews from critics but was declared as an average grosser by box office analysts.

The film won three prizes at the 61st National Film Awards, which includes the Best Tamil Film Award, Best Child Artist Award for Sadhana, and Best Lyricist for Na. Muthukumar. The film won three Filmfare Awards, three South Indian International Movie Awards and one Vijay Award. It was the only Tamil film to be screened at Indian Panorama in International Film Festival of India, held at Goa in 2013. The film was also screened at the 11th Chennai International Film Festival in 2014, with a Special Award for Sadhana.