Thirumalai
| Thirumalai | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ramana |
| Written by | Ramana |
| Produced by | Pushpa Kandaswamy |
| Starring | Vijay Jyothika |
| Cinematography | R. Rathnavelu |
| Edited by | Suresh Urs |
| Music by | Vidyasagar |
| Distributed by | Kavithalayaa Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 167 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Thirumalai is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by Ramana. The film stars Vijay and Jyothika, with Manoj K. Jayan, Avinash (in his Tamil debut), Vivek, Raghuvaran, Kausalya and Karunas in supporting roles. Produced by Kavithalayaa Productions banner, Thirumalai shows Vijay playing a bike mechanic of the Pudupet area in Chennai. This film was a turning point in Vijay's career as he transitioned himself into a leading action hero from a romantic hero in his acting career.[1]
Filming began in May 2002 and was planned for a 2002 Christmas release, along with the Suriya starrer, Mounam Pesiyadhe but the delays in replacement of heroine and villain made it release only during October 2003, on the occasion of Diwali but was declared as a blockbuster at the box office, despite its delays.[2]
The film was remade in Telugu as Gowri[3] with Sumanth and Charmme Kaur in 2004. It was also remade in Bengali Bangladesh in 2007 as Kotha Dao Sathi Hobe starring Shakib Khan and Apu Biswas.[4]
Plot
Thirumalai, a mechanic, falls in love with Swetha. However, Swetha's father, Ashok, the owner of a TV channel, is unhappy with their relationship. He asks Arasu, a gangster's to help create fights between the couple.
Cast
- Vijay as Thirumalai
- Jyothika as Swetha (voiceover by Jayageetha)
- Manoj K. Jayan as Arasu (voiceover by P. Sai Kumar)
- Avinash as Ashok, Swetha's father
- Vivek as Palanisamy
- Raghuvaran as Selvam
- Kausalya as Nagalakshmi Selvam
- Karunas as Gopi
- Five Star Krishna as Krishna
- T. P. Gajendran as Gopal, Gopi's father
- Shanthi Williams as Anju Mahendran's mother
- Ajay Rathnam as Traffic Police Officer
- Lavanya as Uma
- Bonda Mani as Fake Astrologer
- Anju Mahendran as Thirumalai's friend
- Pasi Sathya as Paravatham, Palani's grandmother
- Cell Murugan as a Telugu devotee of Tirumala Vishnu
- Annadurai Kannadasan as S. Raja (Company Owner)
- Kalairani as Gopi's mother
- Nizhalgal Ravi as Dass, Arasu's assistant
- Vijay Krishnaraj as Rathnavel, Uma's father
- Sakthi Kumar
- Kovai Senthil
- Master Udayaraj as Suma, Thirumalai's friend
- R. Sundaramoorthy as a victim of Arasu
- Nellai Siva as Thirumalai's friend
- Raghava Lawrence in a special appearance in the song "Thaamthakka Dheemthakka"
- Kiran Rathod in a special appearance in the song "Vaadiyamma Jakkamma"
- Ashok Raja in a special appearance in the song "Vaadiyamma Jakkamma"
Production
The filming began in May 2002, when Vijay was simultaneously shooting for his previous action flick, Bagavathi (2002). Directing the film was debutant Ramana who had apprenticed with director R. K. Selvamani. The shooting finally ended in November 2002. On 15 January 2003, Vijay stated that he had started dubbing for his portions of the film. Vijay also sported a new look, which he maintained for his subsequent films until Puli (2015). It was actually director Ramana, who suggested Vijay that he maintain a new look in the film, with his mustache trimmed and growing a beard. Vijay was initially hesitant to do so, but upon seeing the screen test, he was impressed with his new getup and the rest is history.
Namrata Shirodkar was chosen initially to play the female lead. But the director was not satisfied with her onscreen presence and she was replaced by Jyothika.[5][6] This is her second film with Vijay after Kushi (2000).
A set resembling a market place with a mechanic shop in it was erected at Mohan Studios at a cost of about {{INR}} 50 lakh. Designed by art director Kathir, shooting took place there for 30 days. The film's shooting occurred in Chennai, Nellore and Vishakhapatnam, while the songs were filmed overseas.[7]
Music
| Thirumalai | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 6 December 2002 | |||
| Recorded | 2002 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Label | New Music Hit Musics Classic Audio Ayngaran Music | |||
| Producer | Vidyasagar | |||
| Vidyasagar chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music was composed by Vidyasagar.[8] The audio's album consisting of five songs, was released on 6 December 2002.[9] The audio was also well received among the audience.
| Song | Singers | Lyrics | Picturization |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Thaamthakka Dheemthakka" | Tippu, Karthik | Na. Muthukumar | Vijay, Raghavendra Lawrence |
| "Vaadiyamma Jakkamma" | Udit Narayan | Kabilan | Vijay, Kiran Rathod |
| "Neeyaa Pesiyadhu" | Shankar Mahadevan | Yugabharathi | Vijay, Jyothika |
| "Azhagooril Poothvale" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sujatha Mohan | Arivumathi | Vijay, Jyothika |
| "Dhimsu Katta" | Tippu, Srilekha Parthasarathy | Pa. Vijay | Vijay, Jyothika |
Release
The film was released on 24 October 2003 worldwide, on the occasion of Diwali, and was commercially successful.
Reception
Ananda Vikatan rated the film 59 out of 100.[10] Nowrunning gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and stated "Yet another poor-boy rich-girl romance with parental opposition and mafia interference".[11] Chennai Online wrote "There's nothing fresh here that we haven't seen in an earlier Vijay film. The Vijay-Jyotika pair, after their successful combination in Kushi, was expected to re-create the same magic on screen. But it doesn't happen".[12] Thiraipadam wrote "Thirumalai sees director Ramana working within two big limitations. He has an age-old poor boy-rich girl love story in hand and has to contend with Vijay's mass image. Considering these restrictions, he has done a commendable job. By fashioning the hero's character a little differently and designing a fast screenplay that contains several stock situations but resolves them differently, he overcomes those negatives to deliver an entertaining feature".[13] Behindwoods wrote " Things were never going easy for Vijay until Thirumalai happened and resurrected his image as a mass hero that he’s become today. The film was a well executed commercial potboiler which showcased Vijay excelling at all aspects of his role."[14]
References
- ^ "16. Thirumalai (2003) | Top 20 Best Films of Vijay". behindwoods.com.
- ^ "Thirumalai (2003) | Thirumalai Tamil Movie Cast & Crew, Release Date, Review, Photos, Videos". FilmiBeat.
- ^ "Gowri Review". Full Hyderabad. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
- ^ "Kotha Dao Sathi Hobe – Shakib Khan, Apu Bishwas". airtelscreen.com. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Thirumalai Unseen Stills ~ Namrata shirodkar As heroine. | Facebook" – via Facebook.[non-primary source needed]
- ^ "Jyothika Replaces Ms Shirodkar - Sify.com". sify.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "Thirumalai". 22 December 2003. Archived from the original on 22 December 2003.
- ^ "Thirumalai Songs Download, Thirumalai Tamil MP3 Songs, Raaga.com Tamil Songs". raaga.com.
- ^ "Thirumalai (2002) – Vidyasagar" – via mio.to.
- ^ சார்லஸ், தேவன் (22 June 2021). "பீஸ்ட் : 'நாளைய தீர்ப்பு' டு 'மாஸ்டர்'... விஜய்க்கு விகடனின் மார்க்கும், விமர்சனமும் என்ன? #Beast". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ "Thirumalai review". Now running. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ "Thirumalai". 30 November 2003. Archived from the original on 30 November 2003.
- ^ "Thirumalai – Tamil Movie Review". thiraipadam.com.
- ^ "TOP 20 BEST FILMS OF VIJAY". Behindwoods. Retrieved 22 March 2021.
External links
- Thirumalai at IMDb