Pachaikili Muthucharam
| Pachaikili Muthucharam | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Directed by | Gautham Vasudev Menon |
| Written by | Gautham Vasudev Menon |
| Produced by | V. Ravichandran |
| Starring | R. Sarathkumar Jyothika Andrea Jeremiah Milind Soman |
| Cinematography | Arvind Krishna Additional Cinematography: Nirav Shah |
| Edited by | Anthony |
| Music by | Harris Jayaraj |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Aascar Films Pvt. Ltd |
Release date |
|
Running time | 150 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Pachaikili Muthucharam (transl. Green parrot and string of pearls) is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. It is based on the 2005 British-American thriller film Derailed.[1] The film stars R. Sarathkumar and Jyothika, while Andrea Jeremiah and Milind Soman played important supporting roles. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by Harris Jayaraj. The soundtrack was released on 20 January 2007 to positive reviews. The film was released on 13 February 2007. The movie was dubbed in Telugu as Drohi. It was remade in Sinhala language as Dakina Dakina Mal.
Plot
Venkatesh, a medical representative, is happily married to Kalyani, and they both have a son named Nanda. They all have a perfect life. That is, until Nanda falls sick, and things between Venkat and Kalyani cool down a bit. Kalyani begins to spend more time with Nanda and starts to ignore Venkat involuntarily. Venkat, feeling a bit lonely and neglected, walks in and out of his monotonous life without complaining much. He tries to understand his Kalyani's feelings.
One morning while riding the train to work, Venkat notices Geetha and spends a few extra seconds admiring her. The following day again, he happens to stand next to her, and Geetha opens up the conversation with Venkat. Both married with kids, they feel that they have a lot of common things between them and start a friendship together. At first, it is platonic, and they meet only in the train, but they slowly start meeting at restaurants and coffee shops. Geetha begins to get a little physically close to Venkat, and she suggests that they both spend a day together watching movies or doing something alone. Venkat agrees, and they take a taxi and drive to Mayajaal on East Coast Road.
However, at the last minute, Geetha changes her mind and directs the taxi driver to go to a resort along the same road. Venkat books a room on Geetha's insistence. A knock on the door prompts Venkat to open the door. A goon barges in, beats him up, robs the couple, and ties Venkat up before raping Geetha. Venkat is grief-stricken, and he and Geetha both part ways. The goon, who calls himself Lawrence, starts calling Venkat and Geetha to harass them for money. Venkat takes the full financial responsibility and starts paying off money that he had been saving for Nanda's medical expenses. With no choice left, Venkat confesses to Kalyani. Angry and disappointed, she leaves him, but she returns a few days later and forgives him.
One day, Venkat finds Geetha and Lawrence laughing down the street. He follows them and realizes that he has been conned and that this is their daily business. When the gang is pulling the same trick on another person named Ramachandran, he beats Lawrence, barges into a hotel, and explains it Ramachandran. A fight occurs where Ramachandran is killed and Venkat accidentally shoots Geetha on her stomach. Angrily, Lawrence stabs Venkat on his hand and in a fit of rage, Venkat kills Lawrence. Venkat relocates with his family for a while, and then Geetha's men kidnaps Kalyani. Later, he realises that Geetha is not dead and she kidnapped Kalyani to avenge Lawrence's death. After a long fight, Venkat kills Geetha, saves Kalyani. And the family lives happily ever after.
Cast
- Sarathkumar as Venkatesh
- Jyothika as Smitha aka Geetha
- Andrea Jeremiah as Kalyani
- Milind Soman as Lawrence (Voice dubbed by Gautham Vasudev Menon)
- VTV Ganesh as Velu
- Armaan as Nanda
- Venkat as Muruga
- Hari Raja as Ramachandran
- Mishalle as Debbai
- Cool Suresh as Dass
- Kannan as Kannan
- Manikandan as Elangovan
- Gautham Vasudev Menon as a bus passenger (uncredited)
- Veera as a bus passenger (uncredited)
- Karthik as a singer (uncredited)
Production
It was previously titled as Vilai Uyirendraalum (Even If the Price Is Life Itself), Parundhu (Eagle) and Silandhi (Spider).[2] Gautham Menon described the title Pachaikili Muthucharam (translated as "a parrot with a string of pearls") as a metaphor to the film's content, saying, "What will happen to a string of pearls if a parrot gets it? The pearls might scatter away."[3] Earlier for the lead female protagonist role several actresses was considered with Tabu, Kamalinee Mukherjee and Shobana as the frontrunners. Finally, the latter was chosen to play the role whom Gautham described as the "finest actor in the country".[4] However, Shobana was replaced by a newcomer Andrea Jeremiah, who previously collaborated with Gautham Menon in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu as a playback singer.[5] Sarath Kumar's character was originally slated for Kamal Haasan, Madhavan and Cheran.
Soundtrack
The film has five songs composed by Harris Jayaraj. The song "Karu Karu Vizhigalal" is based on Westlife’s "Hit You With The Real Thing".[6]
| Pachaikili Muthucharam | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 5 January 2007 | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 23:27 | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Label | Ayngaran Music An Ak Audio | |||
| Producer | Harris Jayaraj | |||
| Harris Jayaraj chronology | ||||
| ||||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Unakkul Naane" (Version 1) | Rohini | Bombay Jayashri | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Unakkul Naane" (Version 2) | Rohini | Madhushree | 4:41 |
| 3. | "Un Sirippinil" | Thamarai | Sowmya Rao, Mohamed Raffee | 5:35 |
| 4. | "Kaadhal Konjam" | Thamarai | Naresh Iyer | 4:52 |
| 5. | "Karu Karu" | Thamarai | Karthik, Naresh Iyer, Krish | 3:36 |
| Total length: | 23:27 | |||
| Dhrohi | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | 2007 |
| Recorded | 2007 |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Length | 23:06 |
| Language | Telugu |
| Label | T-Series |
| Producer | Harris Jayaraj |
All tracks are written by Vennelakanti
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Undaleni" | Anuradha Sriram, Raghu Kunche | 4:38 |
| 2. | "Nee Talapuna" | Naga Saihithi | 5:31 |
| 3. | "Challa Naina" | Raghu Kunche | 4:45 |
| 4. | "Undaleni" (Version 2) | Chinmayi, Raghu Kunche | 4:38 |
| 5. | "Daagudumoothal" | Karthik, Raghu Kunche | 3:12 |
| Total length: | 23:06 | ||
Release
The satellite rights of the film were sold to Kalaignar. The censors cleared the film with an "A" certificate for its theme with no visual cuts but a few dialogue muting. Those who saw the film are raving about its bold and daring content and say that it looks like a Hollywood thriller.[7]
Reception
A critic from Rediff wrote that "One must hand it to Gautham Menon for keeping the film from degenerating into a melodrama by giving the right mix of action and drama".[8]
Box office
The film was below average at the box office, especially because it was a typical A center movie. It performed badly at B and C centers due to its storyline. In regard to the average run, Menon went on to claim that Sarath Kumar was "wrong for the film" and that he tweaked the story to fit his image; he also claimed that his father's ailing health and consequent death a week before the release had left him mentally affected.[9][10]
Awards and nominations
- 2007 - Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards
| Award[a] | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | Ananda Vikatan Award for Vest Villain - Female | Jyothika | Won |
Notes
- ^ Awards, festivals and organizations are in alphabetical order.
References
- ^ "Southern movies inspired without credit - here's the list". thenewsminute.com. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- ^ "Tamil movies : Surya's Sarvam kicks off with photo session".
- ^ "Pachaikili Muthucharam: The most eagerly awaited Tamil film of 2007!". rediff.com. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- ^ "'I don't write scripts for heroes'". Sify. 2006. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
- ^ "Glam show is not bad: Andrea Jeremiah". Sify. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
- ^ Srinivasan, Sudhir (30 September 2016). "Inspired stuff". The Hindu.
- ^ "'Pachaikili..' postponed!". Sify. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
- ^ "Pachaikili Muthucharam is good".
- ^ "Tamil box office collections tamil top ten films top 10 movies pokkiri thamirabarani paruthiveeran mozhi thiruvilayadal veyil deepavali pachaikili muthucharam veerasamy picture gallery images".
- ^ Rangan, Baradwaj (2008). "Gautam "Vasudev" Menon". Baradwaj Rangan. Retrieved 28 April 2011.
