''April Maadhathil'' () is a 2002 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

-language

romantic drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

written and directed by newcomer

S. S. Stanley S. S. Stanley is an Indian film director and actor, who has directed Tamil films. He was active primarily as a filmmaker and a writer in the 2000s collaborating in ventures which often included Srikanth. Career S. S. Stanley apprenticed with ...

. It stars Srikanth and

Sneha Sneha ( hi, स्नेहा) is a popular Hindu Indian feminine given name, which means "Affection". Notable people named Sneha *Sneha (actress) (born 1981), Indian actress in South Indian films - Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languag ...

, with Gayatri Jayaraman,

Venkat Prabhu Venkat Kumar Gangai Amaren (born 7 November 1975), better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu, is an Indian filmmaker, actor and playback singer in Tamil films. After completing his education, he began pursuing an acting career, with his firs ...

, Devan and

Karunas Karunas (born 21 February 1970 as Karunanidhi Sethu) is an Indian actor, politician and comedian in the Tamil film industry. Appearing mostly in supporting roles, he has also played lead roles in films including '' Dindigul Sarathy'' (2008) a ...

among others in the supporting cast. The film, which had music scored by

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of We ...

and cinematography handled by M. V. Panneerselvam, released on 29 November 2002. The film was later dubbed into Hindi as ''Mr. Rangeela'' and in Telugu as ''Vaallidharu'' and released in 2004. The film's title is inspired by a song from '' Vaali''.

Plot

It's a story of friendship among eight girls and boys. Kathir is an intelligent guy who grew up in a poor family. His younger brother stopped his education for Kathir. In college, Kathir meets a girl named Shwetha and over time they become friends. Many guys are interested in her, but she finds something different about Kathir. The friends then decide to visit each others homes for their vacation. At Shwetha's home, they learn that Shwetha's father is thinking of getting her married the next year. At graduation, they cut their names on a tree since it is their final year. Though Kathir and Shwetha love each other, they are unable to express it. The rest of the story is about how they get together.

Cast

* Srikanth as Kathir *

as Swetha * Gayatri Jayaraman as Nirmala ("Nimmi") *

as Venkat ("Venky") * Devan as Shwetha's father *

as Cycle Jackson * Kamala Krishnaswamy as Kathir's mother *

Daniel Balaji T. C. Balaji, better known by his stage name Daniel Balaji, is an Indian actor and writer, who predominantly appears in Tamil and Malayalam films. Early life and career Balaji studied a film direction course in Taramani film institute, Chenna ...

as Suresh *

Mayilsamy Mayilsamy (born October 2, 1965) is an Indian actor and comedian who prominently plays supporting roles. Appearing in many Tamil films, he is also a regular guest judge on '' Asathapovathu Yaaru'' on Sun TV in Chennai. Career He is a popular ...

* Bava Lakshmanan * Anju Mahendran as Kathir's friend * Kottachi *

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wid ...

as himself * Ramakrishnan as Kathir's friend (uncredited)

Production

who had apprenticed with directors Mahendran and Sasi made his directorial debut with this film. It was Srikanth's second film after ''Rojakoottam''. The film was mostly shot at the YMCA College of Physical Education in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

, since a large part of the film plays in a campus, filming was held at locations in Chennai, Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty and Visakhapatnam.

Release

After the success,

and Srikanth again collaborated with films like '' Kizhakku Kadalkarai Salai'' and ''

Mercury Pookal ''Mercury Pookkal'' () is a 2006 Tamil language romantic drama film, directed by S. S. Stanley starring Srikanth, Meera Jasmine. The music is composed by Karthik Raja. This film's name is based on the famous Tamil novel of Balakumaran. Plot ...

'' which failed to replicate the success of their first collaboration.

Critical reception

The Hindu wrote: "Stanley who heads icdirection, deserves special mention for a very decent handling of romance."

Soundtrack

The soundtrack, which released on 6 October 2002, was composed by

, who himself had sung one of the songs. Opera singer Shekhina Shawn Jazeel sang one song under the name Prasanna. The soundtrack features 6 songs with lyrics written by five different lyricists, Pazhani Bharathi,

Pa. Vijay Pa. Vijay is an Indian actor, poet, writer, director, producer and film lyricist for Tamil cinema. He won the National Film Award for Best Lyrics in India for his song '' Ovvoru Pookalume'' in Cheran's ''Autograph'' (2004). Career Vijay is a na ...

Thamarai Thamarai (born 10 November 1975) is a noted Tamil poet and lyricist. She is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. She made her debut in the Tamil film industry through the 1998 film Iniyavale, which was directed by Seeman and music ...

, Na. Muthukumar and Snehan. The song "Bailomo Bailomo" originally composed for this film was used in

Shaam Syria ( Hieroglyphic Luwian: 𔒂𔒠 ''Sura/i''; gr, Συρία) or Sham ( ar, ٱلشَّام, ash-Shām) is the name of a historical region located east of the Mediterranean Sea in Western Asia, broadly synonymous with the Levant. Ot ...

starrer ''

Bala Bala may refer to: Places India *Bala, India, a village in Allahabad, India * Bala, Ahor, a village in the Jalore district of Rajasthan * Bala, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India Romania * Bala, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi ...

''.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt1621767 2002 films 2002 romantic drama films 2000s Tamil-language films Indian romantic drama films Indian coming-of-age drama films Films scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja Films set in universities and colleges Films shot in Chennai Films shot in Bangalore Films shot in Mysore Films shot in Ooty Films shot in Visakhapatnam Films about friendship 2000s coming-of-age drama films 2002 directorial debut films Films directed by S. S. Stanley