Thirumalai
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''Thirumalai'' is a 2003 Indian
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
-language romantic
action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
written and directed by Ramana and produced by
Kavithalayaa Productions Kavithalayaa Productions is an Indian film production and distribution company based in Chennai. It was founded by filmmaker K. Balachander in 1981. It has a library of 50+ films in three languages and 3500+ hours of television content. Kavith ...
. The film stars Vijay and
Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress and producer who primarily works in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She has received several accolades including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards South, four Tamil N ...
, alongside
Manoj K. Jayan Manoj Kadampoothramadam Jayan, also known as Manoj K. Jayan is an Indian actor who acts in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films in addition to a few Tamil cinema, Tamil films. Manoj has won three Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor for h ...
,
Avinash Yelandur Yelandur Narayan Ravindra (born 22 December 1959), known mononymously by his stage name Avinash, is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Kannada and Tamil films. He has been working in films for more than three decades. Known for his ...
, Vivek, Raghuvaran,
Kausalya Kausalya (, ) is a queen of Kosala in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. She is the first senior queen consort of Dasharatha, who ruled Kosala from its capital Ayodhya. She is the mother of Rama, the male protagonist of the epic. She is a secondar ...
and
Karunas Karunas (born as Karunanidhi Sethu; February 21, 1970) is an Indian actor, comedian, composer, playback singer and politician in the Tamil film industry. Appearing mostly in supporting roles, he has also played main lead roles in films includ ...
. The music was composed by Vidyasagar, while cinematography and editing were handled by R. Rathnavelu and Suresh Urs. Filming began in October 2002 and was planned for a January 2003 release, coinciding with Thai Pongal, along with Vijay's other film '' Vaseegara''. Eventually, the delays due to the replacement of some actors and actresses caused the film to release in 24 October 2003, coinciding with
Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...
. ''Thirumalai'' became commercially successful at the box office by completing more than 100 days in theatres. The film became a turning point in Vijay's career as he transformed into an action hero from a romantic hero in his career. The film was remade in Telugu as '' Gowri'' in 2004. It was also remade in Bengali in 2007 as ''Kotha Dao Sathi Hobe'' starring Shakib Khan.


Plot

Thirumalai, a rough-looking kind-hearted mechanic, lives a peaceful life in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
with his friends and also has close relations with his neighbors – Selvam and Nagalakshmi, a couple. Thirumalai considers Nagalakshmi as his sister. Thirumalai develops feelings for Shwetha after meeting her on
New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...
. At first, Shwetha doesn't want to associate with Thirumalai and swears to her father Ashok, the owner of six TV channels, that she doesn't even know about him. Thirumalai tries out many ways to win Shwetha's heart. One day, one of Thirumalai's friends elopes with his lover from her wedding. Thirumalai went with them to the wedding venue and becomes successful in winning the heart of the girl's father and her fiance, letting the girl marry Thirumalai's friend. Shwetha reciprocates his feelings after understanding his good nature. However, Ashok gets enraged with their relationship due to status issues and assigns Arasu, a gangster, to finish Thirumalai. Arasu kidnaps Thirumalai's friends & neighbors and threatens him. Later, Arasu releases them, where he understands Thirumalai's kind-heartedness and decides to reform himself, which is not accepted by his assistant Dass. Dass turns Arasu's men against him to finish Arasu and Thirumalai. Thirumalai eventually fixes the issue and reunites with Shwetha, making Ashok realizing his mistakes.


Cast


Production

The filming began in October 2002, when Vijay was simultaneously shooting for his previous films like '' Vaseegara'' and '' Pudhiya Geethai''. Directing the film was debutant Ramana who had apprenticed with director R. K. Selvamani. The shooting finally ended in April 2003. On 20th of April 2003, Vijay stated that he had started dubbing for his portions of the film. Vijay also sported a new look, which he maintained and varied for his subsequent films until '' Puli''. 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. 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 Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress and producer who primarily works in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She has received several accolades including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards South, four Tamil N ...
. This was her second film with Vijay after '' Kushi'' (2000). Since the film's protagonist portrays a mechanic residing in Pudhupettai area, a set resembling Pudhupettai with a mechanic shop in it was erected at Mohan Studios at a cost of about 50 lakh within 40 days. Designed by art director Kathir, the film shooting took place there for 30 days and shooting occurred in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, Nellore and
Vishakhapatnam Visakhapatnam (; formerly known as Vizagapatam, and also referred to as Vizag, Visakha, and Waltair) is the largest and most populous metropolitan city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is between the Eastern Ghats and the coast of t ...
, while the songs were filmed overseas.


Music

The music was composed by Vidyasagar. The audio's album consisting of five songs, was released on 22nd June 2003, which marked Vijay's 29th birthday. It was the third collaboration of Vijay and Vidyasagar, preceded by ''Coimbatore Maapillai'' and '' Nilaave Vaa''. The audio was also well received among the audience and marked a series of collaborations between Vijay and Vidyasagar with '' Ghilli, Madhurey, Aathi, Kuruvi'' and '' Kaavalan.''


Release

The film was released on 24 October 2003 worldwide, on the occasion of
Diwali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual v ...
, and was commercially successful. The film released alongside ''
Pithamagan ''Pithamagan'' () is a 2003 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language action film, action crime drama film written and directed by Bala (director), Bala. The film stars Vikram (actor), Vikram, Suriya, Laila (actress), Laila and Sangeetha Krish, San ...
'' and '' Anjaneya''.


Reception

''
Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 was not publishe ...
'' rated the film 39 out of 100. ''Nowrunning'' gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and stated "Yet another poor-boy rich-girl romance with parental opposition and mafia interference".
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
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". 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". 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."


References


External links

* {{Kavithalaya Productions 2000s Tamil-language films 2003 directorial debut films 2003 films Films scored by Vidyasagar (composer) Films set in Chennai Films shot in Chennai Films shot in Egypt Films shot in Switzerland Films shot in Visakhapatnam Indian romantic action films Indian action thriller films 2000s romantic action films Tamil films remade in other languages 2000s masala films 2000s Indian films Tamil-language Indian films