Shahjahan (film)

Shahjahan
Directed by	K. S. Ravi
Produced by	R. B. Choudary
Written by	K. S. Ravi Prasanna Kumar
Starring	Vijay Richa Pallod Vivek
Music by	Mani Sharma
Cinematography	Arthur A. Wilson
Editing by	V. Jaishankar
Release date(s)	November 14, 2001 (2001-11-14)
Running time	160 min
Language	Tamil

Shahjahan is a 2001 Tamil film directed and written by K. S. Ravi and produced by R. B. Choudary. The film features Vijay and Richa Pallod in the lead roles while Krishna and Vivek portray supporting roles. The film, which had music was composed by Mani Sharma, released to positive reviews on 14 November 2001.

Plot

The film is about a man Ashok (Vijay) who helps lovers. He understands the psychology of women and knows how to catch their heart. Whenever a man wants a girl to fall in love with him, Ashok makes it occur. However, he advises his friends not to tell their love immediately because of past incidents that even lead to a death. Ashok falls in love with a girl (Richa Pallod), but never tells his love to her. His friend starts to love her and Ashok is not aware of this. Ashok ends up helping his friend making his love succeed, without knowing that his friend's girlfriend is his crush. Ashok realizes the girl was Richa at the register marriage near the end of the movie and bursts into tears when his friends are not looking. The movie ends as Ashok not marrying Richa and is a helper for couples forever.

Cast

• Vijay as Ashok
• Richa Pallod as Mahee
• Vivek
• Krishna as Raja
• Kovai Sarala
• Nizhalgal Ravi
• Devan
• Janaki Sabesh
• Krishna as Giri
• Sona Heiden
• Meena in a special appearance

Production

R. B. Choudary, after the successes of Poove Unakkaga and Thulladha Manamum Thullum, signed on Vijay for a project to be directed by Vikraman. However, Vijay opted against starring in Vikraman's venture and K. S. Ravi was roped in to make a film, which later became Shahjahan. Arthur Wilson was signed to handle the camera, Mani Sharma to compose the music, Vairamuthu to write lyrics while Prabhakaran did the art work and Prasanna Kumar has written the dialogue.

Richa Pallod, who had appeared in advertisements and Telugu films, was selected to portray the female lead role, while actress Meena appeared in an item number. The film also saw Sona Heiden signed on to appear a supporting role, although she revealed that she regretted being a part of the film after release.

Release

The film was a hit and ran for over hundred days, outrunning other films which had release alongside it such as Kamal Haasan's Aalavandhan and Suriya's Nandha.

The critic from The Hindu gave the film an average review claiming that "youth, romance and vibrant music seem to sell at a premium these days" and that Shahjahan "has all these in ample measure". The critic added that Richa "has little to do but look good" and Vijay "sparkles in the role of Ashok" while Krishna "fills the bill of a perfect non-action hero". However the critic from Sify lamented that "Ravi’s screenplay is a mess, caring a whit for sense, logic and even continuity" and mentioned it was a "technically tacky film". The reviewer added that Vijay was "losing his natural charm" and that "Richa Pallod tried to ape Jyothika".

Soundtrack

Shahjahan
Soundtrack album by Mani Sharma
Released	2001
Genre	Feature film soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was composed by Mani Sharma, was well received by the audience.

Song	Singer
Achchacho Punnagai	Udit Narayan
Kadhal Oru	KK & Co
Manidha Manidha	Srinivas
May Madham	Devan, Sujatha Mohan
Mellinamae Mellinamae	Harish Raghavendra
Minnalai Pidithu	Unni Menon
Sarakku Vachirukken	Meena, Shankar Mahadevan

External links

• Shahjahan at Jointscene