Vaalee (1999 film)
Vaalee | |
---|---|
Poster | |
Directed by | S. J. Suryah |
Written by | S. J. Suryah |
Produced by | S. S. Chakravarthy |
Starring | Ajith Kumar Simran Jyothika |
Cinematography | Jeeva M. S. Prabhu (additional) |
Edited by | B. Lenin V. T. Vijayan |
Music by | Deva |
Production company | NIC Arts |
Release date |
|
Running time | 167 minutes[1] |
Country | India |
Language | Tamil |
Vaalee is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language psychological romantic thriller film written and directed by S. J. Suryah in his directorial debut. The film stars Ajith Kumar in dual roles with Simran and Jyothika in her Tamil debut while Vivek, Rajeev, Pandu and Sujitha appear in important supporting roles. A modern-day adaptation of the legend of Vali from the Ramayana, it revolves around identical twins Shiva and Deva, with Deva being deaf-mute. When Shiva marries Priya, Deva becomes obsessed with her and lusts for her.
Suryah completed the script for Vaalee in 60 days, and the project was picked up for production by S. S. Chakravarthy of NIC Arts. The soundtrack was composed by Deva, and the lyrics were written by Vairamuthu. The cinematography was handled by Jeeva, while the editing was done by the duo B. Lenin and V. T. Vijayan.
Vaalee was released on 30 April 1999 to positive reviews from critics. The film became a commercial success, running for over 270 days in theatres. Ajith won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil and Jyothika won Best Female Debut – South at the same ceremony. The film was remade in Kannada in 2001 under the same title.
Plot
Shiva and Deva are identical twins. Deva, the elder brother, is deaf-mute; but he is an expert at lip reading, and the head of a successful advertising company. Shiva loves and trusts his brother. Shiva falls in love with Priya, who wants to marry someone who is an ex-smoker, ex-drunkard, and got ditched by a girl but is pining for her. Learning this, Shiva, with the help of his friend Vicky, invents a romance between him and a certain Sona, and wins Priya's love. Soon Priya realises Shiva's trick and breaks up with him. He tries to tell her that he only cheated and lied to her in the old romance story, but he truly loved her. One day, Priya comes to Shiva's house and slaps him, but eventually she reciprocates his love.
Meanwhile, Deva chances upon Priya and lusts for her. His obsession continues even after his brother marries her and he devises various means of getting close to Priya and keeping Shiva and her apart. Some of the methods Deva uses to woo Priya are masochistic (wounding his hand by the running car engine to stop the couple's wedding night) and psychotic (repeated attempts to murder his brother).
While Shiva is away at work as a substitute for his injured brother, Priya looks after Deva. Priya soon realises the intentions Deva has towards her, but Shiva refuses to believe her and has complete trust in his brother. He even goes as far as to take Priya to a psychiatrist. To get away from it all, Shiva and Priya go on a long-delayed honeymoon, but Deva shows up there. Shiva watches Deva touching Priya's dress and kissing her photo and he realises that she was right all along. Deva beats up Shiva, packs him in a gunny bag, and throws him into a lorry.
Deva disguises himself as Shiva and tries to seduce Priya. Shiva calls her to warn her that Deva is there but Deva picks up the call. She thinks that Shiva told Deva where they are and the one on the phone is Deva's assistant Sudha who called her to tell that Deva might injure himself to disturb their honeymoon. She takes off the phone's wire so that he will not call them back. Shiva then hastens to the house to save Priya from Deva.
Soon, Priya learns that he is Deva and escapes from him, then shoots him with a revolver. Deva falls into the pool unconscious, and when Shiva comes, she narrates the whole incident to him. He hugs and apologises to her for not believing her earlier, for taking her to the psychiatrist without knowing the truth and for trusting Deva without knowing his intentions towards her. Suddenly, Deva regains consciousness, but Shiva immediately kills him with the revolver. In the afterlife, Deva talks about his inability to express his feelings for Priya because he was mute.
Cast
- Ajith Kumar as Shiva and Deva
- Simran as Priya
- Jyothika as Sona / Meena
- Livingston (guest appearance)
- Vivek as Vicky[2]
- Rajeev as Uma's husband[3]
- Pandu as Velu Nair
- Rathan as Lakshman, Priya's father
- Balaji as Aadhimoolam, Vicky's patient
- Halwa Vasu as Roadside shop owner
- Radhabhai as Shiva's and Deva's grandmother
- Indhu as Uma[3]
- Sujitha as Sheela[2]
- N. Mathrubootham as the psychiatrist (uncredited)[4]
- Marimuthu as the Kodak shop owner (uncredited)[5]
Production
Development
S. J. Suryah had worked as an assistant director in Vasanth's Aasai (1995) which featured Ajith Kumar as well as working with him during the making of Ullaasam (1997). Ajith asked Suryah to prepare a good script and promised he would give him a chance to make his directorial debut. After Suryah completed the script of Vaalee in 60 days, the pair approached S. S. Chakravarthy to produce the film.[6][7][8] The film is a modern-day adaptation of the legend of Vali from the Ramayana.[9]
Casting
Keerthi Reddy was announced to be the lead actress in the film in December 1997, though she was replaced by Simran before filming began.[10] Roja and Meena also were approached to play the female lead but both of them could not allocate the dates.[11] Jyothika, sister of actress Nagma, made her Tamil debut in the film as an imaginary character, Sona.[12] Livingston made a guest appearance as it was Suryah's wish that he appear in at least one scene.[13] This is the first film where Ajith played two characters.[2][14] Ajith mentioned that Vaalee "was very close to my heart and I gave it everything I had", adding that he had initially received widespread negative publicity and scepticism for doing a dual role too early in his career.[15] Simran's voice was dubbed by Savitha Radhakrishnan.[16]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by Deva and lyrics were written by Vairamuthu.[17] The song "Oh Sona" is based on "Susanna" by VOF de Kunst, and "Where Do I Begin?", the theme to Love Story composed by Francis Lai.[18][19]
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Oh Sona" | Hariharan, Ajith Kumar, Febi Mani | 6:03 |
2. | "Gee Priya" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Swarnalatha | 5:28 |
3. | "Nilavai Konduva" | P. Unnikrishnan, Anuradha Sriram | 6:05 |
4. | "Vaanil Kaayuthae" | Mano, Anuradha Sriram, S. J. Suryah | 6:27 |
5. | "April Maathathil" | P. Unnikrishnan, Harini | 5:28 |
Total length: | 29:31 |
Release
Vaalee was released on 30 April 1999.[20] The film became a huge commercial success, running for 270 days in theatres in Tamil Nadu,[21] and 100 days in Kerala.[22] It provided a major breakthrough for Ajith, Simran and Jyothika's careers.[23][24][25][26] The film was dubbed and released in Telugu in October 1999.[27]
Critical reception
Vaalee received positive reviews from critics.[28] Lakshmi of Deccan Herald described the film as "definitely worth seeing", saying it "has something for all tastes – a pleasant love angle, some suspense, complex psychological nuances, good acting, pleasing songs" while praising Ajith's performance.[29] The New Indian Express labelled Simran's portrayal as "outstanding" while mentioning Suryah does a "fairly good job and succeeds".[30] K. P. S. of Kalki appreciated Deva's music, the performances of Ajith and Simran, and Jeeva's cinematography, adding that Suryah's future as a director seemed bright.[31]
Ananda Vikatan appreciated the film by giving 45 marks and mentioned "Director SJ Suryah established his stamp of film-making in his very first film by taking up a straight line story with an engaging screenplay and realistic dialogues. Ajith Kumar has done a fantastic job in dual role and Simran also proved that she can act".[3] K. N. Vijiyan of New Straits Times wrote, "It is amazing what fresh ideas new directors can come out with [...] Using a simple story, Suryah has come out with a winner".[32] D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "Rich production values, fine performances by Ajit Kumar (playing the dual role of brothers) and Simran, bold and powerful dialogue by S. J. Surya, who has directed the movie based on his story and screenplay, are the major contributing factor[s]" in the film.[33]
Accolades
Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
47th Filmfare Awards South | Best Actor – Tamil | Ajith Kumar | Won | [34] [35] |
Best Female Debut – South | Jyothika | Won | ||
Cinema Express Awards | Best Actor – Tamil | Ajith Kumar | Won | [36] |
Best Actress – Tamil | Simran | Won | ||
Best Newface Actress of the Year | Jyothika | Won | ||
Best Music Director | Deva | Won | ||
Best Comedian | Vivek | Won | ||
Dinakaran Film Awards | Dinakaran Film Awards for Best Actor | Ajith Kumar | Won | [37] |
Dinakaran Film Awards for Best Actress | Simran | Won | ||
Dinakaran Film Awards for Best Debut Actress | Jyothika | Won |
Remakes
Vaalee was remade in Kannada under the same title (2001).[38] Boney Kapoor entered negotiations with Chakravarthy to acquire the remake rights for Hindi and other languages. In response, Suryah attempted to block Chakravarthy from selling the remake rights by filing a case to the Madras High Court, but his plea was rejected. Kapoor and Chakravarthy's deal was closed around July/August 2020. In November 2021, Suryah appealed to the Supreme Court of India, using a 2017 verdict by the Madras High Court that only the screenwriter holds the remake rights to his own film,[39][40] but on 25 April 2022, the Supreme Court rejected his plea: "There can be no dispute that in respect of a cinematograph film, it is the producer of the film who is the owner of the copyright in the cinematograph film itself".[41]
References
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- ^ a b c Dhananjayan 2011, p. 208.
- ^ a b c Dhananjayan 2011, p. 209.
- ^ Rajitha (7 May 2000). "What's up, doc?". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2003. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- ^ "Actor, director G Marimuthu passes away". Cinema Express. 8 September 2023. Archived from the original on 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
- ^ SJ suryah about Ajith Kumar (in Tamil). tamilcinemareview. 1 June 2016. Event occurs at 0:48. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Jeevi (12 June 2001). "Interview with SJ Surya". Idlebrain.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ^ Mannath, Malini (15 May 2000). "An interview with – S.J. Surya , film director of ' Vaali ', ' Kushi '. (Part two)". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 20 May 2001. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ Rajendran, Sowmya. "When Tamil films did away with annan-thambi paasam". Sify. Archived from the original on 25 March 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
- ^ "1997–98'ன் கோடம்பாக்கக் குஞ்சுகள்" [1997–98 Kodambakkam babies]. Indolink. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
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- ^ Malani, Sandeep (6 July 1999). "Jyothika makes debut in Tamil films". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2013.
- ^ "Interview with Livingstone | Worked his way to see success". Tamil Star. Archived from the original on 15 January 2000. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
- ^ "I should act only as an action hero!". Dinakaran. 13 August 2002. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ Warrier, Shobha (23 March 2000). "Ajith comes a full circle". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
- ^ "S A V I T H A . R A D H A K R I S H N A N | Voice behind the artistes". Geocities.ws. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
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- ^ "Vaali's success quadruples". New Tamil Films. 26 July 1999. Archived from the original on 2 July 2001. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ Prasad, Ayyappa (3 December 1999). "A dream run at the B-O!". Screen. Archived from the original on 10 March 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
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- ^ "నాటి వాలి సుగ్రీవ కథే నేటి "వాలి" చిత్రం" [Today's Vaalee is the story of yesteryear Vali from Sugriva] (PDF). Zamin Ryot (in Telugu). 15 October 1999. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 September 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ Umashanker, Sudha (13 August 1999). "Back in the reckoning". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 June 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
- ^ Lakshmi (31 May 1999). "Vaali (Tamil)". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2011.
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- ^ கே. பி. எஸ். (30 May 1999). "வாலி". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 81. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
- ^ Vijiyan, K. (29 May 1999). "New director comes up with a winner". New Straits Times. pp. Arts 4. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2020 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Ramanujam, D. S. (14 May 1999). "Film Reviews: Rajasthan / Vaalee". The Hindu. p. 26. Archived from the original on 7 April 2001. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
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- ^ Biswas, Sneha (27 November 2021). "Boney Kapoor acquires rights to remake Ajith starrer 'Vaalee'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
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Bibliography
- Dhananjayan, G. (2011). The Best of Tamil Cinema, 1931 to 2010: 1977–2010. Galatta Media. OCLC 733724281.
External links
- Vaalee at IMDb
- Vaalee at Rotten Tomatoes
- 1999 films
- 1990s Indian films
- 1990s romantic thriller films
- 1990s Tamil-language films
- 1999 directorial debut films
- 1999 psychological thriller films
- Films about deaf people
- Films directed by S. J. Suryah
- Films scored by Deva (composer)
- Indian psychological thriller films
- Indian romantic thriller films
- Tamil films remade in other languages
- Tamil-language Indian films
- Tamil-language psychological thriller films
- Twins in Indian films