Ghilli
Ghilli | |
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File:Ghilli Movie poster.jpg Release Poster | |
Directed by | Dharani |
Written by | Dialogues: Bharathan |
Screenplay by | Dharani |
Story by | Gunasekhar |
Produced by | A. M. Rathnam |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Gopinath |
Edited by | B. Lenin V. T. Vijayan |
Music by | Vidyasagar |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 168 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Tamil |
Budget | ₹8 crore[1] |
Ghilli (lit. Risk taker)[2] is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Dharani and produced by A. M. Rathnam under the production company Sri Surya Movies. A remake of the Telugu-language film Okkadu (2003), Ghilli features Vijay, Prakash Raj and Trisha in lead roles with Ashish Vidyarthi, Dhamu, Mayilsamy and Janaki Sabesh playing supporting roles.
The soundtrack album and score were composed by Vidyasagar. Cinematography was handled by Tirru and editing was done by V. T. Vijayan and B. Lenin. Dialogues for the film were written by Bharathan. The film was released on 17 April 2004 to mostly positive reviews.[3] The movie was running for more than 200 days at the box office. It was one of the most successful films in Vijay's career.[4][5] As per trade, The film emerged as the highest grossing Tamil film of all-time collecting ₹50 crore domestically in 2004, overtaking Rajnikanth's Baasha and Padayappa.[6]
Plot
Saravanavelu alias Velu is a state-level kabaddi player who is the son of Chennai's Assistant Commissioner of Police Sivasubramanian. Sivasubramanian is not fond of his son, constantly chiding him for his lack of interest in studies and his love for kabaddi. In contrast, his mother dotes on him, and his younger sister Bhuvana, a sharp and inquisitive schoolgirl, constantly gets Velu into trouble with their father, but nevertheless adores him.
Meanwhile, in Madurai, there is a ruthless factionalist leader Muthupandi, who lusts after Dhanalakshmi and would do anything to marry her. Muthupandi kills Dhanalakshmi's first elder brother as he rejects his offer to marry her. Then Dhanalakshmi’s second elder brother is also killed by Muthupandi when he tries to avenge his brother's murder. Dhanalakshmi’s father is a meek person who gets horrified by Muthupandi’s acts and asks Dhanalakshmi to leave Madurai and lead a peaceful life at her uncle's place in the United States by giving her the necessary certificates and money. Muthupandi catches her when she starts fleeing, because by coincidence, she gets into one of the lorries owned by him. At this juncture, Velu, who is in Madurai to play in a kabaddi tournament, rescues Dhanalakshmi and takes her to Chennai.
Velu takes Dhanalakshmi to his house and hides her in his room, unknown to his family. With the help of his friends, he arranges passport, visa, and flight tickets for Dhanalakshmi so that she can go to the US. Meanwhile, Muthupandi and his father, who is the Home Minister, ask Sivasubramanian to search for Dhanalakshmi and the apparent kidnapper. When Sivasubramanian discovers that it is his own son who did the "crime", Velu and Dhanalakshmi run away and hide in the lighthouse. Dhanalakshmi has by now fallen in love with Velu, and has been accepted by his mother and sister. So she is reluctant to go to the US. Velu however, is adamant on sending her to the US, and he, along with his friends, get her to the airport in time for her flight before their kabaddi match against Punjab in the final of the National League.
Sivasubramanian, enraged that his son is a wanted criminal and yet is playing in a kabaddi match, goes to the stadium to arrest Velu. By now, Velu too has fallen in love with Dhanalakshmi and begins to miss her, only to spot her in the stadium during the match. Velu's lack of focus in the game is replaced by his best performance on seeing Dhanalakshmi, winning Tamil Nadu the championship. After winning the championship, Velu is arrested by his father, but is then stopped by Muthupandi, who wants to fight Velu, having been incited by Dhanalakshmi to do so to prove his worth. Velu defeats Muthupandi and embraces Dhanalakshmi, but when Muthupandi regains consciousness and tries to kill Velu, the floodlight broken during the fight, accidentally hits muthupandi, gets electrocuted and dies
Cast
- Vijay as Saravanavelu (Ghilli)
- Trisha Krishnan as Dhanalakshmi, as Saravanavelu's love interest
- Prakash Raj as Muthupandi, a factionalist leader[7]
- Ashish Vidyarthi as ACP Sivasubramanian, Saravanavelu's father[7]
- Tanikella Bharani as Rajapandi, Muthupandi's father[7]
- Janaki Sabesh as Saravanavelu's mother[8]
- Baby Jennifer as Bhuvana, Saravanavelu's younger sister[7]
- Dhamu as Otteri Nari[7]
- Vinod Raj as Dhanalakshmi's father[7]
- T. K. Kala as Muthupandi's mother[7]
- Nagendra Prasad as Prasad
- Chaplin Balu as Saravanavelu's friend[7]
- Aadukalam Murugadoss as Aadhivasi[8]
- Mayilsamy as Narayana
- Brahmanandam as a Priest Ramakrishna
- Appukutty as Ramakrishna's assistant
- Ponnambalam as Arivazhagan
- Nandha Saravanan as Saravanavelu's enemy (opposite team leader)[8]
- Pandu as Police Inspector
- Karate Raja as Muthupandi's henchman[8]
- Pandi as Roadside Seller
- Saai Sundar as Raghu, Dhanalakshmi's second brother
- Ammu Ramachandran as Ammu
- Vimal as Saravanavelu's teammate (uncredited role)
- Priyanka as Chechi (shopkeeper)
- Scissor Manohar[8]
- Suruli Manohar[8]
Production
Vijay expressed interest in starring in a Tamil remake of the Telugu action film Okkadu and prompted producer A. M. Rathnam to purchase the remake rights of the film. Dharani was finalised as the director, whose previous film Dhool under Rathnam's production had been a financial success. Dharani's regular crew members including cinematographer Gopinath and music director Vidyasagar joined the film, while Rocky Rajesh and Raju Sundaram were chosen to choreograph the stunts and dances, respectively.[citation needed] Later Trisha Krishnan was confirmed to play the female lead, while Prakash Raj was signed on to reprise the villain's character from the original. Dhamu and Prabhu Deva's brother, Nagendra Prasad were recruited to essay supporting roles. Ashish Vidyarthi, Janaki Sabesh and Baby Jennifer were selected to portray Vijay's parents and sister, respectively. Playback singer T. K. Kala made her acting debut with this film.[9] Vimal who went on to act in films like Pasanga (2009) and Kalavani (2010) appeared in a small role as one of Vijay's teammates and also worked as "unofficial" assistant director.[10]
Filming began in mid-2003, after Vijay had completed his action flick Thirumalai; the film was completed by early 2004. Filming took place in Chennai surrounding the coastal areas like Mylapore and Besant Nagar. The film's introduction fight scene and a song were shot in a costly set in Prasad studios.[11] A lighthouse set was also erected. Other action and chasing sequences were canned near the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai. The climax scene was shot in a crowd of one hundred thousand people on a Vinayagar Chaturthi occasion.[12][13]
Soundtrack
Ghilli | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 28 March 2004 | |||
Recorded | 2003-04 | |||
Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
Label | Five Star Audio | |||
Producer | Vidyasagar | |||
Vidyasagar chronology | ||||
|
The soundtrack features 6 songs composed by Vidyasagar. The lyrics were penned by Yugabharathi, Pa. Vijay, Na. Muthukumar, Kabilan and Maran. The soundtrack became a sensation on release. The song Appadi Podu in particular enjoyed high popularity upon release, all over South India and became a huge chartbuster. The song was later reused by Chakri as "Adaragottu" in the Telugu movie Krishna (2008).[14] The song was also adapted as Hum Na Tode in the Hindi movie Boss starring Akshay Kumar.[15] Following the internet phenomenon of "Why This Kolaveri Di" in 2011, "Appadi Podu" was featured alongside "Oh Podu", "Nakka Mukka" and "Ringa Ringa" in a small collection of south Indian songs that are considered a "national rage" in India.[16][17]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Kabadi" | Maran | Maran, Jayamoorty | 01:44 |
2. | "Arjunaru Villu" | Kabilan | Sukhwinder Singh, Manikka Vinayagam | 04:27 |
3. | "Sha La La" | P. Vijay | Sunidhi Chauhan | 04:30 |
4. | "Appadi Podu" | P. Vijay | KK, Anuradha Sriram | 05:53 |
5. | "Soora Thenga" | Na. Muthukumar | Tippu | 04:03 |
6. | "Kokkarakko" | Yugabharathi | Udit Narayan, Sujatha Mohan | 05:00 |
7. | "Kadhala Kadhala" | P. Vijay | Sujatha Mohan | 03:21 |
Release
Ghilli was due for release on 9 April but later got postponed for a week and opened in over 150 theatres on 16 April. Though the reason for the postponement was not given out, rumours were that producer A M Rathnam's creditors put pressure on him to settle his accounts before release.
Reception
Ghilli opened to mostly positive reviews. Sify rated the movie 5 out of 5 stars and said, "the good old formula is back with Gilli. A one-man-army combats an eccentric villain against all odds as he tries to save a helpless girl from his clutches. Dharani has done it for the third time by churning out this hit-and-run yarn that keeps you engaged and entertained for 160 minutes.[18] Nowrunning.com stated that "Gilli, story wise, is neither fresh popcorn nor spicy samosa found in theatres but the screenplay and overall treatment is as fresh and appetising as full meals after a long day and gave an overall rating of 3/5 stars.[19] The Hindu stated that "Vijay, the hero whom the masses today identify with, and Prakash Raj, the inimitable villain in tow, this remake of the Telugu flick, "Okkadu," comes a clear winner".[20] Indiaglitz described the film as "an out and out entertainer".[21] Rediff stated that, "Gilli portrays Vijay as a comic hero who battles his villains logically while his physical powers are exaggerated dramatically. Having said that, Gilli offers nothing less than sheer entertainment and an edgy thriller for the Tamil film industry, which is deprived of such films.[22]
The film collected ₹2.05 crore in the Coimbatore distribution territory and beat the record of Padayappa .[23]
Accolades
- Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Tamil – Prakash Raj[24]
- Filmfare Award for Best Dance Choreographer – South – Raju Sundaram[24]
- Madras Corporate Club Best Actor Award – Vijay
- Dinakaran Best Actor Award – Vijay
- Film Today Best Actor Award – Vijay
- Dinakaran Best Villain Award – Prakash Raj
Remakes and character map
Okkadu (2003) (Telugu) |
Ghilli (2004) (Tamil) |
Ajay (2006) (Kannada) |
Jor (2008) (Bengali) |
Tevar (2015) (Hindi) |
Ajay (Mahesh Babu) |
Saravanavelu (Vijay) |
Ajay (Puneeth Rajkumar) |
Surja (Jeetendra Madnani) |
Pintoo Shukla (Arjun Kapoor) |
Swapna Reddy (Bhumika Chawla) |
Dhanalakshmi (Trisha Krishnan) |
Paddu (Anuradha Mehta) |
Sumi (Barsha Priyadarshini) |
Radhika Mishra (Sonakshi Sinha) |
Obul Reddy (Prakash Raj) |
Muthupandi (Prakash Raj) |
Vijay (Prakash Raj) |
Indrajit (Subrat Dutta) |
Gajendar Singh (Manoj Bajpai) |
Vijay Varma (Mukesh Rishi) |
Sivasubramanian (Ashish Vidyarthi) |
(Nassar) | Surja's father (Deepankar De) |
S. P. Shukla (Raj Babbar) |
Legacy
The film established Prakash Raj as a villain and the dialogue Chellam became popular.[25] The scene where Vijay threatens to hurt Trisha when Prakash Raj, who allows him to pass through unopposed was included in the list "Top 20 Mass Scenes" by Behindwoods.[26] The scene was parodied by Shah Rukh Khan in Chennai Express (2013). Behindwoods rated Ghilli as "2004's summer blockbuster of the decade (from 2003 to 2013)".[27]
References
- ^ Ghilli budget was 2 crore
- ^ Damodaran, K & Gorringe. "Madurai Formula Films: Caste Pride and Politics in Tamil Cinema" (PDF). South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2017.
- ^ "Year 2004 — a flashback". The Hindu. 31 December 2004.
- ^ "Review : (2004)".
- ^ "~Illayathalapathy Vijay's Box-Office Analysis~".
- ^ "The Top 7 Vijay Movies". Rediff. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Ghilli (DVD): opening credits from 1.05 to 1.25
- ^ a b c d e f Ghilli (DVD): closing credits from 157.25 to 157.30
- ^ grill mill. The Hindu (21 November 2010). Retrieved on 17 April 2015.
- ^ Rustic Art: The Actor Vimal Interview. Silverscreen.in. 10 February 2015.
- ^ "Action-packed family drama". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 19 March 2004. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ "An All time Blockbuster -Ghilli". Sify. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
- ^ ""I am choosy about scripts": Gopichand". Sify. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- ^ Articles – CineGoer.com Copy Cat Crown (Part 8). CineGoer.com (31 January 2008). Retrieved on 17 April 2015.
- ^ "Music Review: Boss soundtrack is a winner". Rediff. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ M Suganth (24 November 2011). "Why south songs are a national rage..." The Times of India. TNN. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014.
- ^ M Suganth (25 November 2011). "Very, Very Kolaveri!". The Times of India. p. 23. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014.
- ^ "Review". www.sify.com. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
- ^ Indian Movies, showitmes, reviews, videos. nowrunning.com
- ^ "Ghilli". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 23 April 2004.
- ^ Gilli Tamil Movie Review – cinema preview stills gallery trailer video clips showtimes. Indiaglitz.com. 25 April 2004.
- ^ Guru Subramaniam (23 April 2004) Don't miss 'Gilli'. You will enjoy it! rediff.com
- ^ Ghilli collected 2.05 crore in Coimbatore area Archived 26 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "Filmfare Awards for South India". Idlebrain. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "I am elated". The Hindu. 10 September 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "7. Ghilli – Top 20 Mass Scenes". behindwoods.com. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ "2004 – Ghilli – The Summer Blockbusters of the Past Decade!". behindwoods.com. Retrieved 16 September 2015.