Lesa Lesa
| Lesa Lesa... | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover of the Movie | |
| Directed by | Priyadarshan |
| Written by | N. Prasanna Kumar (dialogues) |
| Story by | Original Story: Ranjith Additional Story: Priyadarshan |
| Based on | Summer in Bethlehem (1998) |
| Produced by | Vikram Singh |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Tirru |
| Edited by | N. Gopalakrishnan |
| Music by | Harris Jayaraj |
Production company | Film Works |
Release date |
|
Running time | 154 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Lesa Lesa... (transl. Gently, gently), also referred to as Laysa Laysa,[2] is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Vikram Singh, who previously produced 12B. The film stars Shaam and Trisha, while Vivek, Radharavi and Sreenivasan play supporting roles. Madhavan appears in a guest appearance. Cinematography is handled by Tirru, while the film's score and soundtrack were composed by Harris Jayaraj. The film is a remake of the 1998 Malayalam film Summer in Bethlehem, which was written by Ranjith.[3][4]
Plot
Chandru's grandfather plans to visit him but Chandru has spent all his money. As a result, he decides to pose as the co-owner of his friend Rakesh's riches till his grandfather stays with them. When Balamani "Bala", is the most favored and most fun of family comes to the family. Rakesh, eventually falls in love with Bala. Bala becomes sober — she says that she likes him, but says that she's already married to a college lecturer, Deva Narayanan. Rakesh found Bala suspicious and in an interaction she revealed that her husband is going to be hanged soon on a public issue and she will also end her life same day he is hanged. Rakesh, with aid of his foster uncle met Deva and discloses his love over Bala and request Deva to convince her to live life after his death. On last request by Deva, Bala came to meet her with Rakesh. Deva lies to her that he did not love her and whet he had is only a lust. But Bala unable digest the lie, went out in halfway. Whether Bala marry Rakesh thereafter is the rest of the story.
Cast
- Shaam as Rakesh
- Trisha as Balamani
- Madhavan as Deva Narayanan (cameo appearance)
- Vivek as Chandru
- Radharavi as Chandru's grandfather
- Sreenivasan as Pandi
- Haneefa as Kailasam
- Innocent as the man who wants to kill Chandru[5]
- Sathyapriya as Chandru's grandmother
- Fathima Babu as Varalakshmi
- Mayilsamy as a fraud
- Kovai Senthil as a victim's father
- Subhi as Chandru's cousin
- Priyanka as Chandru's cousin
- Jyothi Rana as Shyama
- Nandhu as Nandu
- Nilam as Chandru's cousin
- Major Ravi as Deva’s friend
- Nishanth as Sekhar
- Ravikumar as Rakesh's foster uncle
Production
Despite the box office failure of their previous venture 12B, Vikram Singh hired Shaam and composer Harris Jayaraj again for his next venture directed by veteran Priyadarshan.[6] The story of the film was partially adapted from the 1998 Malayalam film Summer in Bethlehem, which was written by Ranjith, and Priyadarshan developed a new screenplay.[7][8] The project initially developed under the title Kanmani Nee Vara Kaathirunthen, before the makers changed it to Lesa Lesa after hearing the song composed by Jayaraj for the film.[9][10][11]
Lesa Lesa became the first film Trisha had signed, and recalled that she had been trying to avoid films until she finished college but veteran director Priyadarshan's calls were "criminal to refuse".[12][13][14] She revealed she had no idea about the script of Lesa Lesa when she agreed to do the film and only later did Shaam and her have a one-hour narration of the script. During the making of the film, Trisha was dubbed as the "most happening debutante in Tamil film industry", and signed on to three other projects before the release of Lesa Lesa - Ennaku 20 Unnaku 18, Mounam Pesiyadhe and Thiruda, which she later opted out from.[15] The story of the film also required a guest appearance and Priyadarshan chose Madhavan for the role, despite initially considering Arjun.[16][17] The team also hired Radharavi and Sathyapriya along with four comedians - Vivek, Sreenivasan, Cochin Haneefa and Innocent to play pivotal roles in the film.[18][19] Art director Sabu Cyril constructed a house in Ooty for the film.[20] Venket Ram took the film's principal photographs, while Siddharth Chandrasekhar of Mittra Media made his debut as a publicity designer with the project.[21]
In order to concentrate on the project, Vikram Singh briefly shelved his other venture, Sivakumar's Acham Thavir starring Madhavan and Jyothika.[18] The team had a forty-day schedule at Ooty, beginning at 6 and winding up at 6.[15][22] The film was initially set to release in the Diwali season of 2002 but was delayed.[17] The film was to release on Pongal of 2003, but was delayed again.[23] The delay meant that Lesa Lesa did not become Trisha's first film release, with pundits describing the film as "jinxed".[6]
Release
Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu gave the film a positive review mentioning that "Shaam once again shows that he is a natural performer" and that the "surprise packet is the entry of Madhavan and as a fiery, forthright and straightforward professor, he makes a mark". The critic added that "every frame of "Lesa Lesa" spells aesthetics, thanks to award winning efforts by art director Sabu Cyril and cinematographer Tirru", concluding that "if one can forget the avoidable protractions in the second half, Vikram Singh's "Lesa Lesa" is a visual treat".[5] Sify praised the performances of the cast, the music, the cinematography, and the art.[24] Malini Mannath of Chennai Online opined that "A clean family entertainer from producer Vikram Singh, the film bogged down by some problems took a long time to hit the theaters. But fortunately, it does not look dated, and seems worth the wait".[25]
Initial collections were not so impressive, so distributors in Coimbatore and Madurai allegedly re-printed posters of the film which marketed Madhavan, who appeared in the film in a guest appearance, as the lead star of the film over Shaam to bank in on his star image.[26] In 2004, Priyadarshan was asked by the Malayalam Film Association to compensate producer Siyad Kokker for making Lesa Lesa in Tamil based on Kokker's Summer In Bethlehem.[27] The film was criticised for its long Antakshari sequence.[28]
Soundtrack
| Lesa Lesa | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 11 June 2002 (Single release) 8 July 2002 (Soundtrack release) | |||
| Recorded | 2002 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 30:44 | |||
| Label | Divo Filmworks Audio Bayshore Think Music Ayngaran Music | |||
| Producer | Harris Jayaraj | |||
| Harris Jayaraj chronology | ||||
| ||||
The movie's songs are set to the tunes of Harris Jayaraj and lyrics by Vaali. For the first time in Tamil cinema,[29] the team released a single, the title song, priced at nine rupees.[30][31][32][33][34] Vikram Singh chose to release the audio of the film at a cheap rate, to avoid piracy.[18]
All tracks are written by Vaali
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Aval Ulaghazhagi" | Karthik | 5:09 |
| 2. | "Lesa Lesa" | Anuradha Sriram | 4:41 |
| 3. | "Lesa Lesa (Remix)" | Anuradha Sriram, DJ Ivan | 4:29 |
| 4. | "Mudhal Mudhalai" | Yugendran, Srimathumitha, Tippu | 5:29 |
| 5. | "Yedho Ondru" | Srilekha Parthasarathy, Harish Raghavendra, Franko | 5:37 |
| 6. | "Ennai Polave" | K. S. Chitra, Suchitra | 5:19 |
| Total length: | 30:44 | ||
=
Legacy
The song "Mudhal Mudhalai" inspired the name of a 2007 film.[35] Trisha later worked with Priyadarshan in 2010, when the director chose to give her a debut in Hindi films through his venture, Khatta Meetha.[36] In 2020, The Times of India stated that "Actor Vivek's comedy in this film is highly enjoyable and very popular even today".[37]
References
- ^ "Lesa Lesa". directorpriyadarshan.com. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ Srinivasa Ramanujam; Vishal Menon (14 February 2017). "Love, life and audiotapes". The Hindu.
- ^ Josekutty, Jim (7 June 2003). "Priyadarshan's films banned". Rediff.com. India. Retrieved 15 September 2010.
- ^ "Trisha's Lesa Lesa is a remake of a Malayalam film". Times of India. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- ^ a b "Lesa Lesa". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 23 May 2003. Archived from the original on 30 July 2003.
- ^ a b Poornima (19 April 2003). "Dhool, the only real Tamil hit". Rediff.
- ^ "Lesa Lesa was inspired from a Malayalam movie". The Times of India. 12 February 2015.
- ^ "'Muthu' to '36 Vayathinile': Five blockbuster Tamil films that were remade from Malayalam movies". The Times of India. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
- ^ "Kanmani Nee Vara Kaathirunthen". Archived from the original on 31 May 2008.
- ^ "Gossip". Dinakaran. 20 April 2002. Archived from the original on 6 March 2005. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
- ^ "டோடோவின் ரஃப் நோட்டு — Tamil Kavithai -- தமிழ் கவிதைகள் - நூற்று கணக்கில்!". Archived from the original on 13 December 2003.
- ^ "Trisha's first project was Lesa Lesa". The Times of India. 2 November 2015.
- ^ "Trisha Krishnan makes all the right moves - beauty queen crown, commercials to movies". India Today. 17 June 2002.
- ^ "Tweeples pour in wishes for Trisha Krishnan". Telangana Today.
- ^ a b "An offer she couldn't refuse". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 3 June 2002. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012.
- ^ "Yet another list of new films". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 3 June 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Slick flicks his forte". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 September 2002. Archived from the original on 14 November 2003.
- ^ a b c "Working to a professional script". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 May 2002. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013.
- ^ "Malayalam actor Innocent in Tamil film". The Indian Express.
- ^ "Artistic touch". The Hindu. 10 July 2002.
- ^ "SHOT at success". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 26 February 2004. Archived from the original on 28 September 2004.
- ^ "Screen vs. studies". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 6 October 2003. Archived from the original on 17 November 2003.
- ^ "Delayed again". The Hindu. 17 January 2003.
- ^ "The director works and re-works all his tried and tested formula". Sify. 18 May 2003. Archived from the original on 16 October 2020.
- ^ Mannath, Malini (23 May 2003). "Lesa Lesa". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 24 March 2005.
- ^ "Cameo comes into focus". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 22 May 2003. Archived from the original on 29 August 2004.
- ^ "AMMA, KFC stalemate comes to an end?". Sify. 7 June 2004. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ Srinivasan, Sudhir (24 July 2015). "Games films play". The Hindu.
- ^ "Ivan's remix is all the rage". The Times of India. 11 September 2002.
- ^ "A sound single". The Hindu. 29 June 2002.
- ^ "A costly tape". The Hindu. 21 June 2002.
- ^ "Selling music on the beach". The Hindu. 14 July 2002.
- ^ "Fame on a platter". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 25 October 2002. Archived from the original on 14 October 2003.
- ^ blsmr. "The Hindu Business Line : A gentle promo for Lesa Lesa". www.thehindubusinessline.com.
- ^ "KREEDOM Nag Ravi Ajith Chennai distribution crore Chennai city Sivi Mudhal Mudhalai CD tamil movie news hot picture image stills gallery". www.behindwoods.com.
- ^ "Trisha goes to Bollywood!". The Times of India. 13 June 2009. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012.
- ^ "Happy Birthday, Priyadarshan: From 'Gopura Vasalile' to 'Snegithiye' - a look at five box office hits of the legend in Tamil cinema". The Times of India. 30 January 2020.