Poojai
Poojai | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Hari |
Written by | Hari |
Produced by | Vishal |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Priyan |
Edited by | |
Music by | Yuvan Shankar Raja |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Vendhar Movies[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 158 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Tamil |
Budget | ₹15 crore (US$1.8 million) |
Box office | est.₹30 crore (US$3.6 million) |
Poojai (transl. Prayer) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Hari and produced by Vishal, who also played the lead role alongside an ensemble cast featuring Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj, Mukesh Tiwari, Raadhika, and Soori.[2] Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the soundtrack and score for the film,[3] while cinematography and editing were handled by Priyan and V. T. Vijayan, respectively.The film released on 22 October 2014 on the occasion of Diwali and emerged as hit in both versions clashing towards with Kaththi.
The film was officially launched on 28 March 2014 with a first look release, and principal photography began on 18 April 2014.The film was dubbed into Hindi as Himmatwar in 2015 and in Telugu titled as Pooja.[4][5] It was remade in Kannada as Anjani Putra starring Puneeth Rajkumar.
Plot
Vasudevan aka Vasu (Vishal) is a Coimbatore-based moneylender and also the heir to the Kovai Group, a cloth manufacturing conglomerate, until he was disowned by his mother and matriarch of his joint family Rajalakshmi (Raadhika) due to some misunderstanding. He meets a rich girl named Divya (Shruthi Haasan) at a mall, who soon falls in love with him for his good nature. One day, Vasu saves the Additional Superintendent of Police for Coimbatore District Sivakkozhundhu (Sathyaraj) and his wife (Aishwarya) from a group of thugs who work for Anna Thandavam (Mukesh Tiwari), a Pollachi-based businessman and contract killer who kills anyone to acquire their land and money. As Sivakkozhundhu was transferred to Coimbatore district to capture Anna Thandavam, the latter had planned to kill him. Anna Thandavam also plans to illegally grab land sold to a village temple by Vasu's late father Rathnaswamy (Raghuvaran). These two incidents cause enmity between Vasu and Anna Thandavam.
Vasu reconciles with the rest of his family and returns home. When the land is formally sold to the temple, an irate Anna Thandavam assaults Vasu's uncle Ramaswamy (Jayaprakash), following which Vasu beats him up in retaliation and breaks his hand. A bitter battle erupts between Vasu and Anna Thandavam, with Vasu, assisted by Sivakkozhundhu, subdues Anna Thandavam's henchmen and thwarts all attempts by Anna Thandavam to destroy his family. In the process, however, Anna Thandavam's wife kills Rajalakshmi during the temple festival. Vasu, seeking revenge for his mother's death, rushes to Patna, where Anna Thandavam is hiding, and kills him.
Cast
- Vishal as Vasudevan Ratnaswamy aka vasu, a Coimbatore-based moneylender and the heir to the Kovai Group
- Shruti Haasan as Divya aka D , a rich girl who falls in love with Vasu
- Sathyaraj as Sivakkozhundhu, Additional Superintendent of Police who transferred to Coimbatore
- Mukesh Tiwari as Anna Thandavam, a contract killer and businessman
- Soori as Kutti Puli
- Raadhika as Rajalakshmi Rathnasamy, Vasu's mother who gets killed by Anna Thandavam
- Raghuvaran as Rathnaswamy, Vasu's father (portrait)
- Jayaprakash as Ramaswamy, Vasu's uncle
- Prathap Pothen as Divya's father
- Janaki Sabesh as Divya's mother
- Thalaivasal Vijay as Kumaraswamy
- Awadhesh Mishra as Rai Bahadur
- Madhumila as Selvi
- Abhinaya as Durga
- Aishwarya as Sivakkozhundu's wife
- Sithara as Ramaswamy's wife
- Kausalya as Susheela Kumaraswamy
- Renuka as Manimekalai
- Soundararaja as Soundar
- Manobala as Kovai Group's Secretary
- Pandi as Paandi
- Imman Annachi as Guru
- R. Sundarrajan as Temple Organizer
- Santhana Bharathi as Anna Thandavam's lawyer
- O. A. K. Sundar as Durga's father
- Karate Raja as Anna Thandavam's henchman
- Pondy Ravi as Anna Thandavam's henchman
- Narsing Yadav as Rai Bahadhur's henchman
- Barath Raj as Naresh Yadhav
- Nisha as Divya's friend
- Sabarna as Chithra
- Vinay Bihari as Kerala Minister
- Rangammal
- Andrea Jeremiah in an item number
Production
Development
In December 2013, Vishal stated that he would produce and feature in a film which would be directed by Hari and that the pair would collaborate again after the success of their previous venture, Thaamirabharani (2007).[6] Hari had described the film as a "triangular action story" which starts in Coimbatore and ends in Patna, while revealing Yuvan Shankar Raja had already completed composing the film's songs before production began.[7] The film was officially launched on 28 March 2014, with a press release naming the film's cast and crew.[8] Yuvan Shankar Raja was selected to compose the music for the film, while Priyan and V. T. Vijayan were confirmed to be the cinematographer and the editor of the film respectively. Shruti hassan herself was selected to do the costume designing .
Casting
Early reports in December had suggested that Shruti Haasan would be signed on to play the film's heroine, though she only confirmed her participation in March 2014.[9] Sathyaraj and Soori were added to the cast to play supporting roles, while actress Kausalya was announced to be making a comeback with the film starring alongside a bevy of other supporting actresses.[10] The team approached Rekha to play Vishal's mother in the film, but her unavailability meant that the team later cast Raadhika.[11] Prathap Pothen and Janaki Sabesh were also selected to play the parents of Shruti Haasan's character.[12] Andrea Jeremiah was selected to dance in a special number, a folk song, with Vishal.[13] Sathyaraj sported a bald look for this film thanks to his simultaneous shoot for S. S. Rajamouli's Baahubali (2015) and his role was said to be "very powerful" and also the "suspense element of the film".[14][15] Bhojpuri actor Awadhesh Mishra was selected to play an international don in the film which marks his debut in Tamil cinema.[16] Actor Vaibhav Reddy was selected for an important role in the film, however, his was not part of the film.[17] The Youth, Arts and Culture Minister of Bihar state Vinay Bihari was selected to play the role of a district collector in the film's climatic portions when he expressed his interest in acting to Hari when he was in Bihar for location scouting.[18] Barath Raj who has won Mr.INDIA second runner up 2014 title has played a crucial role of collector's son from Bihar. Actress Abhinaya was selected to play a supporting role.[19]
Filming
Principal photography commenced on 18 April 2014 at Chennai.[20] During the shoot of an action sequence in a one crore worth set at Saligramam, Vishal injured his middle finger in his right hand for which 14 stitches were administered. Thus the shoot was temporarily halted.[21] The item number featuring Vishal and Andrea Jeremiah was shot by early May in the backdrop of the Koyambedu Market in Chennai.[22] Later, the unit proceeded to Coimbatore for filming major portions of the film.[23][24] At that time, it was known that Hari planned to wrap the film's shoot in 40 working days.[25] A fight sequence was shot in a popular mall multiplex there and scenes involving Vishal and Shruti Hassan were also shot in the mall in Coimbatore.[26] The filming continued at Karaikudi in early July where scenes featuring the principal cast were shot.[27][28] The shooting continued in hot weather making things difficult while Vishal suffered injuries for the second time in the film's shoot. He suffered a fracture during the shoot of an action sequence after trying to avoid falling on his face while he slipped from an asbestos sheet.[29][30][31]
In the first week of August 2014, the film's climax was shot in Patna in a 10-day schedule and by then, 95% of the film's shoot was complete.[32] The climax was said to have few risky stunts which were shot first in the final schedule. Both Vishal and Shruti Hassan carried out the risky stunts and fights by themselves.[33] Some scenes for the climax were also shot in Golconda Fort in Hyderabad in special and enormous sets erected for the climax and a song was also shot there.[34] On its completion, one romantic song was shot at Switzerland and the remaining fast-paced song was shot in Chennai.[35][36] Vishal and Shruti Haasan completed a hard folk song sequence, which was shot in AVM facilities and choreographed by Baba Baskar. One more song sequence was also shot in Poland.[37] On 29 September 2014, Shruti confirmed that the shooting of the film was completed.[38]
Music
Poojai | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 1 October 2014 | |||
Recorded | 2014 | |||
Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
Length | 23:56 | |||
Language | Tamil | |||
Label | V Music Divo | |||
Producer | Yuvan Shankar Raja | |||
Yuvan Shankar Raja chronology | ||||
|
The soundtrack was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The album consists of six tracks and Na. Muthukumar had penned the lyrics for all songs. The track list was released on 29 September 2014,[39] while the audio launch took place on 1 October 2014 at the Loyola-ICAM College of Engineering and Technology.[40] Vishal released the album through his newly launched music label - V Music, a subsidiary of the production house alongside with Divo.[41]
The album received mixed reviews from critics.[42] Behindwoods gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and concluded that "Yuvan delivers what is needed for a commercial entertainer".[43] Indiaglitz gave 2.75 out of 5 and wrote that the album was "a commercial cocktail which could have been better", and chose "Devathai", "Soda Bottle" and "Veraarum" as the album's picks.[44]
All lyrics are written by Na. Muthukumar
No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Devathai" | Nivas | 4:04 |
2. | "Ippadiye" | Rahul Nambiar, Mili Nair | 4:34 |
3. | "Odi Odi" | Palakkad Sriram | 4:32 |
4. | "Soda Bottle" | Yazin Nizar, Andony Dasan, Sathyan | 4:34 |
5. | "Uyire Uyire" | Yuvan Shankar Raja | 2:26 |
6. | "Verarum Kandhirathe" | Karthik, Pooja A. V. | 3:46 |
Total length: | 23:56 |
Release
During the film's launch, Hari stated that the film would release in October 2014 as a Deepavali release.[9] The same was stated again in the end of July 2014.[45][46] On 11 August 2014, a release stated that the Telugu dubbed version titled Pooja would release simultaneously with the original.[5]
The Tamil Nadu theatrical distribution rights were acquired by Vendhar Movies.[47][48]
Stills featuring Vishal and Shruti Hassan were released on 18 April 2014.[49][50] The first look poster of the Telugu dubbed version titled Pooja was released on 11 August 2014.[5] The official motion poster teaser of the film was released on 1 September 2014.[51] The official teaser of the film released on 11 September 2014.[52] The satellite rights of the film were sold to Sun TV.[53] The film released in over 1100 screens worldwide.[54]
Critical reception
IB Times called it a typical commercial.[55] The Times of India gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Poojai is commercial masala done well. There is action (punchy), sentiment (effective but not affecting), humour (silly but funny once in a while), romance (ludicrous and strictly functional), and the director manages to keep things ticking —the action is often relentless, and the nondescript songs and the comedy scenes (Soori and Pandi doing a pale imitation of Goundamani and Senthil) are breathers for us".[56] The Hindu wrote, "Poojai, despite not being Hari’s best, could still be successful in the B and C centres, and affirm his bankability. The writing is generally not well thought out though. It seems almost like groups of imperfect scenes were put together in the hope that they’d somehow come together to form a riveting, entertaining whole. Poojai then is a refutation of Aristotle’s adage that states that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts".[57] Sify called it "a typical Hari mass entertainer, though this time he has not got the mix in the right proposition".[58] Bangalore Mirror gave 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "All the formulaic features that usually form part of a Hari film are all intact here as well, the racy screenplay included. But then, the problem is that the theme is too old-fashioned, with a customary villain trying to dominate a particular community and the hero rising in revolt the moment his family gets affected. Neither there is freshness in treatment nor there is novelty in the narration".[59]
Indo-Asian News Service gave 2 stars and wrote, "Gopalakrishnan (Hari) has written Poojai with the mindset that anything that comes from his camp will be lapped up by audiences, no matter how good or bad it is. If you've followed his films over the years, it's easier to predict Poojai from start to finish with eyes closed. Because of which you realise the director never tries to innovate with his films and usually sticks to a template he's done to death".[60] Behindwoods stated "the director takes us through a roller coaster in the first half. But it feels like Hari loses the grip post interval a bit and the film plods in the second half, with misplaced song sequences and repetitive action blocks...Poojai is still a watchable entertainer to spend time on, with your family on a festive day", giving it a rating of 2.25 out of 5.[61] Indiaglitz.com wrote, "Poojai is a mix of a lot of genres, but they seem disproportionate for the times and taste of this day. However, it is an entertaining three hours of festivity, to chill out on. Most importantly, thanks to Hari for a thoroughbred masala movie after a long time in Kollywood".[62] Cinemalead rated 2.25 out of 5 and wrote,"Customary commercial potboiler!" [63]
Box office
According to Andhraboxoffice, the Telugu version was commercially successful, delivering Rs. 5.51 crores.[64]
Remake
The film was initially planned to be remade in Kannada as Sultan with Darshan.[65] However, in 2017 officially remade in Kannada as Anjani Putra by A.Harsha with Puneeth Rajkumar and Rashmika Mandanna in the lead.[66][67]
References
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- ^ "Vishal & Hari are together again". Sify. 9 February 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ "Vishal will continue at Jilla's spot". Behindwoods. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ^ Seshagiri, Sangeetha (28 July 2014). "Vikram vs Vijay vs Vishal: 'Ai' to Clash with 'Kaththi' and 'Poojai' during Diwali?". International Business Times. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ a b c "Vishal's 'Pooja' First Look Poster". Indiaglitz. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ^ "Vishal joins up with Hari". Sify. 28 December 2013. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
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- ^ "Pooja of Vishal-Hari film, 'Poojai' on Friday!". Sify. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Vishal announces 'Poojai' release date". Indiaglitz. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ "Kausalya all set to make a comeback in Vishal-Hari flick". Indiaglitz. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ "Director Hari Gopalakrishnan: Rekha Couldn't Accommodate Dates for 'Poojai'". NDTV Movies. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
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- ^ Naig, Udhav (6 August 2014). "Bihar politician lands role in Tamil film". The Hindu. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
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- ^ http://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/entertainment/south-masala/Puneeths-next-is-more-than-a-remake/articleshow/55549243.cms
- ^ http://www.filmibeat.com/kannada/news/2016/puneeth-rajkumar-to-star-in-the-remake-of-tamil-movie-poojai-247849.html
External links
- 2014 films
- Indian films
- 2010s action films
- Masala films
- Films scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja
- Films featuring an item number
- Films directed by Hari (director)
- 2010s Tamil-language films
- Tamil films remade in other languages
- Indian action films
- Films set in Chennai
- Films shot in Chennai
- Films shot in Poland
- Films shot in Bihar
- Films shot in Hyderabad, India
- Films shot in Coimbatore
- Foreign films shot in Switzerland
- Films shot in Pollachi