Rishi (2001 film)
| Rishi | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Sundar C. |
| Written by | A. Jawahar (dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | Sundar C. |
| Story by | Panchu Arunachalam |
| Produced by | Meena Panju Arunachalam |
| Starring | Sarath Kumar Meena Prakash Raj Sanghavi Arun Pandian Devan S. Ve. Shekhar Ramesh Khanna |
| Cinematography | U. K. Senthil Kumar |
| Edited by | P. Sai Suresh |
| Music by | Yuvan Shankar Raja |
Production company | P. A. Art Productions |
Release date | 16 February 2001 |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Rishi is a 2001 Indian Tamil film action, written and directed by Sundar C.. The film stars Sarath Kumar, Meena, Prakash Raj and Sanghavi in lead roles, has music scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja and was released on 16 February 2001. This movie did well and was an average hit.
Plot
Rishi (Sarath Kumar) is a tough, suave, professional thief who is the right-hand of Satyan (Arun Pandian), the underworld kingpin. On one of his missions, he happens to watch Minister Devaraj (Devan) kill Hema, a TV reporter who is about to expose him. Before dying, Hema hands a floppy to Rishi. Rishi neither bothers about the floppy nor the murder, but Devaraj wants the floppy back. Things get confusing because of Velu (Sarath Kumar), who looks like Rishi and gets into trouble.
Velu is the opposite of Rishi: he is simple-minded, takes life easy, and works for a moneylender. The 'Seth' lends money for buying cars, and Velu, with his friend Cheenu (Ramesh Khanna), persuades errant customers to repay dues or part with their cars. Complications arise when the Rishi and Velu's paths cross. Only Indu (Meena), a salesgirl, seems to have some family to speak of. Rishi turns over a new leaf when one of his tasks ends up in a singer Nandhini (Sanghavi) being blinded. He saves her life, finances for her eye operation, and turns her protector. He parts ways with Satyan on the issue, but the latter is unwilling to let him go.
Velu is puzzled when he is attacked by a gang who demands the floppy from him. When Indu accuses him of having an affair with a girl she sees him in the hospital with, he visits the hospital and encounters Rishi. The duo strikes a good rapport. Devaraj, realizing his ministerial position is shaky, kidnaps Nandini and blackmails Rishi to kill the Chief Minister (S. S. Rajendran), but Velu goes in his place. The scene where he tries to warn the security personnel about the assassination attempt only to find that they too are part of the conspiracy is taken straight from a Hollywood film.
The movie ends with Velu being shot and the Chief Minister's life being saved.
Cast
- Sarath Kumar as Velu and Rishi (Dual Role)
- Sanghavi as Nandhini
- Meena as Indhu
- Prakash Raj as Policeman
- Arun Pandian as Satyan
- Devan as Minister Devaraj
- Ramesh Khanna as Cheenu (Velu's friend)
- S. S. Rajendran as Chief Minister
- Bhuvaneswari
- S. Ve. Shekher
- Madhan Bob
- Thalapathy Dinesh
- Crane Manohar
Soundtrack
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
The film score and soundtrack were composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, who teamed up with Sundar C. for the second time after Unakkaga Ellam Unakkaga. The soundtrack released in October 2000 and features 6 tracks overall with lyrics penned by Pazhani Bharathi, Pa. Vijay and producer Panju Arunachalam.[2] The song "Vaa Vaa Poove Vaa" was a Huge Chartbuster.
| Track | Song | Singers | Duration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vaa Vaa Poove Vaa | Hariharan, S. Janaki | 4:56 | |
| 2 | Nilavai Konjum | Anuradha Sriram | 4:37 | |
| 3 | Oh Mane Mane Maane (Male version) | Hariharan | 5:36 | |
| 4 | Kaatrodu Puyalai | Shankar Mahadevan, Anupama | 3:57 | |
| 5 | Oh Mane Mane Maane (Female version) | Sujatha Mohan | 5:35 | |
| 6 | Jumbo Idhu Kadhal | S. P. B. Charan, Sujatha Mohan | 4:22 |
Trivia
The movie has a number of inspirations packed into a single film. The main story of the hired killer blinding a singer and attempting to reform while falling in love with her is copied from John Woo's Hong Kong movie, which was dubbed into English as The Killer. The execution of the gunfight sequence at the club and the song sequence, where Sarathkumar watches the blind Sangavi sing, are lifted directly from that movie, though without the trademark style of the original. Sarath Kumar even carries a toothpick between his teeth, Chow Yun Fat-style.
Apart from this there are a whole lot of individual sequences that have been copied from Hollywood movies. There is a car crash and a scene where Sarath lights up a car from Payback, a fight aboard a truck followed by a chase from Lethal Weapon 4, an assassination setup from Nick of Time and the famous bullet-dodging scene from The Matrix (here Sarathkumar dodges a wooden plank).[3]