Thiruda Thiruda
| Thiruda Thiruda | |
|---|---|
| File:Thiruda Thiruda DVD Cover.png DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Mani Ratnam |
| Written by | Sujatha Suhasini (Dialogue) |
| Screenplay by | Mani Ratnam |
| Story by | Mani Ratnam Ram Gopal Varma[1] |
| Produced by | S. Sriram |
| Starring | Prashanth Anand Heera Rajgopal Anu Agarwal |
| Cinematography | P. C. Sriram |
| Edited by | Suresh Urs |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
Production company | Aalayam Productions |
| Distributed by | Aalayam Productions |
Release date | 13 November 1993 |
Running time | 170 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Thiruda Thiruda (Thief! Thief!) is a 1993 Tamil action comedy film co-written by Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma. The film directed by Mani Ratnam, had its soundtrack and background score composed by A. R. Rahman while the cinematography was handled by P. C. Sriram. The film opened to positive critical reception, but did not do well at the box office The film achieved cult status over the following years.[2] In 1994, the film was premièred at the Toronto International Film Festival.[3][4]
The film was inspired by the 1969 American film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. [5]
Plot
Printed Indian currency, from the Reserve Bank of India security press at Nasik with an estimated value of ₹ 10 billion is stolen by Vikram (Salim Ghouse), a gangster living in London. The container is snipped off from a goods carrier en route to New Delhi, through Vikram's henchman. The access card of the container is in the possession of pop star Chandralekha (Anu Aggarwal). The CBI chief Laxminarayana (S. P. Balasubramaniam) is assigned to track down the stolen currency, which had already been attested by the governor of the Reserve Bank of India. On her way to Vikram, Chandralekha comes across two burglar's Kadhir (Anand) and Azhagu (Prashanth) who are on the run from the police—having in tow country-girl Rasathi (Heera Rajagopal) whom they kept from committing suicide and who then ran away from her ruthless uncle. Laxminarayan's assignment will lead him to Ashok Tejani, and then the two burglars, who are on the run from the Police along with the suicidal village belle. His efforts will be frustrated even more after Ashok is killed and his girlfriend Chandralekha, is absconding; and the entry of the international drug dealer himself, simply known as Vikram, who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the loot. After some attempts of cheating each other Chandralekha is making friends with the thieves. When she discovers that Vikram is stopping at nothing—especially not at dead bodies—on his hunt after the loot, she informs the three others about the real value of the code card. In the following pursuit between Vikram, the four heroes and a special police brigade, which has to get back the money before a state crisis comes about, there is not only fierce action, but also love comes to its own.
Cast
- Prashanth as Azhagu
- Anand as Kadhir
- Heera Rajagopal as Rasathi
- Anu Agarwal as Chandralekha
- S. P. Balasubramaniam as Laxminarayanan
- Salim Ghouse as T.T. Vikram
- Malaysia Vasudevan
- Thalaivasal Vijay
Production
In late 1992, Mani Ratnam chose to make the caper film Thiruda Thiruda as his first directorial venture under his newly set-up production studio, Aalayam Productions, alongside his co-producer Sriram. When writing the script of the film, Mani Ratnam went on a recce with Ram Gopal Varma and both film-makers spent a few days each fine-tuning each other's scripts. While Varma worked on parts of Thiruda Thiruda, Mani Ratnam helped script Varma's political thriller film, Gaayam (1993). With the script of Thiruda Thiruda, he wanted to attempt the caper film genre for the first time and took Rajasekhar's Vikram (1986) and Varma's Kshana Kshanam (1991) as his initial inspirations.[6] He was also inspired by the ongoing financial scandal involving stockbroker Harshad Mehta, which had made Indian national news during early 1992 and chose to adapt his script accordingly.[6]
J. D. Chakravarthy was initially meant to play the role of Kadhir, and actress Kushboo's brother, Abdullah, had also taken a screen test for the role, before Anand was selected. Salim Ghouse, a renowned theatre artist, was roped into play an antagonist in a rare commercial film appearance.[7] Aishwarya, daughter of actress Lakshmi, was also approached for a role in the film but refused the opportunity. K. V. Anand was among P. C. Sriram's assistant cinematographers in the film.[8]
Release
The film did not perform well at the box office, with Mani Ratnam later suggesting that the audience may have expected a more serious film as a follow up to his previous political thriller, Roja (1992).
Soundtrack
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
The soundtrack features 8 songs composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Vairamuthu. The album, along with that of Roja is regarded as a masterpiece from the acclaimed musician with many fans considering it among his best work, and helped establish Rahman as one of the top artistes in South India.Composer Amit Trivedi considers this album an inspiration to him.[9] The film's songs are notable for two reasons—the introduction of relatively unknown vocalists into mainstream Tamil playback singing and the extensive use of experimental sounds, including (Western) orchestral elements and techno instrumental music in familiar Indian cinematic music settings. While vocalist Anupama in the technopop song Chandralekha and the Chinese singer Caroline[10] in Thee Thee sang their first mainstream songs, the late singer Shahul Hameed was roped in to sing Raasathi. Major innovations in Indian music include A capella (extensive instrumental use of human voices) in Thee Thee and Raasathi and the incorporation of operatic and techno elements in the main theme and in Chandralekha. The song Veerapandi Kottayile became a big hit across South India, inspiring the tune for a popular Malayalam slogan, "Thekku Thekkoru Deshathu".[11]
The lyrics for Tamil version was penned by Vairamuthu while Rajashri and PK Mishra penned lyrics for Telugu and Hindi versions.
- Tamil version
| Track # | Song | Singer(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Kannum Kannum" | Mano, Chorus | 04:09 |
| 2 | "Chandralekha" | Anupama, Suresh Peters | 05:50 |
| 3 | "Veerapandi Kotayyile" | Mano, Unni Menon, K. S. Chithra | 06:31 |
| 4 | "Thee Thee" | Caroline, Noel James[12][13] | 04:57 |
| 5 | "Raasathi" | Shahul Hameed | 03:12 |
| 6 | "Putham Pudhu Bhoomi" | K. S. Chithra, Mano | 04:46 |
| 7 | "Title Theme" | Instrumental | 01:00 |
| 8 | "Aathukulla Airu Meenu" | Srinivas, Suresh Peters | 01:26 |
- Telugu version
| Track # | Song | Singer(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kotha Bangaru Lokam | Mano, Chithra | |
| 2 | Aakatayi | GV Prakash | |
| 3 | Konjam Neeru | Anupama | |
| 4 | Veerabobbili | Unni Menon, Mano, Chithra | |
| 5 | Kanulu Kanulanu | Mano | |
| 6 | Ettilona | Srinivas, Suresh Peters | |
| 7 | Sitaalu | Shahul Hameed | |
| 8 | Thee Theeyani | Sujatha |
- Hindi version
| Track # | Song | Singer(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chandralekha | Anupama | |
| 2 | Chor Chor | GV Prakash | |
| 3 | Dil Hi Sanam Dil | Sujatha | |
| 4 | Hum Bhi Tum | Udit Narayan, Mano | |
| 5 | Jhoom Jhoom | SPB, Chitra | |
| 6 | Joor Laga | Srinivas, Suresh PEters | |
| 7 | Pyaar Kabhi | Udit Narayan, Mano, Chithra |
References
- ^ Sen, Raja (18 June 2010). "Raavan is unforgivably boring". Rediff. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
- ^ "Chakravarthy looks up to RGV". Times Of India. 29 September 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ Nayar, Parvathi (25 June 2010). "Jewel of Indian cinema". AsiaOne. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
- ^ Ramya Kannan (9 August 2002). "Facts on films". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/lf/2002/08/08/stories/2002080801390200.htm
- ^ a b Rangan 2012, pp. 36–44.
- ^ Meena Iyer (3 July 2010). "Bollywood villains go South". Times Of India. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ "rediff.com, Movies: The rebirth of Aiswarya". Inhome.rediff.com. 3 March 2000. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VTyRJS6KQM
- ^ "Caroline". ganna. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ "Retail Plus Chennai: Variety on his menu". The Hindu. 1 November 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ Farzad Khaleel (29 March 2009). "Noel James". gaana. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
- ^ "T. Selvakumar || Managing Director of Rahman's Music School". Ramaniac.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
External links
Bibliography
- Rangan, Baradwaj (2012). Conversations with Mani Ratnam. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-670-08520-0.
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