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Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa

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Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (transl. Will you cross the skies for me?) is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, starring Silambarasan and Trisha. Jointly produced by Elred Kumar, Jayaraman, VTV Ganesh and P. Madan under the banner Escape Artists Motion Pictures and RS Infotainment, the film was distributed by Udhayanidhi Stalin's Red Giant Movies. The story was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Ye Maaya Chesave, starring Naga Chaitanya and Samantha.[1]

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGautham Vasudev Menon
Written byGautham Vasudev Menon
Produced byElred Kumar
P. Madan
J. Ganesh
Jayaraman
StarringSilambarasan
Trisha
CinematographyManoj Paramahamsa
Edited byAnthony Gonsalves
Music byA. R. Rahman
Production
companies
Distributed byRed Giant Movies
Radaan Mediaworks
Release date
  • 26 February 2010 (2010-02-26)
Running time
167 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Launched after a wave of publicity posters with no details about the cast and crew, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa began its first schedule of filming in February 2009. Shooting continued through 2009, with the film garnering significant media interest, with schedules in Malta and the United States.[2] Before release, it became the first Tamil project to have a music soundtrack premiere outside of India, with a successful launch at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTAs) in London. The film features soundtrack composed by A. R. Rahman, cinematography by Manoj Paramahamsa and editing by Anthony Gonsalves.

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa explores the complicated relationship between a Hindu Tamil boy, Karthik Sivakumar, and a Malayali Christian girl, Jessie from Alappuzha, Kerala. Karthik falls in love with Jessie only to be met by her indifference and reluctance as they belong to different religions and her strict conservative family will never consent to their union. The film released on 26 February 2010, along with the Telugu version to advance bookings worldwide.[3] It was later remade in Hindi as Ekk Deewana Tha.[4] A short film/sequel titled Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn, again directed by Menon with Silambarasan and Trisha reprising their roles, was released in May 2020.

Plot

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Karthik is a Mechanical Engineering graduate in Chennai with poor results who aspires to become a filmmaker instead of an engineer. His friend introduces him to Ganesh, a cinematographer. With Ganesh's help Karthik becomes an assistant to director. Karthik's family, who are Tamil Hindus, rent the bottom floor of Jessie's house. Jessie is from a conservative Malayali Nasrani Christian/Syrian Catholic family from Alappuzha, who lives upstairs.[5]

Karthik falls in love with Jessie the moment he sees her on the street in front of their house. He tries to interact with Jessie, who is afraid of speaking to men around her strict father, and ends up angering her. Unable to hide his feelings any longer, Karthik confesses his love for her but she does not accept. A few days later, Karthik learns from his sister that Jessie has gone to Kerala to visit her grandmother. He and Ganesh end up in Kerala to look for her. After several days, he finds her and apologises. She introduces him to her family in Kerala as her "classmate". Jessie denies she has any feelings for him but agrees to only be his friend. However, on the train journey back home, Karthik purposely sits closely next to her and kisses her a few times but she eventually gently slaps him to make him stop. Karthik is convinced that Jessie loves him and repeatedly expresses his love towards her while she continues rejecting him by stating that her parents would not allow them to be together. She says that both of them are from different religious and ethnic backgrounds, and she is also a year older than him. The two meet several times and Jessie begins to realize that she also likes Karthik, but wants to refrain from any problems because she knows her father wouldn't accept the union. Eventually, due to various misunderstandings between Jessie's brother (Ranjith Velayudhan) and Karthik, her parents learn of their supposed affair. They arrange for Jessie to be married to a different man and schedule her wedding. The wedding day arrives and midway through the ceremony, Jessie refuses to marry the groom, displeasing everyone in her family. Karthik, who had, without anyone's knowledge, come to Kerala to witness the wedding is ecstatic and secretly visits Jessie at her home. It is then that Jessie admits she has indeed fallen in love with him. Karthik and Jessie continue to see each other without the knowledge of their parents.

At this point of time, Karthik goes to Goa on a 45-day film shoot, where he gets rather busy. Meanwhile, the topic of Jessie's marriage comes up again at her home when the guy whom she refused to marry earlier pays them a visit. Panicking, Jessie calls Karthik and tells him that she wants to elope with him. Karthik, since he is traveling through less than ideal places, tells Jessie to stay in Chennai for now, and that soon he would be back and they can discuss. Jessie then stops taking Karthik's calls and so he goes back one night to check on Jessie. He learns that Jessie has decided to break up, as the relationship is not peaceful due to her parents' disapproval. She says she has agreed to marry a boy of their choice. When Karthik pleads her not to do it, she tells him that a time had come when she was willing to elope, but the moment was gone. She doesn't want Karthik to wait for her too long, as he has his dreams to fulfill. Karthik later learns that she is married and has settled in the UK.

Two years later, Karthik meets Nandini. She falls in love with him, but Karthik rejects her by saying that he hasn't yet gotten over Jessie. He then comes up with a script for his first film, which happens to be his very own love story and is shot in Tamil. He calls upon Naga Chaitanya as the film's protagonist, Nandini as the female lead and Ganesh as the film's cinematographer. The film is eventually titled "Jessie". While shooting for the film in New York, he sees Jessie and she comes to speak with him. Angry at her parents for not allowing her to be with Karthik, Jessie moves to New York. She admits that she is not married and is still in love with him, and he too says she is still in his heart. Karthik and Jessie spend time with each other around New York City. Karthik proposes yet again and they get married the same day. This is actually revealed to be the end scene in Karthik's film – which Karthik and Jessie in real life are watching together in the theatre. After the film ends, it is revealed to the audience that Jessie had in fact seen Karthik in New York but had not come forward to meet him. She is married now and hence asks Karthik to move on. She tells Karthik that they cannot lead a life which is full of obstacles as well as without parents' approval and hence they depart separately, to lead different lives and different destinies.

Cast

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Production

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Origin

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After making a series of action films, Gautham Vasudev Menon actively chose to make an "out and out love story" at the insistence of his close associates, and marked a return to the genre for the first time since Minnale (2001). Initially titled Vennilavae Vennillavae, inspired by the title of a song from Minsara Kanavu, Menon started writing the film as a simple love story which slowly became an intense love story, as the scripting phase progressed. Stating that the film would narrate the romantic tale of two people called Karthik and Jessie over a period of almost three years, he revealed that the film would be "conversation driven" and hoped "everybody will identify with the lead pair".[6] Menon took the script to producer Manjula Ghattamaneni, who asked him to narrate the film to her brother Mahesh Babu and the movie was a Tamil and Telugu bilingual. Menon initially felt that the film would not suit the actor, but later agreed preliminary terms to make it in Telugu titled Jessie with the actor and have A. R. Rahman as the music composer, as he was impressed with the story.[citation needed]

Development

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Continuing from the earlier proposed theme of Vennilavae Vennillavae, Menon later chose to use the second line of the song to title his film as Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, after it was suggested by the cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa.[7] Menon discussed a Tamil and Telugu version of the script with several actors including Dhanush, Jai and Allu Arjun who had wanted changes to be made to the climax, and described being "one week away" from starting the project with a debutant actor.[8][9][10][11] But in late January 2009, Menon confirmed that he was in discussions with Silambarasan and Trisha to portray the lead roles from the script. After finding out that Silambarasan had dates available as a result of the delay in the shoot of Vignesh Shivan's Podaa Podi (2012), Menon chose to halt the production of his ongoing Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam and finalise pre-production work on Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa.

Menon added that Silambarasan was "apt for this kind of a film" and was "ready to experiment and try something different" from his usual film roles, prompting him to agree to star in the film.[7] As Menon was working with Trisha on Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikaalam, he chose to use her dates for Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa instead.[12] To pique interest before the official announcement, the makers released a series of film posters featuring Silambarasan and Trisha inspired from previous classic Tamil films. The team used posters inspired from Geethanjali (1989), Minsara Kanavu (1997), Dil Se (1998), Alaipayuthey (2000) and Kaakha Kaakha (2003). Other members of the technical crew included Menon's regular collaborators editor Anthony, art director Rajeevan, costume designer Nalini Sriram and lyricist Thamarai. The project was jointly produced by Escape Artists Motion Pictures and RS Infotainment, with Elred Kumar, Ganesh, Madhan as producers.[citation needed]

Casting

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For the role of a mentor to Karthik's character, Menon first approached Vivek, but he turned down the opportunity. Later, one of the film's producers, Ganesh, was cast in the role, in what later became his breakthrough film as an actor.[13][14] Chennai-based model Janani Iyer was recruited to portray the role of an assistant director who falls in love with Karthik, but the role was later reshot with Samantha, who worked as the lead actress of the film's Telugu version. Janani Iyer was subsequently seen in the background of several scenes where Karthik is shown to be a part of a film production team.[15] Ashwin Kakumanu also auditioned for the role of Jessy's brother in the film and was selected, but eventually did not feature after having a clash of dates.[16] Singer Chinmayi dubbed for the lead actresses - Trisha, Samantha and Amy Jackson in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi languages respectively.

Filming

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Scenes were shot in the lakes of Alappuzha during April 2009 for a month, with the houseboats doubling up as caravans.[17]

In May, the team moved to Malta to film the song sequences for "Hosanna" and "Omana Penne", choreographed by Flexy Stu.[18] For the particular song sequences in the film, Menon wanted "churches, water and caves" and convinced the producers to finance a trip to Malta, and in the process, the team became the first South Indian film to shoot in the country. Scenes were shot in places including Valletta, Mdina, Gozo and Comino, as well as in lanes, alleys, eight churches and during the time of a village feast. The makers brought along a crew of twenty-six people to Malta, with ten local workers also helping on the production. The shoot lasted ten days and cost approximately €90,000.[19][20]

In October 2009, the team flew to the United States to complete the final filming schedule. Scenes were shot throughout locations in Manhattan and New Jersey, with particular shots filmed at Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park and Times Square. But 70% of filming took place in Chennai and Hyderabad as well.[21]

Soundtrack

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Main article: Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (soundtrack)

The soundtrack was composed by A. R. Rahman. Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa marked the beginning of a collaboration between Rahman, Silambarasan and Gautham Vasudev Menon.[22]

The world premiere was held at BAFTA in London on 25 December 2009 and later it was relaunched in Chennai on 6 January 2010. The album consists of seven tracks.[23] The audio received good pre-release response and was marked as No. 1 in Asia, in advance bookings.[24] It retained the same tunes for the Telugu version of the film, Ye Maaya Chesave and the Hindi remake, Ekk Deewana Tha.

Release

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The film was given a U/A certificate by the Indian Film Certification Board because, according to Menon, they believed "the love in the film was too intense for a child to understand".[25]

Reception

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Critical reception

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Sify said that it was "Very good" further citing "The film is a must watch for those who cares for cinema of sense and substance. It stresses the fact that Tamil cinema has to break the mould if it aims to grab eyeballs. Gautham Menon has crafted a movie that will stay in our hearts for a long, long time."[26]

Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff.com called the film a "Must watch" further citing "The best part about VTV is that it revolves around people, rather than events. It's like putting a camera into the intimate, everyday life of two people and following them on their adventures. The characters go through a whirlwind of emotions, laugh and cry, and take you along with them." However, the reviewer points out certain drawbacks in the film citing "On the minus side, VTV suffers from the same defect as Vaaranam Aayiram: the second half lags in pace. The dialogues and confrontations are repetitive. There's a would-be love-track that seems unnecessary before the story takes off again."[27]

Malathi Rangarajan from The Hindu said "Twenty two-year old Karthik's true-to-life overtures, reactions and recklessness are just as you would expect from a director of Menon's calibre. It is his authentic depiction of Jessie's confusion that's all the more amazing – Menon's complete understanding of a woman's psyche bowls you over! So do the young lovers!"[28] Aravindan D. I. of nowrunning.com gave the film three stars out of five and said "Gautam Vasudev Menon's "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya" is a clean romantic story without any deviation or sub-plots."[29]

Chennai Online said, Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (VTV) is an excellent effort on the part of Gautam Vasudev Menon in narrating a clean romantic story without any deviation from the plot" and further cited "As is Menon’s forte, the dialogues and the execution of scenes are top-notch. The joys of falling of love and the pangs of separation have been portrayed well. The way Simbu nurtures his love for Jesse and the positive but ambiguous reactions from Trisha to his overtures are very nice indeed."[30]

Raman Nalluswamy Thevar, an Indian author wrote an E-book titled "One Awesome Girl" which narrates the dialogue "One-way ticket to Heart-break city" delivered by Simbu. Raman stated that his debut contains his auto-biography and semi-biography which received positive reviews.[citation needed]

Box office

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Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa took a grand opening, grossing around ₹9.7 million (US$120,000) in its first three days in Chennai.[31]

Accolades

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Edison Awards[32]
Vikatan Awards[33]


Vijay Music Awards
  • Vijay Music awards – A. R. Rahman
  • Vijay Music awards – Vijay Prakash
  • Vijay Music awards – Shreya Ghoshal
  • Vijay Music awards – Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa
Vijay Awards[35]
Filmfare Awards South

Sequel

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In February 2018, Gautham Vasudev Menon announced a sequel to the film, titled Ondraga. This film will be a road movie – hyperlink film which will focus on Karthik and his best friends from college travelling to the United States to attend a wedding ten years after the events of the first film.[36] Initially, Menon had stated R. Madhavan would be playing the role of an older Karthik. After Madhavan dropped out of the project, Silambarasan agreed to reprise the role he originally played. Trisha and Samantha Ruth Prabhu will also be reprising their roles from the first film. Tovino Thomas and Puneeth Rajkumar will be playing the roles as Karthik's Malayalam and Kannada friends respectively. Telugu actors Allu Arjun, Nani, Sai Dharam Tej, Varun Tej and Vijay Deverakonda have been approached to play the role of Karthik's Telugu friend. Actresses Tamannaah and Anushka Shetty are being considered as a third female lead.[37][38]

The short film referring the characters Karthik and Jessie, titled Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn starring Silambarasan and Trisha was released on 21 May 2020.[39]

Legacy

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The dialogue "Inga Enna Solludhu" spoken by VTV Ganesh inspired a 2014 film of same name which was produced and acted by Ganesh.[40] The sequence when Karthik (Silambarasan) leans on the gate when he is in love with Jessie in the song "Hosanna" is parodied by Santhanam in Neethaane En Ponvasantham (2012).[41] The scene where Karthik proposes to Jessie is spoofed in Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal (2020). In the film, Pratap (played by Gautham Vasudev Menon) gifts Jessie (played by Ritu Varma) a necklace.[42] The scenes and dialogues were parodied in Tamizh Padam 2 (2018).[citation needed] The song "Omana Penne" inspired a film of the same name, but being titled as Oh Manapenne (transl. Oh Bride).[43]

References

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  1. ^ Daithota, Madhu (14 September 2009). "'I don't treat Naga Chaitanya like a star kid'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 September 2009. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
  2. ^ Moviebuzz (2009). "Simbu and Trisha go to Malta". Sify. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  3. ^ "Half-yearly BO report: Suriya rules Tamil". Rediff. 23 June 2010. Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  4. ^ Sunayana Suresh (28 February 2012). "Maybe I got the casting wrong: Gautham Menon". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  5. ^ a b c "Marunadan Cinemayile Malayali". Metro Manorama Kochi. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Welcome to Sify.com". Sify. Archived from the original on 28 February 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  7. ^ a b "rediff.com: Gautam Menon's new love story". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  8. ^ "'Simbu is classy, I'm local', Dhanush tells Gautham Menon". 26 April 2016. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  9. ^ "Between Reviews: Shooting from the Lip". 12 February 2011. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Dhanush is a chameleon, Simbu has too many distractions: Gautham Menon interview". 17 November 2016. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Actor #Jai Opens up for the First Time |Jai Fun-filled Interview | Pattampoochi | Suryan FM". YouTube. Archived from the original on 19 June 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Exclusive: Gautham to start a quickie with Simbu!". Sify. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  13. ^ Film Companion South (20 February 2018). ""Those who know me refer to me as Jessie." – One Film One Facet – Gautham Menon". Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2018 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ Srinivasan, Sudhir (1 November 2014). "Happy to make people happy". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Did You Know – Movies – Tamil – Entertainment – The Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  16. ^ BehindwoodsTV (13 July 2017). "How Gautham Menon Explained a Lip-Lock Scene? - What Happened? - Ashwin Explains – US 56". Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2018 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ "Malayalam film? Not now, says Trisha". Sify. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Simbu and Trisha go to Malta". Sify. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  19. ^ Ltd, Allied Newspapers (28 May 2009). "Bollywood director discovers Malta". Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  20. ^ "Tamil Film partly shot in Malta nearing completion – The Malta Independent". independent.com.mt. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  21. ^ "Simbu & Trisha off to New York". Sify. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  22. ^ Suganth, M (10 May 2012). "2 crore for NEP audio rights!". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  23. ^ "Top Tamil films of 2010". Rediff. Archived from the original on 11 December 2010. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  24. ^ "Vinnai Thandi Varuvaaya audio creates history!". Sify. Archived from the original on 12 January 2010.
  25. ^ "Gautham Menon Interview: On Movies, Music & Romance". Silverscreen.in. 22 January 2016. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  26. ^ "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya review", Sify, archived from the original on 2 June 2013, retrieved 18 August 2011
  27. ^ "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa is a must watch", Rediff.com, 26 February 2010, archived from the original on 5 February 2011, retrieved 18 August 2011
  28. ^ "Taste of candyfloss – Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya", The Hindu, 5 March 2010, archived from the original on 8 March 2010, retrieved 18 August 2011
  29. ^ Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa Review, nowrunning.com, 27 February 2010, archived from the original on 15 September 2011, retrieved 18 August 2011
  30. ^ Movie Review: Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya, chennaionline.com, 27 February 2010, archived from the original on 6 September 2011, retrieved 18 August 2011
  31. ^ "CBO – Feb 26 to 28", Sify, 2 March 2010, archived from the original on 5 March 2010, retrieved 18 August 2011
  32. ^ "Simbu and Trisha win Edison awards 2011, for Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya". 15 February 2011. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2011.
  33. ^ "Exclusive: Results of Ananda Vikatan Awards 2010". Kollywoodz. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
  34. ^ "Exclusive: Results of Ananda Vikatan Awards 2010". Kollywoodz.com. 22 January 2011. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  35. ^ "Winners List Of Vijay Awards 2011". tamilkey.com. 26 June 2011. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
  36. ^ "Gautham Menon and R Madhavan team up for 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa' sequel". Scroll.in. 21 February 2018. Archived from the original on 27 April 2021. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  37. ^ "Gautham Menon's multi-lingual film to feature Anushka Shetty, Tamannaah and Puneeth Rajkumar". Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  38. ^ Hooli, Shekhar H (21 February 2018). "Madhavan replaces Simbu in Gautham Menon's Ondraga". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  39. ^ Sunder, Gautam (22 May 2020). "'Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn': A letter to unrequited love, and then some". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
  40. ^ Lakshmi, V. "Kollywood movie titles based on popular dialogues". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  41. ^ Menon (director), Gautham (14 December 2012). Neethaane En Ponvasantham (Motion picture).
  42. ^ Periyasamy (director), Desingh (28 February 2020). Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal (Motion picture).
  43. ^ "Harish and Priya's romcom film titled 'Oh Manapenne'". The Times of India. 1 October 2020. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020.
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