Jump to content

Velayudham: Difference between revisions

Page semi-protected
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
→‎Plot: removed unwanted image; a better one is available
→‎Influences: please accept the source i added, as reliable! it is necessary for people to know about it
Line 60: Line 60:


===Influences===
===Influences===
It has been widely reported to be a remake of the 2000 Telugu film ''[[Azad (film)|Azad]]'' that starred [[Soundarya]] as a journalist and [[Akkineni Nagarjuna]] as a villager, incidentally the roles essayed by Genelia and Vijay, respectively.<ref name="behindwoods1"/><ref>{{cite web|author=Prakash KL|url=http://entertainment.oneindia.in/tamil/exclusive/2010/vijay-velayudham-launch-150710.html|title=Vijay's Velayudham set for grand launch |publisher=Entertainment.oneindia.in|date=2010-07-15 |accessdate=2011-07-04}}</ref> Director [[M. Raja]] claimed that it was not a remake, but his own story.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.top10cinema.com/feature/5555/velayudham-is-not-azad-jayam-raja|title='Velayudham is not Azad'|publisher=Top 10 Cinema |date=2010-07-17|accessdate=2011-07-04}}</ref> He later admitted that ''Azad'' served as the inspiration and that he had penned a new screenplay.<ref name=hindu/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/downsouth/20010907-0.html |title=Priyanka's southern debut star-crossed : Down South News |publisher=ApunKaChoice.Com |date=2001-09-07|accessdate=2011-09-16}}</ref> Notably, Vijay had signed up to appear in a village action story titled ''Velan'' in 2001 to be directed by Thirupathisamy, the director of ''Azad'', which was postponed indefinitely after the death of the director. Raja told his cast that it was inspired by ''Azad'' and requested them to not watch the original.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/news-interviews/Velayudham-inspired-by-Azad/articleshow/10529995.cms |title=Velayudham inspired by Azad! - Times Of India |publisher=[[The Times of India]] |date=2011-10-29 |accessdate=2011-10-30}}</ref> Post the film's release, Raja said that his brother [[Jayam Ravi]] had help him in improving the script.<ref name=success>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/events/30325.html |title=Events - Vijay @ 'Velayudham' Success Meet |publisher=IndiaGlitz |date=2011-10-29 |accessdate=2011-10-30}}</ref>
It has been widely reported to be a remake of the 2000 Telugu film ''[[Azad (film)|Azad]]'' that starred [[Soundarya]] as a journalist and [[Akkineni Nagarjuna]] as a villager, incidentally the roles essayed by Genelia and Vijay, respectively.<ref name="behindwoods1"/><ref>{{cite web|author=Prakash KL|url=http://entertainment.oneindia.in/tamil/exclusive/2010/vijay-velayudham-launch-150710.html|title=Vijay's Velayudham set for grand launch |publisher=Entertainment.oneindia.in|date=2010-07-15 |accessdate=2011-07-04}}</ref>There was also much talk about Vijay's superhero avatar in the film being inspired by the video game series [[Assassin's Creed]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Sudhish Kamath|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-cinemaplus/article2602245.ece?textsize=small&test=2|title=Costume itself loosely borrowed from Assassin's Creed video game|publisher=thehindu.com|date=2011-11-06 |accessdate=2011-11-06}}</ref> However, director [[M. Raja]] claimed that it was not a remake but his own story.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.top10cinema.com/feature/5555/velayudham-is-not-azad-jayam-raja|title='Velayudham is not Azad'|publisher=Top 10 Cinema |date=2010-07-17|accessdate=2011-07-04}}</ref> He later admitted that ''Azad'' served as the inspiration and that he had penned a new screenplay.<ref name=hindu/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apunkachoice.com/scoop/downsouth/20010907-0.html |title=Priyanka's southern debut star-crossed : Down South News |publisher=ApunKaChoice.Com |date=2001-09-07|accessdate=2011-09-16}}</ref> Notably, Vijay had signed up to appear in a village action story titled ''Velan'' in 2001 to be directed by Thirupathisamy, the director of ''Azad'', which was postponed indefinitely after the death of the director. Raja told his cast that it was inspired by ''Azad'' and requested them to not watch the original.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/news-interviews/Velayudham-inspired-by-Azad/articleshow/10529995.cms |title=Velayudham inspired by Azad! - Times Of India |publisher=[[The Times of India]] |date=2011-10-29 |accessdate=2011-10-30}}</ref> Post the film's release, Raja said that his brother [[Jayam Ravi]] had help him in improving the script.<ref name=success>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/events/30325.html |title=Events - Vijay @ 'Velayudham' Success Meet |publisher=IndiaGlitz |date=2011-10-29 |accessdate=2011-10-30}}</ref>


==Soundtrack==
==Soundtrack==

Revision as of 18:28, 22 November 2011

Velayudham
File:Velayutham poster.jpg
Directed byM. Raja
Screenplay byM. Raja
Produced byVenu Ravichandran
StarringVijay
Genelia D'Souza
Hansika Motwani
Saranya Mohan
CinematographyPriyan
Edited byV. T. Vijayan
Music byVijay Antony
Production
company
Distributed byAascar Films
Ayngaran International[1]
Release date
  • 26 October 2011 (2011-10-26)
Running time
160 minutes
CountryTemplate:Film India
LanguageTemplate:Film Tamil
Budget₹45 crore (US$5.4 million)[2]

Velayudham (Tamil: வேலாயுதம்) is a 2011 Tamil action-masala film[3] directed by M. Raja.[4] It stars Vijay, Hansika Motwani, Genelia D'Souza and Saranya Mohan in lead roles. Produced by V. Ravichandran's Aascar Films, the story revolves around an ordinary milkman, trying to eradicate corruption.[5] The film was released on October 26, 2011 to positive reviews and was declared a commercial success.[6]

Plot

The film opens up in Pakistan with a blindfolded person being dragged by a few terrorists. He is brought to the leader of the gang and identified as the Home Minister of Tamil Nadu. Further plans are revealed when the gang strikes a hefty deal with him for planting a series of bombs in Chennai. Then happens a bomb explosion at a transportation bus in the city killing many innocent peoples. A group of three journalists, including Bharathi (Genelia D'Souza), commit to eradicating terrorism in the country after completing their Journalism course. One night, Bharathi and her two friends secretly film the illegal activities like creation of explosives and women trafficking happening in a secluded house. However, the journalists' presence is detected and their escape attempt results in the deaths of her friend and injury to Bharathi. But after the attack on Bharathi and her friends, the goon's vehicle explode due to a small mishap when a matchstick falls over petrol packets stored in the vehicle. Bharathi, already stabbed by one of the goons, comes up with a new idea to eradicate terrorism by creating a fictional character called Velayudham, and writes a note that he wants to clean up the city of bad guys before falling unconscious.

Velayudham a.k.a Velu (Vijay) is a milk vendor in a village called Pavunoor, and he has a sister named Kaveri (Saranya Mohan) he loves and a cousin Vaidehi (Hansika Motwani) who is crazy about him. Though the brother and sister creates lot of trouble for the villagers, they are still adored by the villagers. They, along with a couple of village friends, arrive in Chennai to collect money from a chit fund for his sister's marriage, and somehow Speedu (Santhanam) gets part of their money. On chasing Speedu in a railway station, Vel uses a bike to catch him, and it explodes a few seconds later. Next few moments he inadvertently prevents few bomb blasts and helps catch terrorists, thus Velayudham becomes a sensation over time. He even manages to save Bharathi in one of the incidents which he never meant for it to happen.

Velu is unaware of the consequences, later Bharathi realises Velu is the guy who has been accidentally doing the work of Velayudham. Bharathi meets him, explains and asks him to become the fictional character, however he refuses. Later Velu goes to draw cash from the chit fund but the company cheats him off his money and the people who are cheated vow that Velayudham will come as their saviour. Velu seeing this decides to take upon the avatar of Velayudham and starts to do eradicate certain evil that pertains within the society forms the crux of the last half of the movie.

Cast

Production

Casting

The film was launched on July 15, 2010 at the Madras University campus.[7] Genelia D'Souza who had acted opposite Vijay in Sachein was chosen for the role of a journalist,[8] and Hansika Motwani was chosen to portray Vijay's love interest,[9][10] while Saranya Mohan would play sister to Vijay's character.[11] Art director Veera Samar also was roped in to play a journalist.[12] While Santhanam and M. S. Baskar were chosen to play the comedy lead in the film,[13] Sayaji Shinde, Vineetkumar and Abhimanyu Singh were selected to play negative roles.[14] Tom Delmar, who had worked as a stunt coordinator in several Hollywood films, joined the crew to choreograph the stunts in the film.[15][16] Due to his commitment to Velayudham, Vijay almost lost his role in S. Shankar's Nanban. He had walked out of Nanban, since the two films demanded two completely different looks,[17] however, he joined the film later as the scenes involving the protagonist were reserved to be shot later.[18]

Filming

Filming was carried out primarily at three locations, Southern Tamil Nadu, Kerala,[19] and the last schedule in Chennai.[20] A song sequence choreographed by Shobi that was originally to be shot in Switzerland was canned in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir,[21] with Genelia and Hansika filming alongside Vijay.[22] A stunt sequence was shot on a train moving on a bridge at Rayagada in Orissa under Tom Delmar's supervision,[23] while another fight sequence was filmed at Golconda fort, Hyderabad.[24] The film's dubbing was done in Four Frames Recording Studio in Chennai.[25]

Influences

It has been widely reported to be a remake of the 2000 Telugu film Azad that starred Soundarya as a journalist and Akkineni Nagarjuna as a villager, incidentally the roles essayed by Genelia and Vijay, respectively.[8][26]There was also much talk about Vijay's superhero avatar in the film being inspired by the video game series Assassin's Creed.[27] However, director M. Raja claimed that it was not a remake but his own story.[28] He later admitted that Azad served as the inspiration and that he had penned a new screenplay.[23][29] Notably, Vijay had signed up to appear in a village action story titled Velan in 2001 to be directed by Thirupathisamy, the director of Azad, which was postponed indefinitely after the death of the director. Raja told his cast that it was inspired by Azad and requested them to not watch the original.[30] Post the film's release, Raja said that his brother Jayam Ravi had help him in improving the script.[31]

Soundtrack

Untitled

The soundtrack is scored by Vijay Antony. The audio right was bought by Sony Music for huge amount.[32] The soundtrack consists of 6 tracks and was released on 28 August 2011, at CSI Grounds in Madurai, attended by thousand of Vijay fans. Vijay, Hansika Motwani, S. A. Chandrasekhar, Vijay Antony, Viveka, and several distributors and theatre owners were present in function.[33] According to Sony Music Entertainment Chennai, the soundtrack received an overwhelming response with all units produced been sold within a day of release, creating a new record.[34]

Tracklist
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Rathathin Rathame"AnnamalaiHaricharan, Sri Madhumitha4:38
2."Molachu Moonu"VivegaPrasanna, Supriya Joshi4:52
3."Chillax"AnnamalaiKarthik, Charulatha Mani4:25
4."Mayam Seidhayo"VivegaSangeetha Rajeshwaran4:14
5."Sonna Puriyadhu"Siva ShanmugamVijay Antony, Veera Shankar5:39
6."Vela Vela Velayutham"PriyanVijay Antony, Mark1:16
Total length:25:04

Critical response

The soundtrack received mixed reviews, with critics recommending the album for Vijay's fans. Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff gave it 2 out of 5 stating "Vijay Antony plays it safe mostly, with the result that there's nothing new."[35] P. G. Devi from Behindwoods gave it 2.5 out of 5 and said "Vijay Antony continues to flaunt his success this time around with Velayutham. The album has a bunch of entertaining soundtrack like, 'Molachu moonu', 'Mayam Seidhayo' and usual mass beat tracks 'Sonna Puriyadhu' and 'Vela Vela'."[36] Prakash Upadhyaya from Oneindia.in said "Vijay Antony's music has met the expectations of the audience. The album has all kinds of songs and the music director has targeted the mass as well as class listeners".[37] Indiaglitz said "the music album [...] presents us a variety fare, however with the main target being the 'mass audience'", labelling it as a "food festival for the appetite of Vijay fans, who are craving for mass masala numbers from their hero".[38]

Release

The film was initially supposed to be released on 22 July, coninciding with Vijay's birthday, but was postponed due to delay in production.[39] The film was given a U (Universal) certificate by the Indian censor board on October 13, 2011.[40] The satellite rights were sold to Jaya TV for a price of ₹4 crores,[41] and the theatrical trailer was released in October 2011 to positive response.[42]

Velayudham released on 26 October, during the Deepavali festival, alongside 7aam Arivu.[43] The film was released with over 820 prints worldwide, making it the biggest release in Vijay's career. It also saw a release in about 100 theaters in Karnataka and 120 theaters in Kerala, owing to the actor's fan following in the neighbouring states.[44] The film released across 40 theaters in Chennai.[44] As per overseas distributor Ayngaran International, the film released in 26 theatres in UK, second only to Endhiran.[45] The US theatrical rights were acquired by GK Media.[5]

Reception

Critical response

The film received positive reviews from critics. Sify called it a "paisa vassol film", stating that the film was a "perfect outing with family, but far too long in length".[46] Rediff.com gave the film 2.5 out of 5, while noting that it "doesn't take itself seriously and doesn't expect you to either. In other words, it's paisa vasool."[47] CNN-IBN defined the film as a "must watch" and "treat for Vijay fans".[48] Indiaglitz labelled it a "racy entertainer this Deepavali season" and cited it was a "right choice for the festival mood".[49] Behindwoods named the film a "regular mass entertainer spiced up by Vijay" and gave the film 3 out of 5 as well.[50] Similarly Oneindia.in described it as a "complete masala entertainer", highlighting its story and "amazing action-sequences".[51] Nowrunning.com rated it 2.5/5, writing: "Velayudham, part comedy part action sails through both streams smoothly until it is struck and sunk by crude melodrama".[52] The Hindu stated that the film "simply enters and entertains" and that Raja had "churn[ed] out reasonably engaging fare", adding that it had a "strong story, a neat screenplay [...] arresting action, admirable dance movements, one or two hum-worthy numbers and the ever-helpful sister sentiment".[53] Indo-Asian News Service gave the film 2.5 out of 5, citing that it "defies all logic, but has the magic of the star called Vijay".[54]

Box office

Velayudham took a big opening on Diwali day and was declared a box office success.[55][56] The film topped the regional box office despite opening with less prints than 7aum Arivu,[57] forcing the producers to release more prints.[58][59]

In its opening weekend, spanning five days, the film grossed 2.10 crore in Chennai city alone.[60] According to Venu Ravichandran, the film grossed 19 crores in Tamil Nadu during the first weekend worldwide from 850 screens.[61][62] On October 28, two days after its release, Vijay, Vijay Antony and director Raja met the press at a hotel in Chennai to celebrate the success of the film.[31]

Overseas, Velayudham was a relatively high grosser in Europe and North America, with Taran Adarsh, a Bollywood film critic highlighting that the film was "rocking internationally".[63] The film in its five-days extended weekend had collected $107,843 in UK, as the film featured at 20th position in the UK Box Office with a per screen average of $6,344 (third highest).[64][65]

References

  1. ^ 03/velayutham-vijay-20-07-11.html "Velayutham will not go out of Aascar's hands". Behindwoods. Retrieved 2011-07-21. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  2. ^ "Aascar to market Velayudham directly?". Sify. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Velayudham is very special: Vijay". Sify. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  4. ^ "A makeover for Vijay?". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
  5. ^ a b "Velayudham US theatrical rights sold". 13 October 2011. Oneindia.in. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  6. ^ "All credit to Velayudham Vijay: Raja". Supergoodmovies.com. 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  7. ^ "Events - Vijay's 'Velayudham' First Look". IndiaGlitz. 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  8. ^ a b "Genelia's role in Velayudham". Behindwoods.com. 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  9. ^ "Hansika enjoys it". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  10. ^ "Hansika Motwani wants to dub her voice in Tamil". Times Chennai. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  11. ^ "Celebrations At Velayudham Shooting Spot". Behindwoods.com. 2011-02-21. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  12. ^ "Velayutham actor wants Amala Paul". Behindwoods. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  13. ^ "'Velayudham' gearing for completion".
  14. ^ "B-Town baddies in Velayudham". The Times of India. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
  15. ^ "Velayudham Gets Hollywood Touch!". Behindwoods.com. 2011-03-15. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  16. ^ "'Velayudham' updates". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  17. ^ "Vijay Not To Campaign". Behindwoods.com. 2011-01-22. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  18. ^ "Official: '3 Idiots' is 'Nanban'. Vijay is Aamir Khan". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  19. ^ "Velayutham team in Thiruvananthapuram". Behindwoods. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  20. ^ "Velayutham's last schedule". Behindwoods. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  21. ^ "Vijay, Hansika & Genelia in Kashmir". Sify. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  22. ^ "Hansika v/s Genelia battle over a song!". Sify. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  23. ^ a b "The V quotient". THE HINDU.
  24. ^ "Velayudham starts in Hyderabad".
  25. ^ "Vijay at Four Frames". Behindwoods. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  26. ^ Prakash KL (2010-07-15). "Vijay's Velayudham set for grand launch". Entertainment.oneindia.in. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  27. ^ Sudhish Kamath (2011-11-06). "Costume itself loosely borrowed from Assassin's Creed video game". thehindu.com. Retrieved 2011-11-06.
  28. ^ "'Velayudham is not Azad'". Top 10 Cinema. 2010-07-17. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
  29. ^ "Priyanka's southern debut star-crossed : Down South News". ApunKaChoice.Com. 2001-09-07. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
  30. ^ "Velayudham inspired by Azad! - Times Of India". The Times of India. 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  31. ^ a b "Events - Vijay @ 'Velayudham' Success Meet". IndiaGlitz. 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  32. ^ April 22, 2011 (2011-04-22). "J.Jayalalitha to attend Velayudham music launch?". Southdreamz.com. Retrieved 2011-07-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  33. ^ "Fans are important for Vijay". 29 August 2011. Behindwoods. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
  34. ^ "Velayutham breaks all records!". 30 August 2011. Behindwoods. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  35. ^ "Velayudham music is for Vijay fans only". Rediff. Retrieved September 09, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  36. ^ P. G. Devi. "VELAYUDHAM MUSIC REVIEW". Behindwoods. Retrieved September 09, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  37. ^ Prakash Upadhyaya. "Velayudham - Music Review". Oneindia.in. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  38. ^ "Velayudham Music Review". Indiaglitz. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  39. ^ "Vijay's Velayutham status". Behindwoods. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  40. ^ "'Velayudham' cleared with clean 'U'". deccan Chronicle.
  41. ^ Jaya TV takes Velayudham rights, Deccan Chronicle, 13 August 2011, retrieved 15 August 2011
  42. ^ "Diwali release update". Sify. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  43. ^ "Vijay's 'Velayudham' to hit screens this Diwali". CNN-IBN. 14 September 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  44. ^ a b "'Velayudham' releasing big, over 820 prints!". Indiaglitz. October 19, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2011.
  45. ^ "Velayudham-Biggest release after Endhiran". Behindwoods. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  46. ^ "Movie Review: Velayudham". 26 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  47. ^ "Velayudham is paisa vasool". 26 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  48. ^ "Tamil Review: 'Velayudham' a must for Vijay fans". CNN-IBN. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  49. ^ "Velayudham - Vijay is the weapon". 26 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  50. ^ "Velayudham movie review". 26 October 2011. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
  51. ^ "Velayudham - Movie Review". 31 October 2011. Oneindia.in. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  52. ^ "Velayudham Review - Tamil Movie Review by Rohit Ramachandran". Nowrunning.com. 2011-10-26. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
  53. ^ Malathi Rangarajan (2011-10-29). "Arts / Cinema : Lance view". The Hindu. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
  54. ^ Indo-Asian News Service (31 October 2011). "Review: Velayudham". NDTV. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  55. ^ "Velayudham's victory over 7aam Arivu surprises all - Entertainment - DNA". Daily News and Analysis. 2011-10-30. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
  56. ^ "Jayam Ravi was involved in Velayutham". 29 October 2011. behindwoods.com. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  57. ^ Prakash (2011-10-31). "Box Office Reports". Oneindia.in. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
  58. ^ "Velayutham, more prints". 29 October 2011. Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  59. ^ "More prints for 'Velayudham', to be remade in Hindi?". 29 October 2011. IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 29 October 2011.
  60. ^ "Chennai Diwali Box-Office (October 26 to 30)". Sify. 2011-11-02. Retrieved 2011-11-02.
  61. ^ CNN-IBN. "Vijay'S Velayudham Is A Hit - ( Cnn Ibn Live News )". YouTube. Retrieved 2011-11-02. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  62. ^ "7aum Arivu vs. Velayutham". Behindwoods. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  63. ^ Taran Adrash -> Genelia D'douza retweet, Twitter, 31 October 2011, retrieved 5 November 2011
  64. ^ "U.K. Weekend Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 5 November 2011. {{cite web}}: Text "November 2011" ignored (help)
  65. ^ "Velayudham surpasses 7aam Arivu at UK Box Office". Oneindia.in. 5 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Velayudham&oldid=461975111"