Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven
| Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Kavi Kalidas |
| Written by | Kavi Kalidas |
| Produced by | R. B. Choudary |
| Starring | Ajith Kumar Simran |
| Cinematography | Agilan |
| Edited by | V. Jaishankar |
| Music by | S. A. Rajkumar |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 158 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven (transl. Give me yourself, and I'll give you myself) is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language war drama film produced by R. B. Choudary of Super Good Films and directed by Kavi Kalidas, in his only directorial credit. The film stars Ajith Kumar and Simran in the lead roles, while Nassar, Raghava Lawrence, Manivannan, and Kitty play supporting roles and Parthiban in a guest appearance. The music was composed by S. A. Rajkumar with cinematography by Agilan and editing by V. Jaishankar. The film released on 19 May 2000 and failed at the box office.
Plot
[edit]Surya has been brought up in the army training barracks in Wellington (Ooty) ever since his mother handed him over as a baby to the camp brigadier. She tells the officer the reason for her action, but the audience is not allowed to hear it at this point. Surya grows up to be a patriotic youth and the best soldier in his class. He is about to complete his training in three months and leave to the border. He falls in love with Indu, the daughter of a senior army officer, who is visiting Wellington Camp. Indu's parents accept her choice of husband, and the family leaves to Kashmir.
Soon after, Indu's father dies in a bomb blast, while her mother loses her life on seeing her husband's body. Not wishing to lose her husband too in war, Indu asks Surya to choose between her and the army. Surya then asks the brigadier to advise him, and the brigadier tells the story of his parents. His father, Bomb Sekhar, was a very violent terrorist who was sentenced to three years in prison and then death. His mother was a nun who visited prisoners and chanted Bible verses to them. Slowly, Sekhar's nature begins to change, and nearing death, he is completely reformed. Sensing that there is no way for him to repent for his mistakes by serving the nation, he confides to the nun that if he had a child, he would have made him act the country.
That night, the nun thinks about her conversation with Sekhar and subsequently resigns her position with the church. The following day, the nun convinces Sekhar that she will bear his child as a way to fulfill his dying wish, and they consummate inside the prison secretly. She leaves him, and the next day, his death sentence is executed. Once Surya is born, she hands him to authorities at the military camp and commits suicide as well. Surya says that his birth was to serve the nation as a soldier, and if she wants to marry him, she must wait for the next 12 years until his service is over. Indu agrees, and Surya moves with his barrack to the border.
Cast
[edit]- Ajith Kumar as Surya
- Simran as Indu
- Nassar as Camp Brigadier
- Raghava Lawrence as Ganapathi
- Manivannan as Subramaniyam Singh
- Kitty as Indu's father
- Fathima Babu as Indu's mother
- Charle as Surya's friend
- Chinni Jayanth as James, Surya's friend
- Dhamu as Mustafa, Surya's friend
- Ramesh Khanna as Kannayiram
- Pandu as Selvam
- Babilona as Prostitute
- Guest appearances
Production
[edit]The film marked the directorial debut of Kavi Kalidas, who earlier assisted K. Bhagyaraj; it remained the only film he had directed before his death in 2014.[1] Noted Indian Army officer Major AK Raveendran SM (also known as Major Ravi) played a significant role in assisting the team during scenes featuring Ajith in the Indian army.[2]
Soundtrack
[edit]The soundtrack was composed by S. A. Rajkumar.[3] The title song "Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven" is based on "Komma Komma" from Nuvvu Vastavani.[citation needed]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ithayathai Kanavillai" | Ilayakamban | Hariharan | 4:48 |
| 2. | "Idduppu Selaikkulla" | Pa. Vijay | Shankar Mahadevan, Anuradha Sriram | 5:04 |
| 3. | "Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven" | Pa. Vijay | P. Unnikrishnan, K. S. Chithra | 4:24 |
| 4. | "Sollu Thalaivaa" | Nandalala | Rajesh Krishnan | 5:02 |
| 5. | "Pethava Kanniru" | Mayil | Unni Menon | 2:37 |
| 6. | "Sateliteil Yeri" | Pa. Vijay | P. Unnikrishnan | 4:44 |
| Total length: | 26:39 | |||
Reception
[edit]Malathi Rangarajan from The Hindu mentioned that "potholes in the screenplay prove irksome" and that "the thin thread of patriotism woven throughout the film, hardly makes an impact".[4] Tamil Star Online wrote, "In spite of good acting by Ajith, Simran and Parthiban, exotic locales, catchy tunes and impressive choreography [Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven] falls way short of expectations. And the blame should fall squarely on the story and script writer Kavi Kalidas".[5]
Indiainfo wrote "The film has an absurd storyline. The lead pair tries its best to sustain the film. Rajkumar's stale music and an average cinematography only add up to the film's mediocrity. Chowdury of Supergood films has failed to gauge the pulse of the audience this time".[6] However Krishna Chidambaram of Kalki gave a positive review for the film calling it "a very neat film".[7] The film was commercially unsuccessful, and Ajith mentioned that the shoot coincided with his marriage preparations, thus he found it difficult to invest to the project.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ "நடிகர் அஜீத் பட இயக்குனர் திடீர் மரணம்!". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (4 August 2006). "Straight from a soldier's heart". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 October 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- ^ "Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven (2000)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (2 June 2000). "Film Review: Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuvaen". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- ^ "Movie: Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven". Tamil Star Online. Archived from the original on 30 June 2001. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ "Unnay Kodu Ennay Tharuvaen – Absolutely absurd". Indiainfo. Archived from the original on 29 June 2001. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ சிதம்பரம், கிருஷ்ணா (18 June 2000). "உன்னை கொடு என்னை தருவேன்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 32. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Generous Star". Tamil Star Online. Archived from the original on 16 August 2000. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
