Vilai (transl. Price) is a 2010 Tamil language drama film directed by G. Kamaraj. The film stars Saravanan, Bharani, Udhayathara and newcomer Ritu Soni, with Fathima, Charmila, Shathiga, Krishnamoorthy, Gemini Balaji, Rajasanthuru and Devaraj playing supporting roles. The film, produced by M. Sathia and S. Babu, had musical score by D. Imman and was released on 27 August 2010.[1]
| Vilai | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | G. Kamaraj |
| Written by | G. Kamaraj Gomathi Chezhiyan |
| Produced by | M. Sathia S. Babu |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Prabhakar |
| Edited by | T. S. Suresh |
| Music by | D. Imman |
Production company | SB Film Production |
| Distributed by | PMR International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 125 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editThe jobless Nandhu and his sister Vandana live in a village in Madurai with their parents. Nandhu and Vandana are constantly squabbling like kids. One day, Nandhu gets into a fight to save his friends and Vandana denounces him to the police thus he is arrested. Their father who got fed up with their dispute arrange his daughter marriage but the topper Vandana wants to continue her studies. Nandhu opposes his decision and he convinces her of studying higher studies in Chennai. Nandhu and Vandana come to Chennai, and a call taxi driver kidnaps Vandana. Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Tamil girl and the daughter of a prostitute Mani are kidnapped in the same way. The three are abducted by a gang of traffickers along with other girls and plan to sell them.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police Shanmugavel comes to his rescue and promises him to find his sister. The two travel together between cities, Shanmugavel eventually arrests one of the traffickers and he reveals everything about their prostitution network. Mirchi Maya is a ruthless female don in Andhra Pradesh and the leader of the entire trafficking business. In Andhra Pradesh, they meet DCP Venkatanarayanan who he is pessimistic about the fate of Vandana but he decides to help them anyway. In the meantime, Mani and the Srilankan Tamil girl committed suicide to save their dignity.
In the past, Shanmugavel lived happily with his wife and little daughter. The local don Farooq Bhai wanted to take revenge on Shanmugavel who accidentally killed his daughter. Farooq Bhai abducted his daughter and sold her to a prostitution network. However, in spite of these efforts, Shanmugavel could not find her.
To save Vandana, DCP Shanmugavel goes to her brothel and poses as a client. He then selects Vandana but Mirchi Maya already knew about his identity. At that time, the police arrived at the place and ask Mirchi Maya to surrender but she reveals that she is Shanmugavel's daughter and shoots herself in front of her father. The abducted women including Vandana are saved.
Cast
edit- Saravanan as DCP Shanmugavel
- Bharani as Nandhu
- Udhayathara
- Ritu Soni as Vandana
- Fathima as Mirchi Maya
- Charmila as Shanmugavel's wife
- Shathiga as Mani
- Krishnamoorthy
- Gemini Balaji as Riaz
- Rajasanthuru
- Devaraj as Farooq Bhai
- Bhanu Chander as DCP Venkatanarayanan (guest appearance)
Production
editDirector G. Kamaraj, who directed the gangster film Perusu (2005), directed Vilai who was inspired by a real-life story and told the story of a prostitution racket that kidnapped and sold women against their will. Bharani was selected to play the lead role alongside veteran actors Saravanan and Bhanu Chander while Udhayathara, Ritu Soni, Shathiga and Fathima played the female lead. The film was primarily shot in Chennai and Madurai.[2][3][4][5]
Soundtrack
edit| Vilai | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 23 May 2010 | |||
| Recorded | 2010 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 16:45 | |||
| Producer | D. Imman | |||
| D. Imman chronology | ||||
| ||||
The film score and the soundtrack were composed by D. Imman. The soundtrack features 4 tracks. The audio was released on 23 May 2010 in Chennai. Directors Samuthirakani, Vetrimaaran, V. C. Guhanathan, K. Bhagyaraj and A. L. Vijay attended the audio launch.[6][7][8]
All tracks are written by Snehan
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Arukkaani Arukkaani" | Benny Dayal, Priyadarshini | 04:43 |
| 2. | "Manmada Kaadu" | Nithyasree Mahadevan, Suvi Suresh | 04:38 |
| 3. | "Vaazhve Un Vilayenna" | Haricharan | 02:21 |
| 4. | "Vilaye Un Vilayenna" | Haricharan | 05:03 |
| 5. | "Vazhkai Enbathu" | Madhumitha | 00:44 |
| Total length: | 17:29 | ||
Release
editThe film was released on 27 August 2010 alongside five other films.[9]
Critical reception
editThe New Indian Express said, "it misses the emotional punch, the script never really allows us to get involved or empathise with the plight of the girls. On the flip side, it is appreciable that the director has chosen a socially relevant theme, and that he has resisted slipping in sleaze, or any overt skin show".[10] S. R. Ashok Kumar of The Hindu praised the cast and wrote, "director G. Kamaraj handles the scenes deftly and with sensitivity. However, he could have looked into the slow pace of the first half".[11] Sify stated, "the film is too long winded and moves at a snail pace. There is also too much mush and melodrama, towards the climax ".[12]
Box office
editThe film took a below average opening at the Chennai box office.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Jointscene : Tamil Movie Vilai". jointscene.com. Archived from the original on 20 November 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ "Vilai's skirmish". Behindwoods.com. 18 December 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ "Bharani's price for 'Vilai'". IndiaGlitz.com. 21 December 2009. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ "'Vilai' audio on May 23". IndiaGlitz.com. 19 May 2010. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ "Vilai - A different film!". Sify. 9 November 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2019.[dead link]
- ^ "Vilai (2010)". MusicIndiaOnline. Retrieved 15 March 2019.[dead link]
- ^ "'Vilai' audio launched". Lakshman Sruthi. Archived from the original on 27 January 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ "Vilai audio launched in Chennai". Sify. Retrieved 15 March 2019.[dead link]
- ^ "Today's releases". ayngaran.com. 27 August 2010. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ "Vilai". The New Indian Express. 30 August 2010. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ S. R. Ashok Kumar (28 August 2010). "Stale saga of revenge". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 October 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ "Review : Vilai (2010)". Sify. 29 August 2010. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
- ^ "Vilai - Behindwoods.com - Tamil Top Ten Movies". Behindwoods.com. 30 August 2010. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2019.