| Soori | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Shelvan |
| Produced by | P. Vijayakumar |
| Written by | Shelvan |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Deva |
| Cinematography | S.D. Vijay Milton |
| Editing by | Suresh Urs |
| Studio | Sri Kamakshi Studios |
| Distributed by | Tamilini International |
| Release date(s) | 19 December 2003 |
| Running time | 150 min |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | 20 crores[1] |
Soori (IPA: [suːri]; Tamil: சூரி, cūri ?) is a 2003 Tamil romantic drama film, written and directed by Shelvan, a former associate of director S. Shankar. The film features Vignesh, Parthiban, Uma and Vijayalakshmi in lead roles whilst Chinni Jayanth, Senthil and Manobala play supporting roles. The film, produced by P. Vijayakumar, had musical score by Deva while Vijay Milton and Suresh Urs were cinematographer and the film editor respectively. The film was released on 19 December 2003.[2][3]
The film's story revolves around a sales representative falls in love with a student. He accepted to separate from his lover, for one year to test their love endurance. The youth doesn't find her after the delay as promised. The love turns into hatred and revenge, until he sees his soul mate.[4][5]
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The story begins with Surya (Vignesh) walks lonely during the Valentine's day. He shaves his hair and his moustache then he takes a container lorry.
He remembers his happy past during the travel. Surya was a sales representative and worked with his friend Pichamuthu (Chinni Jayanth). His family, even knowing he played Kabaddi and beat bad people, was very kind with him.
He saw, one day, Rishaba (Uma), a college student, at the bus stop, who advised a smoker not to smoke because it distributed non-smokers and it would cause cancer to him. Surya was amazed by her words, he dropped his cigarette and stopped to smoke.
Surya wakes up screaming, a container passenger (Manobala) was afraid and proposes him a little alcohol, he refuses and take a cigarette.
Another day, his friend and he, bought black tickets from a boy at the cinema. Rishaba's friends also bought to this way, so she tore the tickets and said that bought tickets would encourage the boy to have a bad future. Surya tore the tickets in turn. She accidentally dropped her book and Surya took it. The full night, Surya decrypted her personality by studying graphology. The next day, he brought the notebook to Rishaba with her personality description. She was surprised. Surya proposed his love and gave her a love letter.
The following morning, he waited at the bus stop for her answer. She ignored him. He began to follow everywhere she went. Anxious, he called out her when she took the bus. He requested Rishaba to come tomorrow with the same clothes whish she wore now (a blue Shalwar kameez) if she agreed his love or in another clothes if she disagreed his proposal, at the salme place
The next day, she came with a red Shalwar kameez. Surya was vexed and he promises her that he never would cross his path. Rishaba immediately showed him, her blue Shalwar kameez. She explains that her mother had put this dress on the washing machine, so she cannot wear it wet. Finally, Rishaba said : “I love you” to Surya.
Rishaba and Surya became much closed. Someday, at the river, Surya wrote on his hand Rishaba’s name and his name, he showed to her. Rishaba found that to write separately their first name took away them. She surrounded the letter of each of their name : Soori. Surya jumped for joy and shouted : “ It’s not her name, It’s not his name, It’s their name”.
Back to the present, Surya takes his cigarette and burns his tattoo on his arm (which it is written Soori) with it, the eyes full of rage.
Rishaba waited for Surya at the bus stop but he didn’t arrive. Tomorrow, she gets mad against him, Surya apologized by saying that his bike was repair. She scolded him and was upset of the Surya’s carelessness after only 15 days of love. She said : “Boys are very punctual and rigorous to charm girls who they love but when girls accept their love, they become careless about them.” She explains him that lovers looked only for their plus points and after the marriage they looked only for their minus point which engaged later divorce. She didn’t want that they separate because of this matter. She wished he shared his negative habits and she shared to him her bad habits to improve them to positive things.
They are lovers for 25 days, Rishaba was afraid that time change people affections. Surya tries to appease but in vain. They decide to put their love to an endurance test to prove to themselves that the romance is much more than infatuation. The endurance test will last until the next valentine.
Surya became less and less concentrated with what he did. Pichamuthu, after hearing a sad story of a man, phoned to Rishaba to tell her that Surya was admitted at the hospital in a serious condition. She went at the hospital upset and she didn’t find him. She phoned to Surya and he answered, she hung up without talking.Surya knew the matter and slapped his friend. He said to not compare his love to others, Pichamuthu apologized. The lovers suffered to the pain of separation.
One year later, at Surya’s home, his friends came to congratulate him. His family didn’t understand why they came to congratulate him, Surya narrated to them his love matter. They took it easily and were proud of the way which Surya took. So they prepared the arrival of their future daughter-in-law.
Surya’s container neighbour leaves and finds that Surya is weird.
Surya waited a long time at the place she promised to come. Upset, his friends and him went at her home. A woman said that Rishaba shift to Trichy at her husband’s city. His friends prevented them about the issue and they were shocked.
Main Guard Gate Manikandan (Parthiban), a thug, makes his entry at this point. He fights against peoples who touched his wife. He goes to home and call a woman called Priya. Uma runs, she then smears him with coloured powder and hugs him with kisses.
Surya comes at Trichi to find his old friend Devi, a former prostitute. Devi feels that he is very different. She reveals that his boyfriend is Manikandan. She then asks to Manikandan to arranges to Surya a home. Surya moves on the odd jobs (milk deliverer, newspaper deliverer, etc.). One day, Surya thinks he sees Rishabas and runs behind an auto rickshaw. At the same moment, Manikandan is in a photo shop and punishes the seller to scratch Rishaba’s frame photo. By going out of the store, he grows by Surya and brings down the frame. Broken, Manikandan beats Surya, Devi intervenes in their fight and she makes clear that it’s Surya, her close friend. Surya even didn’t see the photo. Devi find a new saree and wear it. When she showed it to her boyfriend, he slapped her.
Surya sells Kungumam at the Kovil and Devi saw that. She asks why he does that. He replies that he searches his girlfriend everywhere where the women are presents.
One day at the shopping mall, a man took refuges at the lift where there was Surya. Manikandan chase the man and menaced him to not disturb his ex-lover now married. Surya, in the same situation, gives him a gun but the man refuses and he would she lives long time. Surya beats him.
Surya gives to Devi Rishaba’s photo. Regrettably, Devi doesn’t see the photo and put it at Manikandan’s pocket. The housemaid gives the shirt to a dobby. The dobby finds Priya’s photo and gives it to Devi. She recognizes the cover which gived by Surya. Shocked, she goes to clear the matter. Surya agrees that the woman on the photo was his lover and he would like to kill her. The next morning, Surya reads the news paper and Devi sees Rishaba’s photo on the paper. She managed to take it. Surya cries by seeing his family photo. Finally, the fate shows him the article with Rishaba. Surya reads the articles and goes at the mentioned address. Devi sees the burnt paper. The housemaid said to Surya that they went. Devi also goes there and the housemaid said that a bold man came here to ask this. Devi phoned to Manikandan to prevent him, that Surya will kill Priya.
Surya sees his lover and Manikandan, takes his gun and shoots in Rishaba’s direction. Manikandan saves her and takes the bullet on his shoulder. Manikandan puts the gun on his breast and orders Surya to shoot. Surya refuses because his goal is killing his love’s traitor. He welds the gun towards Rishaba. Rishaba takes a man’s ice cream and eat it like a baby. Surya doesn’t understand what happen. Manikandan reveals that she gone mad, she don’t know herself and Manikandan but knows only the name : Soori. Manikandan posted at the newspaper the news of her so Surya knows.
The pain of separation is the reason of her situation. She saw anywhere Surya, when she drove her scooter and she had an accident. Manikandan's sister was distributed after the accident, Rishaba haven’t any relation. So Manikandan decided to marry her. Then, just after the marriage, he read her diary and understood their hearts. Surya, troubled and culprit, cries and refuses to marry her after he wishes her death. Manikandan manages to accept it. Manikandan take off the Thaali and Surya knots a new Thaali on Rishaba's neck. Devi takes Manikandan’s hand and puts it on her belly, synonym of her pregnancy. Rishaba takes from Surya’s pocket a packet of cigarettes and throws it away.
Shelvan, an institute product, has worked under director S. Shankar for two of his films Indian and Jeans. He wanted his first feature film to be a love story with a difference. He has also produced and directed two reportages, which have been screened at the International Reportages Festival in France. "The film has love, action and comedy. But the undercurrent is only love. One can find a definition for true and divine love." the director declared. "After the release of my film lovers will say that Soori is the definition of love." Shelvan announced proudly.[6][7][8]
Vignesh immediately accepted the offer and was determined not to accept any other film before finishing this film.[9] Uma, daughter of former heroine Sumithra, would essay the role as Vignesh's love interest.[10][11] R. Parthiban would make a special appearance by playing the role of a thug.[12] Actress Vijayalakshmi, busy in Kannada cinema though she had tamil orgins, was chosen to portray a attractive role of a former prostitute and as Parthiban's love interest.[13][14] For the second time, Vignesh and R. Parthiban are acting together in this film, after Suyamvaram.[15]
The main scenes have been shot in Tiruchi. The director was fond of the Cauvery river. So he decided to shoot the climax there. A pattimandram (English: public debate) under the stewardship of Solomon Pappaiah will be included, with regular speakers, indulging in a heated debate.[6]
Several actors shaved their head and the film's success was a turning point in their career (Sathyaraj in Amaidhi Padai, Sarath Kumar in Suriyan or still Vikram in Sethu). Vignesh tonsured his head 70 times.[16][17]
The film was postponed several times. There was an altercation between, the producer, P. Vijayakumar and, the co-producer, S. Suresh Kumar. Due to difference of opinion both the partners split when the film was almost complete. Vijayakumar had agreed to pay back the sum of 13 lakhs to Suresh as part of the settlement. Following this Vijaykumar had issued cheques on various dates. All the cheques got bounced and Suresh filed a case in the Egmore court. In the meantime, Vijayakumar went ahead with the release of Soori and even conducted a function to release the audio. An agitated Suresh now filed another case in the Madras High Court to stop the filming of Soori till his amount was paid. Justice R.Balasubramanian after hearing the case gave the verdict that Soori should not be released and directed Vijayakumar to settle Suresh’s amount.[18][19]
| Soori | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Deva | ||||
| Released | 2003 | |||
| Recorded | 2003 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 34:49 | |||
| Producer | Deva | |||
| Deva chronology | ||||
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The film score and the soundtrack were composed by film composer Deva. The soundtrack, released in 2003, features 7 tracks with lyrics written by Vairamuthu.[20][21][22]
| Track | Song | Singer(s) | Lyrics | Duration | Choreographer | Picturization |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 'Kadavullae Kadavullae' | Hariharan | Vairamuthu | 6:27 | Prabhu Srinivas | Vignesh |
| 2 | 'Labama Nashtama' | Anuradha Sriram | 5:15 | Prabhu Srinivas | Vijayalakshmi | |
| 3 | 'Oh My Lover' | Harish Raghavendra, Harini | 6:02 | Raju Sundaram | Vignesh, Uma | |
| 4 | 'Pirivellam (solo)' | Harish Raghavendra | 5:37 | Sridhar | Sridhar, Vignesh, Uma | |
| 5 | 'Pirivellam II (duet)' | Harish Raghavendra, Chinmayi | 5:37 | Sridhar | Sridhar, Vignesh, Uma | |
| 6 | 'Vaanam Kuninthu' | Udit Narayan, Srimathumitha | 5:32 | Sridhar | Vignesh, Uma | |
| 7 | 'Pre Paida' | Timmy | 5:56 |
The film gained primarily mixed reviews with critics, Malathi Rangarajan of Hindu.com gave a positive review. She wrote that "Vijay Milton's excellent camera work and unique choice of angles deserve special mention" and "Sai Picasso's art, the rock temple, Srirangam, and the roads in and around Tiruchi give the narration considerable boost.". She praised the cast : "But he (Vignesh) tends to go slightly overboard, especially when he howls aloud in agony. However Vignesh's earnest effort is very much evident in these scenes. As the friendly, fun loving Surya he is more natural and appealing.", "Uma's expressive face is proof enough of her talent" and "Parthiban makes a positive impact as a henchman with a kind heart". Malathi Rangarajan concluded that "If his debut venture Soori is a sample, Shelvan sure has potential".[23] Another critic commended the actors by saying : "Actor Vignesh has made a come back through this film. He has given a good performance. Parthiban did a commendable job. Uma is refreshingly beautiful and played her role with understanding". He claimed that the film was average.[24] Balaji Balasubramaniam gave the film 1.5 out of 5, comparing Soori to the film Sethu : "Poor characterization and a weak climax dash his hopes as the movie is not even close to being in the same league." He also criticized the actors "Vignesh seems to overact most of the time and cries seem over the top". and "Uma looks homely though the cute expressions she tries initially don't seem to fit her too well." He cited the climax as a "damp squib".[25] Vignesh won unanimously rave reviews for his performance.[26] Vijayalakshmi role was not well received because she exposed too much.[27] Review aggregator MouthShut.com assigned the film a weighted average score of 2 (out of 5) based on 2 reviews.[28]
Though Soori won critical acclaims, it disappeared without any trace at the box office.[29][30][31]
Soori comes from the first syllable of each of these names : Surya and Rishaba.[32] Soori also means "Lord Krishna".[33]
| Language | Tamil | English |
|---|---|---|
| Hero's name | சூர்யா | Surya |
| Heroine's name | ரிஷிபா | Rishaba |
| Results | சூரி | Soori |
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