Yavarum Nalam

Yavarum Nalam is a 2009 Indian horror film directed by Vikram Kumar, starring R. Madhavan and Neetu Chandra in the lead roles. Produced by Suresh Balaje and George Pius, the film was simultaneously filmed and released in Tamil and also Hindi as 13B with a slightly different cast. The film's soundtrack was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and background score by Tubby Parik. The film was released on 6 March 2009 to mixed reviews from critics.

Cast

Plot

Manohar, an upper-middle class Indian, moves into a new apartment - 13B on the 13th floor - with his family, fulfilling one of his life's biggest dreams. But the family is greeted by a series of small trivial incidents such as milk getting spoiled that could be regarded as inauspicious but are shrugged off by the excited Manohar. The lift in the apartment does not operate for Manohar.

The women in the family get hooked on to a new TV show Yavarum Nalam (Everyone Is Well, or Sab Khairiyat in the Hindi version). The show is about a family eerily similar to theirs who have also just moved into a new house just like they have. As the serial unfolds, Manohar notices that the incidents that happen in the serial are a reflection of what has happened to Manohar and his family. The serial mirrors Manohar's family life. For example, his sister graduating first-class, his wife getting pregnant and later suffering a miscarriage. The rest of the family remains oblivious to the similarities and Manohar prefers it that way to avoid panic. He also notices that his camera will take twisted pictures of him while he is in the apartment, but not while he is out of the apartment.

As Manohar fights the uneasy feeling in his mind, things start taking a turn for the worse in the serial. He is now terrified that the same might happen to his family as well. Manohar now wants to know who is behind the making of this serial and what their intentions are. As Manohar explores the mysterious happenings, he unravels a deep and unholy secret.

The house they live in was the house where a whole family of eight were murdered way back in 1977. It was the family of a TV news reader named Chitra. On the day of Chitra's engagement an ardent fan (Shriram Shinde in the 13B version) of Chitra wanted to stop the engagement and he failed in doing so. Disheartened, he committed suicide. Subsequently, all members of that family were murdered with a hammer in a single day. The blame rested on the crazy brother in the family, as he had been seen with the hammer last. The police officer investigating the case also committed suicide by hanging himself in the same house.

Now Manohar and his friend, Shiva (Murli Sharma), who is a policeman, are in the process of unraveling the mystery. Manohar researches the madman Senthil/Ashok, who apparently goes crazy after seeing the TV show in an asylum. Manohar then meets Senthil, who extends a hand for Manohar but drags him inside, but his friend Shiva keeps him from being dragged. They then met Chitra's former fiance Ramchandar, who tries to plead for Senthil's innocence because he got covered in blood while he hugged the bodies, failed in the case.

After researching one night, Manohar has a nightmare of the 13B murderer climbing the stairs to kill his family. When Manohar tries to climb the stairs, he always ends up on the 2nd floor and after a few moments he wakes up. He then goes to the hall and witnesses the climax of Yavarum Nalam/Sab Kheriyat when they are showing the murderer's identity; he sees two hammers, one pointed hammer and a blunt sledge-hammer, then showing Manohar's face as the killer.

What follows is the climax that ties up all the loose ends. The 13B murderer is Dr Balu/Dr Shinde, who sees the family members' faces as serial family members. Manohar kills him.

The story ends with Manohar living a normal life with a new dog in the family; the milk is not getting spoiled anymore. They bring Senthil/Ashok home and the lift in the apartment finally works for Manohar. Manohar receives a call from Dr Balu/Dr Shinde while in the lift, who says that while the 13B family haunts the TV, he haunts Manohar's phone.

Production

Development

The director of the film, Vikram Kumar, won a National Award for his short film "Silent Scream". Here he teamed up with cinematographer P. C. Sreeram, editor Sreekar Prasad, sound designer A. S. Lakshminarayanan and art director Sameer Chanda, who also happen to be National Film Award winners. The Hindi working title was Channel.^[2]

Casting

Esha Deol and Kareena Kapoor were originally considered for the lead role which eventually went to Neetu Chandra. Lead actress Neetu Chandra made her Tamil debut with Yaavarum Nalam. She has starred in successful Hindi films like Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Traffic Signal. Lead actor Madhavan and cinematographer P. C. Sreeram had previously worked together on the hit movie Alaipayuthey. Veteran Hindi actor Dhritiman Chaterjee made his Tamil cinema debut in Yaavarum Nalam, but Tamil was not a new language for him, as he is a resident of Chennai. He played the same role in the Hindi version of the film. Veteran Marathi actor Sachin Khedekar, who made his debut in Tamil cinema with Yaavarum Nalam, took great effort in learning his lines. A voice CD was sent to him with his lines read out so that he would get familiar with the Tamil dialogue. He plays the same character in the Hindi version as well.

Filming

The majority of the film takes place inside an apartment. A temporary shooting floor was created from scratch in Egmore, Chennai, inside which an elaborate apartment set was erected.

Reception

Box office

Receiving highly positive reviews the film turned out be a super hit also the film grossed $3.52 million at the Chennai box office, according to Behindwoods.com.^[3][4][5][6]

Soundtrack

The film's music was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy while the lyrics in Hindi and Tamil were penned by Neelesh Mishra and Thamarai respectively.

Hindi

All lyrics written by Neelesh Mishra, all music composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy.

Tamil

All lyrics written by Thamarai, all music composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy.

References

• 13B Movie Review on BIGisBIG.com, BIG Pictures Official Blog.
• BehindWoods.com: "Maddy Vikram combo to be a thrill ride", by Behindwoods News Bureau, 18 December 2007

External links

• 13B Movie Trailer