Goli Soda

Goli Soda
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Vijay Milton
Produced by	Bharath Seeni
Written by	Vijay Milton (Story) Pandiraj (Dialogues)
Starring	Kishore Sree Raam Pandi Murugesh Chandini
Music by	S. N. Arunagiri A. Seelin (BGM)
Cinematography	Vijay Milton
Editing by	Anthony
Studio	Rough Note
Distributed by	Thirrupathi Brothers
Release dates	January 24, 2014 (2014-01-24)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Goli Soda (Tamil: கோலி சோடா; English: Banta) is a 2014 Indian Tamil film written, directed and filmed by cinematographer-director S.D. Vijay Milton. Produced by his brother Bharath Seeni under Roughnote Production, the film features Kishore, Sree Raam, Pandi and Murugesh of Pasanga fame. The film was distributed by N. Lingusamy's Thirrupathi Brothers and released on 24 January 2014 to critical acclaim.

Plot

Set against the backdrop of the Koyambedu market, the film revolves around the lives of four children played by Kishore, Sree Raam, Pandi and Murugesh. The film narrates the story of these boys who work and live together in the Market.^[1]

Story

These 4 boys work in Koyembedu Market as Coolies, and earn their bread by working as lifters. They Lift and transport the vegetable stocks to various shops. One Such shop is owned by Aachi, who treats these boys like her sons. These boys are go lucky and do not care about their future, and have fun by teasing and looking at schoolgirls who pass by. They Befriend a Girl named ATM, who assists them in finding a new friend, who turns ou to be Aachi's daughter. They all become friends and hang out together. One day ATM tell the boys that, the do not have an identity and how long will they live like this ? She advices them to do something that will give them and identity and let them earn some respect. And They finally decide to start a mess in the market, where so many people will have access. Aachi helps them to get an Old Godown from Naidu, a rich Dada, who controls the Market. Naidu lets them have the place for free for now, and says will collect the rent later. The boys start the mess and it becomes an instant hit, earning them money and respect. The boys feel that they have now got an identity as the owners of Aachi mess.

Things take a turn, when Madhi,the Cousin of Naidu, starts using the mess for his own recreation purpose during the night. The Boys allow him first due to the respect on Naidu, but later on Madhi uses the mess for wrong purposes. One Night Madhi rapes a women in the mess, and One of the boys is upset with this, and he orders Madhi to get out of the mess immediately. Infuriated, Madhi beats the boy, and sends him back. The other boys come to know about this, and the next day, they come to the mess and find it still locked. Madhi is still in the mess with hangover and has made a complete mess of the place. The boys get angry and ask him to go out. But as Madhi refuses and attacks them, the boys retaliate and Madhi is pushed down. Madhi starts to attack the boys, and the boys Overpoer Madhi, and beat him. Angry and humiliated, Madhi leaves the place. Naidu comes to know about this and is extremely angry. Aachi goes to meet Naidu to apologise for the boys, but Naidu doesnt accpet and keeps her hostage, till the boys get punished back. Naidu sends his group of men along with Madhi to beat the boys inside the mess, in front of every people in the market, just like the boys did to him. The Boys are forced and they are targeted and mauled by Naidu's men. They are beaten up. At one stage, the boys start to retaliate and somehow get the upper hand. They then Attack the men using weapons found in the market and make the men evade that place. Naidu gets further angry. The boys take Madhi as hostage and tells Naidu that if they Release Aachi, they will release Madhi. All these incidents make Naidu angry on the boys and vows to take revenge on them. So he plans and attacks the boys once again,makes them unconcious and separates them by sending them to different parts of the country.

The boys reunite after some struggle, and decide to teach get their revenge on Naidu, for making them lose thei identity. They come back to the market and start their restaurant again. Naidu is pretty surprised about this and goes to confront the boys, but they are saved by a COP. The Boys decide to avenge their feelings by making Naidu lose the fear that people have on him, and oppose him in the market elections. Naidu loses the election and he decides to kill the boys and sends all his men to search them. The Boys hide away and since Naidu has sent all his men away, they come to know that Naidu must be alone and they take on him. They see Naidu sleeping and they cut of his hair and paste a coin his head, symbolising that he is dead. The next morning, Naidu sees this and is angered to the core. He directly goes himself to the mess and locks it from inside to kill the boys. The Boys outpower him and tie him to a post and make him nude. They threaten to open the door thus making his respect turn into shame. Naidu begs them not to do so, and pleads them to kill him instead of showing him nude to the outside world. They Boys then Tell Naidu that Identity of a man is more important and He has finally learnt that. Naidu becomes a good man, and the Boys are forgiven by Naidu and vice versa. The Boys continue to run the mess Successfully.

Cast

• Santhosh (A)kishore as Pulli
• Sree Raam as Settu
• Pandi as Sithappa
• Murugesh as Kuttimani
• Seetha
• Chandhini
• Imman Annachi as Manthiravadhi
• Sujatha Sivakumar as Aachi
• R. K. Vijai Murugan as Mayilu
• Madhusudhan as Naidu
• A. Manoharan

Special appearance in trailer^[2]

• T. Rajendar
• 'Powerstar' Srinivasan
• Sam Anderson

Production

Vijay Milton, who has been the cinematographer for films like Priyamudan, Autograph, Kaadhal and Vazhakku Enn 18/9, turned director with Azhagai Irukkirai Bayamai Irukkirathu. Goli Soda is his second directorial venture.^[3] The inspiration for the story came during an early morning visit to Koyambedu market. "I was passing through Koyambedu Market one morning, when I witnessed hundreds of young boys sleeping in its attics. That triggered my curiosity and I started researching them. I learnt that their world revolves only around this 'market', they do not have any other identity. Even when they get old, they indulge in activities like selling ganja and putting up petty tea shops inside the market. I immediately decided to make a film on them."^[4]

Filming took place in Chennai's Koyambedu market, Alappuzha in Kerala and Murudeshwara temple in Karnataka.^[5]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album was composed by S. N. Arunagiri. The lyrics were penned by Mani Amudhavan, Priyan and Gaana Bala.^[6] The background score was composed by Anoop Seelin,^[7] making his entry to Tamil cinema.

Tracklist

Critical Reception

Goli Soda opened to positive reviews from critics.^[8] Baradwaj Rangan wrote "The signature achievement of Goli Soda is its ruthless unmasking of how hollow most of our masala movies are, and how, with a little imagination, just a little, you can make a film which does not insult the audience" and went on to state, "I will be very surprised if there’s a more entertaining, more inventive, more well-acted masala movie this year".^[9] The Times of India gave 3.5 stars out of 5 and said "Goli Soda IS a masala movie. But what sets it apart and even makes it one-of-a-kind is that its protagonists aren't grown-up 20-somethings but adolescents, early teens to be specific. There have been Hollywood films that have transposed the sensibilities of a regular genre movie to ones that have kids as the principal characters...but this is probably a first in Tamil cinema".^[10] Sify called it "a gutsy and outstanding film" and continued, "The film works due to the triumph of honest writing, freshness of its cast who does not have any star trappings, and the speed of the film. The backbone of the film is Pandiraj’s script and Vijay Milton’s directorial touches and the belief that everybody irrespective of his surroundings and upbringing has an identity".^[11] Cinemalead.com rated it with 4/5 stars and said "Overall if you prefer to watch a gutsy film which is different and unique from the routine Tamil cinema, go and watch Goli Soda which surely deserves a repeated viewing".^[12]

IANS gave it 4 out of 5 stars and said "Goli Soda is a slap in the face of heroism. It proves that the story is the real star of a film and it's precisely because of it that the entertainer emerges as a winner".^[13] Behindwoods rated it 3.25 out of 5 and said "Though there are exaggerated cinematic moments, Milton tells a good story under an unusual premise with engaging screenplay, sharp dialogues, good camerawork and interesting moments.".^[14] Indiaglitz also gave it a 3.25 rating and stated, "Vijay Milton has done the best justice to an offbeat story, in a clean entertainer that would impress all sorts of audience".^[15]

References