Kadhal Desam
| Kadhal Desam | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Kathir |
| Produced by | K. T. Kunjumon |
| Written by | Kathir |
| Starring | |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
| Cinematography | K. V. Anand |
| Editing by |
B. Lenin V. T. Vijayan |
| Studio | Gentleman Film International |
| Distributed by | Gentleman Film International |
| Release dates |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Kadhal Desam (Land of Love) is a 1996 Tamil romance film directed by Kathir and produced by K. T. Kunjumon. The film starred Abbas, Vineeth and Tabu in the lead roles, while S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Vadivelu, Chinni Jayanth and Srividya played other pivotal characters. K. V. Anand was the cinematographer for the project and A. R. Rahman composed the film's soundtrack and score. The film opened in September 1996 to positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success.
Plot
In a city in Southern India traditional rivalry has always existed between the students of Pachaiyappas and Loyola Colleges respectively. Karthik (Vineeth) is poor and an orphan, who studies in Pachaiyappa's College, lives in a rented room, travels by the bus, hangs out with a number of friends, and is the Captain of his football team. He is also a good poet and daydreams about his dream girl. Arun (Abbas), on the other hand, comes from a rich and wealthy family, studies in Loyola College, drives his own car, hangs out with number of friends, and is also the Captain of his football team. In a nasty inter college riot Arun saves Karthik's life. So in return Karthik lets Arun win in a soccer game because he thinks Arun can't take losses easily.
Both become good friends, and they both show a good example of friendship to the others in the college road. Divya is the new girl in town who causes barbers to shave their clients head off, flowers to cry because she is not walking on them etc. Both fall in love with her, but neither realise that they both love the same woman. When they realise,their friendship is strained.The end of the movie shows whether Divya will fall in love with one of them and will their friendship be affected.
Cast
- Abbas as Arun
- Vineeth as Karthik
- Tabu as Divya
- Vadivelu
- S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
- Chinni Jayanth
- Srividya
Production
Mumbai model Abbas was in Bangalore during his holidays, when he bumped into director Kathir who asked him to act in his Tamil film. Initially reluctant due to his little knowledge of the language, he opted out and left for his college in Mumbai. A year later, Abbas received a call from producer K. T. Kunjumon asking him to come over for a screen test as a result of Kathir's insistence.[1] Vineeth was signed on to play another lead role in the film due to his association with Kunjumon, having previously worked in the 1993 Shankar-directed film, Gentleman.[2] Tabu was signed on to make her debut in Tamil films and worked on the film alongside Mani Ratnam's Iruvar.
Kathir mentioned that he dreamt of a "beautiful place full of young people" and was inspired by College Road in Chennai, with a setting by the beach". Since, it did not exist, he ordered for it to be created for the film costing Rs. one crore.[3][4] The film also managed to convince Pachaiyappa's College and Loyola College, Chennai to give them rights to use their college names in the films, focussing on the rivalry between the institutions.
Release
The film went on to become a large commercial success.[5] The climax of the film broke a taboo in the Tamil film industry, where a love triangle would be decided with a happy ending.[6] Post-success, Abbas revealed that he felt the "Mustafa Mustafa" song catapulted him to stardom and enjoyed a strong female base after Kadhal Desam.[7] However a critic from Indolink.com suggested that "Katheer's direction lacks the punch and innovation. The narration is slow, incoherent, and shaky",though mentioned there is "reasonably good acting by Vineeth, Abbas is OK for a newcomer and Tabu looks ravishing".[8]
The film won A. R. Rahman his fifth consecutive Filmfare Award for Best Music Director in Tamil.[9][10] K. V. Anand also received the Screen Award South for Best Cinematography for his work in the film.[11] The film was dubbed and released in Telugu as Prema Desam and became an equally big success.[12] The Hindi version, Duniya Dilwalon Ka, however did not perform as well.[13]
The success of the film prompted Rahman to collaborate with Kathir again in Kadhalar Dhinam (1999) and Kadhal Virus (2002). As a result of respect for his first director, Abbas made a guest appearance in the latter film. The film triggered off a string of youth-based stories in films with Minsara Kanavu and Ullaasam featuring similar story lines.[14]
Soundtrack
| Kadhal Desam | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by A.R.Rahman | ||||
| Released | 1996 | |||
| Recorded | Panchathan Record Inn | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 35:23 | |||
| Label | Pyramid | |||
| Producer | A.R. Rahman | |||
| A.R.Rahman chronology | ||||
| ||||
The soundtrack for the film was composed by A.R.Rahman with lyrics penned by Vaali. The soundtrack was also released in Telugu as Prema Desam and in Hindi with the title Duniya Dilwalon Ki with lyrics written by P. K. Mishra and Mehboob. The soundtrack became extremely popular among youth. All songs are chart busters. The whole album was extremely successful and got tremendous response from critics and audience alike. It made waves in the hearts of youth, then and hence achieved ground breaking sales everywhere. This album is termed as a bench mark album in Rahman's career. It became so popular that at some places, the film's success was attributed to its soundtrack alone. This album is said to have completely revolutionised contemporary Indian film music and made Rahman hot favourite among youth. Rahman received rave reviews from critics and won his fifth filmfare award.
The background score, composed by A. R. Rahman, was highly appreciated and was considered as an extremely innovative one. It still stands among Rahman's finest ever background scores and as the best score in Kadhir's movies.
Tamil version
| # | Song | Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Ennai Kaanavillaiye" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, O. S. Arun, Rafee |
| 2 | "Hello Doctor" | A. R. Rahman, Storms, Neol, Anupama |
| 3 | "Kalluri Salai" | A. R. Rahman, Hariharan, Aslam Mustafa |
| 4 | "Mustafa Mustafa" | A. R. Rahman |
| 5 | "Thendrale" | Mano, Unni Krishnan, Dominique Cerejo |
| 6 | "O Vennila" | Unni Krishnan |
Telugu version
| # | Song | Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Prema Prema" | SP Balasubramaniam, OS Arun |
| 2 | "Hello Doctor" | KK, Srinivas, Anupama, Noel |
| 3 | "College Style" | KK, Hariharan |
| 4 | "Mustafa" | AR Rahman |
| 5 | "O Vennila" | Unnikrishnan |
| 6 | "Vennila" | Unnikrishnan, Mano |
Hindi version
| # | Song | Singer(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "College Ki Saathi" | Hariharan, KK |
| 2 | "Dekha Nahi Hai" | SP Balasubramaniam |
| 3 | "Hello Doctor" | KK |
| 4 | "Mustafa" | AR Rahman |
| 5 | "Jaana Jaana" | SPB |
| 6 | "O Meri Jaan" | Sonu Nigam |
References
- ↑ The Hindu : Cinema Plus / Columns : My first break
- ↑ Rediff On The Net, Movies: Winning, vulnerable Vineeth
- ↑ http://www.hindu.com/2000/08/06/stories/09060221.htm
- ↑ Rediff On The Net, Movies: Will Rakshakan resurrect Sushmita's career?
- ↑ Rediff On The Net, Movies:K V Anand
- ↑ http://www.cscsarchive.org:8081/MediaArchive/art.nsf/(docid)/E5541976431445E0652569400062014E
- ↑ The Hindu : Metro Plus Chennai : `I sold my car to buy a bike'
- ↑ INDOlink Film Review: Kaadhal Desam
- ↑ International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002 - Google Books
- ↑ http://www.cscsarchive.org:8081/MediaArchive/art.nsf/(docid)/45330DAF8370E87C652569400062014F
- ↑ Chasing new goals - The Hindu
- ↑ Rediff On The NeT, Movies: Gossip from the south
- ↑ Rediff On The NeT, Movies: Gossip from the southern film industry
- ↑ Rediff On The Net, Movies:
External links
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