Kushi (2000 film)

Kushi
Directed by	S. J. Surya
Produced by	A. M. Rathnam
Written by	S. J. Surya
Starring	Vijay Jyothika
Music by	Deva
Cinematography	Jeeva
Editing by	B. Lenin V. T. Vijayan
Distributed by	Sri Surya Movies
Release dates	May 19, 2000
Running time	178 mins
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Kushi (English: Happiness) is a 2000 Tamil romantic comedy film directed by S. J. Surya and produced by A. M. Rathnam. The film featured Vijay and Jyothika in the leading roles, while Mumtaj, Vivek and Vijayakumar play other supporting roles. The film had cinematography by Jeeva, while music was composed by Deva. The film opened in May 2000 to mixed reviews but became a successful venture at the box office, prompting remakes in Hindi and Telugu.

Plot

The story begins when Jenny (Jyothika) and Shiva (Vijay) are born in different states of India they meet as babies, when their parents left they were pulled apart. They are in their childhood and both want to represent their home town in a camp they are next to each other but don't speak or see each other. Ten years later, Jenny wants to pursue higher studies but her father wants her to get married. At first she gets angry at him but decides to marry according to her father's wishes. On the night of the wedding her groom elopes with his lover. Seeing Jenny depressed and disappointed, her father lets her study further. Shiva lives in a big city and is accepted to a college in Canada.

On the way to the airport, he gets in an accident and has to give up his dream of studying abroad. Shiva and Jenny enroll in the same college in different classes, they meet each other at a temple. They introduce themselves to each other and both say "I feel like I've seen you before". Then they meet again when Shiva's friend Babu is in love with a girl named Shanthi to give her a love letter Shiva goes to her house guarded. Shiva get out of his car and runs to Jenny when she walks out of Shanthi's house and explains to Jenny about the situation. So Shiva and Jenny never they work together to get them. One day Shiva and Jenny have a very heated argument and this eventually hurts both of them especially Jenny. They try avoiding each other but can't because their friends need them to meet their lovers.

When they decide to forget about what happened and they try to get Babu into Shanthi's house but are caught and Shanthi's father ambush Jenny and Shiva while fighting Shiva close to being cut Jenny steps in to save him but her hands are bleeding and is taken to the hospital. Jenny get better and find out that Shanthi is getting married and Shiva has a plan. As Babu and Shanti drive off to have their new life Jenny and Shiva say their goodbyes but not feelings. Will they be able to confess even though we're nearing the end watch the movie to see.

Cast

• Vijay as Shiva
• Jyothika as Jennifer (Selvi)
• Vijayakumar as Jennifer's father
• Nizhalgal Ravi as Shiva's father
• Janaki Sabesh
• Beena
• Vivek as Vicky
• Mumtaj as Anita
• Rajan P. Dev
• Nagendra Prasad as Babu
• Shilpa Shetty as Macarena (guest appearance)
• Shaam in a cameo appearance
• S. J. Surya in a cameo appearance

Production

After watching the premiere show of Vaali, Rathnam offered S. J. Surya an opportunity to direct his next venture with Vijay and Jyothika being signed on soon after.^[1] Amisha Patel was also briefly considered for a role in the film, but was later not selected. Vijay began shooting for the film during the same time he was shooting for Fazil's Kannukkul Nilavu and revealed how hard it had been to shift between the two characters he was portraying.^[2] Vasundhara Das was also approached for a guest role in the film but her reluctance to play the character meant that Mumtaj was signed on.^[3] Early reports indicated that the film would portray an illicit relationship where a young widowed mother (Mumtaj) would lust for the lover (Vijay) of her own daughter (Jyothika). The producer rubbished the rumors claiming that the film would be a romantic comedy.^[4]

The producers initially readied themselves to release the film on April 14, 2000 but pushed dates back to accommodate the release of bigger budget ventures such as Mani Ratnam's Alaipayuthey and Rajiv Menon's Kandukondain Kandukondain.^[5]

Release

Rediff.com felt that "overall, the light, airy romance of Kushi works just right for the holiday season, with an appeal calculated for the teen and family audiences", prasing the director's story-telling.^[6] Entertainment portal Bizhat.com gave the film a below average review and claimed that the film "does not justify the title in any way nor does it come anywhere near his first" and that it "is interesting in the beginning, but monotonous after a time as the narration gets stuck in a groove".^[7]

The Hindu featured the film as runner-up in their list of top Tamil films in 2000, placing it behind Vikraman's Vanathai Pola.^[8][9] Jyothika went on to win the Filmfare Best Actress Award in Tamil for her performance in the film.^[10] Deva won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Music Director in 2000 for his work in the film along with his work in Uyirile Kalanthathu and Sanditha Velai.^[11]

In 2001, A. M. Rathnam re-signed Surya to direct the Telugu version of the film, also titled Kushi. The film starring Pawan Kalyan and Bhumika Chawla also similarly won positive reviews and commercial success.^[12] Surya also directed the Hindi version of the film in 2003 as Khushi for producer Boney Kapoor, with Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead roles. The success of the lead pair's chemistry prompted Vijay and Jyothika to team up again in 2003 for Thirumalai, while the director and actor briefly reunited for a project titled Puli in 2005, before Vijay opted out.^[13][14] In an interview prior to the release of Anbe Aaruyire (2005), Surya revealed that the film was "like a sequel to Kushi".^[15]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was composed by Deva, while Vairamuthu penned the lyrics for the songs.

References