Snehaveedu

Snehaveedu
poster
Directed by	Sathyan Anthikad
Produced by	Antony Perumbavoor
Written by	Sathyan Anthikad
Starring	Mohanlal Sheela Padmapriya Biju Menon Innocent
Music by	Ilaiyaraaja
Cinematography	Venu ISC
Editing by	K. Rajagopal
Studio	Aashirvad Cinemas
Distributed by	Aashirvad Release through Maaxlab
Release dates	September 30, 2011 (2011-09-30)
Running time	150 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam

Snehaveedu is a 2011 Malayalam film written and directed by Sathyan Anthikad.^[1][2] It stars Mohanlal,^[3] Sheela and Rahul Pillai in the lead roles.^[4][5]This is Mohanlal's 300th film.

Plot

The story revolves around Ajayan (Mohanlal), who, after having tried his luck in different cities around the world, comes back to his village to look after his ageing mother Ammukutty Amma (Sheela) and to get her love and the nostalgia of his growing up years. There, he starts a company for producing agricultural equipment and earns his living as a farmer. One day a boy comes and meets Ajayan claiming to be his son. Ajayan used to boast himself as a womanizer in his youth is believed to be the boy's father by all villagers. Ammukutty Amma starts getting to like the boy and they form a very friendly relation and eventually she starts accepting the boy as Ajayan's real son, though Ajayan ferociously reject the boy's claim and dislikes him. The boy is persuaded by Ammukkty Amma to get close with Ajayan and subsequent events softens Ajayans attitude towards the boy. Ajayan then set forth to enquire about the real identity of the boy and travels to Chennai. He is absolutely sure that he is not his father as the real truth is his stories about adventures with woman were actually lies to get admiration of his friends. The climax show us that Ajayan accepts the boy as his own son.

Cast

• Mohanlal as Ajayan
• Sheela as Ammukkutty Amma
• Padmapriya as Sunanda
• Biju Menon as SI Balachandran
• Innocent as Mathai
• K. P. A. C. Lalitha as Reethamma
• Mamukkoya as Seithali
• Rahul Pillai as Karthik
• Reeja as Shanthi
• Chembil Ashokan as Manian
• Lena Abhilash as Lilly
• Urmila Unni as Nalini
• Arundathi as Rosemol
• Sasi Kalinga as Krishnan Marar
• Appukutty as Pazhanisamy
• Praveen Premkumar

Production

The film was produced by Antony Perumbavoor under the banner of Aashirvad Cinemas. It features the work of Anthikad's recurring collaborators such as cinematographer Venu, music director Ilaiyaraaja, editor K. Rajagopal and actors Innocent, K. P. A. C. Lalitha and Mamukkoya. Principal production for the film started in Palakkad, Kerala in mid-June 2011. Sources close to the director revealed that the film "will be a typical Sathyan Anthikad family entertainer with humour and sentiments".^[6][7][8]

Reception

Critical response

Keerthy Ramachandran of The Deccan Chronicle gave the film three stars out of five. She wrote that the film portrays the elements of a village, typical of Anthikad films "beautifully". She also compared the plot of the film to that of Minnaram (1994) and commended the performance of Sheela, which she felt was "brilliant".^[9] However, she ended on a mixed note, writing "What disappoints is that [Sathyan] Anthikad, who has always come up with sensible themes, has failed to send any subtle message this time".^[9] Veeyen of Nowrunning gave the movie a rating of 2 stars of 5 and said "With all ingredients in the right doses, 'Snehaveedu' remains exactly what you expect it to be - the quintessential Sathyan Anthikkad film. The family audience that has adored Sathyan Anthikkad films for long, is there at the theatres this time as well, but Snehaveedu emits enough smoke to set off the tedium fire alarm."^[10] Paresh C Palicha of Rediff gave the movie a rating of 2.5 stars out of 5 and said "Snehaveedu is a feel good movie". It added "In the final analysis, Sathyan Anthikad mixes and matches his recent successful films like Manassinakare, Rasthanthram and even Achuvinte Amma to make Snehaveedu, which leaves his fans with little to complain about."^[11] At Indiaglitz gave the movie a rating of 5.75 stars out of 10 stars and said "'Sneha veedu' is packed with all the signature elements of Sathyan Anthikkad that the families of Kerala admire, but a more cohesive script and convincing climax complemented by hit music should have made this a winner."^[12]

Box office

The movie received positive response from the family audience. According to Cinebuzz.co.in, the film has opened at number one position on Kerala box office registering 80 percent collections in almost all the centres and made a 100+ days run in 1 centre.^[13] According to Sify.com, Snehaveedu opened at number one position on Kerala box office.^[14]This is declared as hit.

Soundtrack

Snehaveedu
Soundtrack album by Ilaiyaraaja
Released	2011
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	24:54 mins
Label	Manorama Music
Producer	Ilaiyaraaja

The songs in this movie were composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The lyrics were penned by Rafeeq Ahamed. Keerthy Ramachandran of The Deccan Chronicle commented that "lyrics of Rafeeq Ahmed are worth mentioning".

Awards

Asianet Film Awards

• Best Actor - Mohanlal
• Best Supporting Actor - Biju Menon
• Best Character Actor - Innocent
• Best Character Actress - K. P. A. C. Lalitha
• Best Male Playback Singer - Hariharan

Mathrubhumi Film Awards^[15]

• Best Female Playback Singer - K. S. Chithra

References