Ghilli

Ghilli
Film poster
Directed by	Dharani
Produced by	A. M. Rathnam
Written by	Gunasekhar
Screenplay by	Dharani Barathan (Dialogues )
Starring	Vijay Trisha Prakash Raj Ashish Vidyarthi Dhamu Nagendra Prasad
Music by	Vidyasagar
Cinematography	Gopinath
Edited by	V. T. Vijayan
Production company	Sri Surya Movies
Release dates	17 April 2004 (2004-04-17)
Running time	167 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Box office	300 million (US$4.8 million)[1]

Ghilli (English: Risk taker) is a 2004 Indian Tamil action thriller film directed by Dharani and produced by A. M. Rathnam.^[2] The film is a remake of Telugu blockbuster Okkadu, that starred Mahesh Babu, Bhoomika Chawla, and Prakash Raj in the lead roles. Ghilli stars Vijay, with Trisha Krishnan and Prakash Raj playing the female lead and antagonist, respectively. The soundtrack and background score of the film were composed by Vidyasagar. The film released on Tamil New Year day on 14 April 2004; opened to highly positive reviews and emerged the highest-grossing Tamil film of all time, surpassed later by Chandramukhi.^[3][4][5][6] Ghilli has grown a strong cult following over the years.^[1] It was dubbed in Hindi as Keertimaan.

Plot

Velu as Ghilli (Vijay), is a wannabe kabbadi champion who is the son of Assistant Commissioner of Police Sivasubramanian (Ashish Vidyarthi). Sivasubramanian is not fond of his son, constantly chiding him for his lack of interest in studies and his love for kabaddi. His mother (Janaki Sabesh), on the other hand, dotes on him and his younger sister Bhuvana ('Baby' Jennifer) is the typical sharp and inquisitive schoolgirl, constantly getting Velu into trouble with his father, but nevertheless still adores him.

In Madurai, there is a ruthless factionalist leader Muthupandy (Prakash Raj), who is obsessed with a beautiful girl Dhanalakshmi (Trisha Krishnan) and would do anything to marry her. Muthupandi kills Dhanalakshmi's elder brother as he rejects his offer to marry Dhanalakshmi. Then Dhanalakshmi's younger brother is also killed by Muthupandi when he tries to avenge his brother's murder. Dhanalakshmi's father is a meek person who gets horrified by Muthupandi's acts and asks Dhanalakshmi to go away from the place and lead a peaceful life at her uncle's place in the USA by giving her the necessary certificates and money. Muthupandi catches her when she starts fleeing because by coincidence Dhanalakshmi gets into one of the lorries owned by him. At this juncture, Velu- who is in Madurai to play in a kabaddi tournament- rescues Dhanalakshmi from the hands of Muthupandi and takes her to Chennai.

Velu takes Dhanalakshmi to his house and hides her in his room, unknown to his family. Velu, with the help of his friends, arranges passport, visa and flight tickets for Dhanalakshmi so that she can go to the USA. Meanwhile, Muthupandi and his father, who happens to be the Home Minister, ask Sivasubramanian to search for Dhanalakshmi and the apparent kidnapper. When Sivasubramanian finds out that it's his own son who did the crime, Velu and Dhanalakshmi run away and hide in the lighthouse. Dhanalakshmi has by now fallen in love with Velu, and has been accepted by Velu's mother and sister. So she is reluctant to go to the USA. Velu however, is adamant on sending her to the USA and he, along with his friends, get Dhanalakshmi to the airport in time for her flight before their kabaddi match against Punjab in the final of the National League. Sivasubramanian, enraged that his son is a wanted criminal and yet is playing in a kabaddi match, goes to the stadium to arrest Velu. By now, Velu too has fallen in love with Dhanalakshmi and begins to miss her, only to spot her in the stadium during the match. Velu's lack of focus in the game is replaced by his best on seeing Dhanalakshmi, winning Tamil Nadu the championship. After winning the championship, Velu is arrested by his father, but is then stopped by Muthupandi, who wants to fight Velu, having been incited by Dhanalakshmi to do so to prove his worth. During the fight, Muthupandi accidentally falls on a floodlight, killing him. The movie ends with Velu and Dhanalakshmi finally united.

Cast

• Vijay as Saravanavelu, the protagonist
• Trisha Krishnan as Dhanalakshmi, Saravanavelu's love interest
• Prakash Raj as Muthupandi, the antagonist^[7]
• Ashish Vidyarthi as Sivasubramanian, Saravanavelu's father^[7]
• Tanikella Bharani as Muthupandi's father^[7]
• Janaki Sabesh as Saravanavelu's mother^[8]
• Baby Jennifer as Bhuvana^[7]
• Dhamu as Otteri Nari^[7]
• Vinod (actor Vikram's father) as Dhanalakshmi's father^[7]
• T. K. Kala as Muthupandi's mother^[7]
• Nagendra Prasad as Prasad
• Aadukalam Murugadoss as Aadhivasi^[8]
• Mayilsamy as Narayana
• Brahmanandam as priest, his comedy sequence is one of the most popular in Tamil cinema.
• Appukutty as Brahmanandham's assistant
• Ponnambalam as Arivumathi
• Nandha Saravanan as Saravanavelu's enemy (opposite team leader)^[8]
• Paandu
• Karate Raja as Muthupandi's henchman^[8]
• Ammu
• Vimal as Saravanavelu's team mate (uncredited role)
• Pandi (actor) as road side seller

Production

Vijay expressed interest in starring in a Tamil remake of the successful Telugu action flick Okkadu and prompted producer A. M. Rathnam to purchase the remake rights of the film. Dharani was finalized as the director, whose previous film Dhool under Rathnam's production had been a financial success. Dharani made minor changes to the script to suit Vijay's image and Tamil audience's taste. Dharani's regular crew members including cinematographer Gopinath and music director Vidyasagar joined the film, while Rocky Rajesh and Raju Sundaram were chosen to choreograph the stunts and dances, respectively.

Simran Bagga was roped to play the female lead opposite Vijay, But due to her wedding arrangements Trisha Krishnan was replaced to play the female lead, while Prakash Raj was signed on to reprise the villain's character from the original. Dhamu and Prabhu Deva's brother, Nagendra Prasad were recruited to essay supporting roles. Ashish Vidyarthi, Janaki Sabesh and Baby Jennifer were selected to portray Vijay's parents and sister, respectively. Playback singer T. K. Kala made her acting debut with this film.^[9] Vimal who went on to act in films like Pasanga (2009) and Kalavani (2010) appeared in a small role as one of Vijay's teammates and also worked as "unofficial" assistant director.^[10]

Filming began in mid-2003, after Vijay had completed his action flick with director Ramana; the film was completed by early 2004. Filming took place in Chennai surrounding the coastal areas like Mylapore and Besant Nagar. The film's introduction fight scene and a song were shot in a costly set in Prasad studios.^[11] A lighthouse set was also erected. Other action and chasing sequences were canned near the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai. The climax scene was shot in a crowd of one hundred thousand people on a Vinayagar Chaturthi occasion.^[12]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features 6 songs composed by Vidyasagar.The lyrics were penned by Yugabharathi, Pa. Vijay, Na. Muthukumar, Kabilan and Maran. The soundtrack became a sensation on release. The song Appadi Podu in particular enjoyed high popularity upon release, all over South India and became a huge chartbuster. The song was later reused by Chakri as "Adaragottu" in the Telugu movie Krishna (2008).^[13] The song was also adapted as Hum Na Tode in the Hindi movie Boss starring Akshay Kumar.

Release

Ghilli was due for release on 9 April but later got postponed for a week and opened in over 150 theaters on 16 April. Though the reason for the postponement was not given out, rumours were that producer A M Rathnam's creditors put pressure on him to settle his accounts before release. Another reason was that Vijay got cold feet after the Udhaya debacle as the film had not even taken an opening.^[12]

Reception

The film opened to highly positive reviews, and became the biggest commercial success of Vijay's career then. Sify appreciated the film for its fast moving screenplay and said as a racy entertainer giving a rating of 3.5/5 stars.^[14] Nowrunning.com stated that "Gilli, story wise, is neither fresh popcorn nor spicy samosa found in theaters.. but the screenplay and overall treatment is as fresh and appetizing as full meals after a long day. and gave an overall rating of 3/5 stars^[15] Oneindia gave the film 4/5 stars and stated the film as a "Blockbuster".^[16] The Hindu stated that "Vijay, the hero whom the masses today identify with, and Prakashraj, the inimitable villain in tow, this remake of the Telugu flick, "Okkadu," comes a clear winner".^[17] Indiaglitz called the film that Gilli is an out and out entertainer and commented that "Vijay and Trisha on track with another blockbuster".^[4] Rediff stated that, "Don't miss 'Gilli'.^[18]

Accolades

• National award for best dialogue "chellam"
• Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Tamil – Prakash Raj₹
• Filmfare Award for Best Dance Choreographer – South – Raju Sundaram
• Madras Corporate Club Best Actor Award – Vijay
• Dinakaran Best Actor Award – Vijay
• Film Today Best Actor Award – Vijay
• Dinakaran Best Villain Award – Prakash Raj

Remakes and character map

References

External links

• Ghilli at the Internet Movie Database