Santosh Subramaniam

Santosh Subramaniam

Theatrical poster
Directed by M. Raja
Produced by AGS Entertainment
Kalpathi S. Aghoram
Kalpathi S. Ganesh
Kalpathi S. Suresh
Based on Bommarillu 
by Bhaskar
and Abburi Ravi
Starring Jayam Ravi
Genelia D'Souza
Prakash Raj
Music by Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematography D. Kannan
Edited by Mohan
Production
company
Release dates
 11 April 2008
Country India
Language Tamil

Santosh Subramaniam is a 2008 Indian Tamil romantic comedy film directed by M. Raja and produced by Kalpathi S. Agoram. The film stars Jayam Ravi and Genelia D'Souza in the lead roles, while Prakash Raj, Geetha and Sayaji Shinde play supporting roles. It is a remake of the successful Telugu film, Bommarillu (2006). The film revolves around a father and son relationship; the father's dotes on his son, who resents the same. The son's choices and his ambitions to achieve something in life are subdued by his father.

The film entered production in July 2007 and in addition to being shot in India, was also shot at the South Island of New Zealand. The film's soundtrack was composed by Devi Sri Prasad, who retained the tunes he composed for Bommarillu.

Santosh Subramaniam was released on 11 April 2008 during the Tamil New Year festival. The film was positively received and commercially successful; critics praised the performances of Ravi, D'Souza and Prakash Raj. The film won the third prize for the Best Film at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards of 2008. It was nominated for four awards at the 56th Filmfare Awards South, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress, but did not win in any category.

Plot

A baby takes his first steps on a beach while the father supports him. The narrator states that it is right for a father to support his child in his infancy, but questions whether the father should continue to hold the child’s hand even after he is grown up. The son, Santosh (Jayam Ravi)—who is now 24 years old— becomes abusive while drunk, expressing contempt towards his father, Subramaniam (Prakash Raj). He complains that his father gives him more than what he asks for, and still chooses his clothes and hairstyle. Santosh vows that he will become an independent man, and select a career and future wife for himself.

One day, Subramaniam—who is Managing Director of a construction company—asks Santosh whether he will join their office and help manage the business. When Santosh deliberates, his father impatiently plans for Santosh's marriage. The following week, his father announces that Santosh will get engaged to Rajeswari (Keerath) a spoilt woman whom Santosh does not like. However, with Subramaniam’s final say, they get engaged.

While contemplating his options in a temple, Santosh meets Hasini (Genelia D'Souza), an engineering student. Noticing her jovial and vibrant personality, Santosh begins to like her and tries to see her regularly. Eventually, he realises that he has fallen in love with her.

Santosh applies for a bank loan to start building his career. His love for Hasini deepens and he wishes to propose to her. He informs her that he is engaged to Rajeswari against his wishes, but he wants her. Hasini is dejected about his engagement but a day later she accepts his proposal. Santosh is ecstatic but his father is furious and berates him. Santosh expresses his disinterest marrying Rajeswari. When Subramaniam asks his son why he likes Hasini, Santosh challenges him that if Hasini can stay with their family for a week, then all of their questions will be answered. He persuades Hasini to stay at his house after seeking permission from her father Govindan (Sayaji Shinde).

Hasini is introduced to Santosh’s family, who gradually begin to like her as she settles into the house. Subramaniam reprimands Santosh when he knows of his bank loan and his plans, which further enrages Santosh. His entire family, along with Hasini, attend a wedding, and Hasini has a positive impact on the ceremony with her playful nature. Govindan recognises Santosh as the drunken young man whom he encountered on an earlier occasion. Hasini realises her father's presence and quickly exits to avoid his attention. Santosh berates Hasini for her antics at the wedding; she is sad and angry and moves out of the house. She rebuilds trust in her father. Santosh is left forlorn; his mother Lakshmi (Geetha) confronts Subramaniam on Santosh’s choices. Santosh vents out all his feelings and leaves his father to repent his foolishness. He asks Rajeswari and her parents to abort the impending marriage. While they relent, Subramaniam persuades Govindan to allow Santosh and Hasini's marriage. In return, Govindan wants to know more about Santosh, and invites him to live in their house for a week, to which Subramaniam agrees. Santosh gets thrown out of the house a few times, but Govindan finally agrees for the wedding.

Cast

Production

Despite early indications that the same team that worked on the original, Bommarillu—including Bhaskar and Dil Raju—would remake the film in Tamil, the pair said they were not interested.[1] Raju was willing to sell the remake rights and held twenty previews in Chennai for potential buyers.[2] Editor Mohan, under his home company Jayam Combines, outbid Prakash Raj, who wanted to remake the film with Vishal in the lead role.[3] Others outbid included Vijay,[4] Bhagyaraj for his daughter, Saranya,[4] and A. M. Rathnam for his son Ravi Krishna.[4] Mohan handed the director's role to his first son M. Raja, and the lead role to his second son Jayam Ravi. The film would become Raja's fourth consecutive Telugu film remake.[lower-alpha 1]

Genelia D'Souza was chosen to play the female lead, reprising her role from the original film.[8][9] Prakash Raj, who also acted in the original film,[10] was chosen to reprise his role as the protagonist's father and Geetha was signed to play the character's mother.[11] Former cricketer Sadagoppan Ramesh made his acting debut in this film, playing the protagonist's elder brother, and Sayaji Shinde was signed to play the female lead's father.[12] Keerath was selected to play the lead male's fiance. Actors Kausalya, Santhanam, Premji Amaren, Srinath and Sathyan, were also added to the cast.[11] Anu Hasan makes a special appearance as a woman who Santosh converses with at the beginning, and end of the film.[12]

Raja stated that the film would feature a "huge house" that was constructed at a cost of INR5 million (US$79,000) and a bus with "state-of-the-art" facilities, which was bought for INR1 million (US$16,000), and that they would be memorable highlights of the film.[13] Two songs were shot at the South Island of New Zealand, on the way from Christchurch to Queensland. An advantage of shooting in New Zealand for the film's crew was that they had 16 hours of sunlight on any given day. Some sequences were even shot around 9:30 pm under "blazing sunlight".[14] One song depicting the marriage of Premji Amaran's character was shot in several temples "in and around Kumbakonam" in Tamil Nadu.[14]

The film had its launch on 16 July 2007 with the attendance of all the lead actors, including guests Dhanush, Sibiraj and Jeevan.[15] For the inauguration function, 300 invitations by word of mouth were made.[8] The invitation for the launch featured many successful father-son duos from various fields,[8] such as Sivaji Ganesan and Prabhu, Sivakumar and Suriya, and Sathyaraj and Sibiraj.[16]

Soundtrack

Santosh Subramaniam
Soundtrack album by Devi Sri Prasad
Released 23 March 2008
Genre Feature film soundtrack
Label Pyramid Saimira
Producer Devi Sri Prasad
Devi Sri Prasad chronology

Tulasi
(2007)		 Santosh Subramaniam
(2008)		 Jalsa
(2008)

For the film's music and soundtrack, Raja renewed his association with Devi Sri Prasad,[lower-alpha 2] who predominantly used his tracks from the original film.[18] Siddharth, the lead actor in the original,.[19] sang one of the tracks from the film.[13] The audio of the film was released on 23 March 2008, three weeks before the film's release.[20][21]

The soundtrack received positive response. Behindwoods rated the album 3.5 out of 5, calling it "Overall, a lively album all set to become a chart buster."[22] Rediff rated the album 3 out of 5, and stated that "listening to Santosh Subramaniyam music really gives ‍ '​santhosham‍ '​".[18]

Tracklisting[23]
No. TitleLyricsSinger(s) Length
1. "Senthamizh Pesum Azhagu Juliet"  Pa. VijayAndrea Jeremiah, Ranjit 5:13
2. "Adada Adada Adada"  Na. MuthukumarSiddharth Narayan 4:10
3. "Kadhaluku Kanngal Illai"  KavivarmanDevi Sri Prasad 5:20
4. "Love Theme"  —Sumangali (Humming) 0:51
5. "America Yendralum Aandipatti Yendralum"  VivegaPushpavanam Kuppusaamy, Manicka Vinayagam, Priya, Naveen and Premji Amaren 5:30
6. "Uyire Uyire Piriyadhey"  Na. MuthukumarSagar 4:38
7. "Yeppadi Irundha Yem Manasu"  VivegaTippu and Gopika Poornima 4:34

Release and reception

The satellite rights of the film were sold to Sun TV.[24] Santosh Subramaniam was released on 11 April 2008 during the Tamil New Year festival.[25][26] Despite being released during the season of the Indian Premier League, it took a big opening and enjoyed a theatrical run of 25 days due to positive critical reviews and favourable word of mouth.[27]

The reception in the United Kingdom, comparatively for a Tamil film, was equally successful, entering the UK box office at number 40.[28] The film collected £10,067 in its first week of opening and earned a cumulative gross of £24,962 in its three-week box office run.[29]

Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff gave the film a rating of two and a half out of five; she called the film a "classy remake of the Telugu blockbuster Bommarillu (Toy-house), the movie is a love-story but it strives to be something even more". She stated that Ravi "performs with his usual flair", D'Souza's character "appears a little too good to be true, at first. But her character grows on you", and praised Prakash Raj's performance, saying that the role "was a cakewalk" for him.[30] Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu praised the music, locations and the main cast's performances, and wrote that in the film, "dull moments are rare, enjoyable ones aplenty".[11] IndiaGlitz said, "Hats off director Raja and Jeyam Ravi for hitting the bull's eye for the fourth time in a row. The duo continues from where they left in Unakum Enakum to provide a feel-good light-hearted family entertainer sure to be enjoyed with the family." and concluded, "Santosh Subramaniam is no doubt a film that is sure to spread santhosam (happiness) to one and all."[31]

Sify said D'Souza's portrayal is "the soul of the film" and its "biggest strength"; the reviewer called Ravi's performance "mature" and Prakash Raj's "outstanding".[32] Behindwoods gave the film three stars out of five and called it a "well made family entertainer". The reviewer wrote, "watch Santosh Subramaniam for that 'feel good' feeling, overlook minor glitches", and said that Prakash Raj is "the real master" who "proves his class yet again".[12] Settu Shankar of OneIndia said, "there are few minuses in the script but those are very minor and not affect the flow of the story" and concluded, "overall, Santosh Subramaniam is a promising entertainer that brings the first word of the title in every viewers mind for long time even after come out from the theatre".[33]

Accolades

Award Category Nominee Outcome
56th Filmfare Awards South[34]
 Best Film Santosh Subramaniam Nominated
Best Director M. Raja Nominated
Best Actor Jayam Ravi Nominated
Best Actress Genelia D'Souza Nominated
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards[35] Award for Best Feature Film (Third prize) Santosh Subramaniam Won

Footnotes

  1. ↑ All of Raja's previous Tamil films featured Ravi, and were remakes of Telugu films. Jayam (2003) was a remake of the same-titled 2002 Telugu film,[5] M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi (2004) was remade from Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi (2003),[6] and Something Something... Unakkum Enakkum (2006) was a remake of Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005).[7]
  2. ↑ Raja and Devi Sri Prasad had previously worked together in Something Something... Unakkum Enakkum.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "The man behind Telugu hit Bommarillu". Rediff. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  2. ↑ "Dil Raju to remake Bommarillu in Tamil". Idlebrain.com. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  3. ↑ "Vishal bags Vijay's film". Behindwoods. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Bewitched by `Bommarilu`!". Sify. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  5. ↑ "Jayam". The Hindu. 27 June 2003. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  6. ↑ "M Kumaran s/o Mahalakshmi Tamil Movie Review". IndiaGlitz. 4 October 2004. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "Movie Review : Something Something Unakkum Enakkum". Sify. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Jayam Ravi to act in 'Santosh Subramanian'". Cinesouth. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  9. ↑ ""Oh no, I can’t do" - Genelia". Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  10. ↑ "The man behind Telugu hit Bommarillu". In.rediff.com. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "The ‘Jayam’ jamboree: Santosh Subramaniam". The Hindu (Chennai, India). 18 April 2008. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Santosh Subramaniam — Movie Review". Behindwoods. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Siddharth sings in 'Santosh Subramaniam'". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "'Santosh Subramaniyam' songs in New Zealand". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  15. ↑ "Events - 'Santosh Subramaniam' Movie Launch". IndiaGlitz. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  16. ↑ "Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Yet another ‘Jeyam’ Ravi-Raja combination". The Hindu. 17 July 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  17. ↑ "Something Something Unakkum Enakkum Music Review songs lyrics". IndiaGlitz. 12 July 2006. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Music review: Santosh Subramaniyam". Rediff. 31 March 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  19. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (31 August 2007). "Another from Telugu". The Hindu (Chennai, India). Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  20. ↑ "'Santosh Subramaniam' audio release on Sunday". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  21. ↑ "Events - 'Santosh Subramaniam': Audio Launch". IndiaGlitz. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  22. ↑ "Santosh Subramaniam MUSIC REVIEW". Behindwoods. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  23. ↑ "Santhosh Subramaniyam Songs — Santhosh Subramaniyam Tamil Movie Songs". Raaga.com. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  24. ↑ "Santosh Subramaniam Movie On Sun TV". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  25. ↑ "'Santosh Subramaniam' releases today". MSN. Archived from the original on 13 April 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2008.
  26. ↑ "Santosh Subramaniam". OneIndia. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  27. ↑ "'Santosh Subramaniam' going strong & steady". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  28. ↑ "Weekend of April 11, 2008 - April 13, 2008". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  29. ↑ "Weekend of April 18, 2008 - April 20, 2008". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  30. ↑ Srinivasan, Pavithra (12 April 2008). "Santosh Subramaniam is a masala entertainer". Rediff. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  31. ↑ "Santhosh Subramaniyam Movie Review". Indiaglitz. 12 April 2008. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  32. ↑ "Santosh Subramaniam". Sify. Retrieved 12 June 2008.
  33. ↑ Shankar, Settu. "Santosh Subramaniam Review". OneIndia.com. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  34. ↑ "56th Idea Filmfare Awards Nominations". Reachouthyderabad.com. Retrieved 20 June 2013.
  35. ↑ "Front Page : Rajini, Kamal win best actor awards". The Hindu. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 5 December 2013.

External links