Venghai

Venghai
Release poster
Directed by	Hari
Produced by	B. Bharathireddy
Screenplay by	Hari
Story by	Hari
Starring	Dhanush Tamannaah Rajkiran Prakash Raj Srithika
Music by	Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematography	Vetri
Edited by	V. T. Vijayan
Production company	Vijaya Productions
Distributed by	Vijaya Productions
Release dates	8 July 2011 (2011-07-08)
Running time	155 minutes
Language	Tamil

Venghai (Tamil: வேங்கை, Vēṅkai ^?; English: Cheetah) is a 2011 Tamil action-masala film directed by Hari, starring Dhanush and Tamannaah.^[1] The story is based in Sivagangai district. The film started shooting in November 2010 at Trichy,^[2] and was released on 8 July to mixed reviews. Later the film was dubbed in Hindi as Meri Taqat Mera Faisla and in Telugu as Simha Putrudu.

Plot

Veera Pandi (Raj Kiran), landlord who is also the most respected person in Pandiapuram, a hamlet near Sivaganga. He is a do-gooder who commands respect from all and is feared the most by his enemies. Selvam (Dhanush) is his loyal son, who always does the right things at the right time and sees his father as his role model. Rajalingam (Prakash Raj), the local MLA, who has risen to his position mostly because of the influence enjoyed by Veera Pandi in the region. Rajalingam doesn't share the good motives of Veera Pandi. He has come into politics to enjoy power and earn lot of money. Veera Pandi tries to influence him, but the MLA has no intention to listen to him. At the same time, he cannot afford to ignore Veera Pandi. Meanwhile,Veera Pandi, who has many enemies because of his strictness, wants to protect his son from them. So he sends him to his uncle who lives in Trichy.

Selvam meets his childhood friend Radhika (Tamannaah) in Trichy. Selvam tries to revive the friendship, but the girl avoids him. Selvam pursues her and expresses his love. Radhika responds positively after a lot of hesitation. Rajalingam tries to eliminate Selvam, to tame his father. Though Selvam tries to avoid any confrontation to satisfy his father, he is forced to take the sickle soon. He defeats Rajalingam's plans. This incident makes Rajalingam more furious. He manages to become a minister and uses his power to insult Veera Pandi. Selvam defuses his efforts and Rajalingam is ready for final show down. Selvam is ready to face anything to save his father.

Cast

• Dhanush as Selvam
• Tamannaah as Radhika
• Rajkiran as Veera Pandi
• Prakash Raj as Rajalingam
• Srithika as Selvam's Sister
• Ganja Karuppu as Ganesan
• Livingston as Selvam's uncle
• Y. Gee. Mahendra
• Ponnambalam
• Oorvasi as Thangam
• Nizhalgal Ravi
• Sudha Chandran as Padmavathi
• Srithika as Selvi
• Charle as Murugesan
• Paravai Muniyamma
• Uma Padmanabhan
• Shivani as Jayanthi
• O. A. K. Sundar

Production

It was announced in 2010 that Hari and Dhanush would collaborate.^[3] Title was said to be "Aruva"^[4] but Hari denied that he would never keep such title^[5] instead title is announced as "Venghai".^[1] The film started its shooting in November 2010 at Trichy,^[2] took place in Karaikudi, Kutralam, and Munnar. The song sequences have been shot in Phuket Islands and Malaysia.^[6] the film will release above 350+ screens in India.

Venghai was Hari's first collaboration with Dhanush, his second film with Vijaya Productions after Thamirabharani. This was Dhanush's second collaboration with Vijaya Productions and Tamanna after Padikkathavan.

Release

Critical reception

Venghai received mixed reviews from critics. Rediff's Pavithra Srinivasan gave the film 2.5 out of 5, labelling it as "tedious" and "an overdose of rural action", further claiming that it was "so overlaid with unnecessary bloodshed, repetitive action and predictable plot twists, that after a point you lose interest".^[7] Behindwoods gave 2.5 out of 5 and deemed that Venghai was "another Hari film with his usual ingredients but sans his usual spirit and this film might work for people who seek action entertainers set in villages."^[8] Rohit Ramachandran of nowrunning.com rated it 1/5, calling it "cheap entertainment."^[9] IBN Live gave 2.5 of 5 citing that the film was "typical Hari style formula movie [...] Despite the predictable story, Hari has managed to make the script interesting to some extent [...] The major flaw is that the story and screenplay have nothing new. Everything happens in a predictable manner.^[10] KollyInsider gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, claimed it as a 'Masala Entertainer'.^[11] Another portal, Indiaglitz said "Venghai is an entertainer that is racy and pacy. At the same time, there is no denial that a section of the audience would grouse, alleging that the film has nothing new to offer. But they are not Hari's target..."^[12]

Box office

The film collected 8.9 million worldwide on its opening weekend.^[13]

Soundtrack

Venghai
Original CD Cover
Soundtrack album by Devi Sri Prasad
Released	10 June 2011
Recorded	2011
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	24:40
Language	Tamil
Label	Sony Music
Producer	Devi Sri Prasad
Devi Sri Prasad chronology
Dhada (2011) Venghai (2011) Oosaravelli (2011)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Behindwoods	[14]

The film's music was scored by Devi Sri Prasad.

All lyrics written by Viveka, except where noted. 

References

External links

• Venghai at the Internet Movie Database
• Official website