Alai (film)

Alai (English: Wave) is a 2003 Tamil romantic comedy film directed by Vikram Kumar. The film stars Silambarasan and Trisha Krishnan in the lead role, while Raghuvaran, Nizhalgal Ravi and Vivek played supporting roles. The score and soundtrack were composed by Vidyasagar and the film released in September 2003 and was declared a flop. This film remains the only unsuccessful film in the career of director Vikram Kumar till date.

Plot

Aathi (Simbhu) and Meera (Trisha) fall in love after the usual playful tiffs. On a visit to a friend's village for his marriage, the two of them help the friend stand up against his father and wed his sweetheart instead of the girl his father had fixed up his marriage with. With all these things, Aathi's father arranges a marriage for him. After a big confusion, Aathi and Meera are together.

Cast

• Silambarasan as Aathi
• Trisha Krishnan as Meera
• Vivek
• Raghuvaran
• Nizhalgal Ravi
• Nassar
• Saranya
• Srinath
• Lavanya
• Kim Sharma in a special appearance

Production

Prior to release, the film made headlines when Silambarasan revealed that he was to undergo an image makeover for the film and move away from his "mass image" after appearing in such roles in Kadhal Azhivathillai and Dum.^[1]

Release

The film received generally poor reviews with a critic noting "with a wafer thin storyline the director attempts to stretch ones patience with so called humour and Trisha cavorting in skimpy dresses. Simbu has to get over his Rajini fixation and try to do something original like acting for instance."^[2] Another reviewer from The Hindu noted that "the youthful exploits of Silambarasan, the glamour of Trisha and the winsome music of Vidyasagar fail to do the trick, for the simple reason that the film lacks a taut screenplay with well-knit episodes."^[3] The film became a financial failure at the box office.^[4]

Soon after the failure of Alai, it was reported that the lead pair would come together for a project title Malai produced by P. L. Thenappan, but the project never took off.^[5] After a sabbatical following this film, Vikram Kumar returned in 2009 with the successful horror film Yavarum Nalam. Silambarasan and Trisha later came together eventually for the critically acclaimed Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa (2010) by Gautham Menon, which became a commercial success.^[6]

Soundtrack

There are six songs composed by Vidyasagar.^[7] Solakattu Bommai is a re-used tune from Vidyasagar's Malayalam song "Chinga Masam" in Meeshamadhavan.

References