Jayamkondaan

Jayam Kondaan
Directed by	Kannan
Produced by	T. G. Thiyagarajan Selvi Thiyagarajan T. Arjun
Written by	Kannan
Starring	Vinay Rai, Bhavana, Lekha Washington, Kishore, Saranya Mohan, Vasundhara Vivek, Santhanam, Livingston Cochin Hanifa
Music by	Vidyasagar
Cinematography	Balasubramaniem
Edited by	V. T. Vijayan
Production company	Satya Jyothi Movies
Distributed by	Satya Jyothi Movies
Release dates	29 August 2008 (2008-08-29)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Jayam Kondaan (English: The Victor) is a 2008 Tamil action romance film, directed and co-written by Kannan and produced by T. G. Thiyagarajan, Selvi Thiyagarajan and T. Arjun. It stars Vinay Rai, Bhavana Balachandran and Lekha Washington in the lead roles. Vivek and Kishore also appear.

The film revolves around an NRI Civil Engineer , who returns to Chennai from London to set up his own business. He feels that if one has to reach his goal in life it is better to win over your enemies and take them along with you. He finds out that his late father had another family, and that his step sister wants to steal his home. After clashes with his sister, he discovers another tragedy involving someone who wants to make a vendetta with the family. The film follows the sibling relationship and the threat from the avenger.

The film opened to worldwide audiences after several delays on 29 August 2008 to generally positive reviews.^[1][2]

Plot

Arjun (Vinay Rai) is an IT professional who lived in London for years, and has now come down to Chennai to start his own business. His circle of friends like Krishna (Krishna), Gopal (Vivek) and their wives, make him happy. Arjun's philosophy is to be cool and never lose one's temper, under any circumstances. He believes that in order to reach one's goals in life that it is better to win over your enemies and take them along.

However Arjun is shocked when he learns that his late father had second family, and his half sister Brinda (Lekha Washington) is now trying to sell his family house in Madurai, a large lakeside villa with a mountain backdrop. She needs the money to study at MIT where she has received a scholarship. They lock horns over the property and end up in Madurai, where a red chilly dealer Durai Raj (Nizhalgal Ravi) is staying in their house with his daughter Annapoorni aka Molaka (Bhavana). Arjun pretends that Poorni is his childhood sweetheart, wins her over, and then manages to get her to vacate the house.

Arjun gets entangled with a local troublemaker Guna (Kishore), which leads to an accident where his wife Poonkodi (Vasundhara) is killed. Now Guna is looking to avenge his wife's death as he follows Arjun to Chennai. The rest of the film depicts Arjun taking the responsibilities of a big brother, win over Brinda, and deal with Guna, who is determined to kill him.

Cast

Lekha Washington, in her debut film, as picturized in a promotional still.

• Vinay Rai as Arjun Sekhar. An IT professional returning from London.
• Bhavana as Annapurani. The daughter of the chilli vendor Durai Raj, who lives in Arjun's ancestral house.
• Lekha Washington as Brinda Sekhar. Illegitimate daughter of Arjun's father, who wants to sell the ancestral house.
• Kishore as Guna. A rowdy in Madurai who begins to clash with Arjun .
• Annee Malavika Avinash as Chandrika. A French teacher, mother of Brinda.
• Nizhalgal Ravi as Durai Raj. A chilli vendor who lives in Arjun's family house. Also as the father of Annapurani.
• Saranya Mohan as Archana. Sister of Annapurani.
• Vasundhara as Poonkodai. The village wife of Guna.
• Vivek as Gopal. The friend of Arjun.
• Santhanam as Bhavani. A chilli broker in Madurai.
• Krishna
• Devan Ekambaram
• aarthi
• Kamala Krishnaswamy as Apartment President

Reception

The film received positive reviews and lauded by critics for its simplicity in its presentation.The film was described by Sify.com as a "breezy entertainer", with the reiewer taking a liking to the film, comparing Jayamkondaan to the films Run, Sandakozhi and the Malayalam film Kireedom. The script and direction is described as "successful due to straightforward narration and packaging".^[2] Lekha Washington's performance was praised, citing that she "sparkles as the half sister in a well etched role" and is "the surprise packet and has the credentials to make it big". Vinay Rai "looks too thin and fragile" but "adds to the film’s energy", while Bhavana has nothing much to do other than "looking prim and proper".^[2] Out of the comedians, Sify reports that Krishna and Santhanam were more effective than Vivek who at times you feel speaks more dialogues than necessary. Praise is also heaped on Athisaya as the small town girl who gets enamored by the rowdy, describing her as a "revelation", while Kishore "fits the bill as the bad guy".^[2]

In unison, Rediff.com also praise the film as a "nice blend of the cinematic and logic".^[1] The reviewer describes Vinay Rai, "as the protagonist is very comfortable in his role" and thathe has "expressive eyes, emotes well, and makes sure his audience isn't disappointed. However Lekha Washington is clearly the surprise package", echoing Sify.com's views. However it claims that Bhavana, with her "soulful eyes and acting talent, could have done with a meatier role".^[1] "The film has risen above the clichés as per the review of The Hindu and the reviewer has praised Vinay for choosing this film as his second project".^[3]

Critics claimed that Kannan deserves credit for a "good job" on his story and screenplay.^[1] Vidayasagar’s music was described as is "so-so", there is a feeling that you have heard these tunes before with the "picturisation is nowhere near the high standards set up by the director’s guru (Mani Ratnam).^[2] Rediff claims that Balasubramaniam's camera makes sure the "viewers aren't treated to bizarre angles" and that V. T. Vijayan's editing is "slick and smooth".^[1]

Soundtrack

The film has six songs composed by Vidyasagar with the lyrics primarily penned by Vaali and Pa. Vijay. The audio of the film released worldwide on 3 June 2008, two months prior to the release. The soundtrack was successfully received with praise.^[4]

References

External links

• Official website
• Jayamkondaan at the Internet Movie Database