Kadhal Kottai
| Kadhal Kottai | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Agathiyan |
| Produced by | Sivashakthi Pandian |
| Written by | Agathiyan |
| Starring |
Ajith Kumar Devayani Heera Rajgopal Karan |
| Music by | Deva |
| Cinematography | Thangar Bachan |
| Edited by | Lancy-Mohan |
Production company |
Sivashakthi Movie Makers |
| Distributed by | Sivashakthi Movie Makers |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Kadhal Kottai ("The Castle of Love") is a 1996 Tamil-language Indian epistolary romance film directed by Agathiyan, in which Ajith Kumar and Devayani play lead roles, apart from Heera Rajgopal, Thalaivasal Vijay, and Karan who played important roles.[2]
The film was a major commercial success at the box office and also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil, the National Film Award for Best Direction as well as the National Film Award for Best Screenplay for Agathiyan. It garnered positive critical acclaim upon release in July 1996, and was subsequently remade into several Indian regional languages.
Plot
Kamali (Devayani) lives with her sister and brother-in-law in Ooty and is searching for a job. While in Madras, her purse is stolen and she fears she has lost her university certificates. Suriya (Ajith Kumar) who works in Jaipur finds the purse and sends it back to her, and a love develops through letters and phone calls. They agree to love each other without meeting, and Suriya eventually moves to Madras for work. However Kamali's brother-in-law is pressuring her to marry a suitable man and Suriya's boss keeps trying to seduce him. Eventually, Kamali and Suriya unite through a run of coincidences.
Cast
- Ajith Kumar as Suriya
- Devayani as Kamali
- Heera Rajgopal as Neha
- Raja as Jeeva
- Karan as Siva
- Manivannan as Kaliyaperumal
- Thalaivasal Vijay as Paneer
- Rajeev as Sekhar
- Pandu as Ramasamy
- Ramji in a special appearance
- Indhu as Kamali's friend
- Rani in the song "Vellarikka"
Production
The basic theme of the film was inspired from "Puranaanooru" literature on the relationship between King Kopperum Chozhan and poet Pisirandhaiyar, though they never met but they developed a strong relationship until their deaths. Agathiyan confirmed this in his interviews.[3] Agathiyan initially wanted to make his directorial debut with this subject since no producer were willing to produce the film, he made few films and earned his breakthrough with Vaanmathi.[3] Post its success, he chosen Ajith, actor from that film to play the leading role with Sivasakthi Pandian agreeing to produce the film.[3]
Agathiyan had asked Devayani to change her glamorous on screen image for the film, and Devayani duly agreed with the film becoming the start of several other similar roles for her.[3][4]
Soundtrack
The music composed by Deva.[5]
| No. | Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length (m:ss) |
| 1 | "Kaalamellam Kadhal" | P. Unnikrishnan, K. S. Chithra | Agathiyan | 5:05 |
| 2 | "Kavalai Padathey" | Deva | 4:26 | |
| 3 | "Mottu Mottu Malaradha" | Swarnalatha | 4:54 | |
| 4 | "Nalam Nalamariya Aval" - 1 | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Anuradha Sriram | 4:48 | |
| 5 | "Nalam Nalamariya Aval" - 2 | Krishnaraj, Anuradha Sriram | 4:49 | |
| 6 | "Sivappu Lolakku" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | Ponniyin Selvan | 5:23 |
| 7 | "Vellarikka" | Deva, Krishnaraj | Agathiyan | 4:23 |
Release
Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan appreciated the film by giving 52 marks and mentioned that the basic plot was a novel idea which had been given a good shape and life by the filmmaker.[6]
The film was dubbed into Telugu as Prema Lekha. The film was remade in Kannada as Yaare Neenu Cheluve (1998). Agathiyan also remade the movie in Hindi titled Sirf Tum (1999. This film also remade in Bengali titled Hothat Brishti (1998) directed by Basu Chatterjee . The film was released as a novel in 2010 under the same name.[7]
Awards
- National Film Awards - 1996
- Best Direction - Agathiyan
- Best Screenplay - Agathiyan
- Filmfare Awards South - 1996
- Best Director - Agathian
- Tamil Nadu State Film Awards - 1996
- Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film - Second Prize
- Best Director - Agathiyan
- Special Prize: Actress: Devayani
- Best Editor: Lachi Mohan
- Best Costume Designer: Maasanam [8]
References
- ↑ Dhananjayan 2014, p. 356.
- ↑ "Kadhal Kottai". cinesouth. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
- 1 2 3 4 Dhananjayan 2014, p. 357.
- ↑ "Five years... and still sitting pretty". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 30 August 2008.
- ↑ "Kadhal Kottai Songs". raaga. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
- ↑ http://www.ajithfans.com/media/media-news/2010/02/11/blast-from-the-past-kadhal-kottai-review-by-ananda-vikatan/
- ↑ http://www.starajith.com/2332-thala-ajith-kumar-devayani-agathiyan-kadhal-kottai-book-novel
- ↑ "1996 State Awards". Dinakaran. Archived from the original on 22 May 2008.
External links
Bibliography
- Dhananjayan, G. (2014). Pride of Tamil Cinema: 1931 to 2013. Blue Ocean Publishers.