''Engaeyum Eppothum'' () is a 2011 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

-language

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

comedy drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...

road film written and directed by M. Saravanan in his Tamil debut, he had earlier directed the Telugu film '' Ganesh'' (2009). Starring Jai, Sharwanand, Anjali and

Ananya Ananya is the common English spelling of two Indian given names: the masculine अनन्य ' and the feminine अनन्या '. The meaning of Ananya is 'unique'. Notable people named Ananya * Ananya (actress) (born 1987), Indian actr ...

, it was produced by

A. R. Murugadoss Murugadoss Arunasalam (born 25 September 1974), commonly known as A. R. Murugadoss, is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in the Tamil film industry. He is best known for directing action films mainly on ...

in association with Fox Star Studios, marking the studio's entry into Tamil cinema. The film illustrates two love stories—one set against the backdrop of Chennai and the other in Tiruchi—which join in the climax. The film released on 16 September 2011, to very positive reviews, going on to become a critical and commercial success. The film was dubbed into

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

as ''Journey'' and released on 16 December 2011. The film was later remade into Kannada as ''

Endendu Ninagagi ''Endendu Ninagagi'' is a 2014 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by Mahesh Rao. A remake of the Tamil film ''Engaeyum Eppothum'', it features newcomer Vivek Narasimhan, Deepa Sannidhi, Anish Tejeshwar and Sindhu Lokanath in the lead ro ...

'' and in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

as '' Bojhena Shey Bojhena''.

Plot

The film focuses on two love stories in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli; one takes place in the period of a day, while the other ensues for months. The film starts with an accident. Then it flashes back several months before when Amudha, a native village girl from Trichy, arrives in Chennai for a

job interview A job interview is an interview consisting of a conversation between a job applicant and a representative of an employer which is conducted to assess whether the applicant should be hired. Interviews are one of the most popularly used devices for ...

, but her sister is unable to meet her to direct her to her destination. Amudha enlists the aid of a stranger named Gautham, who agrees to take her as far as the bus stop. However, he ends up travelling with her the entire day, waiting for her during her interview, and dropping her off at her sister's home in the evening. In the course of the day, she comes to understand him and becomes fond of him. While remaining calm and reserved, Gautham reciprocates her feelings. The following day, Amudha returns to Tiruchi, where she realizes that she has fallen in love with Gautham and rejects marriage proposals that come her way. She decides to return to Chennai to meet him. Meanwhile, Gautham realizes that he has fallen in love with Amudha and decides to go to Tiruchi to find her, despite not knowing her address and other any details except her name. A parallel story follows. Kathiresan, a metal shop worker, harbors feelings towards his neighbor Manimegalai, a nurse. Being shy and soft-spoken, he does not talk to her but continues to watch her every morning for six months. Manimegalai is bold and forthcoming; she agrees to his love and orders him around mercilessly. She puts him through several tests: having him meet her father (a policeman), her former one-side lover on his own, makes him undergo an HIV test, and gets him to agree to organ donation. She wants him to decide on the basis of all that she has put him through as to whether he wants to marry her and spend the rest of his life with her; Kathiresan responds affirmatively. The two grow to love each other unconditionally with their families' consent. Kathiresan decides to take Manimegalai to visit his family in Arasur, a village near Villupuram, and the two board a bus to take them there. Meanwhile, Gautham boards a bus to return from Tiruchi – the same one that Kathiresan and Manimegalai are travelling in. Simultaneously, Amudha boards a bus to return from Chennai. A few glimpses of other passengers are also seen: a mother and her child, a girls' athletic team, a newly married couple, two college students who are attracted to each other, and a man returning from Dubai to see his five-year-old daughter for the first time. At a distance from Viluppuram on the Chennai-Tiruchi National Highway 79 (GST road), The SETC bus is redirected into the opposite lane, as one of the lanes is under construction. However, before a contract carriage (omni) bus named sky travels is redirected, a tarp from a truck blows off and blocks the windshield. Unable to see where he is going, the terrified driver accidentally swerves into the path of the SETC bus. Both the buses collide head-on, killing about 35 people on the spot. Many others die en route to or at the hospital. Gautham sees a severely injured Amudha on the other bus, and she is rushed to a hospital .she reaches the hospital along with Gautham, Kathiresan has succumbed to head trauma. At the hospital, Gautham confesses his love to Amudha at her bedside, and she manages to regain consciousness. Kathiresan's body is taken away by a hysteric Manimegalai and his grieving parents. The site of the crash is declared an accident prone-area, and the film ends with a message on road safety.

Cast

* Jai as Kathiresan *

Sharvanand Sharwanand Myneni (born 6 March 1984) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Telugu films alongside a few Tamil films. He made his acting debut in the year 2004 with the film ''Aidho Tareekhu.'' For ''Engeyum Eppodhum'' (2011), he received S ...

as Gautham (credited as Sarva) * Anjali as Manimegalai *

as Amudha *

Vatsan Chakravarthy Vatsan Chakravarthy is an Indian actor, who has appeared in Tamil language films. He has appeared in films including ''Engaeyum Eppothum'' (2011) and '' Tharkappu'' (2016). Career Vatsan debuted as an actor with ''Aridhu Aridhu'' (2010), befor ...

as Ramesh * Vinodhini Vaidyanathan as Selvi (Amudha's sister) *

Ravi Ravi may refer to: People * Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director * Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist * Ravi (music director) (1926–201 ...

as Gautham's father * Mithun as a bus passenger (a married man) * Priya Prince as a bus passenger (a young girl's mother) * Thangadurai Kanagaraj

Production

The film was initially launched in late 2010 with Vimal and Amala Paul playing a pair in the film. However they pulled out due to prior commitments and were replaced by

and

. Thaman was also replaced as music composer by debutant C Sathya.

Soundtrack

The film's score and soundtrack were composed by debutant C Sathya. The album consists of five tracks, featuring lyrics penned by

Na Muthukumar Nagarajan Muthukumar (12 July 1975 – 14 August 2016) was a Tamil poet, lyricist, and author. Best known for his Tamil language film songs, he received the most Filmfare Awards for Best Lyricist in Tamil and was a two-time recipient of the ...

and M Saravanan. It was released on 3 August 2011 in Chennai released by actors

Suriya Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and a philanthropist. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors. He received numerou ...

, Vivek and Music Director Harris Jayaraj.

Release

Critical reception

''Engaeyum Eppothum'' opened to very positive reviews. GetCinemas.com gave it 3.5/5 rating with a tag "must watch", saying "it is a rare film, and has come out as perfect as a dream" and appreciating for a clearly sketched script and perfect characterisation. Pavithra Srinivasan of '' Rediff'' gave the film 3 out of 5, calling it a "genuinely story, not just about romance, but about the fabric of life itself". A critic from '' Sify'' wrote that ''Engeyum Eppodhum '' was "riveting cinema with a difference. Everything is new about it from characters to the plot, accompanied by superb performances by the lead actors notably Anjali". ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' reviewer Karthik Subramanian noted that it was a "laudable effort" adding that "despite some clichés, the film works well". ''Behindwoods'' gave 3 out of 5 and cited that it was a "loveable tale of commoners and their destiny" that had "simplicity as its biggest strength", while ''Indiaglitz'' described it as "engaging entertainment" and "a whiff of fresh air in Tamil cinema". G Sai Shyam, another critic from ''The Hindu'', wrote that it was "a novel attempt by the director" and that "the compelling screenplay with a strong message to everyone makes it a must watch film".

Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History and profile ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...

gave 50 out of 100 marks, ranking it among the best in recent times. Venkateswaran Narayanan from '' The Times of India'' gave 3 out of 5 and wrote that it was "the perfect example of a film relying solely on its screenplay and performances to strike it rich at the box office". Rohit Ramachandran of nowrunning.com rated it 4/5 stating that "''Engeyum Eppodhum'' reminds us of the fragility of our own lives", going on to call it "one of the year's best". It later appeared on his 'Best of 2011' list On the contrary, Gautaman Bhaskaran of '' Hindustan Times'' gave it 2.5 and praised the lead performances, while criticising the screenplay and the plot.

Remakes

Following the film's success, the film was remade in

as '' Bojhena Shey Bojhena'', starring Soham Chakraborty, Mimi Chakraborty, Payel Sarkar, and Abir Chatterjee, directed by

Raj Chakraborty Raj Chakraborty (born 21 February 1975) is an Indian film director, actor, producer and politician. He is one of the most commercially successful film-makers in Tollywood. Before directing his debut film, he was busy in Bengali TV. Raj Chakrabo ...

. Sources reported that Bollywood actor Aamir Khan may remake it in Hindi. Producer K Manju acquired the Kannada remake rights of the film and it was remade in Kannada as ''

''.

Awards

M Saravanan was honoured with an award by the Human Rights Organisation on 18 December at

Paramakudi Paramakudi, also Paramagudi, is the largest town in the district of Ramanathapuram in Tamil Nadu, with a population of over 95,579 (2011 census). It has been the taluk headquarters since 1918, i.e. from the date of formation of Ramanathapura ...

for directing ''Engeyum Eppodhum'' with a very relevant social message which is the need of the hour. He also secured 50% of votes and was declared as the Best Director of 2011 in the year-end public poll conducted by Oneindia.in for directing Engeyum Eppodhum. Anjali secured 35.2% of votes and was declared as the Best Actress of 2011 for her performance in the film. Anjali was honoured with the Best Actress Award at V4 Entertainment Awards 2011.

was declared as the Best Supporting Actress. ;

1st South Indian International Movie Awards The 1st South Indian International Movie Awards were presented on June 22, 2012, in Dubai, UAE, to honour the best cinematic achievements of the South Indian film industry in the year 2011. Producing films in four Dravidian languages of South Ind ...

*Best Lyricist — Na Muthukumar for "Un Pera Theriyathe" *Best Debutant Director — M Saravanan *Best Debutant Male — Sharvanand

59th Filmfare Awards South The 59th Filmfare Awards South ceremony honouring the winners and nominees of the best of South Indian cinema in 2011 was held on 7 July 2012 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai, India. For this year more than 451 films from each of the fo ...

* Best Actress - Anjali * Best Supporting Actress -

6th Vijay Awards * Best Film * Best Actress - Anjali *Nominated-

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

- M Saravanan *Nominated- Best Supporting Actress - Ananya *Nominated- Best Music Director - C Sathya Edison Awards * Edison Award for Best Debut Director – M Saravanan * Edison Award for Best Female Playback Singer -

Chinmayi Chinmayi Sripaada is an Indian playback singer, working mainly for the South Indian film industry. She is also a voice actor, television presenter, radio jockey, and an entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of a translation services company ...

for "Chotta Chotta" ''Engeyum Eppodhum'' appeared on the following top five lists of the best films of 2011. * 2nd place — '' Rediff'' * 3rd place — ''

'' * 5th place — '' The Asian Age''

Legacy

The character Kathiresan portrayed by Jai Sampath makes a cameo appearance in 2015 film ''

Masss ''Massu Engira Masilamani'' (), also known by its former title ''Masss'', is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action horror comedy film directed by Venkat Prabhu. The film was produced by K. E. Gnanavel Raja under his Studio Green banner alongside ...

''.

References

External links

* {{AR Murugadoss 2011 films Films shot in Tiruchirappalli Films shot in Tamil Nadu Tamil films remade in other languages 2010s Tamil-language films Films set in Chennai Films scored by C. Sathya 2010s drama road movies Indian drama road movies Indian nonlinear narrative films Hyperlink films Films set in Tiruchirappalli Fox Star Studios films 2011 drama films