''Kinar'' (Well in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
), titled ''Keni'' () in, is a 2018 Indian drama film co-written and
directed
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
by
M. A. Nishad. It was produced by the studio of Fragrant Nature Film Creations, and was made simultaneously in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
and
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, nativ ...
. Focusing on the issue of
water scarcity
Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water Water resources, resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity: physical or economic water scarcity. Physical water ...
in a town between
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
and
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
, the film stars
Jaya Prada
Jaya Prada Nahata (born Lalitha Rani; 3 April 1962) is an Indian actress and politician. She is hailed as one of the most iconic and influential actresses in both Telugu and Hindi film industries in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Jayaprada i ...
and
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won several ...
, with different sets of ensemble cast for the two versions.
M. Jayachandran
Madhusoodanan Jayachandran is an Indian composer, singer, and musician. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director for a record number of nine times. In 2005, he also won the state award for best male singer. In 2015, he wo ...
and
Bijibal
Bijibal Maniyil is an Indian music composer and playback singer who works predominantly in Malayalam films, documentaries, short films and television commercials. He has composed for more than 150 feature films, several documentaries and televisi ...
composed the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...
and score. Noushad Sherif was
director of photography
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
and Sreekumar Nair
edited
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
the film. Both versions were released worldwide on 23 February 2018. The Malayalam version received positive reviews while the Tamil version received negative reviews. Both versions were
box-office bomb
A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
s.
Cast
;Tamil
*
M. S. Bhaskar
*
Chaams
Chaams (born 17 July 1970) is an Indian actor and comedian who has appeared in Tamil language films. His birth name is Swaminathan. He has predominantly appeared in supporting roles, notably in Crazy Mohan dramas and playing one of the several ...
*
Pandi
Production
Directed by Malayalam filmmaker
M. A. Nishad, the story revolves around a water dispute that crops up between the people of Tamil Nadu and Kerala on account of a well, with the film taking place in 1965 when Kerala was formed as a separate state.
Jaya Prada
Jaya Prada Nahata (born Lalitha Rani; 3 April 1962) is an Indian actress and politician. She is hailed as one of the most iconic and influential actresses in both Telugu and Hindi film industries in late '70s, '80s and early '90s. Jayaprada i ...
revealed that her political experience of seeing people through problems of water scarcity motivated her to sign the film and play the lead role. Portraying the widow of a geologist, who wants to fulfil her husband's desire to make water available to all, she stated the story "fell in the category of ‘meaningful cinema’" and that she was keen to be a part of such attempts.
Revathy
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won sever ...
was signed to portray a collector of the Tamil Nadu village of Thirunelveli, which faces a water shortage every year. She was selected after the original choice,
Suhasini
Suhasini Maniratnam (born 15 August 1961) known mononymously as Suhasini, is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her ...
opted out citing date issues. Nishad chose to shoot two versions, one in Malayalam and the other in Tamil, where each party would have the stronger cause.
The Malayalam version of the film was shot first during May 2017, with most of the scenes being shot at the Punalur Municipality and Chemmanthur High School premises. Scenes were also shot in
Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...
during the same month, where a launch ceremony was held. The film was later shot in Tamil with
Parthiban
R. Parthiban (born 14 October 1958) is an Indian actor and filmmaker who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He has directed 15 films, produced 13 films and acted in more than 70 films. He started his career as assistant director for K. Bhagyaraj in ...
,
Nassar
Nassar ( ar, نصار, lit=helper, protector, supporter, victory-maker), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer ...
,
Anu Hasan
Anu Haasan (born Anuradha Chandrahaasan on 16 July 1970) is an Indian actress and TV anchor. She made her film debut in the critically acclaimed '' Indira'' (1995) and has since appeared in many Tamil films, playing minor roles. She hosted the c ...
and
Rekha
Bhanurekha Ganesan (born 10 October 1954), better known by her stage name Rekha, is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi films. Acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Indian cinema, she has starred in more than 180 fil ...
amongst others joining the cast.
Soundtrack
The film features a song titled "Ayya Sami", sung by
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...
and
K. J. Yesudas, who worked together after a break of twenty seven years following ''
Thalapathi
''Thalapathi'' () is a 1991 Indian Tamil-language gangster drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam, and produced by G. Venkateswaran. The film stars Rajinikanth and Mammootty with Arvind Swamy in his feature-film debut, Jaishankar, Amri ...
'' (1991) for the song "Kaatukkuyilu Manasukkula". The song's lyrics narrates the celebration of Tamil Nadu and Kerala cultures, and was composed by
M. Jayachandran
Madhusoodanan Jayachandran is an Indian composer, singer, and musician. He has won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Music Director for a record number of nine times. In 2005, he also won the state award for best male singer. In 2015, he wo ...
and written by B. K. Harinarayanan and
Palani Bharathi
Palani Bharathi is an Indian writer and lyricist who works in Tamil cinema.
Early life
Palani Bharathi was born in Karaikudi to Sami Palaniappan, a poet, and Kamala. He has a brother and four sisters. Palaniappan was an assistant of orator/w ...
. The soundtracks were released simultaneously at an event on 7 February 2018, with the lead cast in both languages in attendance.
;Malayalam version
;Tamil version
Release
The Malayalam version received positive reviews for its bold take, but the Tamil version received negative reviews with the portions retained from Malayalam being criticized.
References
External links
*{{IMDb title, 8054238
2018 films
Indian multilingual films
Films shot in Tirunelveli
Films shot in Kollam
Films shot in Thiruvananthapuram
2010s Malayalam-language films
2010s Tamil-language films
Films scored by M. Jayachandran
Films about water scarcity
2018 multilingual films
Films directed by M. A. Nishad