''Vaalee'' is a 1999 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, nativ ...
-language
psychological romantic thriller
A romantic thriller is a narrative that involves elements of the romance and thriller genres.
A good thriller provides entertainment by making viewers uncomfortable with moments of suspense, the heightened feeling of anxiety and fright. A thril ...
film written and directed by
S. J. Suryah
S. Justin Selvaraj, known by his stage name S. J. Suryah is an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, composer, producer and music director who has worked predominately in Tamil film industry. He sought to become an actor but started out d ...
in his directorial debut. The film stars
Ajith Kumar in dual roles with
Simran
Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ; hi, सिमरण, सिमरन ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Sanskrit word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of ...
and
Jyothika
Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films. (her Tamil debut).
Vivek Vivek (or Bibek/Bivek in some regions) (विवेक in Devanagari script) is a masculine given name that is popular in South Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. It is of Sanskrit origin and means "wisdom" and/or "conscience".
Vivek may refe ...
,
Rajeev,
Pandu and
Sujitha
Sujitha (born 12 July 1982) is an Indian actress who works in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam TV serials. She is known for portraying "Dhanam" in ''Pandian Stores'' and in Kerala she is popular for portraying "Unnimaya" in the Asianet TV serial '' ...
appear in important supporting roles. A modern-day adaptation of the legend of
Vali from the ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
'', it revolves around Shiva and Deva, two identical twin brothers, with Deva being
deaf-mute
Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...
. However, when Shiva marries his sweetheart Priya, Deva becomes obsessed with and lusts for Priya.
Suryah completed the script of ''Vaalee'' in 60 days, and the project was picked up for production by
S. S. Chakravarthy
S. S. Chakravarthy (S.Shajahan Chakravarthy) is an Indian film producer in Tamil cinema. He has produced a number of Tamil films through his Production company is NIC Arts. Most of his films had actor Ajith Kumar & Silambarasan in the lead roles. ...
of NIC Arts. The soundtrack was composed by
Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
and lyrics were written by
Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953) is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first ...
. The cinematography was handled by Jeeva while the editing was done by the duo of
B. Lenin
B. Lenin born as Bhimsingh Lenin is an Indian film editor, writer and director who works in Tamil language, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi language, Hindi films. The son of Tamil film maker A. Bhimsingh, Lenin entered the film industry as an assistan ...
and
V. T. Vijayan.
''Vaalee'' was released on 30 April 1999 to positive reviews from critics. The film became a commercial success, running for over 270 days in theatres. Ajith won the
Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Tamil
The Filmfare Best Actor Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South for Tamil people, Tamil film lead actors. The Filmfare Awards South Awards were extended to "Best Actor" in 1972.#Film world, Film world, p 43 Th ...
and Jyothika won
Best Female Debut – South at the
same ceremony. The film was remade in
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
in 2001 under
the same title.
Plot
Shiva and Deva are twins. Deva, the elder, is
deaf-mute
Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...
; but he is an expert at
lip reading
The lips are the visible body part at the mouth of many animals, including humans. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech. Human lips are a tactile sensory organ, and can be ...
, and the head of a successful advertising company. Shiva loves and trusts his brother. Shiva falls in love with Priya, who wants to marry someone who is an ex-smoker, ex-drunkard, and got ditched by a girl but is pining for her. Learning this, Shiva, with the help of his friend Vicky, invents an old romance between him and a certain Sona, and wins Priya's love. But soon she realises Shiva's trick and breaks up with him. He tries to tell her that he only cheated and lied to her on the old romance but he loved her truly. One day, Priya comes to Shiva's house and slaps him, but eventually she reciprocates his love.
Meanwhile, Deva chances upon Priya and lusts for her. His obsession continues even after his brother marries the girl of his dreams, and he devises various means of getting close to Priya and keeping Shiva and her separated. Some of the methods Deva uses to woo Priya are masochistic (wounding his hand by the running car engine to stop the couple's
wedding night
In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the consummation of a marriage, often called simply ''consummation'', is the first (or first officially credited) act of sexual intercourse between two people, following their marriage to ...
) and psychotic (repeated attempts to murder his brother).
While Shiva is away on work as a substitute for his injured brother, Priya has to take care of Deva. Priya soon realises the intentions Deva has towards her, but Shiva refuses to believe her and has full faith in his brother. He even goes as far as to take Priya to a psychiatrist. To get away from it all, Shiva and Priya go on a long-delayed honeymoon, but Deva shows up there, too. Shiva watches Deva touching Priya's dress and kissing her photo and he realises that she was right all along. Deva beats up Shiva, packs him in a gunny bag, and throws him in a lorry.
Deva disguises himself as Shiva and tries to seduce Priya. Shiva calls her to tell that Deva is there but Deva picks the call. She thinks that Shiva told Deva where they are and the one in the phone is Deva's assistant Sudha who called her to tell that Deva might wounded his hand or leg to stop their honeymoon in the same way how he stopped their wedding night. She takes off the phone's wire so that he will not call them back. Shiva then goes faster to the home to save Priya from Deva.
Soon, Priya learns that he is Deva and escapes from him, then shoots him with a revolver. Deva falls into the pool unconscious, and when Shiva comes, she narrates the whole incident to him. He hugs and apologises to her for not believing her, taking her to the psychiatrist without knowing the truth and for trusting Deva without knowing his intentions towards her. Suddenly, Deva regains consciousness, but Shiva immediately kills him with the revolver. In the afterlife, Deva talks about his inability to express his feelings for Priya as he was mute.
Cast
*
Ajith Kumar as Shiva/Deva (dual role)
*
Simran
Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ; hi, सिमरण, सिमरन ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Sanskrit word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of ...
as Priya
*
Jyothika
Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films. as Sona/Meena
*
Livingston
Livingston may refer to:
Businesses
* Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010)
* Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline
* Livingston International, a North American custom ...
(guest appearance)
*
Vivek Vivek (or Bibek/Bivek in some regions) (विवेक in Devanagari script) is a masculine given name that is popular in South Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. It is of Sanskrit origin and means "wisdom" and/or "conscience".
Vivek may refe ...
as Vicky
*
Rajeev as Uma's husband
*
Pandu as Velu Nair
* Rathan as Priya's father
* Balaji as Aadhimoolam, Vicky's patient
* Radhabhai as Shiva and Deva's grandmother
* Indhu as Uma
*
Sujitha
Sujitha (born 12 July 1982) is an Indian actress who works in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam TV serials. She is known for portraying "Dhanam" in ''Pandian Stores'' and in Kerala she is popular for portraying "Unnimaya" in the Asianet TV serial '' ...
as Sheela
*
N. Mathrubootham as the psychiatrist (uncredited)
Production
Development
S. J. Suryah
S. Justin Selvaraj, known by his stage name S. J. Suryah is an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, composer, producer and music director who has worked predominately in Tamil film industry. He sought to become an actor but started out d ...
had worked as an assistant director in
Vasanth
Vasanth is an Indian director well known in Tamil language films for directing films such as ''Keladi Kanmani'' (1990), '' Aasai'' (1995), '' Nerrukku Ner'' (1997), ''Rhythm'' (2000) and '' Satham Podathey'' (2007).
Career
Vasanth began his ...
's ''
Aasai
''Aasai'' () () is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film, written and directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Ajith Kumar and debutant Suvaluxmi, with Prakash Raj, Rohini, Poornam Viswanathan, Nizhalgal R ...
'' (1995) which featured
Ajith Kumar as well as working with him during the making of ''
Ullaasam
''Ullaasam'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language romantic film directed and co-written by the duo J. D. and Jerry and produced by actor Amitabh Bachchan. The film featured Ajith Kumar, Vikram and Maheswari with Raghuvaran, S. P. Balas ...
'' (1997). Ajith asked Suryah to prepare a good script and promised he would give him a chance to make his directorial debut. After Suryah completed the script of ''Vaalee'' in 60 days, the pair approached
S. S. Chakravarthy
S. S. Chakravarthy (S.Shajahan Chakravarthy) is an Indian film producer in Tamil cinema. He has produced a number of Tamil films through his Production company is NIC Arts. Most of his films had actor Ajith Kumar & Silambarasan in the lead roles. ...
to produce the film. The film is a modern-day adaptation of the legend of
Vali from the ''
Ramayana
The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...
''.
Casting
Keerthi Reddy
Keerthi Reddy is an Indian former actress who appeared primarily in Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi language films. Her notable work includes '' Tholi Prema'' (1998), ''Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and '' Arjun'' (2004). She has received a Filmf ...
was announced to be the lead actress in the film in December 1997, though she was replaced by
Simran
Simran (Gurmukhi: ਸਿਮਰਨ; hi, सिमरण, सिमरन ; from Sanskrit: , ''smaraṇa'', 'to remember, reminisce, recollect'), in spirituality, is a Sanskrit word referring to the continuous remembrance of the finest aspect of ...
before filming began.
Roja
Roja may refer to:
* ''Roja'' (film), a 1992 Tamil-language film by director Mani Ratnam
* ''Roja'' (soundtrack), a soundtrack album from the film
* Roja Selvamani
Roja Selvamani (born Sri Latha Reddy; 17 November 1972), also known as R. K. ...
and
Meena
Meena () is a sub-group of Bhils. They speak Meena language. They started adopting the Brahmin worship system. Its name is also transliterated as ''Meenanda'' or ''Mina''. Historians claim that they belong to the Matsya tribe. They got the st ...
also was approached to play the female lead but both of them could not allocate the dates.
Jyothika
Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films. , sister of actress
Nagma
Nagma Arvind Morarji (born Nandita Arvind Morarji on 25 December 1974) is an Indian politician and former actress. She was a popular lead actress in the 1990s. She made her cinematic debut in the film '' Baaghi'' opposite Salman Khan in 1990. ...
, made her Tamil debut in the film as an imaginary character, Sona. This is the first film where Ajith played two characters. Ajith mentioned that ''Vaalee'' "was very close to my heart and I gave it everything I had", adding that he had initially received widespread negative publicity and scepticism for doing a dual role too early in his career. Simran's voice was dubbed by
Savitha Radhakrishnan.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was composed by
Deva
Deva may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film
* ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film
* ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film
* Deva (2007 Telugu film)
* ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film
* Deva ...
and lyrics were written by
Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu Ramasamy (born 13 July 1953) is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first ...
. The song "Oh Sona" is based on "
Susanna" by
VOF de Kunst, and "
Where Do I Begin?", the theme to ''
Love Story'' composed by
Francis Lai
Francis Albert Lai (; 26 April 19327 November 2018) was a French composer, noted for his film scores. He won the 1970 Oscar for Best Music, Original Score and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score for the film ''Love Story''. The so ...
. "April Maathathil" took the beat of "
Strange Kind of Woman" by
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...
.
Release
''Vaalee'' was released on 30 April 1999. The film became a huge commercial success, running for 270 days in theatres in Tamil Nadu, and 100 days in Kerala. It provided a major breakthrough for Ajith, Simran and Jyothika's careers.
Reception
''
Deccan Herald
''Deccan Herald'' is an Indian English language daily newspaper published from the Indian state of Karnataka. It was founded by K. N. Guruswamy, a liquor businessman from Ballari and was launched on 17 June 1948. It is published by The Print ...
'' described ''Vaalee'' as "definitely worth seeing", saying it "has something for all tastes – a pleasant love angle, some suspense, complex psychological nuances, good acting, pleasing songs" while praising Ajith's performance. The reviewer from ''Indolink'' labelled the film as "a classic in its own right", praising the performances of Ajith and Simran while describing Suryah as "a new young director to the cine field who can make Tamil Cinema be proud once again". ''
The New Indian Express
''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...
'' labelled Simran's portrayal as "outstanding" while mentioning Suryah does a "fairly good job and succeeds". K. P. S. of ''
Kalki
Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...
'' appreciated Deva's music, the performances of Ajith and Simran, and Jeeva's cinematography, adding that Suryah's future as a director seemed bright.
Tamil magazine ''
Ananda 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 ...
'' dated 16 May 1999 appreciated the film by giving 45 marks and mentioned "Director SJ Suryah established his stamp of film-making in his very first film by taking up a straight line story with an engaging screenplay and realistic dialogues. Ajith Kumar has done a fantastic job in dual role and Simran also proved that she can act". K. N. Vijiyin of ''
New Straits Times'' wrote, "It is amazing what fresh ideas new directors can come out with
..Using a simple story, Suryah has come out with a winner". ''
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 ...
'' wrote "Rich production values, fine performances by Ajit Kumar (playing the dual role of brothers) and Simran, bold and powerful dialogue by S. J. Surya, who has directed the movie based on his story and screenplay, are the major contributing factors in NIC Arts' "Vaalee"."
Accolades
Remakes
''Vaalee'' was remade in
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
under
the same title (2001).
Boney Kapoor
Achal Surinder "Boney" Kapoor (born 11 November 1955) is an Indian producer primarily associated with Hindi cinema in addition to Tamil and Telugu cinema.
Early life
Kapoor was born as Achal Surinder Kapoor in 1955, the son of Surinder Kapoor ...
entered negotiations with Chakravarthy to acquire the remake rights for
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
and other languages. In response, Suryah attempted to block Chakravarthy from selling the remake rights by filing a case to the
Madras High Court, but his plea was rejected. Kapoor and Chakravarthy's deal was closed around July/August 2020. In November 2021, Suryah appealed to the
Supreme Court of India, using a 2017 verdict by the Madras High Court that only the screenwriter holds the remake rights to his own film, but on 25 April 2022, the Supreme Court rejected his plea: "There can be no dispute that in respect of a cinematograph film, it is the producer of the film who is the owner of the copyright in the cinematograph film itself...Insofar as the copyright in the original story or the original screenplay or dialogue is concerned, to the extent the same is used in the film upon due consideration therefor being tendered by the producer, the producer is also deemed to be the owner of the copyright therein".
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
{{S. J. Suryah
1990s psychological thriller films
1990s romantic thriller films
1990s Tamil-language films
1999 directorial debut films
1999 films
Films directed by S. J. Suryah
Films scored by Deva (composer)
Indian romantic thriller films
Tamil films remade in other languages
Tamil-language psychological thriller films
Twins in Indian films