''Vaigai'' is a 2009

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 drama film Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typica ...

directed by L.R. Sundarapandi. The film stars Bala Joseph and Vishaka, with Sai Kumar,

Thalaivasal Vijay Thalaivasal Vijay is an Indian actor and dubbing artist. He was born on 4 August 1962 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India. He has acted predominantly in numerous Tamil and Malayalam films. Career Vijay's debut film was '' Thalaivaasal'' (1992), ...

Ganja Karuppu Ganja Karuppu is an Indian actor who has predominantly appeared in comedy roles in Tamil cinema. After making his debut in Bala's '' Pithamagan'' (2003), Ganja Karuppu experienced success in the late 2000s with his roles in '' Raam'' (2005), ...

Thennavan ''Thennavan'' is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language political action film written and directed by newcomer A. M. Nandakumar and produced by Vijayakanth, who played the title role Thennavan IAS, in-charge as the Chief Election Commissioner and fight ...

, Shyam Ganesh,

Singamuthu Singamuthu (born 8 December 1958) is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films as a comedian. Career Singamuthu has primarily appeared in comedy roles in films as a supporting actor debuting in ''Neram Nalla Irukku'' (1987). He ...

Appukutty Sivabalan, better known as Appukutty, is an Indian actor and comedian, who mainly appears in Tamil films. He became recognized following his performance in ''Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu''. His role as Azhagarsami in ''Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai'' was prai ...

, and

Ambani Shankar Ambani Shankar is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil films. He has appeared in films including '' Ji'' (2005) and ''Ambasamudram Ambani'' (2010), and garnered his stage name from the latter film. Career Shankar grew up in Tirumangalam, ...

playing supporting roles. The film had musical score by

Sabesh–Murali Sabesh–Murali is an Indian music director duo, who have jointly composed for many Tamil films in Chennai, India. Sabesh and Murali are siblings who began their careers working under their brother, the music director Deva, as assistant composer ...

, cinematography by V. Lakshmipathi, and editing by K. M. K. Palanivel. The film released on 10 July 2009.

Plot

In a remote village near

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...

, the happy-go-lucky man Arivu (Bala Joseph) and the village belle Uma ( Vishaka) fall in love with each other. Arivu is the son of the village bigwig Mandakalai ( Sai Kumar), while Uma is the daughter of the postman Manikkam (

). When Mandakalai knew about his son's love affair, he sends his cousin Duraisingam (

) and his henchmen to kill Uma, but Arivu saves her. The lovers consume poison and go separated, getting into different trains moving at opposite directions. Arivu is then admitted to the hospital and saved by the doctors. Mandakalai's henchmen cannot find the missing girl Uma, and the villagers conclude that she died. The heartbroken Arivu with his friends moves to

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

to try to forget this mishap. One day, Arivu's friends witness Uma in a temple, but Dr. Shyam (Shyam Ganesh) tells them that she is not Uma, thinking that they might be Mandakalai's henchmen. Uma is now living in Shyam's house but is afraid of returning home, so Shyam invites her parents at his home. When Uma and her parents return to their village, they come to know that Arivu committed suicide. Arivu was moved after the "death" of his lover, but he acted happy and positive to his friends and family. Uma is aghast to hear this news, and she decides to not get married. Every year, at the death anniversary of her lover, Uma places flower garlands at the burial place of Arivu.

Cast

*Bala Joseph as Arivu * Vishaka as Uma * Sai Kumar as Mandakalai, Arivu's father *

as Manikkam, Uma's father *

as Jeevarasi *

as Duraisingam *Shyam Ganesh as Dr. Shyam *

as Muthurasu *

as Kulumai *

Shankar Shankar may refer to: People * Shankar (name), including a list of people with the name * Sankar (writer) (Mani Shankar Mukherjee), Bengali writer * L. Shankar, Indian violinist *S. Shankar, Indian film director commonly credited as Shankar * San ...

*Theni Murugan as Bus Conductor *Rajasekhar *V. M. Subburaj *Chellakoori *Vijay Ganesh *Amirthalingam *Sai Gopi *Yuvan Swang *Madurai Saroja *Anjali Devi *Sujibala in a special appearance *

Ragasya Ragasiya is an Indian actress, runway model, and theater artist. Career She started her career as an assistant choreographer to Pony Verma, Longie Fernandes, Raju Khan and later she started doing theaters with Gary Richardson for Mad Horses. ...

in a special appearance

Production

L. R. Sundarapandi made his directorial debut with ''Vaigai'', a film based on some real-life incidents that happened in

which took place in the 1980s. Bala Joseph, the winner of the second season of

Maanada Mayilada ''Maanada Mayilada'' is an Indian dance competition show airing from 2007 till 2015 on Kalaignar TV. The show was conceived, produced and directed by noted choreographer Kala Master. She is also one of the judges and the only constant judge th ...

, was chosen to play the hero while newcomer Vishaka from

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 ...

was selected to play his love interest.

played a major role, and actress

appeared in an item song sung by actor

Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar, nicknamed as Simbu or his initials S. T. R., is an Indian actor, filmmaker and musician in Tamil cinema. He began his acting career by playing roles as a child artist in films directed by his father T. Rajendar, b ...

. The film was shot in

Pollachi Pollachi is a town and a taluk headquarters in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu state, India. Located about to the south of Coimbatore, it is the second largest town in the district after Coimbatore. Pollachi is a popular Marketplace for ja ...

, Madurai and

. L.R.Sundarapandi's upcoming film is Theerkadarishi starred

Ajmal Ameer Ajmal Ameer (born 8 November 1985) is an Indian actor and former physician, who works in the Cinema of Kerala, Malayalam, Cinema of Tamil Nadu, Tamil, and Cinema of Andhra Pradesh, Telugu film industries. He has won two Filmfare Awards South f ...

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by

. The soundtrack features six tracks with lyrics written by

Snehan Snehan (born Sivaselvam) is a Tamil poet, politician, lyricist, and actor who has worked in the Tamil film industry. In the year 2018 he entered politics with Makkal Needhi Maiam and contested in the Lok Sabha election. In 2021 Tamil Nadu Legis ...

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 Nat ...

, and L. R. Sundarapandi. The audio was released on 26 March 2009 in Chennai and the first copy of the album was received by actress

Namitha Namitha Vankawala is an Indian actress, model and politician who predominantly works in Tamil and Telugu cinema along with a few films in Kannada and Malayalam. She serves as a state executive member of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Na ...

Rama Narayanan Rama Narayanan (3 April 1949 – 22 June 2014) was an Indian film director and producer. In the 1980s, he was known as a director who specialized in shooting commercial films in which animals played vital roles, while in the 1990s, several of h ...

, Sivasakthi Pandian, M. K. Tamilarasu, and

Mohan Raja Mohan Raja is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter who primarily works in Tamil and Telugu film industries. After making his debut in the Telugu cinema, Telugu film ''Hanuman Junction (film), Hanuman Junction'' (2001), he went on to remake seve ...

attended the audio launch.

Release

The film was released on 10 July 2009 alongside four other films.

Critical reception

A reviewer wrote, "Bala makes a perfect debut and is so decent on his take. He never overreacts at any point and so does the female lead Visaka" and cited the film as "worth watching". Another critic said, "The story inspired by a real-life incident has nothing new to offer in terms of the storyline but the director's interesting narration of the subject has made the movie a watchable one".

Box office

The film took a below average opening at the

box office, beginning in the fifth position the first week and finishing in the eighth position the second week.

References

{{reflist 2009 films 2000s Tamil-language films Indian romantic drama films 2009 romantic drama films