''Vallavan'' ( ''Expert'') is a 2006 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 ...

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

written and directed by Silambarasan, starring himself as the titular character along with

Reema Sen Reema Sen (born 29 October 1981) is an Indian actress and model who primarily appeared in Bengali theatre films, Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi films. Early life and education Sen was born in Kolkata on 29 October 1981. She completed high school fro ...

and

Nayanthara Diana Mariam Kurian, known professionally as Nayanthara, is an Indian actress and film producer who is known for her work in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. She was in the ''Forbes India'' "Celebrity 100" 2018 list, with her total annual ...

as lead heoines whilst Sandhya,

Santhanam Santhanam or Santanam ( te, సంతానం) is an Indian name that may refer to: People * K. Santhanam (1895–1980), Indian politician * Madabusi Santanam Raghunathan (born 1941), Indian mathematician * Maharajapuram Santhanam (1928–1992) ...

Premji Mullamangalath Parameshwaran Bhattathiripad (23 September 1908 – 10 August 1998), commonly known as M. P. Bhatathirippad or Premji, was a social reformer, cultural leader and actor from Kerala state, India. Premji joined Yogakshema Sabha ...

, and Sathyan play supporting roles. The dialogues are written by

Balakumaran Balakumaran (5 July 1946 – 15 May 2018) was an Indian Tamil writer and author of over 200 novels, 100 short stories, and dialogue/screenplay writer for 23 films. He also contributed to Tamil periodicals such as ''Kalki'', ''Ananda Vikatan'' an ...

. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...

. The film released on 21 October 2006. It received mixed to positive reviews and became Simbu's 2nd best success after '' Manmadhan'' (2004).

Plot

Vallavan is a happy-go-lucky college student who is friends with Suji, Soori and Subbu. While they are at temple, Vallavan sees Swapna and immediately falls in love with her. Vallavan encounters Swapna again in college and she is revealed to be a teacher who is three years elder than him. He decides to woo her by turning into Pallan, an

ugly duckling "The Ugly Duckling" ( da, Den grimme ælling) is a Danish literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). It was first published on 11 November 1843 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. First Collection'' ...

with

buck teeth In orthodontics, a malocclusion is a misalignment or incorrect relation between the teeth of the upper and lower dental arches when they approach each other as the jaws close. The English-language term dates from 1864; Edward Angle (1855-1930), ...

and thick glasses. Pallan makes Swapna fall in love with him for his heart. When Swapna learns that Pallan is younger than her (from one of Vallavan's rivals in the college) and also a student, she dumps him and decides to marry another man. As Vallavan walks in the streets wondering how things got so messy, he recalls his school life. When he was in higher secondary school, Vallavan met the hysteric and toxic Geetha, who ensures that Vallavan is mad about her. Learning of her true nature, he ends things with her. She is not ready to let him go so easily, and he teaches her a lesson. Geetha returns for payback and tells Vallavan that she is the reason for the current mess in his life. In an effort to win his love, Vallavan once again as Pallan, goes to convince Swapna, and tells her that even though he is younger than her, his love for her is true and that age does not matter. Swapna realizes her mistake and they reconcile, infuriating Geetha. In a climax displaying her disorder, she kidnaps Suji, and Vallavan arrives and frees her. The film fast-forwards to three years later. Geetha is released from a mental asylum. The moment she steps out, she exhibits her fiery psychotic expression, showing that she never actually recovered. Vallavan is waiting for her, and they communicate telepathetically, with Vallavan saying that she cannot hurt him.

Cast

* Silambarasan as Vallavan a.k.a. Pallan *

as Geethakumari "Geeta" , Vallavan's ex-girlfriend *

as Swapna, a teacher who's Vallavan's love interest and fiancée. * Sandhya as Suji, Vallavan's best friend *

as Soori, Suji's brother * Sathyan as Subbu *

as Swapna's friend *

S. V. Shekhar Sattanathapuram Venkataraman Shekher (born 26 December 1950) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, politician and a playwright of Tamil-language plays. In 2006, he was elected as an MLA for the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIA ...

as Suji and Soori's father *

Janaki Sabesh Janaki Sabesh is an Indian media professional, actor, model, storyteller, author of children's book, theatre and voiceover artist. Throughout her film career, she has played the "screen mother" to several leading actors, appearing predominantly ...

as Suji and Soori's mother *

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 ...

as Vallavan's school friend (flashback) *Karthik Sabesh as Vallavan's school friend (flashback) *Guhan Shanmugam *Raandilya *

as Psychiatrist (cameo appearance) *

T. Rajendar Thesingu Rajendar (born 9 May 1960), also known as Vijaya T. Rajendar or T. R., is an Indian actor, filmmaker, musician, cinematographer and distributor who works primarily in Tamil film industry. He is also a politician in Chennai, Tamil Nadu ...

as dancer in song "Yammadi Aathadi" (special appearance) *

Kanal Kannan Kanal Kannan (born as V. Kannan) is an Indian actor, action choreographer and screenwriter who works in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi films. He has worked with actors Mammootty, Prithviraj , Unni Mukundan Unnikrishnan Mukund ...

as a spectator watching Vallavan's fight from his car (cameo appearance) * Mahat Raghavendra as Vallavan's friend and miscellaneous (uncredited role) *

Jagan Jagan is an Indian actor and comedian who has appeared in supporting roles in Tamil films. His breakthrough was with K. V. Anand's '' Ayan'', where he played a small-time smuggler Chitti Babu, and the role won him critical acclaim. He was th ...

as Vallavan's friend (uncredited role)

Music

The music was scored by noted musician and Silambarasan's friend,

, coming together again after churning out the successful album of '' Manmadhan'' (2004). The soundtrack was released on 1 June 2006 and features 9 tracks, including 7 songs and two

Instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

pieces. As it was the case in ''Manmadhan'', a second Soundtrack was released afterwards with bit songs that feature in the film but not on the first soundtrack along with pieces from the film score. The lyrics were penned by Vaali,

Thamarai Thamarai (born 10 November 1975) is a noted Tamil poet and lyricist. She is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. She made her debut in the Tamil film industry through the 1998 film Iniyavale, which was directed by Seeman and music co ...

, film director

Perarasu Perarasu (born 8 January 1967) is an Indian film director who works primarily in Tamil film industry. As a director, he is best known for his commercial Tamil movies with actors Vijay and Bharath Srinivasan. He has also been credited as an act ...

and Silambarasan himself. Karunakaran wrote the lyrics of the bit song "Kadhal Vandhale", released in the second edition. Yuvan Shankar Raja won accolades for his soundtrack, whereas especially the songs "Loosu Penne" and "Yammaadi Aathaadi" were both popular. His film score, too, was lauded, called as the film's highlight and "backbone of the film", while he himself was hailed as the film's "real hero".

Release

Critical reception

Vallavan received mixed to positive reviews from critics at the time of release. Critics praised the performance of the actors, particularly the chemistry between the lead actors Silambarasan and Nayanthara while Reemma Sen's portrayal as a psychopathic woman garnered critical acclaim. Reema Sen's performance as a psychotic maniac created chills in the hearts of the audience. Watching the sudden transformation of a happy school going Reema Sen into a lunatic out for vengeance was eerily brilliant! Her portrayal of a sadistic lover was very convincing and the actress did justice to the role. ''

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: "Vallavan's basic sketch is simpler than '' Manmadhan'', though the maker has lent it his trademark frills". ''

Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...

'' gave 2.5/5 stars to ''Vallavan'' and said: "If you are looking for some wholesome entertainment, then Vallavan is worth your time and money". ''Behindwoods.com'' commented: "On a positive note, the glamorous quotient of two heroines along with music and the youth element can play to Vallavan's advantage". ''

Oneindia Oneindia.com is an Indian website established in January 2006 by BG Mahesh. The website provides news updates, information on sports, events, travel, entertainment, business, lifestyle, videos, and classifieds in seven different Indian language ...

'' wrote: "Yuvan's music and Santhanam's comedy provide the much-needed relief as the film's dark and tension filled screenplay roils throughout with murky games of passion and revenge."

Box office

''Vallavan'' was hit at the box office. The film also featured, prior to release, in "most awaited" lists from entertainment sites. The film got a grand release during

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

2006 along with other films like Ajith's '' Varalaru'',

Jiiva Amar Choudary (born 4 January 1984), known professionally as Jiiva, is an Indian actor and film producer who works mainly in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi films. He is the youngest son of film producer R. B. Choudary. He began his career as a ch ...

's '' E'', Arya's ''

Vattaram ''Vattaram'' is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language action gangster film written, produced, and directed by Saran. The film stars Arya, Napoleon, and Kirat Bhattal. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Bharathwaj. The film released on 21 ...

'' and Sarath Kumar's ''

Thalaimagan ''Thalaimagan'' () is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language action film starring Sarath Kumar, Nayanthara, Vadivelu and Vijayakumar. This film marked Sarath Kumar's directorial debut. It was the 100th film of Sarath Kumar. The film received mixed to ne ...

''. Due to the pre-release hype it created, ''Vallavan'' received a grand opening.

Controversies

While filming for ''Vallavan'', Nayantara was romantically linked with the film's director and co-actor Silambarasan. She initially denied the reports. In November 2006, however, she confirmed that she and Silambarasan had broken up, going on to add that she would not work with him again. However, they later went on to appear in '' Idhu Namma Aalu'' (2016). During the making, actress Reema Sen threatened legal action against Silambarasan after he made changes to the scope of her role in the film. She later stated she regretted her claim and was proud to have won critical acclaim for the character.

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0460976, Vallavan 2006 films 2000s Tamil-language films Indian romantic thriller films Films scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja Films directed by Silambarasan 2006 directorial debut films 2000s romantic thriller films 2000s masala films