''Vietnam Colony'' is a 1994 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
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
directed and co-written by
Santhana Bharathi
Santhana Bharathi is an Indian film director and actor who has primarily worked in Tamil cinema.
Career
Santhana Bharathi originally wanted to be a director but didn't get the right opportunity, even after working for a well known director ...
. It is a remake of the 1992
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 ...
film
of the same name which itself was based on the 1983 Scottish film ''
Local Hero''. The film stars
Prabhu
''Prabhu'' means master or the Prince in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to God. The term is also used by devotees of the Hindu God Lord Krishna/Vishnu as a title and form of address. It is also appended ...
,
Goundamani
Subramaniyan Karuppaiya (born 25 May 1939), known by his stage name Goundamani, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Tamil cinema. He is known for his comic duo partnership in Tamil films with fellow actor Senthil. The pair dominated t ...
and
Vineetha
Vineetha is a former Indian actress, who appeared predominantly in Tamil films and Malayalam films. She has also acted in some Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films. She made her debut through the Tamil film ''Chinna Jameen
''Chinna Jameen'' () i ...
. It revolves around two men trying to persuade some colony residents to relocate to another location for the sake of a corporate project, but the residents, and some goons, oppose them. ''Vietnam Colony'' was released on 15 July 1994.
Plot
Venkatakrishnan, hailing from an orthodox
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
community, gets a job with Calcutta Constructions as its supervisor. The company has been in efforts to restructure their land by vacating an illegal colony lying adjacent to its premises. Popularly known as Vietnam Colony, it is inhabited by daily labourers. The company has been in efforts to demolish the colony for long time, but failed to do so. The colony is now under the rule a few hardcore criminals to whom the residents have to pay specific amount every week. Now, Venkatakrishnan is appointed by the company to evacuate the colony by dealing with these criminals. He is assisted by Joseph. Both arrive in the colony disguised as professional writers who are planning to write a story on the life of colony residents.
Upon arrival, both enter the house of a woman in search of a house, but she mistakes them to have come to see her daughter Gayathri and calls her to bring tea and snacks. But after knowing that the goof happened, she lets them stay on the top floor of her house. Upon the advice of the house broker, Gayathri's mother believes that with time, her daughter might fall in love with Venkatakrishnan and marry him. In the coming days, Venkatakrishnan befriends with various members of the colony and tries to read out their idea about vacating the colony. But he realises it is not an easy task to evacuate the people and thinks about different plans to be operated. From Gayathri's mother, Venkatakrishnan learns that the entire colony was owned by Sulaiman, a millionaire who gave up his mother for money. What happens next is the rest of story.
Cast
*
Prabhu
''Prabhu'' means master or the Prince in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to God. The term is also used by devotees of the Hindu God Lord Krishna/Vishnu as a title and form of address. It is also appended ...
as Venkatakrishnan
*
Goundamani
Subramaniyan Karuppaiya (born 25 May 1939), known by his stage name Goundamani, is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Tamil cinema. He is known for his comic duo partnership in Tamil films with fellow actor Senthil. The pair dominated t ...
as Joseph
*
Vineetha
Vineetha is a former Indian actress, who appeared predominantly in Tamil films and Malayalam films. She has also acted in some Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films. She made her debut through the Tamil film ''Chinna Jameen
''Chinna Jameen'' () i ...
as Gayathri
*
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 ...
as Sulaiman Sait
* Vijaya Rangaraj as Rauther
*
Manorama as Janaki, Gayathri's mother
*
S. N. Lakshmi
Sennalkudi Narayana Lakshmi (1927 – 20 February 2012) was an Indian actress, who appeared in supporting roles, often playing roles of a mother or grandmother in films. A recipient of the state government's Kalaimamani and Kalaiselvam awards, ...
*
Kaka Radhakrishnan
T. V. Radhakrishnan, better known as Kaka Radhakrishnan ( – 14 June 2012) was an Indian actor who acted in Tamil language films from the year 1940. He is also notable for having introduced his childhood friend, Sivaji Ganesan, into films.
Car ...
*
Uday Prakash
Uday Prakash (born 1 January 1952) is a Hindi poet, scholar, journalist, translator and short story writer from India.
He has worked as administrator, editor, researcher, and TV director. He writes for major dailies and periodicals as a freelance ...
as advocate Thomas
* Ashok Rao
*
R. S. Shivaji
R. S. Shivaji (born 26 October 1956) is an Indian actor, who is known for his work in Tamil films. He has often collaborated in films involving Kamal Haasan and Raaj Kamal Films International, working as an assistant director, sound designer an ...
as Broker Paramasivam
*
Delhi Ganesh
Delhi Ganesh is an Indian actor who mostly acts in supporting roles in Tamil cinema and serials. He has acted in more than 400 films from 1976 to present. Before films, he was a member of the Delhi-based theatre troupe, ''Dakshina Bharata Natak ...
*
Thyagu
Thozhar Thiyagu (born 30 January 1950), also known as Comrade Thiyagu, is a social activist, politician, writer from Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He is also the General Secretary of Tamil National Liberation Movement and is well known for his ...
as Pattabhiraman
Production
''Vietnam Colony'' is a remake of the 1994
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 ...
film
of the same name, which itself was based on the 1983 Scottish film ''
Local Hero''. The film was initially titled as ''Indru Mudhal'' before it was changed to match the Malayalam original.
Gautami
Gautami Tadimalla (born 2 July 1969), known mononymously as Gautami, is an Indian actress and politician who has worked mainly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films in addition to Hindi, and Kannada films. She was one of the leading South India ...
was initially cast as the lead actress but she was replaced by Vineetha.
Crazy Mohan wrote the dialogues.
Soundtrack
The music was composed by
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one of ...
.
Release and reception
''Vietnam Colony'' was released on 15 July 1994.
On 22 July 1994, ''
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
'' wrote, "An unusual story by Siddiq-Lal keeps the proceedings alive for the most part."
On 6 August 1994, ''
New Straits Times
The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as ''The Straits Times'' on 15 July 1845. It was relaunched as the ' ...
'' wrote, "This is a serious story but what we get are comic situations which Santhana Bharathi manages very well".
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, id=0318809
1990s Tamil-language films
1994 comedy films
1994 films
Films directed by Santhana Bharathi
Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja
Films with screenplays by Crazy Mohan
Indian comedy films
Tamil remakes of Malayalam films