''18 Vayasu Puyale'' () is a 2007 Tamil language romance film directed by M. Vijay. The film stars newcomer Ajay Pradeep and

Preethi Varma Preethi Varma is an Indian actress, known for her work in Tamil cinema. In the 2000s, she played lead roles in mid-budget Indian films. Career After making her debut in a supporting role in the Sathyaraj-starrer '' Maaran'' (2002), Preethi port ...

, with

Rajesh Rajesh is a given name of Indian and Nepali origin. Given name * Rajesh (actor), South Indian actor * Rajesh (Kannada actor), Kannada actor * Rajesh Bishnoi, Indian cricketer * Rajesh Chauhan, Indian cricketer * Rajesh Gangwar, Indian social ...

Nalini Nalini (Devanagari: नलिनी) is a female gender Indian given name, which means "lotus", "goddess Gayatri","mother of Vedas", "sweet nectar", "Amrit", Feminine "lily" in Sanskrit.''Baby Names''"Nalini" Retrieved on 9 January 2016. The name ...

, Fathima Babu, Thanalakshmi, Babu, Vennira Aadai Moorthy,

Lollu Sabha Balaji Lollu Sabha Balaji (1971 – 7 March 2014) was an Indian actor comedian who appeared in many Tamil films and television serials. He has acted in a few films, most notably '' Silambattam'' and ''Dindigul Sarathy''. Balaji became popular with TV ...

Pandu In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Pandu ( sa, पाण्डु, Pāṇḍu, pale) was a king of the Kuru Kingdom. He was the foster-father of the five Pandava brothers, who were the boons bestowed upon his wife Kunti by a number of deities ...

, Srilatha, and

Scissor Manohar Scissor Manohar is an Indian comedian and actor. Career Manohar began to work as a production assistant working on films such as ''Puthiya Vaarpugal'' (1979). Manohar earned the name Scissor for his character in '' Gokulathil Seethai'' (1996 ...

playing supporting roles. The film was produced by M. S. Tamilarasan and M. Illias. It had musical score by Leo, cinematography by Rajarajan, and editing by

P. Sai Suresh P. Sai Suresh is an Indian film editor, who has worked on Tamil language films. He regularly collaborated in ventures directed by Sundar C in the 1990s and 2000s, notably working on projects including '' Arunachalam'' (1997), ''Suyamvaram'' (19 ...

. The film was released on 14 September 2007.

Plot

The storyline revolves around Surya (Ajay Pradeep), a college dropout and good-for-nothing guy. Surya is from a middle-class family and lives with his father Ramakrishnan (

), mother Seetha ( Fathima Babu), and little sister Divya (Thanalakshmi). Ramakrishnan advised Surya to be more responsible and find a job as quickly as possible. Surya, with a certificate on hand, decides to look for a job. One day, at a

pedestrian crossing A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...

, Surya falls in love at first sight with a girl named Pooja (

). Surya starts hanging out with his friends in his lover's college. Surya tries to impress Pooja by acting like a hero and offering her gifts, but she refuses to accept his love. Pooja tells him that she does not believe in love marriage. Surya, with his parents, arranged a meeting at the groom's house, where he made a marriage proposal to Pooja. Pooja and her family agree to an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

. Surya and Pooja eventually get married. All of these events turn out to be Surya's imagination. At the pedestrian crossing, Surya is immersed in his dreams and gets hit by a car, so Gayathri (Preethi Varma) takes the seriously wounded Surya to the nearby hospital, and he is saved by the doctors. Afterwards, Surya starts the quest to find his lover Gayathri. Gayathri lives with her aunt Vasantha (

), a ruthless loan shark who wants all of her wealth, and her psychopath cousin Gaja (Babu), who wants to marry her. After the death of her parents, Gayathri found herself alone and became depressed. She needed the love of a person, so she runs away from her aunt's house. Thereafter, she tries to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff, but Surya, who passed through, saves her. Surya then reveals that he is crazy about her and wants to marry her. First completely disoriented, Gayathri finally accepts his proposal. Mad with rage, Vasantha and Gaja are looking for Gayathri. What transpires next forms the rest of the story.

Cast

*Ajay Pradeep as Surya *

as Pooja / Gayathri *

as Ramakrishnan * Fathima Babu as Seetha *Thanalakshmi as Divya *Babu as Gaja *

as Vasantha * Vennira Aadai Moorthy as Professor Chellappa *

as Chinnappadass *

as Inspector Mustafa *Srilatha as Pooja's mother *

as Doctor *Rajkrishnan *Jayasurya *Tamilarasan *R. Mahendrakumar *Master Ashwin as Pradeep *Laksha as an item number

Production

The film director M. Vijay claimed that, "the screenplay of his movie was set in a novel and different fashion" and added, "This kind of screenplay may strike a note of similarity with ''

Virumaandi ''Virumaandi'' is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written, co-edited, produced, and directed by Kamal Haasan, who also performed in the title role. The film revolves around the interview of two prison inmates, firstly, Kothala The ...

'' where the first half and the second half of the film were two different interpretations of the same incidents". He stated that "the film will have all the commercial elements like kuthupaatu, comedy etc". Newcomer Leo had scored music for the film. The story of the film is about 18-year-olds who let their imagination run riot. The scenes which happened in

's real life were reflected in this film. However, the thing was that all of these scenes were shot much earlier than her real life elopement episode.

Soundtrack

The film score and the soundtrack were composed by Leo. The soundtrack, released on 23 April 2007, features 5 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 ...

, Balaji, and R. P. Ilayaraaja.

References

{{reflist 2007 films 2000s Tamil-language films Indian romance films 2007 directorial debut films 2000s romance films