Veera (1994 film)
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''Veera'' () 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, nativ ...
-language
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...
film directed by Suresh Krissna and written by
Panchu Arunachalam Panchanathan Arunachalam (22 March 1941 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian writer, director, producer and lyricist who worked in Tamil cinema. He was mentored by poet Kannadasan who was his uncle. He also worked as a lyricist in the Tamil cin ...
. It is a remake of the
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
film ''
Allari Mogudu ''Allari Mogudu'' () is a 1992 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and produced by K. Krishna Mohan Rao under R K Associates. The film stars Mohan Babu, Meena and Ramya Krishna. It was remade in Kannada a ...
'' (1992) and stars Rajinikanth,
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 ...
and Roja with
Janagaraj Janagaraj is an Indian actor who has appeared in over 200 films predominantly in Tamil cinema as a comedian or in supporting roles. He also starred in few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films. Early life Janagaraj was born to Vadivelu and Muthu ...
, Senthil,
Vadivukkarasi Vadivukkarasi is an Indian actress. She made her acting debut in the Tamil film ''Sigappu Rojakkal'' (1978) and has acted in more than 350 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam and 40 television serials in Tamil. Film director A. P. ...
,
J. Livingston Philip Livingston Jones, commonly credited by his mononym Livingston is an Indian actor, comedian and screenwriter who usually plays in supporting and comedy roles in Tamil films. He is credited as Ranjan in his earlier films such as '' Captain ...
,
Mahesh Anand Mahesh Anand (13 August 1961 – 9 February 2019) was an Indian actor, dancer and martial artist who worked in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. He is remembered for playing villainous roles in Hindi films. He was a black belt in ...
,
Vinu Chakravarthy Vinu Chakravarthy (15 December 1945 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and director who is known for acting in more than 1000 movies in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Badaga and Malayalam mostly as a comedian, supporting actor or i ...
,
Ajay Rathnam Ajay Rathnam is an Indian actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil films and serials. He is known for his supporting and negative roles and has acted in over 300 movies. Standing at 6 ft 4 in (193 cm), Rathnam is one of the tallest actors in ...
,
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 ...
and
Charuhasan S. Charuhasan (born 5 January 1931) is an Indian actor, director and retired lawyer who has acted in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films. He won the National Film Award for Best ActorSubha J Rao,Entertainment for a cause, The Hind ...
in supporting roles. The film is about a man who marries twice because of circumstances beyond his control and is forced to live a double life to cover his tracks. Krissna initially refused to remake ''Allari Mogudu'' because he disliked it but agreed after Rajinikanth told him their next film after ''
Annaamalai ''Annaamalai'' (also spelt ''Annamalai''; ) is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by Suresh Krissna and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. A remake of the 1987 Hindi film '' Khudgarz'', itself based on Jeffrey Archer's 1979 n ...
'' (1992) should be different to avoid comparisons. The screenplay of ''Veera'' was written to be substantially different from the original; it was tailored to Rajinikanth's style and had logic added to the scenario. Arunachalam, who made script changes, received sole screenwriting credit. The film was produced by Arunachalam's wife Meena, photographed by P. S. Prakash and edited by Ganesh–Kumar. ''Veera'' was released on 14 April 1994 during the
Puthandu Puthandu (), also known as Puthuvarudam, and the Tamil New Year, is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar, traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamil Hindus. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu cal ...
holiday. The film received mixed reviews from critics and audiences were disappointed because they expected a film like ''Annaamalai''. Ticket sales improved within a few weeks of its release and ''Veera'' became a commercial success, running for over 100 days in theatres.


Plot

Muthuveerappan, an idler from
Karamadai Karamadai is located near Mettupalayam, a Neighborhood of Mettupalayam, Coimbatore in the India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most ...
, falls in love with Devayani alias Devi, the daughter of
Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka. It is ...
ian Krishnamurthy Shastri. To lure her, Muthu pretends to learn music from Shastri. One day, Devi overhears Muthu discussing his plans to seduce her with his friends, and confronts him. Chastened, Muthu concentrates on his music and later wins over Devi. They marry in secret but before they can make this official, Rathnavelu, son of the village landlord, tries to rape Devi. Muthu saves her by subduing Rathnavelu. Enraged, the landlord insults Muthu's mother, tells her about a loan owed to him by Muthu's late father and threatens to evict her if the loan is not paid within a week. Muthu goes to Madras to earn money. In Madras, Muthu tries to enter a music competition to win the prize money. He meets
tabla A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
player Ravikanth, who gives him the stage name Veera. Both make repeated attempts to enter the competition but are unsuccessful. Muthu saves the competition promoter's owner Viswanathan's daughter Roopakala from Harichandran, a gangster. With Roopa's help, Muthu is able to perform at the competition with Ravikanth, and wins the prize money. Muthu returns to Karamadai and repays the loan, clearing his mother's debt. He learns Devi's house had been destroyed by a flood; the bodies of Devi and her father were not found. With Devi presumed dead, Muthu's mother tells him to return to Madras so that he can start afresh. After Muthu and his mother arrive in Madras, he gets a full-time job in the music industry as Veera. Viswanathan appoints him as the new company manager after firing the previous manager Chandran for selling pirated cassettes. Roopa, having fallen in love with Muthu, wants to marry him. Muthu initially refuses because he misses Devi but his mother persuades him to marry her. After her marriage, Roopa and Viswanathan go to the United States as the latter needs a heart surgery there. One day, at his recording studio, Muthu finds Devi alive and well. She survived the flood but was left with amnesia; her memory was restored when she heard Muthu singing on the radio so she went to Madras in search of him. Muthu decides not to tell Devi about his marriage to Roopa. After Roopa and Viswanathan return, Muthu tries to tell Roopa about Devi but decides not to after she tells him about how her friend, at Roopa's suggestion, murdered her lover for infidelity. Devi and Muthu go to a temple to formally marry on Devi's demands, and Ravikanth is tasked with preventing Roopa from going there but fails. Roopa arrives at the temple; Ravikanth helps Muthu to hide his marriage to Devi from Roopa and vice versa. When Roopa sees her husband leaving with Devi, Ravikanth lies that Muthu and Veera are different men. As a result, Muthu is forced to live a double life as Devi's husband Muthu and as Roopa's husband Veera. Chandran, aware of Muthu's double life, tries to blackmail him but Muthu gives him an altered photograph showing two of him. Believing it is genuine, Chandran gives the photograph to Harichandran who sees through the fraud, commits a murder and frames Muthu as Veera's killer. After Muthu reveals the truth about his double life to his wives, they fight over him and refuse to share. The wives are kidnapped by Harichandran's men. Muthu subdues Harichandran and Chandran, who are arrested. Muthu's wives reconcile with him but not with each other. Muthu's mother persuades him to leave Madras and return to Karamadai. When he, his mother and Ravikanth enter Muthu's house, they find Devi, Roopa and Viswanathan already there. Devi and Roopa take a bag each from Muthu then flounce off in opposite directions.


Cast

* Rajinikanth as Muthuveerappan (Muthu/Veera) *
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 ...
as Devayani alias Devi * Roja as Roopakala alias Roopa *
Janagaraj Janagaraj is an Indian actor who has appeared in over 200 films predominantly in Tamil cinema as a comedian or in supporting roles. He also starred in few Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi films. Early life Janagaraj was born to Vadivelu and Muthu ...
as Viswanathan * Senthil as Ravikanth *
Vadivukkarasi Vadivukkarasi is an Indian actress. She made her acting debut in the Tamil film ''Sigappu Rojakkal'' (1978) and has acted in more than 350 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam and 40 television serials in Tamil. Film director A. P. ...
as Muthuveerappan's mother *
J. Livingston Philip Livingston Jones, commonly credited by his mononym Livingston is an Indian actor, comedian and screenwriter who usually plays in supporting and comedy roles in Tamil films. He is credited as Ranjan in his earlier films such as '' Captain ...
as Chandran *
Mahesh Anand Mahesh Anand (13 August 1961 – 9 February 2019) was an Indian actor, dancer and martial artist who worked in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. He is remembered for playing villainous roles in Hindi films. He was a black belt in ...
as Harichandran *
Vinu Chakravarthy Vinu Chakravarthy (15 December 1945 – 27 April 2017) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and director who is known for acting in more than 1000 movies in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Badaga and Malayalam mostly as a comedian, supporting actor or i ...
as the village landlord *
Ajay Rathnam Ajay Rathnam is an Indian actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil films and serials. He is known for his supporting and negative roles and has acted in over 300 movies. Standing at 6 ft 4 in (193 cm), Rathnam is one of the tallest actors in ...
as Rathnavelu *
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 Muthu's friend *
Charuhasan S. Charuhasan (born 5 January 1931) is an Indian actor, director and retired lawyer who has acted in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films. He won the National Film Award for Best ActorSubha J Rao,Entertainment for a cause, The Hind ...
as Krishnamurthy Shastri (uncredited)


Production


Development

After Rajinikanth saw the
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...
film ''
Allari Mogudu ''Allari Mogudu'' () is a 1992 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao and produced by K. Krishna Mohan Rao under R K Associates. The film stars Mohan Babu, Meena and Ramya Krishna. It was remade in Kannada a ...
'' (1992) with the director Suresh Krissna and producer-screenwriter
Panchu Arunachalam Panchanathan Arunachalam (22 March 1941 – 9 August 2016) was an Indian writer, director, producer and lyricist who worked in Tamil cinema. He was mentored by poet Kannadasan who was his uncle. He also worked as a lyricist in the Tamil cin ...
, he expressed his desire to remake it in Tamil as their next collaboration. Krissna objected to this idea as he did not like the film and found it unsuitable for him. Rajinikanth said he wanted to make a "two-wife" comedy, but Krissna noticed ''Allari Mogudu'' lacks the values associated with typical Rajinikanth films and felt fans would not accept his character being bigamous. Rajinikanth said changes could be made to suit the local milieu. Krissna wanted to begin work on ''
Baashha ''Baashha'' is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language gangster action film written and directed by Suresh Krissna. The film stars Rajinikanth, Nagma and Raghuvaran, with Janagaraj, Devan, Shashi Kumar, Vijayakumar, Anandaraj, Charan Raj, Kitty, Sath ...
'' but Rajinikanth said if their next film was heavy on action like their previous film ''
Annaamalai ''Annaamalai'' (also spelt ''Annamalai''; ) is a 1992 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by Suresh Krissna and produced by Kavithalayaa Productions. A remake of the 1987 Hindi film '' Khudgarz'', itself based on Jeffrey Archer's 1979 n ...
'' (1992), "we will get caught. Bring the hopes down, bring the level down and then take it up again." Krissna agreed but avoided making a
shot-for-shot Shot-for-shot (or shot-for-shot adaptation, shot-for-shot remake) is a way to describe a visual work that is transferred almost completely identically from the original work without much interpretation. Production uses In the film industry, most ...
remake of ''Allari Mogudu''. Rajinikanth and Krissna went to the Taj Banjara hotel in
Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
to discuss the plot. They prepared a fresh outline in ten days; Krissna tailored the story to Rajinikanth's style and added logic to the scenario. He submitted the final draft to Arunachalam, who liked it and suggested plot changes. According to Krissna, the remake has more "emotional profundity" than the Telugu original, and it was established that the protagonist Muthuveerappan (Muthu) is a pious person who married twice due to circumstances beyond his control. He differentiated Muthu from the original's protagonist, saying although circumstances drive him to another woman (Roopa), Muthu's feelings for his first wife Devi are sincere, he has not forgotten her and is forced by his mother into marrying Roopa. The symbolism in a scene in which Muthu removes a thread tied by Devi from his wrist to suggest their bond has ended was Arunachalam's idea. Whereas in ''Allari Mogudu'' the second wife's desire for the protagonist is sexual, that aspect in ''Veera'' was made secondary. According to Krissna, "we polished the screenplay over and over again till it gathered sheen. Eventually, but for the basic plot, ''Veera'' emerged as a near-new product." ''Veera'' was produced by Arunachalam's wife Meena under their banner P. A. Art Productions. Arunachalam received sole credit for the screenplay while P. Satyanand, the writer of ''Allari Mogudu'', received credit for the original story. Cinematography was handled by P. S. Prakash, editing by the duo Ganesh–Kumar, and art direction was done by Magie. The action choreography was handled by Raju and dance sequences were choreographed by
Raghuram Raghuram (1 May 1949 – 30 November 2013) was an Indian dance choreographer, who choreographed more than a thousand songs in Indian films across various languages. He was born into a Tamil Brahmin Iyer family and is the grandson of actor Kri ...
.
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 ...
was chosen to play Devi, reprising her role from ''Allari Mogudu'', and Ramya Krishnan was offered to reprise her role as well; she declined, citing scheduling conflicts, and Roja was cast as Roopa instead.
Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
actor
Mahesh Anand Mahesh Anand (13 August 1961 – 9 February 2019) was an Indian actor, dancer and martial artist who worked in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. He is remembered for playing villainous roles in Hindi films. He was a black belt in ...
portrayed the antagonist Harichandran in his first Tamil film.


Filming

''Veera'' was formally launched with a '' puja'' at the Lord Ganapathi temple within AVM Studios, although principal photography began at
Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Rajah ...
. A four-day filming schedule with 40 background dancers was planned for the song "Maadethile Kanni" at
Talakona Talakona is situated in Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, India. It is a resort with waterfalls, dense forests and wildlife. Talakona waterfall is in Sri Venkateswara National Park, Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh. With a -fall, Talakona is ...
. After the first day's filming, Krissna was unhappy because the location did not provide him with the expected quality. The crew returned to Madras and filmed the song at Raghavendra Kalyana Mandapam and at a house at AVM Studios. The song "Konji Konji" was filmed at Narada Gana Sabha, Madras. Because the song that depicts Muthu performing on stage "didn't lend itself to anything vibrant", Krissna intercut it with scenes in which Roopa visualises Muthu in various outfits and begins to find him attractive. According to Krissna, this was a chance to show Muthu in a variety of costumes because he is only shown wearing a simple white shirt and black trousers until the song begins, and would not change his clothing and appearance until much later in the film. Krissna decided to "let the audience get a glimpse of how uthuwould look later on in the film" through this song. The song "Malai Kovil Vaasalil" was filmed at the MRF Racing Track in Sriperumbudur. As it depicts Devi having formed Muthu's name (முத்து) by arranging thousands of lamps, 20,000 lamps were made to glow simultaneously. Krissna decided to use chimney lamps that stopped the wind from extinguishing the lights. The song had to be filmed from above to emphasise the glowing lamps while Devi "should appear as a mere spot in the middle of gigantic lamps", so Prakash went to a tower that stood about away from the actual spot so the camera could zoom in and out for best results. Krissna described it as "one of the most strenuous and painstakingly shot sequences" in his career. Rajinikanth and Anand did not rehearse the fight sequence in which Muthu and Harichandran jump towards each other, then fall to the ground with their hands interlocked; they watched the stuntmen perform and followed their instructions. Rajinikanth performed all of his stunts without using a
stunt double In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...
. Magie's assistant Mani designed the film's large, multicoloured
kolam Kolam (,, ), also known as Muggu () or Tharai Aalangaram () Rangoli () is a form of traditional decorative art that is drawn by using rice flour as per age-old conventions. It is also drawn using white stone powder, chalk or chalk powder, often ...
that was ; a rope was attached to a pulley, one side of which was attached to Mani's waist. He was made to hang horizontally from it, with his face and hands turned towards the floor; completing the task took him two days and two nights. A scene in which Muthu and Ravikanth ( Senthil) attempt to fool Roopa at a temple was filmed at Hyderabad's Birla Mandir, which does not generally permit filming. Most of Rajinikanth's acting was improvised on set. For the scene in which Muthu trips on his
dhoti The dhoti, also known as veshti, vetti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar, jaiñboh, panchey, is a type of sarong, tied in a manner that outwardly resembles "loose trousers". It is a lower garment forming part of the ethnic costume for men in the ...
while changing into formal clothing, there were no retakes. While filming a scene in which Ravikanth talks to Chandran (
J. Livingston Philip Livingston Jones, commonly credited by his mononym Livingston is an Indian actor, comedian and screenwriter who usually plays in supporting and comedy roles in Tamil films. He is credited as Ranjan in his earlier films such as '' Captain ...
) while Muthu silently witnesses, Rajinikanth could not control his laughter at Senthil's dialogue delivery and covered his mouth with a towel. In the post-production phase, Meena's voice was dubbed by K. R. Anuradha and the introductory "Super Star" graphic title card from ''Annaamalai'' was re-used. The length of the final film is .


Themes

Writer S. Rajanayagam compared ''Veera'' to another Rajinikanth film ''
Panakkaran ''Panakkaran'' () is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by P. Vasu. A remake of the Hindi film '' Lawaaris'' (1981), it stars Rajinikanth and Gautami. The film was released on 14 January 1990, Pongal day, and ran for more tha ...
'' (1990) because both of them stress that "true wealth consists of good parents, wife, children and friends". Though the film is a remake of ''Allari Mogudu'', many writers have compared ''Veera'' with ''
Rettai Vaal Kuruvi ''Rettai Vaal Kuruvi'' () is a 1987 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film, starring Mohan, Raadhika and Archana. It is based on the 1984 American film ''Micki & Maude''. The film was released on 27 February 1987. Plot The story sets ...
'' (1987) and ''
Micki & Maude ''Micki & Maude'' is a 1984 American romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Dudley Moore. It co-stars Tony Award-winning actress and dancer Ann Reinking as Micki and Amy Irving as Maude. With the exception of appearances as ...
'' (1984), both of which also have bigamy as their themes. According to writer Archanaa Sekar, in Tamil films women married to the same man show "an unusual display of sisterhood" and "female solidarity", citing ''Veera'' as an example because the two female leads are initially friends (despite being unaware that they are married to the same man), and once a conflict arises amongst them, "the friendship helps smooth things over, and the film ends with the two choosing to co-exist with the man".


Soundtrack

The soundtrack of ''Veera'' was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, who also wrote lyrics along with Vaali and Panchu Arunachalam. It is the last Rajinikanth film for which Ilaiyaraaja composed music. The soundtrack album was released on the label Pyramid Music. During the filming schedule at Rajahmundry, Ilaiyaraaja had composed a duet and sent it to Krissna, who liked the song but felt it did not suit the situation. Rajinikanth and other crew members expressed similar views. On returning to Madras, Krissna told Ilaiyaraaja the duet's tune did not suit the situation; Ilaiyaraaja was angry with Krissna but a few hours later, he replaced the duet with other tunes. Many of the songs are set in Carnatic ragas such as "Konji Konji" in
Dharmavati Dharmavati is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 59th ''Melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is called ''Dhaamavati'' in Muthuswami Dikshitar school o ...
, "Malai Kovil Vaasalil" in
Asaveri Asaveri (asāvēri) is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is a '' janya'' rāgam (derived scale) from the 8th ''melakarta'' scale '' Hanumatodi''. It is a ''janya'' scale, as it does not have all the ...
, "Pattu Poo Poo" in
Chalanata Chalanata (pronounced chalanāta) is a rāgam in Carnatic music (musical scale of South Indian classical music). It is the 36th '' Melakarta'' rāgam in the 72 ''melakarta'' rāgam system of Carnatic music. It is one of the few rāgams referred ...
, and "Thirumagal" in Lalitha. "Maadethile Kanni" is set in the
Hindustani raga A ''raga'' or ''raag'' (; also ''raaga'' or ''ragam''; ) is a melodic framework for improvisation in Indian classical music akin to a melodic mode. The ''rāga'' is a unique and central feature of the classical Indian music tradition, and as ...
,
Brindavani Sarang Brindavani Sarang or Brindabani Sarang, also known as raga Sarang, is a Hindustani classical raga. It is also called Vridavani Sarang. This raga falls under the category of Sarang ragas. Theory Brindabani Sarang is a Kafi thaat raga. It ...
. Two versions of "Konji Konji" were recorded; one was sung by
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...
and the other by K. S. Chithra. Over 100,000 cassettes of ''Veera''s soundtrack were sold on the release date.


Release

''Veera'' was released on 14 April 1994 during the
Puthandu Puthandu (), also known as Puthuvarudam, and the Tamil New Year, is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar, traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamil Hindus. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu cal ...
holiday. The film opened in competition with ''
Indhu ''Indhu'' is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language dance film directed by Pavithran and produced by N. A. Sudhakar and K. P. Unnikrishnan. The film featured Prabhu Deva, appearing in his first leading role as the newcomer, alongside Roja, while Sarath ...
'', '' Honest Raj'', ''
Sakthivel ''Sakthivel '' is a 1994 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by K. S. Ravikumar. The film stars Selva, Kanaka and Vijayakumar. The film, produced by M. Saravanan and M. Balasubramanian, had musical score by Ilaiyaraaja and was released ...
'' and '' Seeman'', which were released the same week.


Critical reception

''Veera'' received mixed critical reviews; audiences and fans of Rajinikanth were disappointed because they expected a film like ''Annaamalai'' and were discontent with the title character's lack of heroism. Malini Mannath of ''
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 be ...
'' wrote, "''Veera'' starts promisingly enough", praising Rajinikanth's comedy timing in the first half, but said the manner in which Muthu learns of Devi's presumed death is "not very convincingly told". She said, "The script takes a nosedive" with the return of Devi, "never to recover". Mannath added Rajinikanth's comedy in the second half feels forced and that "At this stage of his career ajinikanthcould have taken more meaningful roles" but concluded by praising the songs. K. Vijiyin of '' New Straits Times'' praised the film's action sequences, the performances of the female leads and the music by Ilaiyaraaja but said Harichandran has "little to do with the main story" and was included "just to satisfy Rajni's action-oriented fans". Vijiyin concluded the review by saying, "''Veera'' has a bit of everything to satisfy all sections of the audience to provide a superb evening's entertainment". A writer for the magazine '' Manushi'' said, "The director has displayed much ingenuity in bringing the first supposedly dead 'wife' back to life, bringing the two wives together, etc. The final scenes were shoddy, ill-conceived and in bad taste." R. P. R. 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 ...
'' gave the film a mixed review, criticising the screenplay and lack of originality, but lauded Ilaiyaraaja's music.


Box office

During the first few weeks of its release, ''Veera'' had a mediocre response at the box office because of comparisons with ''Annaamalai'' but after a few weeks, audiences increased and the film completed a 100-day run in theatres. Krissna attributed the film's success to its comedy and Rajinikanth's popularity after ''Annaamalai'', which had "soared to unimaginable heights" while other commentators attributed its success to its music. According to journalist Sudhir Srinivasan, ''Veera'' is the first Tamil film to collect in the NSC (
North Arcot North Arcot was a former district in Madras Presidency, acquired by the annexation of the Arcot State in 1855 when its Nawab died without issue. It had Chittoor as its headquarters (currently in Andhra pradesh). On 1 April 1911, the Chittoor d ...
, South Arcot and
Chengalpattu Chengalpattu, previously known as Chingleput, is a city and the headquarters of Chengalpattu district of the state Tamil Nadu, India. The town is located near to the industrial and IT hub. It is the headquarters of the district and is away fro ...
) areas; historian G. Dhananjayan said it collected that much "in Chengalpettu alone".


Legacy

''Veera'' partially redeemed Rajinikanth's reputation following the commercial failure of his home production ''
Valli Vaḷḷi ( ta, வள்ளி) ("Creeper, Sweet potato plant") is a Hindu goddess, and the second consort of the deity Murugan. An incarnation of the goddess Sundaravalli, daughter of Vishnu, Valli is born on earth as the daughter of a chieft ...
'' (1993). ''Veera'' has been dubbed in
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 ...
and released under several titles, despite ''Allari Mogudu'' having been remade in Hindi as ''
Saajan Chale Sasural ''Saajan Chale Sasural'' () is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film starring Govinda, Tabu, Karisma Kapoor, Kader Khan, and Satish Kaushik. It was directed by David Dhawan. It is a remake of the Telugu film ''Allari Mogudu'' (1992 ...
'' (1996). Rajinikanth's English line "How is it?" (pronounced "Owwizzit?") became immensely popular, as did the response "Super" (pronounced "Soopar"). Producer
Elred Kumar Elred Kumar Santhanam is an Indian film producer he was born at Thangachi madam village (Rameswaram Island). He completed his post-graduation in engineering at Anna University(Guindy). He is a prominent businessman in Chennai, who has made T ...
obtained permission to reuse the film's title; his production '' Veera'' was released in 2018.


Notes


References


Bibliography

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External links

* {{Suresh Krissna 1990s musical comedy films 1990s Tamil-language films 1994 films 1994 romantic comedy films Films about fraud Films about music and musicians Films about musical groups Films directed by Suresh Krissna Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja Films with screenplays by Panchu Arunachalam Indian musical comedy films Indian nonlinear narrative films Indian romantic comedy films Polygamy in fiction Tamil remakes of Telugu films