12B

12B is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed and written by cinematographer Jeeva in his directional debut. The film featured Shaam in his debut along with Simran and Jyothika in the lead roles. Vivek, Sunil Shetty, Moonmoon Sen and Shanti Williams, and play other important roles in the film which had music composed by Harris Jayaraj. The film released in September 2001 to positive reviews.[1] The plot of the movie is loosely based on the British-American romantic drama film Sliding Doors.[2]

For other uses, see 12B (disambiguation).

12B
12B DVD Cover
Directed by	Jeeva
Produced by	Vikram Singh
Written by	Jeeva Sujatha (dialogues)
Starring	Shaam Simran Jyothika
Music by	Harris Jayaraj
Cinematography	Jeeva
Edited by	B. Lenin V. T. Vijayan
Production company	Film Works
Distributed by	Media Dreams
Release date	28 September 2001
Running time	130 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

The film begins with a young man named Shakthivel "Shakti" (Shaam) leaving his house one morning for a job interview, when he spots a beautiful girl Jothika "Jo" (Jyothika) walking down the street. He's both attracted to and distracted by her. He begins to follow her, and in the process, accidentally misses his bus and is mugged. The film then pauses at this point as a voice over begins to tell the viewer that we are about to examine how Shakthi's life will be impacted, by missing the bus or by catching the bus.

The Shakthi who makes the bus gets to the job interview on time and gets the job of a bank manager at HSBC, and a beautiful young colleague Priya (Simran) falls in love with him. The catch there is that this Shakthi is still in love with the same woman who his alternate self (who missed the bus) loves, but try as he may, something keeps preventing him from getting to her. That thing turns out to be his alternate self (the Shakthi who missed the bus). He is well off in life, but miserable because he can't get the girl he loves.

The Shakthi who missed the bus arrives late at the interview and is thrown out. On his way home, he passes by a junkyard where he spots an old friend Madhan (Vivek), who gives him a job as a mechanic, and life goes on. The next day, while crossing the street, he spots the girl from the day before and begins to follow her again until he is able to get her attention and they begin a relationship. One day, Aravind (Sunil Shetty), Jo's uncle, comes to visit, and it is revealed that he too is in love with her and wants to marry her much to Jo's despise.

Due to some miscommunication, Jo and the Shakthi who missed the bus separate. On the other end, Priya expresses her love for the Shakthi who made it to the bus. In the climax scene, the Shakthi who makes the bus - while reciprocating his love for Priya, meets with an accident. At the same moment, the Shakthi who missed the bus is also grievously hurt in the same freak accident while he tries to patch up with Jo. Shakthi and his alternate self are admitted in the hospital.

The film ends with Priya wailing over the death of her Shakthi while catching a glimpse of the other Shakthi making things right with Jo at the hospital.

Cast

• Shaam as Shakthivel, an urbanite who takes the 12B bus route
• Simran as Priya, Shakthi's coworker who is in love with the Shakti who made the 12B bus route
• Jyothika as S. Jothika, She is in love with the Shakti who missed the 12B bus route.
• Vivek as Madhan, the main mechanic of the Aalavandhan Mechanic Shop
• Sunil Shetty as R. Aravind, Jo's uncle who falls for Jo
• Moonmoon Sen as Sulo, Jo's mother and Aravind's older sister
• Shanti Williams as Shakthi's mother who is ill
• Mayilsamy as Citizen, a drunkard who works with Madhan
• Master Udayaraj as Volt, a young mechanic
• Srinath as Bolt, a mechanic
• R. Sundaramoorthy as Shakthi's manager
• Lakshmikanthan as Nataraj ("Nut"), a mechanic
• Vinoth as Jackie Shroff, a mechanic
• K. P. Mohan as Mohan, Shakthi's plump coworker
• Lavanya as Preethi, Jo's friend[3]
• Vaishnavi as Mamathichari, Shakthi's sister[3]
• M.R.K. as Shakthi's uncle
• Crane Manohar as the 12B bus route conductor
• Scissor Manohar as the auto driver
• Gowthami Vembunathan as Sri Lekha, Shakti's aunt[3]
• Saashi as John, Shankti's and Priya's coworker's husband[3]
• Shiva as Majith, Shankti's coworker[3]
• Monica as Priya's coworker and John's wife
• Karnaa Radha as a devotee
• Citizen Mani as a devotee
• Muthukaalai as a waiter at the party
• Vengaiya Balan as an ardent devotee
• Sridhar as a dancer in "Sariya Thavara" song (special appearance)
• Dinesh as a dancer in "Sariya Thavara" song (special appearance)
• Parthiban as the narrator at the beginning of the film (special appearance)

Production

Actor Srikanth was initially considered for the lead role before the role ultimately went to newcomer Shaam.[4] Shaam had modelled for four years in Bengaluru before model coordinator Biju Jayadevan introduced him to director Jeeva, who was auditioning for a debutant for his debut venture, 12B. Shaam recollects that during his first meeting with Jeeva, he handed over his portfolio and introduced himself in English, when Jeeva heard him out, and then said, "Repeat what you just said, in Tamil" and Shaam did, and was subsequently signed on the next day after a meeting with producer Vikram Singh.[5][6] The promos of the film were critically praised with Shaam signing on to appear on several projects before 12B even released.[7] The film also featured Jeeva's assistant director, Srinath, in a minor supporting role.[8]

Jeeva revealed that the film would be titled 12B after a bus he used to take during his college days.[lower-alpha 1] The basic premise of the film was taken from the 1998 English film, Sliding Doors by Peter Howitt, which also follows alternate tracks. A romantic song was shot on Shaam and Simran at picturesque locations in Jordan, and this became the first time that a Tamil film had been shot there, with Rekha Prakash choreographing it. Some sequences needed to be shot in the US with about 300 dancers involved, but the team later recreated the sets in a studio in Chennai.[9]

Hindi actor Sunil Shetty was roped in to play a role in the film. Bengali actress Moon Moon Sen, mother of actress Riya Sen, was signed on to play the role of Jyothika's mother in the film.[1] The appearance of Sunil Shetty in a prominent role led the makers to release the film in Hindi.[1] Shiva, who went on to star in Chennai 600028, made his acting debut with this film.[10]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Harris Jayaraj.[11]

12B
Soundtrack album by Harris Jayaraj
Released	22 June 2001
Recorded	2001
Venue	Chennai
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	33:16
Language	Tamil
Label	Divo
Producer	Harris Jayaraj
Harris Jayaraj chronology
Majunu (2001) 12B (2001) Vasu (2002)

All lyrics are written by Vairamuthu.

Track-List

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Love Pannu"	KK, Prashanthini	4:40
2.	"Sariya Thavara"	Samantha Etlar	5:02
3.	"Mutham Mutham"	KK, Mahalakshmi Iyer	5:02
4.	"Poove Vai Pesum Pothu"	Mahalakshmi Iyer, Harish Raghavendra	5:48
5.	"Jothi Neranjava"	Sukhwinder Singh, Febi Mani	4:46
6.	"Anandam"	Premji Amaran, Clinton Cerejo	2:17
7.	"O Nenjae"	Sujatha Rao	1:47
8.	"Oru Paarvai Paar"	Karthik	2:22
9.	"Party Music" (Instrumental, Shehnai - Pandit S Ballesh)		1:32
Total length:			33:16

12B
Soundtrack album by Harris Jayaraj
Released	2001
Recorded	2001
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	26:53
Language	Telugu
Label	Lahari Music
Producer	Harris Jayaraj

All tracks are written by Kulasekhar.

Telugu Track-List

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Anna Thotti Dammu"	Febi Mani	5:03
2.	"O Punami Puvva"	S. P. B. Charan, Gopika Poornima	4:41
3.	"Naalo Ee Mouna"	Karthik, Gopika Poornima	5:49
4.	"Mela Thalatho"	Mallikarjun, Gopika Poornima	4:47
5.	"Muddu Muddu"	Karthik, Gopika Poornima	5:03
6.	"Theme Music" (Instrumental)		1:30
Total length:			21:31

Release

The film received pre-release hype because it brought together two of the Tamil film industry's leading actresses in the period: Simran and Jyothika. The pair had previously co-starred in S J Suryah's Vaali (1999), but had shared no scenes, for which Jeeva had been the cinematographer.[1][12]

12B opened to above average reviews, with the critic from The Hindu mentioning that the film is like "moving through a maze, because for many it could be confusion confounded, at least for the most part of the first half". About performances, the critic added that "Shyam in the hero's garb is an apt choice and looks more like a Madhavan clone and for a newcomer, Shyam is absolutely at ease in dance and fights", while "Simran does a commendable job in the climax".[13] New Straits wrote "The presence of Jyotika, Simran and Shyam saves this movie from boredom".[1]

Rediff concluded "full marks to the intention - considerably less for the execution" and went on to praise the performances and the technical aspect of the film, while mentioning that a "drawback would be the languid pace -- there is not enough tension built into the film and, for large chunks of time, the story remains static, with the result that you do not empathise with the characters" and specially mentioned Simran's portrayal "continues with her policy of shifting gradually from glam roles to the more sedate, serious ones and proves to have what it takes.[2] Sify wrote that "Ultimately it is very difficult for the audience to understand this superficial tale, as they cannot follow the thin line between reality and imagination. It is total confusion" while praising the film's music by Jayaraj.[14] The film performed modestly at the box office, with average collections reported. Jeeva later went on record stating that he felt the film had not been promoted properly and could have done better business had it been.[15]

The film was dubbed in Hindi (as Do Raaste 12B (transl. Two ways 12B)) and Telugu under the same name. Both versions were released in 2005, respectively.[16][17] The DVD of the Hindi version marketed Sunil Shetty as the main character albeit he plays a supporting role. The Hindi version was released in Germany with the tagline 'Was Wäre Wenn?' (transl. What happened if?) due to the popularity of Bollywood films in the region.[16] Vikram Singh produced the Telugu version and the film was released under the tagline 'One Soul Two Lives'.[17]

Legacy

Jeeva went on to make other films in the romantic genre including Ullam Ketkumae and Unnale Unnale, both of which were successful at the box office.[18][19] Shaam received further film offers after the release of 12B.[20] After starring alongside Simran and Jyothika in this film, he also starred alongside two leading actresses Ramya and Rakshita in the Kannada film Tananam Tananam (2006).[21] The storyline of the film Oh My Kadavule contains an alternate version of the story truth similar to 12B.[22]

In a scene from Yai! Nee Romba Azhaga Irukke! (2002), Subbu (Vivek) tells Hari (Shaam) to take any bus but the 12B bus route.[23]

References

1. K. N. Vijiyan (6 October 2001). "'12B' ride to nowhere". New Straits Times. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
2. Rajitha. "Movies: The 12B review". Rediff. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
3. Jeeva (Director) (28 September 2001). 12B (Motion picture).
4. Ramachandran, Avinash (4 March 2020). "18 years in cinema, actor Srikanth says he is 'unaffected by trolling'". New Indian Express. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
5. Sreelalitha, W. (19 October 2007). "Making progress steadily, surely". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
6. "Shaam's audition was in English". The Times of India. 23 August 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
7. "Riding high on '12B' fame". The Hindu. 2 June 2002. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
8. "Jeeva's blue-eyed boy: Srinath". The Times of India. 14 January 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
9. Rajitha. "Movies: Of bus routes and love". Rediff. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
10. "I won't be doing multi-starrers anymore: Tamizh Padam actor Shiva". New Indian Express. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
11. Ramanujam, Srinivasa (28 December 2018). "If you instantly recognise a Harris song, that is my success: Harris Jayaraj". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
12. Rajitha. "Movies: Simran: Absolutely hot!". Rediff. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
13. "Film Review: 12 B". The Hindu. 5 October 2001. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
14. "12B". Sify. 25 April 2003. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
15. "The director's cut". The Hindu. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
16. Nirmalarajah, Asokan. "[Buslinie 12B - Was Wäre Wenn? Busline 12B - What happened if?]". Mann Beisst Film (in German).
17. "12B in Telugu next month". Idlebrain. 30 September 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
18. "'Ullam Ketkume' - A sleeper hit!". Sify. 7 June 2005. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
19. "Business booms for Tamil cinema". The Hindu. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
20. "Ticket to stardom on 12 B". The Hindu. 6 October 2001. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
21. Vijayasarathy, R G (28 November 2006). "Tananam Tananam disappoints". Rediff. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
22. Suganth, M. (14 February 2020). "Oh My Kadavule Movie Review {3.5/5}: Critic Review of Oh My Kadavule by Times of India". Times of India. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
23. Vasanth (Director) (13 July 2002). Yai! Nee Romba Azhaga Irukey! (Motion picture).

Notes

1. 12B is a bus route in Chennai.[9]

External links

• 12B on IMDb