Kodi (film)

Kodi (transl. Flag) is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language political action thriller film written and directed by R. S. Durai Senthilkumar and produced by Vetrimaaran under his banner Grass Root Film Company. The film stars Dhanush, Trisha and Anupama Parameswaran in the lead roles, while S. A. Chandrasekhar, Saranya Ponvannan, Kaali Venkat, Namo Narayana, and G. Marimuthu play other key roles. Dhanush and Trisha pair up for the first time. Kodi, marks the Tamil debut of Anupama Parameshwaran. Dhanush played dual roles for the first time in his career.

Kodi
First Look poster
Directed by	R. S. Durai Senthilkumar
Produced by	Vetrimaaran P. Madan (Presenter)
Written by	Ve. Ki. Amirtharaj (Dialogues)
Screenplay by	R. S. Durai Senthilkumar
Story by	R. S. Durai Senthilkumar
Starring	Dhanush Trisha Anupama Saranya Ponvannan
Music by	Santhosh Narayanan
Cinematography	Venkatesh S
Edited by	Prakash Mabbu
Production company	Grass Root Film Company
Distributed by	Escape Artists Motion Pictures
Release date	28 October 2016 (2016-10-28)
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Box office	₹50+ crore[1]

Dhanush, who produced R. S. Durai Senthilkumar's previous two films, Ethir Neechal and Kakki Sattai, which stars Sivakarthikeyan in the lead role, played the male lead actor in this film. The film's music and background score were composed by Santhosh Narayanan, the cinematography is performed by Venkatesh S.[2] The film was simultaneously dubbed in Telugu as Dharmayogi, which released one day after the Tamil version.[3] Upon release the film opened to positive reviews from critics praising Dhanush's performance. The film was remade in Kannada as Dhwaja in 2018.[4]

Plot

For Kodiarasu (Dhanush), politics has been a part of his life ever since his birth in Pollachi. His father Murugan (Karunas), a low-rung party worker, brings him up to become a politician before setting himself on fire, protesting against a factory whose toxic mercury waste had ruined lives in the locality. Kodi has an identical twin Anbarasu (also Dhanush) who is a total contrast to his rough-and-tough brother. He is a Engineering college lecturer and pacifist. Kodi moves with his adopted assistant Bhagat Singh (Kaali Venkat). His girlfriend Rudhra (Trisha) belongs to the ruling party and has been in politics since childhood like him, but with the other major party.

Here enters egg seller Malathi (Anupama Parameswaran), whose eggs are broken by Kodi. When she chases him, she comes across Anbu and mistakes him as Kodi. Anbu falls in love with Malathi. Malathi tells him her village pathetic condition due to the factory's mercury waste, which Anbu then tells Kodi.

At the mean time, Rudra gets frustrated about being stereotyped as low rate worker of her party. She gets to know that the State Education minister Arivalagan from Coimbatore District, is illiterate and has falsified in his election nominations. She discreetly gives this info to Kodi's party who file a suit against the Minister and the Minister looses the case. Hence he is also disqualified from MLA post and by-elections are announced for Pollachi constituency. Rudra befriends the ex-minister and becomes the candidate for the ruling party. She also becomes interim District Secretary, and wards off the ex-minister who helped her.

Kodi's party is excited for the by-elections despite only ruling party winning the by-elections for past 25 years and they can break the trend due to Arivalagan's stupidity. Kodi meets his Party Supremo (S. A. Chandrasekhar), who tells that they would take up this matter but after the by-elections. Meanwhile, Kodi comes in possession of documents relating to the factory from Anbu, from which he comes to know that his party senior and ex-minister Marimuthu (G. Marimuthu) and the whole party is responsible for what has happened to the villagers, as they were the ruling party then. Depressed, he shares this information with Rudhra, who speaks up this matter in public, causing great embarrassment to Kodi's party. To keep him silent but alive, his party leadership announces him as their by-election candidate. Problems soon arise as Rudhra's party members come to know about the Kodi-Rudhra affair and start pressuring her to give up her candidacy. A depressed Rudhra meets Kodi in the woods. When they meet together, the goons sent by former MLA Arivazhagan (Namo Narayana) attack them to kill rudhra. Kodi is then stabbed by Rudhra, who tells him that if he died, then there is no obstacle for her. Kodi dies for her sake. The by-elections are cancelled as a candidate has died.

Rudhra meets Kodi's family after the funeral and tells them that her party is willing to give Anbu the MLA post. Kodi's mother (Saranya Ponvannan) denies, but Anbu accepts it and wins the by-election unopposed. Rudhra is made as official district secretary and also made an MP of Rajya sabha. Anbu changes his beard and body language to Kodi's style, to the irk of Rudhra. Soon, Anbu takes the matter to find his brother's murderer and also solve the issue of the factory. Kotraivel (Rajasimman) a member of Kodi's party, finds out a forest camera in which the video showing Rudhra killing Kodi is recorded. He threatens Rudhra to stop the factory issue. Rudhra uses Crime Branch Inspector V. Ravichandran (Anil Murali) as a pawn to destroy the evidence and also get him killed by Kotraivel. Rudhra begins to feel that Anbu will find out the truth and moreover, the documents related to the factory were being taken to the court by Anbu. In order to stop him, Rudhra kidnaps his mother and Bhagat and tells him to come to the factory. In the end, a fight between Anbu and Rudhra's goons along with Kotraivel and Marimuthu takes place which results in Anbu emerging victorious. When he is about to kill Rudhra, his mother tells him to leave her. Soon, Bhagat kills her saying that she does not deserve to live and go away with Kodi.

Cast

• Dhanush in a dual role as
  • Kodi, a local politician in the opposition party
  • Anbu, a college lecturer who later becomes MLA
• Trisha as Rudhra, Kodi's girlfriend and the main antagonist who kills Kodi
• Anupama Parameswaran as Malathi, an egg seller and Anbu's love interest
• Saranya Ponvannan as Kodi and Anbu's mother
• S. A. Chandrasekhar as Thalaivar, President of Opposition party and Former CM
• Vijayakumar as Chief Minister of State, chairman of ruling 'Kudiyarasu Kazhagam'
• Sachu as Malathi's grandmother
• Kaali Venkat as Bhagat Singh, Kodi's friend who kills Rudhra
• Namo Narayana as MLA Arivazhagan, Education Minister who forged certificate to pass in exam and is disqualified from offices
• G. Marimuthu as Marimuthu, district secretary of opposition party and former environment minister
• Karunas as Murugan, Kodi and Anbu's mute father who sets himself on fire while protesting against a factory
• Rajasimman as Kotraivel, Marimuthu's sidekick in opposition party
• Anil Murali as Crime Branch Inspector V. Ravichandran, Pollachi North
• Raj Kapoor as Finance Minister of state and second-in-command of ruling party
• Sruthi Shanmuga Priya as Malathi's sister
• Mohana as News Reporter
• Swaminathan as College Principal
• Singamuthu as Ruling Party MLA from Coimbatore
• Badava Gopi
• Sonia
• Baba Bhaskar in a special appearance in the song "Vettu Pottu"

Soundtrack

Kodi
Soundtrack album by Santhosh Narayanan
Released	5 October 2016
Recorded	2015-2016
Genre	Feature Film Soundtrack
Length	18:25
Language	Tamil
Label	Sony Music India
Producer	Santhosh Narayanan
Santhosh Narayanan chronology
Kabali (2016) Kodi (2016) Kaashmora (2016)

The soundtrack album for Kodi is composed by Santhosh Narayanan. The lyrics of four songs were penned by Vivek while Dhanush & Arunraja Kamaraj wrote and sung the song Kodi Parakkudha. The audio rights of the film was acquired by Sony Music India. The complete album was released on 5 October 2016 at Prasad Labs, Chennai. The album consists of five tracks.

Original track list

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Kodi Parakkudha"	Dhanush, Arunraja Kamaraj	Dhanush, Arunraja Kamaraj	03:24
2.	"Ei Suzhali"	Vivek	Vijaynarain	03:37
3.	"Ariraro"	Vivek	K. S. Chithra	03:48
4.	"Sirukki Vaasam"	Vivek	Anand Aravindakshan, Shweta Mohan	04:35
5.	"Vettu Pottu"	Vivek	Shankar Mahadevan	03:01
Total length:				18:25

Dharmayogi (Dubbed)
Soundtrack album by Santhosh Narayanan
Released	21 October 2016
Genre	Feature Film Soundtrack
Length	18:30
Language	Telugu
Label	Sony Music
Producer	Santhosh Narayanan

All lyrics are written by Ramajogayya Sastry.

Telugu Track List

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Ei Dingiri"	Vijaynarain	03:40
2.	"Yogi"	Arunraja Kamaraj, Ganesh Ram PS	03:26
3.	"Laali Jo Jo"	Savitha Sai	03:48
4.	"Puvvula Maasam"	Anand Aravindakshan, Shweta Mohan	04:35
5.	"Yerra Kaaram"	Ananthu	03:01
Total length:			18:30

Reception

Sify gave a rating of 3 stars out of 5 and stated "The ear-pleasing numbers make this a solid album".[5] Behindwoods gave 2.75 stars out of 5 and stated "Kodi seems to be an apt composition for the film's subject"

Production

The project was first announced during August 2015, when Dhanush revealed that he would act in Durai Senthilkumar's next film, after he finished his ongoing commitments.[6] Dhanush revealed that the film would be a political thriller and that he would appear in dual roles as two brothers. Shriya Saran was first selected as the heroine by Dhanush but she couldn't allot dates for the film.[7] Vidya Balan was then approached for the negative role in the film, but was not willing to do a Tamil film due to date issues.[8] Trisha was signed as the female lead of the film. After unsuccessful negotiations with Lakshmi Menon and Rakul Preet Singh, who could not allot the dates, Shamili was signed on to portray the second leading female role.[9] Shamili however became unwell during the shoot of the film and as a result of Dhanush's tight schedule, the makers chose to replace her. Madonna Sebastian was initially reported to have signed the film, before Anupama Parameswaran was confirmed as the second lead actress. Initially scheduled to start shoot in early December 2015, plans were delayed as a result of the 2015 South Indian floods and the schedule was delayed by two weeks. Subsequently, the team held an official launch on 11 December 2015.[10][11] Shooting started on 5 January 2016.[12]

Release

The satellite rights of the film were sold to Sun TV.[13] It was later dubbed in Hindi as Rowdy Hero 2 in 2017.[14][15]

Critical reception

Srinivas Ramujan of The Hindu wrote 'Director Durai Senthilkumar deserves credit for an engaging plot that includes a pre-interval block that jolts you. After all, when was the last time a commercial political film worked to a large extent without the existence of a dominating male villain?'[16] India.com wrote 'Dhanush & Trisha Krishnan's film gets the BEST political thriller label'[17] Manathi Mannath of The New Indian Express concluded 'Kodi worth a watch for its universal sensibility'.[18]

M Suganth of Times Of India gave Kodi 4 stars out of 5 and stated 'Kodi shows how a good actor can make a film rise above its genre. Dhanush's performance here, subtly delineating the two roles, is a delight to watch. He shines in the mass hero moments as well as the dramatic ones.[19] Sify stated 'Kodi is deliciously dramatic, and packed with sinister twists and turns with superb performances and solid writing' and rated 4 out of 5.

Press KS called it 'a political mass entertainer with excellent performance by Dhanush and Trisha. Dhanush shines out and out with his dual role play. Commercial dialogues score high' giving 3.5/5.[20] Latha Srinivasan of IB Times said 'Director Durai Senthilkumar and Dhanush have given a total commercial film for the audience this Diwali. Watch the film for Dhanush's strong performance as Anbu and especially Kodi. This Diwali, this Kodi is set to fly high'.[21] Bollywoodlife said 'Dhanush's double act is impressive but Trisha is the bigger surprise'.[22] Deccan Chronicle gave 3 out of 5 concluding 'Strong characterization and powerful cast makes it a winner.'[23] Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express gave 3 stars stating 'Kodi, which released on Diwali, seems to be everything the Tamil audience wants for this festive season'.[24] Firstpost stated 'Kodi is a well written and packaged commercial entertainer that delivers the goods'.[25] Trisha (actress) won Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Tamil for her Performance. The Telugu version Dharmayogi also received positive reviews and became a commercial success.[26][27]

Box office

The film collected ₹15 crore (US$2.1 million) in Tamil Nadu in two days.[28] The film collected ₹15 crore (US$2.1 million) in Tamil Nadu, ₹6.5 crore (US$910,000) in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala in first weekend. The film collected ₹4.5 crore (US$630,000) in overseas, ₹42 lakh (US$59,000) in United States, ₹26 lakh (US$36,000) in the United Kingdom, ₹62 lakh (US$87,000) in UAE, ₹12 lakh (US$17,000) in France, ₹65 lakh (US$91,000) in Malaysia, ₹23 lakh (US$32,000) in Australia, international collection of ₹2.25 crore (US$320,000) and global collection of ₹26.50 crore (US$3.7 million) in first weekend.[29]

References

1. "Kodi 7-day box office collection: Dhanush's film successfully completes its first week in theatres". International Business Times. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
2. "Movie Motion Poster Looks Massy with Impressive BGM".
3. Hooli, Shekhar H (27 October 2016). "Dhanush's Kodi Telugu version Dharma Yogi release postponed; Kaashmora to rock at box office". Retrieved 15 December 2016.
4. M, Athira (3 August 2017). "Striking a balance". The Hindu – via www.thehindu.com.
5. "Kodi- Audio review". Retrieved 27 October 2016.
6. "Dhanush to team up with 'Kaaki Sattai' director next | The Indian Express". indianexpress.com. 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
7. "Dhanush in a dual role — The Hindu". The Hindu. thehindu.com. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
8. "Vidya Balan not doing Dhanush's next, says director | regional movies | Hindustan Times". hindustantimes.com. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
9. Ravalika Medipally (14 November 2015). "Dhanush Gets his Second Female Lead". indread.com. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
10. "Dhanush's next film is titled Kodi?". Behindwoods. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
11. "Dhanush-Trisha's 'Kodi' kick starts with pooja". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
12. "Kodi Shooting Date is postponed". tamilstar.com. 26 December 2015.
13. "Sun TV". www.facebook.com.
14. Upadhyaya, Prakash (28 October 2016). "Kodi movie review: Live audience response". Retrieved 15 December 2016.
15. "Kodi vs Kaashmora box office collections: Dhanush film dominates Tamil Nadu, Karthi film rocks worldwide". 30 October 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
16. Ramanujam, Srinivasa (28 October 2016). "Kodi: Polls apart and flying high". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
17. "Kodi movie review: Dhanush & Trisha Krishnan's film gets the BEST political thriller label". 29 October 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
18. "Review: Kodi worth a watch for its universal sensibility". Retrieved 15 December 2016.
19. "Kodi Movie Review 4/5 Stars: Dhanush's Kodi has enough surprise to satisfy audience". Retrieved 15 December 2016.
20. bharath (29 October 2016). "Kodi Movie Review Rating (3.5/5) Public Talk — Dhanush, Trisha Solid Political Drama — Press News Release". Retrieved 15 December 2016.
21. Srinivasan, Latha (28 October 2016). "Kodi Review: Dhanush's performance is outstanding in Kodi this Diwali". Retrieved 15 December 2016.
22. "Kodi movie review: Dhanush's double act is impressive but Trisha is the bigger surprise". 28 October 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
23. "'Kodi' movie review: Strong characterization and powerful cast makes it a winner". 28 October 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
24. "Kodi movie review: Dhanush-starrer political thriller is a must-watch". 28 October 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
25. "Kodi review: Dhanush delivers a knockout performance in this perfect Diwali film — Firstpost". 29 October 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
26. James, Anu (29 October 2016). "Dhanush's Dharma Yogi review: Live audience updates". Retrieved 15 December 2016.
27. "Dharma Yogi Movie Review". Retrieved 15 December 2016.
28. "Kodi vs Kaashmora box office collections: Dhanush film dominates Tamil Nadu, Karthi film rocks worldwide". The Indian Express. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
29. "Kaashmora (Kashmora), Kodi worldwide box office collection: Karthi's film beats Dhanush's movie in 1st weekend". International Business Times. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2020.

External links

• Kodi on IMDb