Saagasam
Saagasam (English: Adventure) is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film directed by Arun Raj Varma and written and presented by Thiagarajan. The film features Prashanth and Amanda Rosario in the lead roles, while an ensemble cast including Thambi Ramaiah, Sonu Sood, Abeetha and Abi Saravanan portray supporting roles. The film is a remake of the 2012 Telugu film Julai, and was released on 5 February 2016 [1][2]
Saahasam | |
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Poster | |
Directed by | Arun Raj Varma |
Produced by | Haresh Vikram Vijayakumar Thiagarajan Shanthi Thiagarajan Prashanth |
Screenplay by | Thiagarajan |
Story by | Trivikram Srinivas |
Based on | Julai by Trivikram Srinivas |
Starring |
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Music by | S. Thaman |
Cinematography | |
Edited by | K. Sasi Kumar |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Sri Thenandal Films |
Release date |
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Country | India |
Language | Tamil |
Plot
Ravi (Prashanth) is a carefree youngster, who challenges his dad (Nassar) that he can convert ten thousand into one lakh in just two hours and invests all the money in cricket betting. On his way to the club, Ravi meets a notorious criminal Bittu (Sonu Sood) and unintentionally elaborates him about the betting culture in two famous clubs in Chennai.
Bittu, who is waiting for the right opportunity to rob a bank informs the police about the cricket betting and diverts them to the club. When cops are about to take Ravi into custody, he tells them about the heist and together, they arrests Bittu.
Cast
- Prashanth as Ravi Narayan
- Amanda Rosario as Madhu
- Nassar as Narayana Murthy, Ravi's father
- Thambi Ramaiah as ACP Seetharaman
- Sonu Sood as Bittu
- Abeetha as Kavitha ,Seetharaman's daughter
- Abi Saravanan as Kothandapani
- M. S. Bhaskar as Sadanandam
- Kota Srinivasa Rao as Varatharajan
- Rao Ramesh as Commissioner Rajamanickam
- Brahmaji as 'Travel' Murthy
- Madhan Bob as Madhu's father
- John Vijay as 'Chain' Jaipal
- Riyaz Khan as Bar Owner
- Tulasi as Kameshwari, Ravi's mother
- Devadarshini as Lalitha
- Hema as Madhu's stepmother
- Sheetal Menon as Sheetal
- Leema Babu as Raji, Ravi's sister
- Ravi Prakash as Dhanushkoti
- Swaminathan as Iyer
- Shafi as Bala
- 'Hello FM' Suresh as RJ Suresh
- Sai Prashanth
- Robo Shankar
- Vamsi Krishna
- Nalini
- Besant Ravi
- Selvi Subbaraj
- Indhu
- Sai Ram
- Nargis Fakhri as item number "Desi Girl"
Production
Prashanth and his father, Thiagarajan scouted locations to make the film while on business trips to Kuwait and Australia.[3] The team soon requested fans to name the film through a poll on Facebook, with the titles considered including Asthiram and Modhi Paar, before Saahasam was finalised. The film progressed through the end of 2013 with little media coverage, and the technical crew and cast remained unannounced. In early February 2014, it was announced that Arun Raj Varma was making his debut as a director while Sakthi Saravanan and Devi Sri Prasad would be cinematographer and music composer respectively. In a turn of events, Thaman replaced Devi Sri Prasad as composer, working on an original soundtrack.
The team re-began work after a break in late May 2014 and it was announced that Nargis Fakhri had signed on to appear in an item number.[4][5] The song, composed by Thaman and written by Madhan Karky, was filmed in late July 2014 at Binny Mills, Chennai. Nargis Fakhri had flown from Hungary to be a part of the shoot, with Raju Sundaram choreographing the song also featuring hundred extras.[6][7] Tamannaah was briefly linked as the female lead, before Australian model Amanda Rosario was chosen as the lead actress in the film.[8] The team subsequently shot for the film in late 2014 and early 2015 in locations including Coimbatore, Chennai, Malaysia and Japan.[9] A week prior to the film's release in February 2016, the film was retitled from Saahasam to Saagasam, with the tagline Enra Veerachayal, in order to recoup tax benefits.
Soundtrack
Saahasam | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 18 September 2015 | |||
Recorded | 2015 | |||
Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
Length | 27:03 | |||
Language | Tamil | |||
Label | Prashanth Music Divo Junglee Music | |||
Producer | S. Thaman | |||
S. Thaman chronology | ||||
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In July 2014, the film's first song, described as a "bar number" featuring actress Nargis Fakhri in an item number, was recorded. Written by Madhan Karky, the song's original version was sung by actress Remya Nambeesan. In late October, a gaana song titled "Pudikkum Pudikkum" written by Kabilan was recorded with Shreya Ghoshal, who remarked that it was her first tryst with the "kuthu" genre.[10] Impressed with his work in the album, producer Thiagarajan and Prashanth gifted Thaman, a Toyota Fortuner car on his birthday in November 2014.[11][12] In early December 2014, the song written by Madhan Karky was recorded with the voice of actress Lakshmi Menon, replacing Remya Nambeesan's voice.[13] The team initially approached Yo Yo Honey Singh to sing the male portions for the song, but his unavailability meant that Anirudh Ravichander instead recorded "Madhoo" for the album.[14] Mohit Chauhan recorded a song titled "Penne Kutty Penne" in Mumbai in mid-December, while Shankar Mahadevan lent his vocals in the duet with Shreya Ghoshal.[15][16] The team also announced that Arijit Singh and Andrea Jeremiah would work on the soundtrack which did not made it to the album, while a further track was recorded with Silambarasan in the final week of 2014.[17][18]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Angry Bird Penne" | Na. Muthukumar | Mohit Chauhan | 4:39 |
2. | "Desi Girl" | Madhan Karky | Silambarasan, Lakshmi Menon | 4:34 |
3. | "Madhu" | Na. Muthukumar | Anirudh Ravichander | 4:52 |
4. | "O Madhu (Reprise)" | Na. Muthukumar | Vijay Prakash | 4:48 |
5. | "Pudikkum" | Kabilan | Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal | 4:11 |
6. | "Sayang Ku" | Na. Muthukumar | M. M. Manasi, S. Thaman | 3:59 |
Total length: | 27:03 |
Critical reception
M. Suganth of Times of India rated the film 2.5 out of 5 and wrote "Prashanth, making a return to the screen after quite a while, gives his best, but we can't help but feel that this required an even younger hero. But what lets the film down the most is that it is directed without any feel for the material, so we are unsure if we need to take the film seriously or as a spoof".[19] Sify wrote "Overall, Saagasam might attract audiences who love Telugu commercial entertainers but for others, it’s just another average entertainer".[20]
References
- "Prashanth to make a comeback?". The Times of India. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- "Prashanth is back with 'Sahasam'". IndiaGlitz. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- "Indian filmmaker Thiagarajan looks to shoot movie in Kuwait — Kuwait Times | Kuwait Times". News.kuwaittimes.net. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
- "Nargis Fakhri to shake a leg in Prashanth's comeback film ". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- "Actor Prashanth convinced Nargis Fakhri to make south debut". deccanchronicle.com. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
- "Nargis Fakhri shoots item song for `Saahasam`". Sify.
- "Nargis Fakhri doesn't mind to debut with item song". The Times of India.
- "Australian girl for Prashanth`s `Saahasam`". Sify.
- http://behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-16/actor-prashanth-talks-about-his-film-saagasam.html
- "Shreya's tryst with a 'kutthu' song". Deccan Chronicle.
- "Thaman gets a car as birthday gift". Sify.
- "Prashanth gifts Thaman a Fortuner car". The Times of India.
- "Lakshmi Menon croons for Thaman in `Saahasam`". Sify.
- "Anirudh sings for Thaman". The Times of India.
- "Mohit Chauhan for Prashanth". indiaglitz.com.
- "Shankar does it for Prashanth". indiaglitz.com.
- "Simbu croons for Thaman in `Saahasam`". Sify.
- Saahasam Movie Press Meet Video saimediaindia .4 AUGUST 2015./
- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/Saagasam-Enra-Veeracheyal/movie-review/50875282.cms
- http://www.sify.com/movies/saagasam-review-an-average-entertainer-review-tamil-qcfshvacdbhah.html