Kizhakku Vaasal
Kizhakku Vaasal (transl. East Gate) is a 1990 Tamil-language romance film directed and co-written by R. V. Udayakumar. The film stars Karthik, Revathi and Khushbu. It was released on 12 July 1990 and ran for over 175 days in theatres. The film was remade in Hindi as Mere Sajana Saath Nibhana, in Kannada as Sindhoora Thilaka and in Telugu as Chilakapachcha Kaapuram.
| Kizhakku Vaasal | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | R. V. Udayakumar |
| Produced by | T. G. Thyagarajan G. Saravanan |
| Screenplay by | R. V. Udayakumar M. S. Madhu (dialogues) |
| Story by | M. S. Madhu |
| Starring | Karthik Revathi Khushbu |
| Music by | Ilaiyaraaja |
| Cinematography | Abdul Rehman |
| Edited by | Anil Malnad |
Production company | Sathya Jyothi Films |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
The film takes place in a village after which the movie is titled. Thaayamma leads a cloistered life and does not visit anyone. She is worshipped as a holy lad upon whom the god comes down to give them orders periodically. Thaayamma was an orphan and is found by Janagaraj, who is a street performer. They go from house to house begging for food. One day a lonely woman, Sulakshana,(a secret mistress of the village high man – Vijayakumar) accepts Thaayamma as her own daughter and Janagaraj as her brother, and makes them stay in her own house. After 10 years, Thaayamma attains age and some days later finds Sulakshana's occupation. She and Janagaraj attempt to leave her house, but Sulakshana suddenly falls ill and this stops their exit . After Sulakshana's death, Vijaykakumar, the head of the village, tries to take advantage of Thaayamma. But Thaayamma keeps dodging him and keeps herself chaste.
Ponnurangam, the village hero, is a folk singer who performs with his mini troop in nearby village occasionally for festivals. He works as a part-time labour work for Vijayakumar. He has a strong crush for Selvi, daughter of Valliyuran (Shanmuga Sundaram), rich head of neighbouring village and brother-in-law of Vijayakumar . Selvi pranks Ponnurangam by asking his mother to meet her father with the wedding proposal. But Ponnurangam's mother (Manorama) is beaten by Valliyuran's men while she visits his house with the marriage proposal and Manorama dies in her sleep due to shame. Now Selvi falls in love with Ponnurangam, but he is so dejected with life. Meanwhile, Vijayakumar arranges marriage of his spoilt son (Thiyagu) with Selvi to end their feud of 20 years and to incorporate all of their properties under his son. Ponnurangam is asked to perform at Valliyuran's house the night before marriage. During the end of the song, Selvi apologises to Ponnurangam for his mother's death and gives him money which he coldly rejects. Thiyagu sees the sequence and there is a fight between the families and marriage is stopped. Next day, Thiyagu and his men fight with Ponnurangam and stab him in the back with a poisoned knife. Thaayamma takes care of Ponnurangam and love blossoms between them. Ponnurangam plans to marry Thaayamma. Vijayakumar tries to thwart them, by abducting and raping Thaayamma. He kills Ponnurangam's friend Maakan (Chinni Jayanth), but he is mobbed by the villagers and is beaten up. The last scene shows Ponnurangam and Thaayamma walking away from the camera on a road, together.
Cast
- Karthik as Ponnurangam
- Revathi as Thaayamma
- Kushboo as Selvi
- Chinni Jayanth as Maakaan
- Manorama
- Vijayakumar
- Janagaraj
- Shanmugasundaram
- Thyagu
- Sulakshana
- S. N. Parvathy
- Kallapetti Singaram
Production
The shooting of this film was plagued with various problems. The set which was built for the film was burnt, MS Madhu, storywriter of this film suffered from fits after witnessing the fire. Actress Sulakshana was admitted to hospital due to nose bleeding. RV Udayakumar was hospitalised due to car accident and he went into coma for one month. After recovery, Udayakumar completed the climax of the film.[1]
Music
| Kizhakku Vaasal | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack |
| Length | 22:54 |
| Language | Tamil |
Ilaiyaraaja composed the soundtrack. Some of the songs are set in Carnatic ragas; "Vanthathe Oh Kungumam" is set in Mohanam,[2][3] and "Pachamala Poovu" is set in Dheerashankarabharanam.[4][5] "Ada Veettukku" was inspired by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's 25th symphony, 1st movement.[6]
| Song | Singers | Lyrics |
|---|---|---|
| "Ada Veettukku" | Ilaiyaraaja | Vaali |
| "Pachamala Poovu" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | R. V. Udayakumar |
| "Thalukki Thalukki" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | R. V. Udayakumar |
| "Paadi Parantha" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | R. V. Udayakumar |
| "Vanthathe Oh Kungumam" | K. S. Chitra | R. V. Udayakumar |
Release and reception
Kizhakku Vaasal was released on 12 July 1990.[7] N. Krishnaswamy of The Indian Express wrote, "The film moves leisurely at a pastoral face but without boring you. Though not without a cinematic craft, it manages to retain a flavour of reality and of some human interest".[8] Despite being released on the same day as Anjali, the film became a commercial success,[9] running for over 175 days in theatres.[10]
Awards
- Best Film – G.Thyagarajan, R.V.Udayakumar(Director)
- Best Actor – Karthik
- Best Actress – Revathi
- Best Script – RV Udhayakumar
- Best Cinematographer – Abdul Rahman
Remakes
| Year | Film | Language | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Mere Sajana Saath Nibhana | Hindi | [11] |
| 1992 | Sindhoora Thilaka | Kannada | |
| 1995 | Chilakapachcha Kaapuram | Telugu | |
References
- "கிழக்கு வாசல் படப்பிடிப்பின்போது விபத்தில் சிக்கினார் உதயகுமார்" [Udayakumar was involved in an accident while filming Kizhakku Vaasal]. Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 26 February 2014. Archived from the original on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
- Sundararaman 2007, p. 165.
- Mani, Charulatha (16 September 2011). "A Raga's Journey — Magical Mohanam". The Hindu. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- Mani, Charulatha (22 November 2013). "Catchy and classical". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- Sundararaman 2007, p. 151.
- Vivek, T. R. (31 March 2018). "Why many Ilaiyaraaja songs sound as if they emerged from a jam session with Salil Chowdhury". The Hindu. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- "Kizhakku Vaasal". The Indian Express. 12 July 1990. p. 5.
- Krishnaswamy, N. (20 July 1990). "Kizhakku Vaasal". The Indian Express. p. 7.
- "'கிழக்கு வாசல்', 'அஞ்சலி' 30 ஆண்டுகள்: ஒரே நாளில் வெளியாகி வெளுத்து வாங்கிய படங்கள்!". Hindu Tamil Thisai. 12 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- Rajendran, Gopinath (5 May 2018). "Where is today's great comedian?". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- "Best Movies of Tamil Actor Karthik". TheTopTens. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
Bibliography
- Sundararaman (2007) [2005]. Raga Chintamani: A Guide to Carnatic Ragas Through Tamil Film Music (2nd ed.). Chennai: Pichhamal Chintamani. OCLC 295034757.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)