Ullaasam
Ullaasam (English: Joy) is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language action romance film directed and co-written by the duo J. D. and Jerry and produced by Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan. The film featured Ajith Kumar, Vikram and Maheswari in the lead roles with Raghuvaran, S.P.Balasubrahmanyam and Srividya in other pivotal roles. Featuring music by Karthik Raja, the film was released on 23 May 1997.[1]
| Ullaasam | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | J.D. & Jerry |
| Produced by | Amitabh Bachchan |
| Written by | Balakumaran (Dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | J.D. & Jerry |
| Story by | J.D. & Jerry |
| Starring | Ajith Kumar Vikram Maheswari Raghuvaran S. P. Balasubrahmanyam |
| Music by | Karthik Raja |
| Cinematography | Jeeva |
| Edited by | B. Lenin V. T. Vijayan |
Production company | |
Release date | 23 May 1997 |
Running time | 136 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
The plot revolves around two fathers and their sons. GK (Raghuvaran), Dev's (Vikram) father, is a smuggler who lives in a house near by Thangaiah (S. P. Balasubrahmanyam), father of Guru (Ajith Kumar). In his childhood days, Guru got attracted by GK's activities and follows his footsteps. While Thangaiah tries to convince his son, it is all in vain. He got vexed and started to raise Dev (GK's son), as a good man. In their college days, Dev becomes a singer. With the lover boy image, he is really popular among the ladies in the college. While Guru studying in the same college becomes a dancer and turns out to be a local dada, who helps GK in his business. Both Guru and Dev fall in love with the same girl Megha (Maheswari) who is in love with Guru.
Thangaiah comes to know about Dev's love for her and begs Guru to leave his love for Dev, since he won't be able to lead a peaceful life in the shape he is. Despite Guru having thoughts of leaving Megha. Dev steps aside knowing that Megha in love with Guru. As Dev hides his feelings for Megha. He wishes the both of them by saying, that the love they have for each other will prevail. The film ends with Guru's choosing to stay with the dark world and with Megha, by his side.
Cast
- Ajith Kumar as Gurumoorthy "Guru"
- Vikram as Dev
- Maheswari as Megha (voice-over by Revathi)
- Raghuvaran as GK
- S. P. Balasubrahmanyam as Thangaiah
- Devan as Chatterjee (voice-over by Thalaivasal Vijay)
- Srividya as Guru's mother
- M. N. Rajam as Dev's grandmother
- Deepa Venkat as Dev's friend
- Dhamu as College Attender
- Bala Singh as Dhamodharan
- R. S. Shivaji as Chatterjee's henchman
- Ajay Rathnam as Pal Pandi, Chatterjee's henchman
- Singamuthu as Police Constable
- Vaiyapuri as Gopalu
- Raju Sundaram special appearance in the song "Vaalibam Vaazha Sollum"
Production
The film became Amitabh Bachchan's first Tamil language film production under his banner, Amitabh Bachchan Corporation and as a result, he chose to select several leading actors for the project. Ajith Kumar signed on after the success of Kadhal Kottai (1996), whilst Maheswari, the cousin of actress Sridevi, was signed after enjoying success in Telugu films. The makers initially tried to cast Arun Vijay in a parallel lead role, but his reluctance to work on dual hero films meant that Vikram was signed. Moreover, the film boasted of a strong supporting cast of Raghuvaran, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Srividya, whilst Jeeva as cinematographer and Raju Sundaram as choreographer were also amongst the most prolific options in the Tamil film industry at their respective occupations. The director duo were signed on after Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited had been a part of the marketing team in some of the serial episodes they had directed. Abdullah, actress Kushboo's brother, and Roshini, actress Nagma's sister, were also reported to be a part of the initial cast but eventually did not feature.[2]
Leading Tamil actor Kamal Haasan sung a song, "Muthe Muthamma" for the film under the composition of Karthik Raja.[3] The film was briefly delayed due to the FEFSI production strikes of 1997.[4] Furthermore, during production Ajith suffered due to the dancing and fighting involved which caused problems for his back, leading to a further round of corrective surgery.[5]
Soundtrack
| Ullaasam | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | May 23, 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1997 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 28:22 | |||
| Label | Pyramid Vega Music Big B | |||
| Producer | Karthik Raja | |||
| Karthik Raja chronology | ||||
| ||||
The film's soundtrack was composed by Karthik Raja with actor Kamal Haasan also singing a song in the album. The lyrics written by Gangai Amaran, Arivumathi, Pazhani Bharathi, Paarthi Bhaskar and Arun Mozhi (Rap). One line of the song "Veesum Kaatrukku" is similar to "Listen With Your Heart" from Disney's Pocahontas (1995). The song "Cho Larey" is based on the 1977 song "La Colegiala".[6]
| No. | Song | Singers | Lyrics |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Cho Larey" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Harini, Venkat Prabhu | Paarthi Bhaskar |
| 2 | "Izhavenil Thalattum" | P. Unnikrishnan | Gangai Amaran |
| 3 | "Konjum Manjal" | Hariharan, Harini | Pazhani Bharathi |
| 4 | "Mutthey Mutthamma" | Kamal Haasan, Swarnalatha, Bhavatharini | Paarthi Bhaskar |
| 5 | "Ullasam Ullasam" | Karthik Raja | Paarthi Bhaskar |
| 6 | "Valibam Vaazha Sollum" | Karthik Raja, Prabhu Deva, Ajith Kumar, Vikram, Maheswari Shruti Haasan | Paarthi Bhaskar, Arun Mozhi (Rap) |
| 7 | "Veesum Kaatrukku" | P. Unnikrishnan, Harini | Pazhani Bharathi |
| 8 | "Yaaro Yaaryaro" | Ilaiyaraja, Bhavatharini | Arivumathi |
Release
The film opened to predominantly positive reviews with a critic labelling “The movie is a perfect celebration for youth”,The film became a success venture at the box office, and Post-release, Vikram acknowledged the film for expanding his female fan base as a result of the soft-personality of his character.[7] The movie gave youth-centric feel and Received Good response among audience.
Legacy
In October 2019, J.D. & Jerry expressed an interest in remaking the film with Vikram Prabhu in Ajith's role and Dulquer Salmaan in Vikram's role, with Pattukkottai Prabakar also working on an early draft for the new version.[8]
References
- "Rediff On The Net, Movies:". www.rediff.com.
- http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.tamil/browse_thread/thread/b1b2594ae2304d9b/9a23e55dcef6df11?lnk=gst&q=#9a23e55dcef6df11
- http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/47752.html
- "Rediff On The NeT, Movies: An interview with Ajith Kumar". www.rediff.com.
- "Rediff On The NeT, Movies: The Ajit-Shalini romance". www.rediff.com.
- Srinivasan, Karthik (11 September 2018). "How A 1977 Peruvian Song Was Ripped Off By Sukhbir And The Tamil Film Ullasam". Film Companion. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
- "rediff.com, Movies: Vikram, on life after Sethu". www.rediff.com.
- "'Ullaasam' remake: These two actors have been roped in to play lead roles? - Times of India". The Times of India.