Dheena | |
---|---|
Directed by | A. R. Murugadoss |
Written by | A. R. Murugadoss |
Produced by | P. Karthikeyan |
Starring | Ajith Kumar Suresh Gopi Laila |
Cinematography | Aravind Kamalanathan |
Edited by | Suresh Urs |
Music by | Yuvan Shankar Raja |
Production company | Vijayam Cine Combines |
Release date |
|
Running time | 167 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Tamil |
Dheena is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by then-debutante A. R. Murugadoss, starring Ajith Kumar, Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi in his Tamil debut, and Laila. The music and background score is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja and cinematography by K. Aravind. It was released on 14 January 2001. The film received positive reviews and became a commercial success.
Dheena marked the beginning of a new image of Ajith Kumar and he earned his nickname, Thala, from this film.
The film starts with the police arresting Aathikesavan's men as suspects for burning Minister Malarvannan's liquor shop. Aathi sends Dheenadhayalan aka Dheena, his adopted brother, to attack the false witnesses in this case and bail them out. This leads to further conflicts between Aathi, Dheena and Malarvannan and Dheena ends up chopping off Malarvannan's hand.
Meanwhile, Dheena falls in love with a girl named Chitra. After a little bit of pursuing and getting to know one another, they fall in love, and when Chitra learns that Dheena is involved in rowdyism, she stands by her decision to be with him because of Dheena's essential good character. Meanwhile, Dheena learns that Ashok has teased his sister Shanthi and thrashes him. A little later, he finds that Ashok has again given a love letter to Shanthi and beats him up, but learns that he is Chitra's brother. Chitra tells Dheena that Shanthi is also in love with Ashok. Dheena realizes this misunderstanding and agrees to help them get married. Finding difficulties in obtaining Aathi's permission, Shanthi elopes with Ashok and gets critically injured in an accident. In the hospital, Shanthi asks for Dheena's promise to protect Ashok's family from Aathi before she succumbs to her injuries.
Aathi, enraged by his sister's death, orders Dheena to kill the family of Ashok. But Dheena refuses and tells him that Shanthi is also in love with him. Aathi refuses to believe this and misunderstands the reason for Dheena's refusal to obey him since he loves the boy's sister Chitra. Aathi swears that he will kill everyone responsible for this including Dheena and the brothers become sworn enemies. Dheena moves to Chitra's flat to protect her family, but Ashok is intimidated and does not believe his intentions. Aathi kills one of Ashok's friends and lands in jail. But Dheena continues to protect the family in various instances from Aathi's men, and they all understand Dheena's good intentions.
Aathi gets released and orders his men to kill Dheena and Chitra's family. The MLA Malarvannan finds out about the brothers' enmity and tries to join hands with Aathi to get his revenge on Dheena, but Aathi refuses to get him involved. Malarvannan, however, is determined to get his revenge on Dheena and sends his henchmen under the guise that they all belong to Aathi's group. Dheena finds out about this and fights them off, but Malarvannan's men stab Chitra. Meanwhile, Aathi learns about Shanthi's love for Ashok from some of her friends, realizes his mistake, and joins forces with Dheena once again and fights off Malarvannan and his men. Knowing that Malarvannan is responsible for this, Aathi tries to kill him, but Dheena stops him and tells him that if he kills him, someone will avenge him and this cycle of violence could continue and asks him to stop the violence. Chitra recovers from her injuries and finds that Aathi has accepted their family. Aathi finally declares Dheena to be his brother hereafter and they are all united.
The film's director AR Murugadoss had previously worked as an assistant to S. J. Suryah. Murugadoss cast Ajith Kumar and signed up Ajith to play the lead roles with Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi roped in to play a parallel supporting role. [2] The team considered signing Vasundhara Das as the lead actress, before opting for Laila. [3] Nagma was selected to appear in an item number. [4] In 2020, Laila revealed how she felt was not feeling well during the shooting of "Kadhal Website", but the upbeat tune of the song encouraged her to dance and the song became a hit upon release. [5]
The soundtrack was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. [6] Music was released on Tips Music. [7] The song "Nee Illai Endral" marked the singing debut of Anuradha Sriram's younger brother Murugan. [8]
The film released on 14 January 2001, during Pongal alongside Friends . [9] It received a positive review from The Hindu , with the critic stating that the "acts of the hero does appeal or impress the audience because his bloody adventures in the film are justifiable" labelling the film as a mass masala entertainer. [10] Rediff.com suggested that "overall, the film is briskly paced, and holds your interest throughout. What prompts the 'Can do better' report are the little, but eminently avoidable, niggles." but praised the performances of Ajith Kumar and Suresh Gopi. [11] Visual Dasan of Kalki gave the film a verdict of "average". [12]
The film's success indirectly marked the beginning of a new image of Ajith Kumar, that of an action hero that would appeal to the masses. [13] Furthermore, Ajith Kumar's nickname in the film, Thala (Leader) became a new identity for the actor amongst his fans. [14] The film also established Murugadoss who went on to become one of the successful directors whereas Yuvan Shankar's songs were equally successful which are considered to have played a major role for the film's great success. [15]
The film was remade in Kannada as Dhumm (2002) and in Bengali as Deva (2002). [16]
Venkat Kumar Gangai Amaren, better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu, is an Indian director, actor and playback singer in Tamil film industry. After completing his education, he began pursuing an acting career, with his first three ventures featuring him in a starring role, failing to release, following which he began appearing in character roles.
Ajith Kumar is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. To date, he has starred in over 61 films, and his awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. In addition to his acting career, Ajith is also a sports car racer and participated in the MRF Racing series (2010). He became a race car driver, competing in circuits around India in places such as Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. He is one among very few Indians to race in the International arena and in Formula championships. Based on the annual earnings of Indian celebrities, he was included in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list three times.
Ghajini is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by A. R. Murugadoss and produced by Salem Chandrasekharan. The film stars Suriya and Asin in the lead with Pradeep Rawat as the main antagonist, along with Nayanthara and Riyaz Khan in the supporting roles. Harris Jayaraj composed the soundtrack and background music, while R. D. Rajasekhar and Anthony were the film's cinematographer and editor, respectively. In the film, Sanjay Ramaswamy (Suriya), once an eminent businessman, develops anterograde amnesia due to a head injury he sustains while attempting to save his fiancee Kalpana (Asin) from getting murdered by a gangster. After that, he sets out to avenge her murder with the aid of photographs from a Polaroid Instant camera and permanent tattoos on his body.
Paramasivan is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by P. Vasu and produced by S. Ramesh Babu. Ajith Kumar, Laila, Jayaram, Vivek, Prakash Raj playing lead character roles. It was released on 14 January 2006 to widespread mixed reviews and had an above average run at the box-office. The film was a remake of the Hindi-language film Kartoos (1999) starring Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff and Manisha Koirala.
Nandha is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Bala. The film stars Suriya in the lead role, while Laila, Rajkiran, Saravanan, and Rajshree play other supporting roles. The film also marked the debut of comedian Karunas. The soundtrack was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja with cinematography by R. Rathnavelu and editing by Suresh Urs.
Pudhupettai is a 2006 Indian Tamil-language crime action film written and directed by Selvaraghavan starring his brother Dhanush in the lead role, while Sonia Agarwal and Sneha play supporting roles. It follows the story of a slum-dwelling student from Pudhupettai who rises to become a dreaded gangster in North Chennai as a means of survival.
Unnai Thedi is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Sundar C. The film stars Ajith Kumar and debutant Malavika, while an ensemble supporting cast includes Karan, Vivek, Sivakumar, and Srividya. It was released on 5 February 1999, and became a box-office hit.
Alai (transl. Wave) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Vikram Kumar. The film stars Silambarasan and Trisha, while Raghuvaran, Saranya, and Vivek played supporting roles. The film was produced by G. V. Prasad and the score and soundtrack were composed by Vidyasagar.
Yavarum Nalam is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language horror film written and directed by Vikram Kumar. The film stars R. Madhavan and Neetu Chandra. Produced by Suresh Balaje and George Pius, the film was simultaneously filmed and released in Hindi as 13B: Fear Has a New Address with a slightly different cast. It was also later dubbed into Telugu as 13-Padamoodu, featuring a few scenes reshot with Ravi Babu. The film's soundtrack was composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, while Tubby-Parik provided the background score. Released on 6 March 2009, the film received mixed reviews but was commercially successful. Rediff placed the film in its list of top Tamil films of 2009. A web series with a similar theme called Dhootha written and directed by Vikram K Kumar was released in 2023, some have speculated that Yavarum Nalam and Dhootha exist in the same universe, while others have said that Dhootha is a standalone sequel to Yavarum Nalam.
Aegan is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed and co-written by Raju Sundaram and produced by Ayngaran International. It stars Ajith Kumar and Nayanthara, with Suman, Jayaram, Nassar, Navdeep, and Piaa Bajpai in supporting roles. The music was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja with cinematography by Arjun Jena and editing by V. T. Vijayan. It is loosely based on the 2004 Bollywood film, Main Hoon Na.
Ajith Kumar is an Indian actor who works mainly in Tamil cinema. Apart from a small role in the 1990 Tamil film En Veedu En Kanavar, his professional career began three years later with his debut as a lead actor in Tamil cinema with Amaravathi (1993). Despite being a moderate success, the film helped him obtain more modelling assignments. He followed it up the same year with Prema Pusthakam, his only Telugu film to date. After Amaravathi's release, Ajith opted against acting, and instead tried pursuing a career in auto racing. While training for an amateur race, he injured his back and underwent three major surgeries, leaving him bed-ridden for a year and a half. After recovering from the injury, he played supporting roles in Paasamalargal (1994) and Pavithra (1994). After this, he co-starred with Vijay in Rajavin Parvaiyile (1995). That same year, he had his breakthrough with the romantic thriller Aasai. His performance earned him critical acclaim and established him as an up-and-coming actor in Tamil cinema.
Billa II is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language action film directed and co-written by Chakri Toleti. It is a prequel to Billa and the film was set at the ending of late 1990s. The story focuses on how David Billa, an ordinary man from the coastal regions of Sri Lanka, becomes a dreaded underworld don. The film stars Ajith Kumar reprising the role of the titular character, leading an ensemble cast including Vidyut Jammwal, Parvathy Omanakuttan, Bruna Abdullah, Yog Japee, Rohit Khurana, Manoj K. Jayan, Sudhanshu Pandey, Dinesh Lamba, Krishna Kumar, Sricharan, Janaki Sabesh, Madhusudhan Rao and Rahman. The film's soundtrack and background score were composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, while R. D. Rajasekhar handled the cinematography and Suresh Urs worked as the editor.
Arrambam (transl. Beginning) is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Vishnuvardhan. Produced by A. Raghuram and co-written by Subha, the film stars Ajith Kumar, Arya, Nayanthara and Taapsee Pannu, with Kishore, Rana Daggubati, Akshara Gowda in supporting roles. While the score and soundtrack of the film were composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, the cinematography was handled by Om Prakash and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad.
Billa II is the soundtrack album, composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, for the 2012 film of the same name, directed by Chakri Toleti that stars Ajith Kumar as the title character. The album consists of six tracks; five songs and a theme music track. Na. Muthukumar penned all lyrics for the songs.
Vedalam (transl. "Phantom") is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Siva. It stars Ajith Kumar and Lakshmi Menon while Shruti Hassan, Ashwin Kakumanu, Rahul Dev, Thambi Ramaiah, Kabir Duhan Singh, and Soori play supporting roles. The film features music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, while the cinematography and editing were done by Vetri and Ruben.
Mahanadi Shankar is an Indian actor and stuntman who has appeared in Tamil language films and television serials, playing mostly supporting and negative roles. He has starred in films such as Mahanadhi (1994), Baashha (1995), Ratchagan (1997), Amarkalam (1999), and Dheena (2001). The success of the former film meant that he used the title as a prefix to his stage name.
Nerkonda Paarvai is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language legal drama film directed by H. Vinoth. Produced by Boney Kapoor, it is a remake of the Hindi film Pink (2016). The film stars Ajith Kumar, Shraddha Srinath, Abhirami Venkatachalam and Andrea Tariang. It also features Arjun Chidambaram, Adhik Ravichandran, Aswin Rao, Rangaraj Pandey, Sujith Shankar, Delhi Ganesh, and Jayaprakash in pivotal roles. Nirav Shah is the cinematographer of the film, while Gokul Chandran is the editor.
Viswasam (transl. Allegiance) is the soundtrack album composed by D. Imman for the Indian Tamil-language action drama film of the same name directed by Siva, starring Ajith Kumar and Nayanthara in lead roles and produced by Sendhil Thyagarajan and Arjun Thyagarajan of Sathya Jyothi Films. The film was initially announced with Yuvan Shankar Raja as the composer, who left the project citing schedule conflicts and several other composers were rumoured to score music before the team approached Imman as the music director. This film marked Imman's first collaboration with Ajith Kumar and Siva.
Valimai (transl. Strength) is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by H. Vinoth, and produced by Boney Kapoor under Bayview Projects LLP in collaboration with Zee Studios, as co-producer and distributor. The film stars Ajith Kumar, Karthikeya, Huma Qureshi and Gurbani Judge. The film score is composed by Ghibran and the songs are composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja. The cinematography is performed by Nirav Shah and editing handled by Vijay Velukutty. It revolves around Arjun, a police officer, who is assigned to track down a group of outlaw bikers following their involvement in heinous crimes.
Valimai (transl. Power) is the soundtrack album composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja for the 2022 Tamil-language action thriller film of the same name, directed by H. Vinoth. Produced by Boney Kapoor under Bayview Projects LLP and Zee Studios, the film stars Ajith Kumar, Huma Qureshi and Kartikeya Gummakonda. The soundtrack album featured five songs written by Vignesh Shivan, Thamarai and Arivu and released by Sony Music on New Year's Day.