Company type | Film production Film distribution |
---|---|
Industry | Entertainment |
Founded | 2000 |
Headquarters | , India |
Key people | V. A. Durai |
Products | Motion pictures (Tamil) |
Evergreen Movie International is an Indian film production and distribution company headed by V. A. Durai. The studio collaborated with actor Sathyaraj and director Sakthi Chidambaram on multiple ventures in the early 2000s, before running into financial trouble through the making of Bala's Pithamagan (2003). [1] [2]
Durai made his first film Ennamma Kannu (2000) directed by Sakthi Chidambaram, and starring Sathyaraj and Devayani. He later collaborated with Sathyaraj again in Looty (2001) and Vivaramana Aalu (2002), and with Sakthi Chidambaram in Lovely (2001). Durai and Evergreen Movie International worked as executive producers for the making of Suresh Krishna's Baba (2002) starring Rajinikanth.
The studio ran into financial trouble during the making of Bala's Pithamagan (2003) starring Vikram and Suriya. Bala went over the agreed budget, and as a result, Durai held back on settling the payments for the lead actors. The film won critical acclaim upon release, also winning Durai the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Film. [3] Bala later agreed to pay Durai following the release of his maiden production venture. [4] Bala announced and started projects as a producer including Maayavi (2005), Paramasivan (2006) and Naan Kadavul (2009), before selling the rights to other producers. As a result, Durai pursued a litigation case against Bala. [5] [6] As a result of the complications following Pithamagan's release, Durai produced Gajendra under a different production studio named Tamilanai Cine Creation. The film ran into release issues as a result of Vijayakanth's political involvement, with cadres from Pattali Makkal Katchi threatening to indulge in violence at theatres owing to Vijayakanth's comments against their party leader. [7] [8] In 2005, Durai planned a film with director P. C. Anbazhagan and actor Murali, but the film did not begin production. [9] He later also attempted to cast Ajith Kumar and Jiiva in films by Tarun Gopi and Ameer respectively, but neither project materialised. [10] [11]
In mid-2008, Durai announced a return to films with a project titled Naai Kutty (2010) by newcomer S. S. Joe. [12] Prasanna and Nicole signed to play the lead roles while comedian Santhanam was approached to play a significant role and Sundar C. Babu was chosen to compose the music. [13] [14] In late-September 2008, a complaint had been lodged by director Ram Shiva alleging that the story had been taken from the Kannada film Nanda Loves Nanditha . He alleged that Durai tried to buy the rights for remaking the film in Tamil but his efforts were in vain and had decided to plagiarise the script as a result. [15] [16] Durai later restarted the project with a new script and Sathaji was chosen to direct the film after Joe opted out. Newcomer Selvin signed on after Prasanna opted out of the role and Soori replaced Santhanam. [17] [18] [19] He made a second attempted comeback through the comedy drama Kagitha Kappal (2016) starring Appukutty but the film went unnoticed. [20]
V. A. Durai died in October 2023 following long-term illnesses. [21]
Title | Year | Director | Cast | Synopsis | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ennamma Kannu | 2000 | Sakthi Chidambaram | Sathyaraj, Devayani, Ranjith | Kaasi, a womaniser woos a girl Gayathri she rejects him and is in love with his friend Vishwa. When Vishwa deserts her on the day of the wedding, Kaasi offers refuge to her. | [22] |
Looty | 2001 | Parameshwar | Sathyaraj, Roja, Mumtaj | Rasappa and Geetha who are childless adopt a baby however Geetha suspects the baby as Rasappa's biological son | [23] |
Lovely | 2001 | Sakthi Chidambaram | Karthik, Malavika, Monal | Chandru and Niveditha who are in love comes up with a plan to impress her father who hates love | [24] |
Vivaramana Aalu | 2002 | K. Selva Bharathy | Sathyaraj, Devayani, Mumtaj | [25] | |
Pithamagan | 2003 | Bala | Vikram, Suriya, Laila, Sangeetha | A naive but violent grave digger and loud mouthed thief befriend each other | [26] |
Gajendra | 2004 | Suresh Krissna | Vijayakanth, Flora, Laya | [27] | |
Naai Kutty | 2009 | Sathaji | Selvin, Nicole, Soori | [28] | |
Kagitha Kappal | 2016 | S. Sivaraman | Appukutty, Dilija, M. S. Bhaskar | [29] |
Rangaraj Subbiah, known professionally as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, film producer, film director and a media personality who appears predominantly in Tamil films. He also appears in works in Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. He is a recipient of three Filmfare Award South and three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Vivekanandan, known professionally as Vivek, was an Indian actor, comedian, television personality, playback singer and social activist who worked in the Tamil film industry. He was introduced in films by director K. Balachander in Manathil Urudhi Vendum (1987)
Pithamagan is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language action crime drama film written and directed by Bala. The film stars Vikram, Suriya, Laila and Sangeetha. Based on Jayakanthan's short story Nandhavanathil Oru Aandi, it revolves around a man who grew away from civilisation with minimal human contact, and as a result is animalistic.
Sandai (transl. Fight) is a 2008 Tamil-language action comedy film directed by Sakthi Chidambaram. The film stars Sundar C, Nadhiya, Namitha and Ramya Raj, while Vivek, Lalu Alex, and Mithun Tejasvi, among others, play supporting roles. The music was composed by Dhina with cinematography done by K. S. Selva Raj and editing by G. Sasikumar. The film was released on 21 March 2008.
Maha Nadigan is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language political satire film written and directed by Sakthi Chidambaram starring Sathyaraj, Manoj and P. Vasu.
Englishkaran (transl. Englishman) is a 2005 Tamil-language comedy film. It stars Sathyaraj and Namitha, while Vadivelu, Madhumitha Siva Balaji, and Santhanam play supporting roles. "Englishkaran" with the tagline "Tamizh Vazhga" is a film from the hit combo from Sathyaraj and Shakthi Chidambaram whose earlier ventures Ennamma Kannu and Maha Nadigan were hits. Englishkaran also has humour, glamour, many puns and is based on a strong theme paced with whimsy humour. The film opened to positive reviews.
Karuppu Raja, known for his stage name Ganja Karuppu, is an Indian actor who has predominantly appeared in comedy roles in Tamil cinema. After making his debut in Bala's Pithamagan (2003), Ganja Karuppu experienced success in the late 2000s with his roles in Raam (2005), Sivakasi (2005), Paruthiveeran (2007), Subramaniyapuram (2008) and Naadodigal (2009).
Perarasu is an Indian film director who works primarily in Tamil cinema and is best known for masala films with Vijay and Bharath. Perarasu has also been credited as an actor, music director, singer and lyricist in some of his ventures.
Ayyanar is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Rajamithran and produced by P. L. Thenappan. The film stars Aadhi and Meera Nandan with Vishnupriyan, Rajashree, Santhanam and Anupama Kumar playing supporting roles. The film was released on 10 December 2010 to mixed reviews and was an Average at the box office.
Sakthi N Chidambaram, is an Indian film director and screenwriter, who directs Tamil films.
Sheryl Pinto is an Indian former actress who had primarily appeared in Tamil films. She made her debut in Vijayakanth's Arasangam (2008), before featuring in other films including Engal Aasan (2009) and Vaadaa (2010).
Ennamma Kannu is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language film, written and directed by Sakthi Chidambaram. The film stars Sathyaraj and Devayani, with Ranjith and Vadivelu in key roles. It was released on 16 June 2000. The name of the film was inspired by a song from Mr. Bharath, which also starred Sathyaraj. The film was remade in Telugu as Ramma Chilakamma in 2001.
Mahadevan is an Indian actor who has appeared in predominately Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam films. In Telugu, he is credited as Ramaraju.
Anbu (transl. Affection) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy drama film written and directed by Dalapathiraj. The film starred Bala and Deepu in the leading roles. It was a below average from films critics and audience.
Sakthi Paramesh is a Tamil film director. He made his directorial debut with Suriya Paarvai and went on to make other films like Looty, Three Roses and Thavam.
Seeman is an Indian film director and actor, who has worked in Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut in 1996, with the Tamil film Panchalankurichi. Since then, he has directed four more films and also appeared in acting roles in films of other directors.
Ajay Raj is an Indian actor and choreographer who appears in Tamil language films. While working as a dance choreographer, Ajay made his acting debut with Agathiyan's Selvam (2005), before appearing in Chennai 600028 (2007) and has since appeared regularly in films associated with director Venkat Prabhu and his team.
Sandakozhi 2 is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by N. Linguswamy. A sequel to Sandakozhi, the film stars Vishal and Rajkiran reprising their roles from the first film, alongside Keerthy Suresh and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar. It also happens to be Vishal's 25th film. The film began production during September 2017 and was released on 18 October 2018.
Naai Kutty (transl. Puppy) is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Sathaji and produced by V. A. Durai. The film stars newcomer Selvin and Nicole, with Soori, Sippy, and Jayakumaran playing supporting roles. The film's music was composed by Vijayabharathi with cinematography by C. H. Prasath and editing by K. Thanikachalam. The film was released on 31 December 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)