Friendship (2021 film)

Last updated

Friendship
Friendship 2021 film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Paul Raj
Sham Surya
Produced byJPR
Stalin
Starring
CinematographyC. Santha Kumar
Edited byDeepak S Dwaraknath
Music byD. M. Udhayakumar
Production
companies
Seantoaa Films
Cinemass Studio
Release date
  • 17 September 2021 (2021-09-17)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Friendship is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language film directed by John Paul Raj and Sham Surya. A remake of the 2018 Malayalam film Queen , it stars Harbhajan Singh, Arjun, Losliya Mariyanesan and Sathish. [1] The film marks the acting debuts of Harbhajan Singh and Losliya Mariyanesan, after the latter's stint at Bigg Boss Tamil . [2] [3] The music was composed by D. M. Udhayakumar with cinematography by C. Santha Kumar and editing by Deepak S. Dwarakanth. The film was released on 17 September 2021. [4]

Contents

Cast

Production

Principal photography began in March 2020. [6] Harbhajan Singh was chosen to play the main lead role after becoming popular in the state of Tamil Nadu since playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League. He often interacted with Tamil spectators while playing for CSK and apparently was offered the role to portray a college student from Punjab in the film. [7] Sri Lankan news anchor Losliya Mariyanesan who rose to prominence after taking part in Bigg Boss Tamil 3 was signed on as the female lead role opposite Singh. [8] In February 2020, Arjun signed on to play a role in the film, while Sathish was chosen to play the supporting role of the friend of Singh's character. [9] [10]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by D. M. Udhayakumar. The first single, "Superstar Anthem" was released 3 July 2020, [11] coinciding with Harbhajan Singh's birthday. [12] It was revealed that the single was meant to be a tribute to actor Rajinikanth. [13]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Superstar Anthem"Gowtham R Silambarasan  
2."Friendship Folk"Raja Gurusamy Deva, Losliya 
3."Friendship Gaana"Gana AchuGaana Achu 

Critical reception

Sify wrote, "Friendship offers nothing new as it only follows the tried and tested format" and was a "one-time watch". [14] Srinivasa Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "Friendship is a dreary watch that has little focus on any of its material. The only clever aspect about the sequences, directed by John Paul Raj and Sham Surya, is that they mostly place Harbhajan among a group of friends and do not get him to talk often", commenting on Singh's poor lip synching. [15] M. Suganth of The Times of India wrote, "For much of its running time, Friendship feels like a checklist of movies set in a college". [16] Thinkal Menon of OTTPlay wrote, "The technical aspects aren't bad, but with a weak screenplay, there is only little which cinematography and background score can enhance". [17]

References

  1. "Harbhajan Singh's debut Tamil film 'Friendship' first look out". The Hindu . 5 June 2020. Archived from the original on 25 August 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  2. "Cricketer Harbhajan Singh to Make Acting Debut with Tamil Film Friendship, See Poster". News18 . 3 February 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  3. "Harbhajan Singh to make his debut as a lead actor in Tamil movie Friendship". The Indian Express . 4 February 2020. Archived from the original on 8 February 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  4. "Harbhajan Singh shares poster of his Tamil debut Friendship film set to release in August". Firstpost . 7 June 2020. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  5. "JSK Corporation to produce three new films". DT Next . 14 June 2020. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2020 via PressReader.
  6. "Harbhajan Singh on the sets of Friendship". The Times of India . 21 March 2020. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  7. "Harbhajan Singh on South Debut: 'Let Khans do Bollywood Films, I am Happy Doing Tamil, Punjabi Movies'". India.com . 22 April 2020. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  8. "Bigg Boss Tamil 3 fame Losliya Mariyanesan to make her film debut with cricketer Harbhajan Singh; see post". The Times of India . 3 February 2020. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  9. "Action King Arjun joins Harbhajan Singh's 'Friendship'". The Times of India . 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  10. Subramanian, Anupama (19 February 2020). "Arjun joins Harbhajan Singh in friendship". Deccan Chronicle . Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  11. "Superstar Anthem sung by Simbu for Harbhajan Singh's Friendship out". Cinema Express . 4 July 2020. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  12. Subramanian, Anupama (7 July 2020). "Simbu croons for Friendship". Deccan Chronicle . Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  13. "Watch: 'Superstar Anthem' song from Harbhajan's 'Friendship' is a tribute to Rajnikanth". The News Minute . 6 July 2020. Archived from the original on 7 July 2020. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
  14. "Friendship: A watchable entertainer". Sify . 17 October 2021. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  15. Ramanujam, Srinivasa (17 September 2021). "'Friendship' movie review: Harbhajan Singh turns Tamil film hero in a dreary watch". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 31 October 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  16. Suganth, M (17 September 2021). "Friendship Movie Review : A generic campus movie and a middling courtroom drama". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2025.
  17. Menon, Thinkal (6 October 2021). "Friendship movie review: Weak screenplay and ineffective characters make the film a tiring watch". OTTPlay . Archived from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2025.