Vallarasu (transl. Superpower) is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by N. Maharajan in his debut. The film stars Vijayakanth and Devayani. The music is by Deva. It was released on 14 April 2000[1] to positive reviews and became a success. The film was remade in Hindi as Indian (2001) by the same director and Mukesh Rishi reprising his role. In addition, the film was dubbed into Telugu as Commissioner Narasimha Naidu.[2][3]
| Vallarasu | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | N. Maharajan |
| Written by | N. Maharajan |
| Produced by | L. K. Sudhish |
| Starring | Vijayakanth Devayani |
| Cinematography | S. Saravanan |
| Edited by | B. S. Vasu Saleem |
| Music by | Deva |
Production company | Captain Cine Creations |
Release date |
|
Running time | 166 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editVallarasu (Vijayakanth) is the honest Deputy Commissioner of Police who has arrested Wasim Khan (Mukesh Rishi), a terrorist from Pakistan. His wife is Anjali (Devayani), and they both have two children. Vallarasu kills his senior police officer and father-in-law (Raghuvaran) because he knows that the latter is working with terrorists. Anjali leaves Vallarasu after she learns that he killed her father. Vallarasu takes the help of youths (including Darshan and Sriman) who are disillusioned by their inability to join the police force to fight violence. Vallarasu fights R. Kandasamy (P. Vasu), a rich man who is behind the attempts to destabilize the country. With the help of Seshadri (Karan), a software engineer, Vallarasu succeeds in killing Kandasamy's son. In retaliation, Kandaswamy attacks Raheem (Sriman) and Seshadri, who both die. In the climax, Anjali unites with Vallarasu after knowing the truth. Vallarasu also kills both Kandasamy and Wasim Khan.
Cast
edit- Vijayakanth as DCP Vallarasu
- Devayani as Anjali
- Raghuvaran as DGP Jagannathan, Anjali's father
- Livingston as CBI officer Chidambaram Pillai
- Karan as Seshadri
- Mansoor Ali Khan as Esakki Muthu Pandian
- Mukesh Rishi as Wasim Khan
- P. Vasu as R. Kandasamy
- R. Sundarrajan as Raheem's brother
- Vijay Krishnaraj as Vijayaraghavan
- Thalaivasal Vijay as Edward
- Ponnambalam as Manikkam
- Kazan Khan as Terrorist
- Peeli Sivam as Police commissioner
- Raviraj as Swamy Kannan
- Laxmi Rattan as Director general of police
- Thyagu as Seshadri's brother-in-law
- Ambika as Anjali's mother
- Dubbing Janaki as Seshadri's mother
- Charulatha as Seshadri's fiancée
- Master Naveen as Naveen, Vallarasu's son
- Baby Nisha as Nisha, Vallarasu's daughter
- Richard Rajasekhar as Rajasekhar, R. Kandasamy's son[4]
- Sriman as Raheem, Vallarasu's henchman
- Darshan as Pandian, Vallarasu's henchman
- Kovai Easwar as Easwar
- Chitti as Chitti
- Crane Manohar as Jewellery shop owner
- Auditor Sridhar as Seshadri's father
- S. Rajasekar as Lawyer
- Ravi Raj as Judge
- Bobby as Nelson
- Sakthivel as Rowdy
- Nirmala Periyasamy as Newsreader
- Vellai Subbaiah as Man at the wedding hall
- Robo Chandru
- Sampath Ram as Police officer (uncredited role)[5]
- Nitish Veera as Police officer (uncredited role)
- Vadivelu in a special appearance
- Bhanusri in a special appearance
Production
editOne scene was of Vijayakanth and Devayani at a jewellery shop in T. Nagar in Chennai while the song following it was filmed near Pollachi and 100 dancers joined the lead pair. Choreography was by dance master Haridas. A lavish set was erected at A.V.M. Studios where a stunt scene was filmed between Vijayakanth and Richard. Some stunt scenes were filmed between Vijayakanth and Richard. Some stunt artists who portrayed Richard's henchmen also participated in the shot. Apart from Chennai, shooting locations were at New Delhi and Kulu Manali.[6] Bollywood villain Mukesh Rishi made his debut in Tamil cinema with this film. Director P. Vasu made his debut as an actor with this film in a negative role and Darshan would later as one of biggest stars in Kannada cinema, made his debut in small role.
Soundtrack
editThe soundtrack album and background score were composed by Deva.[7]
| Song Title | Singer | Lyrics |
|---|---|---|
| "Adyar Beach Oram" | Deva | Kalidasan |
| "Aruppukottai Akka" | Hariharan, Sujatha | Vairamuthu |
| "Chekka Chekka Sevantha" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, S. Janaki | |
| "Hello Mister Naidu" | Anuradha Sriram, Mano | |
| "Nenje Nenje" | Shankar Mahadevan |
Reception
editA critic from TMCafe.com gave the film a positive review, stating the "script is spiced with the right dose of emotion, sentiment and action, mixed with a heavy dose of patriotism" and that "Maharajan handles the megaphone like a seasoned veteran".[8] The Hindu wrote, "The overpowering grit and idealism that Vallarasu exudes, rubs off on the audience too and is an energising factor, at least to a certain extent".[9]
References
edit- ^ "நட்சத்திர படப் பட்டியல்". Cinema Express (in Tamil). 1 December 2002. pp. 41–43. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ Saravanan, T (2 July 2015). "Take three..." The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Fading strokes of a bygone era". The Hindu. 3 April 2012. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ "Kollywood's Kiwi connection!". The Times of India. 14 January 2017. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- ^ "ஹாலிவுட்டில் கலக்க இருக்கும் பிரபல தமிழ்ப்பட வில்லன்!". Kalki Online (in Tamil). 10 February 2023.
- ^ "Vallarasu". Cinematoday.itgo.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
- ^ "Vallarasu / Vanaththa Pola". AVDigital. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
- ^ "Vallarasu". TMCafe.com. Archived from the original on 30 June 2001. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ "Film Review: Vallarasu". The Hindu. 21 April 2000. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.