Idhu Namma Aalu (2016 film)

Idhu Namma Aalu (lit.'He is our man'; coll. She is my lover) is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written, co-produced and directed by Pandiraj. The film stars Silambarasan, Nayantara and Andrea Jeremiah, while Soori and Jayaprakash portray supporting roles. This film was produced by T. Rajender and music was composed by Kuralarasan. This film released on 27 May 2016 was highly anticipated from audience and opened with mixed reviews but became an above average success at the box office.[2][3] The film was partially reshot in Telugu as Sarasudu (2017) with Soori and Satyam Rajesh swapping roles.[4][5]

Idhu Namma Aalu
Directed byPandiraj
Written byPandiraj
Produced byT. Rajendar
Usha Rajendar
StarringSilambarasan
Nayantara
Andrea Jeremiah
Soori
CinematographyBalasubramaniam
Edited byPraveen K. L.
Music byKuralarasan
Production
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Distributed bySri Thenandal Films
Release date
  • 27 May 2016 (2016-05-27)[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot

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Shiva (Silambarasan) is an IT engineer with Vaasu (Soori) as his driver and colleague. He visits Myla (Nayanthara) for a marriage proposal and instantly likes her. Myla wishes to speak to him privately and asks him about Priya (Andrea Jeremiah), his ex-girlfriend. Shiva accepts his old love for her. He then leaves the house thinking the marriage will not happen, but Myla accepts the marriage proposal. Later, they start speaking on the phone, and Shiva tells his old love story and how they broke up. Myla starts loving Shiva deeply and in the beginning tests him, and later they are love locked couple. One day both their parents fight about a trivial issue, and the marriage is cancelled. Myla attempts suicide as she does not want to give up Shiva but is saved by his father (Jayaprakash). Myla and Shiva reunite and marry. As the story moves, they finally have a child and live happily.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Pandiraj had written a love story and approached Silambarasan to play the lead role in the film, after his friend Poster Nandakumar helped set up a meeting. Reports of a collaboration between Silambarasan and Pandiraj first surfaced in the media during April 2013, and subsequently it was revealed that the pair would work on a romantic film to be produced by T. Rajender under Silambarasan's home production studio.[6] Kuralarasan, Rajender's second son and Silambarasan's younger brother, was signed by Rajendar to make his debut as the film's music composer during July 2013.[7] Pandiraj continued to work on the script throughout the middle of 2013.[8] Comedians Soori and Santhanam were also revealed to be a part of the film, in an official press note, which confirmed that Balasubramaniem and Praveen K. L. would handle the cinematography and editing respectively.[9] Aware that he and Silambarasan had different working styles, Pandiraj revealed that he told the actor that the film had to be completed within four months and Silambarasan was receptive of the idea.[10]

Filming

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Silambarasan began filming his portions from October 2013 alongside Soori in Urapakkam, and worked on the film during the day before joining the team of Achcham Enbadhu Madamaiyada (2016) during the night time in the period. The first schedule was completed without a lead actress, and the second schedule was briefly delayed as Pandiraj weighed up his options on his casting decision.[11][12] The film's cinematographer Balasubrameniem had discussed the film's plot with Udhayanidhi Stalin during the making of Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal (2014), and Stalin had convinced the actress of that film, Nayantara, to meet Pandiraj.[10] Subsequently, Nayantara signed on to be a part of the film during November 2013, agreeing to work with Silambarasan for the first time since their break-up, with the news creating increased hype around the project.[13] The team shot at Sathyam Cinemas during late December 2013, with Pandiraj revealing that the film would feature several scenes depicting Silambarasan and Nayantara speaking through phone conversations.[14] By the end of 2013, Pandiraj revealed that 40 percent of the film was completed and disclosed that the film was being developed under the title of Idhu Namma Aalu, but had no resemblance to the 1988 Bhagyaraj film of the same name.[15]

By April 2014, the film was seventy percent complete.[16] Pandiraj began casting for a second lead actress during the middle of 2014 and held discussions with Bindu Madhavi and Taapsee Pannu, before finalising on Andrea Jeremiah.[17][18] Actor Jai also shot for the film, and took part in a single day's shoot with Silambarasan, Nayanthara and Andrea. The project first ran into production troubles during July 2014, when Silambarasan had changed his hairstyle in-between schedule breaks, leaving Pandiraj unhappy. Silambarasan subsequently disclosed to the media that Idhu Namma Aalu was his production and that others should not question his involvement in the project. Despite a brief tussle, the final schedule of the talkie portion began in August 2014.[19][20] In December 2014, Pandiraj announced that the film, including post-production works, were complete and that he was waiting for the songs from Kuralarasan, in order to release the film by February 2015.[21]

Delay

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In January 2015, Pandiraj tweeted about his annoyance at Kuralarasan's delay in providing the film's music and stated that a planned teaser scheduled for the month had to be delayed.[22] The director and music composer later exchanged tweets blaming each other for the slow progress of the film.[23][24] T. Rajendar also submitted a complaint to the Nadigar Sangam during September 2015 remarking that Nayantara was refusing to take part in the shoot of a song. Pandiraj came to her defense, arguing that Nayantara had wasted almost two years on the film due to the producers' poor organization and was still yet to be paid for her work. He further stated that the song in question was an extra kuthu number that the script did not warrant.[25] Silambarasan later shot the song with Adah Sharma during early March 2016, after the actress was given a further small character in the film.[26]

Soundtrack

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The music was composed by Kuralarasan. There are 6 songs in this movie.[27] Idhu Namma Aalu is a debut film for Kulalarasan as a music composer, singer and lyricist.[28]

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Kaathaga"Silambarasan 
2."Kanne Un Kadhal"Yuvan Shankar Raja 
3."King Kong"Kuralarasan, Shruti Haasan 
4."Maaman Waiting"T. Rajendar, Suchithra 
5."En Ragam Oru Thalai Ragam"Silambarasan 
6."Oru Thalai Ragam"Sriram Parthasarathy 

Reception

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Critical response

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In his review for The Hindu, a critic Baradwaj Rangan said, "Simbu and Nayanthara are in good form, and they keep us watching. And wondering".[29] Behindwoods rated 2.75 out of 5 stars with the verdict "A breezy youthful entertainer which engages the audience fairly well with a lot of humor".[2] Indiaglitz rated 2.8 out of 5 stars with the verdict "Idhu Namma Aalu is a decent romantic entertainer, mixes the right dosage of fun, love and enough mockery on Simbu who gives it a personal touch with a smile."[30]

Box office

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The film grossed approximately 1.83 crore in Chennai.[31][32]

References

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  1. ^ "STR's Idhu Namma Aalu to release on ?". ssmusic.tv. 15 May 2016. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Idhu Namma Aalu (aka) Ithu Namma Aalu review". 27 May 2016. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  3. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash (27 May 2016). "'Idhu Namma Aalu' movie review: Live audience response". International Business Times, India Edition. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  4. ^ @Satyamrajesh2 (24 May 2017). "My new movie n STR first Telugu movie #sarasudu" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "Review : Sarasudu – Short Film Romance". 123telugu. 15 September 2017. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  6. ^ "Are talks on Simbu and Pandiraj true? , Simbu, Pandiraj". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  7. ^ "STR to launch brother Kuralarasan!". Sify. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Simbu's next is with a National award winner!, simbu, str". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  9. ^ "Simbu's new film with Pandiraj would also have Soori and Santhanam". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Director Pandiraj's detailed interview about 'Idhu Namma Aalu'". 6 November 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  11. ^ "K-town tensed over heroine shortage!". Sify. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Simbu works 24 x 7!". Sify. Archived from the original on 24 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  13. ^ "Pandiraj ropes in Nayanthara for STR project!". Sify. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  14. ^ "The shoots of the Simbu – Pandiraj film is happening at the Sathyam Cinemas". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  15. ^ "The title of the Simbu – Nayanthara film may be ..." Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  16. ^ "70% of Simbu-Pandiraj-Nayanthara film is over". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  17. ^ "Is Taapsee in or not in Idhu Namma Aalu?". Archived from the original on 5 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  18. ^ "The beautiful Andrea for Simbu .. it is confirmed ." Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  19. ^ "Director states on the plans of Simbu and Nayanthara". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  20. ^ "STR denies reports that he is the reason for INA delay". Sify. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  21. ^ "'Idhu Naama Aalu' is gearing up for release". Sify. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014.
  22. ^ "Kuralarasan delays 'Idhu Namma Aalu' teaser?". Sify. Archived from the original on 10 January 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  23. ^ "Pandiraj & Kuralarasan lash out at each other!". Sify. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  24. ^ "Pandiraj, Kuralarasan lash out at each other on social media". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  25. ^ "Nayan is a very dedicated actress, says Pandiraj". Sify. Archived from the original on 4 September 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  26. ^ "Adah Sharma to debut with Idhu Namma Aalu". The Hindu. 12 March 2016. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 16 March 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  27. ^ "Idhu Namma Aalu movie songs Review". MovieTet. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  28. ^ "In wait, for the verdict". The Hindu. 28 May 2016. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  29. ^ "Idhu Namma Aalu: True love - The Hindu". The Hindu. 27 May 2016. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
  30. ^ "Idhu Namma Aalu review. Idhu Namma Aalu Tamil movie review, story, rating - IndiaGlitz.com". Archived from the original on 16 May 2024. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  31. ^ "Idhu Namma Aalu box office collection, Week 2". Behindwoods. 6 June 2016. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  32. ^ "Idhu Namma Aalu box office collection, Week 3". Behindwoods. 13 June 2016. Archived from the original on 16 June 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
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