Majaa is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language masala film directed by Shafi and produced by Rockline Venkatesh. The film is a remake of the director's own Malayalam film Thommanum Makkalum (2005). The film stars Vikram, Asin, and Pasupathy, while Manivannan, Vadivelu, Vijayakumar, Biju Menon (in his Tamil debut), Murali and Abu Salim (reprising his role from the original) play supporting roles The music was composed by Vidyasagar. It tells the story of two adopted children changing from their old, mischievous ways of life.
| Majaa | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Shafi |
| Screenplay by | Viji |
| Story by | Benny P Nayarambalam |
| Based on | Thommanum Makkalum |
| Produced by | Rockline Venkatesh |
| Starring | Vikram Asin Pasupathy Manivannan Vadivelu Biju Menon Murali Vijayakumar Abu Salim |
| Cinematography | Balasubramaniem |
| Edited by | V. T. Vijayan |
| Music by | Vidyasagar |
Production company | Rockline Entertainment |
| Distributed by | Aascar Films International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 138 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editGovindan is a thief who has two sons: Aadhi and Mathi. Years go by, and the brothers decide to stop stealing, mend their ways, and lead a hardworking life with their father. They migrate to a neighbouring village and meet a retired agricultural officer Chidambaram, who is in deep debt and is under pressure from the village landlord Kalingarayar to clear his debts. In efforts to help Chidambaram, Mathi confronts Seetha Lakshmi, Kalingarayar's daughter, who comes to collect the money Chidambaram owes her father. Seetha Lakshmi starts to acquire a liking for Mathi, but keeps it hidden due to her father's atrocious temper. In an attempt to teach Kalingarayar a lesson, Mathi forcibly ties the mangalsutram around Seetha's neck. Kalingarayar, realising his daughter's love for Mathi, comes down to arrange a grand remarriage between the two. But things go awry when Manickam, Seetha Lakshmi's maternal uncle, comes to town in an effort to stop the wedding between the two as he has wicked plans of marrying Seetha Lakshmi and usurping her family fortune.
Cast
edit- Vikram as Mathi
- Asin as Seetha Lakshmi
- Pasupathy as Aadhi
- Manivannan as Govindan
- Vadivelu as Pulipaandi
- Vijayakumar as Chidambaram
- Biju Menon as Rajavelu (Voice dubbed by P. Ravi Shankar)
- Murali as Kalingarayar
- Anu Prabhakar as Selvi
- Nithin Sathya as Muthu, Chidambaram's son
- T. P. Gajendran as Doctor
- Ilavarasu
- Mahanadi Shankar
- Muthukaalai
- Crane Manohar
- Abu Salim as Manickam, Rajavelu's henchman
- Sindu Tolani (special appearance in the song "Ayyarettu")
- Ram Lakshman as Ramudu & Bheemudu
Production
editSoundtrack
editThe music was composed by Vidyasagar.[3]
| Song title | Singers | Lyrics |
|---|---|---|
| "Ayyarettu Naattukettu" | Shankar Mahadevan, Anuradha Sriram | P. Vijay |
| "Chi Chi Chi" | Shankar Mahadevan, Harini, Savitha Reddy,Karthik, Manikka Vinayagam | Yugabharathi |
| "Hey Pangaali" | Udit Narayan, Tippu, Manikka Vinayagam | P. Vijay |
| "Podhumadaa Saami" | Kailash Kher | |
| "Sollitharavaa" | Madhu Balakrishnan, Sadhana Sargam | Kabilan |
Release
editThe film was released on 1 November 2005 alongside Sivakasi and Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam, Diwali day.[4]
Reception
editSify wrote, "The major flaw of Majaa is its wafer-thin story and screenplay, a mediocre subject to be remade from Malayalam [...] the film gives you a dreary sense of déjà vu, a feeling that one has seen it before".[5] A critic from Chennai Online wrote that "'Thomanum Makkalum', the film's original Malayalam version, in which Mammootty starred, had some perfect casting for the trio. But here the combination of Vikram, Pasupathi and Manivannan somehow fails to jell together as a team".[6] A critic from webindia123 wrote that "Overall it is a clean family entertainer worth a watch".[7]
Lajjavathi of Kalki praised the humour and performances of Vadivelu, Pasupathy and Manivannan but felt Asin and Murali were wasted, Vidyasagar did not score well while panning Thaali sentiment scenes, crippling screenplay and lengthy dialogues. He was surprised by Vikram for choosing this film and she do not want to get him wasted in weak plots.[8] S. R. Ashok Kumar of The Hindu wrote "Getting an opening from an established producer like Rockline Venkatesh and with Vikram in the lead, director Shafi should have made the effort to make the fare more interesting".[9]
Box office
editReferences
edit- ^ "Good times to roll". The Hindu. 28 August 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ Sangeetha, P (17 April 2023). "Ponniyin Selvan 2 star Chiyaan Vikram calls himself the 'original soup boy', says he is like Aditha Karikalan in real life". OTTPlay. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "Majaa". JioSaavn. 28 November 2006. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ "Deepavali releases – 2005". Chennai Online. 27 October 2005. Archived from the original on 15 October 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ "Majaa". Sify. Archived from the original on 28 June 2013. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
- ^ Mannath, Malini (5 November 2005). "Maja". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 14 October 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
- ^ "Majaa". Webindia123. Archived from the original on 31 October 2008. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
- ^ லஜ்ஜாவதி (13 November 2005). "மஜா". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 1. Archived from the original on 27 April 2024. Retrieved 27 April 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Kumar, Ashok (4 November 2005). "Where is the entertainment?". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ "Chennai Box-Office (Nov 04-06)". Sify. 8 November 2005. Archived from the original on 24 January 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ^ "Chennai Box-Office (Nov 11-13)". Sify. 16 November 2005. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
