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Vanmam
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Wikipedia article
'Vanmam' is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Jai Krishna, a former assistant of Kamal Haasan. It stars Vijay Sethupathi, Kreshna and Sunaina. The film has music scored by S. Thaman and cinematography by Balabharani. It is a rural tale about the life of two friends, played by Sethupathi and Kreshna. In spite of expectations the movie didn't perform well at the box office. The film was highly panned by the critics for its poor screenplay. The satellite rights of the film were bagged by Raj TV.
Cast
* Vijay Sethupathi as Radha
* Kreshna as Chelladurai
* Sunaina as Vadhana
* Madhusudhan Rao as Ratnam
* Bose Venkat as Palraj
* Anjali Rao as Hema
* Sriranjani as Nila
* Vinodhini Vaidyanathan as Palraj's wife
* Radha as Radha's mother
* Radhamani Ammal as Chelladurai's mother
* "Subramaniapuram" Raja as Jai Prakash
* Vazhakku En Muthuraman as Thangappan
* Aroul D. Shankar as Inspector Sakthivel
* "Avan Ivan" Ramraj as Lawyer
* Albert Raj as Sappattai Velu
* Praveen as Kutty
* Subburaj
* S. Iyappan
* V. N. O. Padmanabhan
* Raandilya as Mani
Production
In August 2013, it was confirmed that Vijay Sethupathi would be doing a film with Kreshna titled 'Vanmam' which means "vengeance".[http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-10/vijay-sethupathy-adds-one-more-to-his-list-vijay-sethupathy-vanhmam-30-08-13.html "The Vengeance of Vijay Sethupathy"]. 'Behindwoods'. 30 August 2013. Retrieved 22 August 2014. Filming began in late April 2014 in Nagercoil. and was shot in and around Kanyakumari district for about 37 days, during which 60% of the filming had been completed.[http://behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-14/vijay-sethupathis-vanmams-marudhanayagam-connection-and-more.html "Vanmam's Marudhanayagam connection and more .."]. 'Behindwoods'. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014. Vijay Sethupathi joined the cast from the second schedule onward.[http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-14/vijay-sethupathi-kreshna-starrer-vanmam-vengeance-started-from-yesterday.html "Vijay Sethupathi's Vengeance started from yesterday"]. 'Behindwoods'. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 22 August 2014. The final schedule began on 15 June 2014 and ended on 10 July 2014. The action sequences were canned during the final schedule of the film.[http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/vijay-sethupathi-and-kreshna-fights-at-the-vanmam-shooting-spot/vijay-sethupathi-and-kreshna-fights-at-the-vanmam-shooting-spot-event.html "VIJAY SETHUPATHI AND KRESHNA FIGHTS AT THE "VANMAM" SHOOTING SPOT VIDEO"]. 'Behindwoods'. 19 June 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014. The shooting was wrapped up 3 days earlier on 7 July 2014.
Music
S. Thaman composed the music for the film. The audio launch of the film was scheduled to take place on 28 August 2014,[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/music/Vanmam-audio-launch-on-August-28/articleshow/40581784.cms "'Vanmam' audio launch on August 28"]. 'The Times of India'. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014. but was postponed to 2 September 2014. The audio rights were purchased by Sony Music India.[http://tamil.way2movies.com//newssingle_tamil/Vanmam-audio-launch-on-Sep-2-4-308177.html "'Vanmam' audio launch on Sep 2"]. 'way2movies'. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
The soundtrack received mixed reviews from critics. 'Behindwoods' wrote, "'Vanmam' - de-ja-vu of Thaman's earlier albums", and rated the album 1.75/5.[http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/vanmam/vanmam-songs-review.html "VANMAM SONGS REVIEW"]. 'Behindwoods'. 1 September 2014. Retrieved 2 September 2014. 'Indiaglitz' wrote, "Thaman's last release 'Meaghamann' is a cool album with just 3 songs and a theme track. He has dished out a similar stuff in 'Vanmam'."[http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/musicreview/18786.html "Vanmam - One more short and sweet album from, Thaman"]. 'Indiaglitz'. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2014. Karthik of 'Milliblog' wrote, "But for occasional inventiveness, this familiar, predictable output from Thaman is distressing."Karthik (2 September 2014). [http://itwofs.com/milliblog/2014/09/02/vanmam-music-review-tamil-thaman/ "Vanmam (Music review), Tamil Thaman"]. 'Milliblog'. Retrieved 5 September 2014. Siddarth Srinivas of 'Cinemalead' gave 2 out of 5 and concluded, "Though the autotune tsunami bashes this album to an extent, Thaman has come up with decent songs in "Manamae" and "Aetti Enga Porae". The saturation point has been breached for the composer, and its high time he comes up with innovative music. Otherwise, he better stick to the Telugu industry where he is a celebrated figure!"Srinivas, Siddarth (2 September 2014). [http://www.cinemalead.com/musicreview-id-vanhmam-aka-vanmham-aka-vanmam-music-review-music-review357.htm "VANMHAM AKA VANMAM MUSIC REVIEW"]. 'Cinemalead'. Retrieved 5 September 2014.
Track list
Critical reception
Baradwaj Rangan for The Hindu called 'Vanmam' "just about the vilest thing I've sat through in recent times. The emotional beats are buried so deep they're hardly discernible, and what's on the surface is a generic mix of love and drama and sentiment and action. There's not a thing that's new". The Times of India gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "The worrying bit about the film is that nothing feels really at stake. The director, who nicely captures milieu, hasn't done so when it comes to characters and plot. The result is that the film often seems like a morality drama turned into a rural masala". Sify wrote, "It is a story that has been told from time immemorial, and there is nothing fresh in presentation or treatment. And terrible screenplay aggravates the misery" going on to call it a "clichd long and boring movie". Rediff wrote, "Director Jai Krishna's 'Vanmham' is just another ordinary, highly predictable and melodramatic revenge drama that seriously tests your patience".
In contrast, The New Indian Express wrote, "Weaving a fairly engaging tale and moving his narration with focus and assurance, the director establishes his credentials in his very first effort".
References
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