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Ghilli
File:Ghilli308.jpg
Directed by	Dharani
Produced by	A. M. Rathnam
Written by	Gunasekhar
Screenplay by	Dharani Barathan (dialogues)
Starring	Vijay Trisha Prakash Raj Ashish Vidyarthi Dhamu Nagendra Prasad
Music by	Vidyasagar
Cinematography	Gopinath
Editing by	V. T. Vijayan
Studio	Sri Suriya Movies
Release date(s)	14 April 2004
Running time	142 mins
Country	‹See Tfd› India
Language	Tamil
Budget	6 crore (US$1.2 million)
Box office	55 crore (US$10.97 million)(above 200 days)[1]

Ghilli (Tamil: கில்லி) is a 2004 Tamil action comedy film directed by Dharani and produced by A. M. Rathnam. A remake of the Telugu blockbuster Okkadu directed by Gunashekar, the film stars Vijay, with Trisha Krishnan and Prakash Raj playing the female lead and antagonist, respectively. The soundtrack and background score of the film were composed by Vidyasagar. Ghilli was released on Tamil New Year's Day on 14 April 2004; it opened to highly positive reviews and became a high commercial success and an All Time Blockbuster.^[2][3][4]

Plot[link]

Ghilli is the nickname for the popular state level kabbadi player Velu (Vijay). His disciplinarian father Sivasubramanian (Ashish Vidyarthi), an assistant police commissioner in Chennai, who finds his son (who still has backlogs to clear before he gets his degree) incorrigible. His mother (Janaki Sabesh), on the other hand, dotes on him. His younger sister Bhuvana ('Baby' Jennifer) is the typical sharp and inquisitive schoolgirl. Velu goes to Madurai for a kabbadi match, but circumstances force him to lend a helping hand to Dhanalakshmi (Trisha) who is fleeing from the cantankerous Muthupandi (Prakash Raj), a State Minister's son, madly in love with her. From then on, it is a long, hard run for the two, with Muthupandi and his numerous henchmen close on their heels. Once, Muthupandi manages to catch up to Velu and Dhanalakshmi, but Velu threatens to kill Dhanalakshmi unless he lets them go free, leaving Muthupandi and his men helpless. Enraged, Muthupandi vows not to return home without finding Dhanalakshmi. He chases them to Chennai beginning a cat-and-mouse chase, that sets up an enthralling second half of the film.

Velu hides Danalakshmi in his house and manages to get her a passport and student visa for America. But Dhanalakshmi is not willing to go to America as she has fallen in love with Velu and his family. Velu and his friends, overcoming many obstacles, get Dhanalaksmi to the airport in time for her flight before their kabaddi match against Punjab in the final of the national league, only to spot her in the stadium during the match. Velu's lack of focus in the game is replaced by his best on seeing Dhanalakshmi, winning Tamil Nadu the championship. The movie ends in a gripping climax when Dhanalakshmi incites Muthupandi to challenge Velu to a fight to prove his worth in which Muthupandi dies accidentally. Velu and Dhanalakshmi are finally united.

Cast[link]

• Vijay as Saravanavelu
• Trisha Krishnan as Dhanalakshmi
• Prakash Raj as Muthupandi
• Ashish Vidyarthi as Sivasubramanian
• Janaki Sabesh as Saravanavelu's mother
• Baby Jennifer as Bhuvana
• Dhamu as Oteri Nari
• Nagendra Prasad as Prasad
• Mayilsamy as Narayana
• Vimal as Saravanavelu's team mate (uncredited role)

Production[link]

Vijay expressed interest in starring in a Tamil remake of the successful Telugu action flick Okkadu and prompted producer A. M. Rathnam to purchase the remake rights of the film. Dharani was finalized as the director, whose previous film Dhool under Rathnam's production had been a financial success. Dharani made minor changes to the script to suit Vijay's image and Tamil audience's taste. Dharani's regular crew members including cinematographer Gopinath and music director Vidyasagar joined the film, while Rocky Rajesh and Raju Sundaram were chosen to choreograph the stunts and dances, respectively.

Trisha Krishnan was roped in to play the female lead, while Prakash Raj was signed on to reprise the villain's character from the original. Dhamu and Prabhu Deva's brother, Nagendra Prasad were recruited to essay supporting roles. Ashish Vidyarthi, Janaki Sabesh and Baby Jennifer were selected to portray Vijay's parents and sister, respectively.

Filming began in mid-2003, after Vijay had completed his action flick with director Ramana; the film was completed by early 2004. Filming took place in Chennai surrounding the coastal areas like Mylapore and Besant Nagar. The film's introduction fight scene and a song were shot in a costly set. A lighthouse set was also erected. Other action and chasing sequences were canned near the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai. The climax scene was shot in a crowd of one lakh people on a Vinayagar Chaturthi occasion.^[5]

Release[link]

Vijay’s big budget extravaganza and much awaited Gilli due for release on April 9 has been postponed for a week. Theatres have been told that the film will now release on April 16. Though the reason for the postponement is not given out, rumours are that producer A M Ratnam’s creditors are putting pressure on him to settle his accounts before release. Another reason is that Vijay got cold feet after the Udaya debacle as the film has not even taken an opening.^[6]

Soundtrack[link]

The soundtrack features 6 songs composed by Vidyasagar. The song "Appadi Podu" in particular enjoyed high popularity upon release. The lyrics were penned by Vaali and Na. Muthukumar

Reception[link]

Review Scores
Source	Rating
Sify
One India
Now running

Ghilli opened to extremely positive reviews, and became the biggest commercial success for Vijay at that time. Sify appreciated the film for its fast moving screenplay and said as a racy entertainer giving a rating of 5/5 stars.^[7]Nowrunning.com stated that "Gilli, story wise, is neither fresh popcorn nor spicy samosa found in theaters.. but the screenplay and overall treatment is as fresh and appetizing as full meals after a long day. and gave an overall rating of 4/5 stars^[8]Oneindia gave the film 5/5 stars and stated the film as a Blockbuster.^[9]The Hindu stated that "Vijay, the hero whom the masses today identify with, and Prakashraj, the inimitable villain in tow, this remake of the Telugu flick, "Okkadu," comes a clear winner".^[10] Indiaglitz called the film that Gilli is an out and out entertainer and comented that"Vijay and Trisha on track with another blockbuster".^[11]Rediff stated that "Don't miss 'Gilli'.^[12]

Box office[link]

Ghilli which was made at a budget of 6 crores was released approximately in 100 screens in Tamil Nadu on 14 April 2004, to highly positive reviwes and enjoyed huge commercial success. The film had a 250 days theatrical run on screens of Tamil Nadu thus becoming an all time blockbuster.Ghilli which reaches it's 100 day mark on July 25th has so far collected Rs 50 crores from all centers. The film's collection in the first four weeks from Chennai alone was to the tune of Rs 1.60 crores.The film according to distributors has overtaken Autograph and Padayappa collections.^[13]The movie grossed around 100 crore rupees worldwide during 2004 thereby becoming the top grossing film of that year. the film celebrated 100 days in about 45 centres in Tamil Nadu, which in itself is a record,and will be celebrating the silver jubilee (175 days) in 10 centres and 300 days in 1 theatre shortly.^[14]The trade says that the film is the biggest hit in the last 10 years and the collections will cross Padayappa and Saamy. ^[15]

Tamilnadu alone, at the Wembley theatre in London with temperature below 10 degree about 500 to 600 Tamilians had to go back due to non-availability of tickets! In Columbo too the film took a great opening and is the best in the last five years! In Kerala the film is doing better than any mainstream Malayalam film. And In Chennai Udayam complex Gilli was screened in all the four screens in the opening weekend. At Tirunelveli, the theatre had to show five shows due to the unprecedented crowds. Gilli has broken MGR’s Adimapen record of more number of people seeing it in the first week^[16]According to trade sources, it is likely to get a distributor's share of over Rs. 20 crores! The last film to cross this magic figure was Rajnikanth's "Padayappa" in 1999."Ghilli" has done a business worth Rs. 1.75 to Rs. 1.90 crores in Coimbatore. In Chennai city alone, the film has grossed an amazing Rs. 1.06 crores from four cinemas in 35 days, a new record. The film is a hit all over Tamil Nadu and has celebrated 51 days in 106 stations . ^[17]

Awards[link]

• Filmfare Award for Best Villain – Tamil - Prakash Raj
• Filmfare Award for Best Dance Choreographer – South - Raju Sundaram
• Madras Corporate Club Best Actor Award - Vijay
• Dinakaran Best Actor Award - Vijay
• Film Today Best Actor Award - Vijay
• Dinakaran Best Villain Award - Prakash Raj
• Tamil nadu state award best actor - Vijay

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ghilli at the Internet Movie Database

Amala Paul
Amala Paul at a public relations event (2010)
Born	Amala Paul (1991-10-26)October 26, 1991 Kochi, Kerala, India
Other names	Anakha
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	2009 – present

Amala Paul (born October 26, 1991) is an Indian film actress, who works primarily in the Tamil film industry. After appearing in supporting roles in a few low budget ventures, she received critical acclaim for the portrayal of a controversial character in the film, Sindhu Samaveli. Despite the failure of that film, Amala became noted after playing the title role in Mynaa, receiving critical acclaim for her work. Since then, she has been signed on for several notable projects and is considered the leading upcoming actress in Tamil films.^[1]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Amala Paul, after finishing her Plus Two education, took a year out before planning to pursue engineering. At the time, her modelling portfolio was spotted by noted Malayalam director Lal Jose who offered her a supporting role in his remake, Neelathamara (2009). Despite emerging a success, the film failed to attract any further offers, as she had anticipated.^[2] She pursued roles in Tamil films and went on to sign the low-budget comedy film Vikadakavi which was delayed and ultimately became her sixth release, while also signing on to play the lead role in another small budget film Veerasekaran (2010). The film, which became her maiden Tamil release, was panned by critics and went completely unnoticed,^[3][4] while Amala's role was being labelled as 'minimal',^[3] and she later cited that she regretted doing the film and many of her scenes were edited out.^[2] Amala Paul then went on to work in Samy's controversial Sindhu Samaveli (2010), portraying the role of Sundari, who has an illicit relationship with her father-in-law. The director of the film had previously drawn criticism for his depictions of illicit romances as well as for assaulting his previous lead actress in a film, but Amala played down the issue citing that she had no problem with the director.^[2] She was approached after the major portions of her next release, Mynaa were ready and signed on before listening to the entirety of the story, claiming that she was shocked but not upset with the controversial scenes which she heard later.^[2] Upon release, the film met with contrasting reviews, whilst some critics refused to give the film a rating, declaring their disgust at the film's plot.^[5][6] Amala's performance won her critical acclaim. However her success was marred with extreme reactions from the public, with Amala claiming she received death threats from anonymous callers and was publicly scolded by women at a cinema hall in Chennai.^[7]

[edit] Mynaa and the future (2010 - present)

Amala's next release, the romantic drama film Mynaa (2010) by Prabhu Solomon, made her a recognised actress in the industry. The film had garnered much anticipation prior to release, with noted distributors Udhayanidhi Stalin and Kalpathi S. Aghoram purchasing the rights of the film after being impressed with it.^[8] Amala played the village belle Mynaa, attaining unanimous praise from critics for her portrayal; a critic labelled her work as "outstanding" and that she put in a "riveting performance",^[9] while other reviews claimed she had "immense talent" and scores in "every instance" in the title role.^[10] The film, which also saw her gain recognition from noted actors Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, subsequently became a large commercial success at the box-office.^[8] Amala Paul gained recognition from several award committees and notably secured the Vijay Award for Best Debut Actress, while also gaining nominations in the Best Actress category at the Filmfare Awards and the Vijay Awards.

Following the success of Mynaa, Amala became touted as the "new star of 2011" as she subsequently signed on to several prominent projects.^[1] Her first release of 2011 was in a supporting role in the Malayalam drama film, Ithu Nammude Katha, a remake of the successful Tamil film Naadodigal and the second was meant to be her launch in Tamil films, the coming-to-age tale of five friends Vikadakavi with the film opening to limited screens. Both films opened to limited screens due to the moderate budget of the projects, with her performance in the latter being described as "full of potential".^[11] She went on to sign three big budget films with established production houses, with the drama Deiva Thirumagal directed by Vijay, featuring her opposite Vikram and alongside Anushka,^[12] becoming her next release. Her portrayal of school correspondent Shwetha Rajendran won critical acclaim with a reviewer citing that her "expressive eyes help her leave a mark in a small but important role" whilst another critic claimed she "acquits herself well".^[13][14] Her final release of 2011 was Ram Gopal Varma's Bejawada which marked her début in Telugu language films. The film saw her portray college girl, Geetanjali, and featured her opposite Naga Chaitanya, but the film opened to negative reviews and became a surprise box office failure.^[15]

Amala Paul's first release of 2012 was in Linguswamy's multi-starring action entertainer, Vettai, alongside Arya, Madhavan and Sameera Reddy.^[12] The film opened to critical and commercial acclaim with The New York Times claiming the film "entertains without breaking any new ground, though it can also surprise".^[16] Amala Paul won mixed feedback for her performance; while the critic from Sify mentioned she "is lovely to look at and her feisty performance proves that a star is born",^[17] Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff cited she "struts, pouts and hams to the hilt".^[18] The actress had three films released on the Valentine's Day weekend of 2012, with Balaji Mohan's bilingual Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi and Love Failure becoming critical and commercial successes. The film, made in Tamil and Telugu, featured her alongside Siddharth and portrayed as her college girl, Parvathi, showing her romantic encounter. About the Tamil version, a reviewer from The Hindu wrote: "Amala Paul, after coming across as convincing in her last few movies, looks finally set as a leading lady", while another critc labelled that she "comes across as natural" and "it is a pleasure to see her in a role and costumes that suit her age as compared to her recent movies".^[19][20] Rediff.com called the Telugu version of the film "refreshing", highlighting that the lead pair's on-screen chemistry "sparkles".^[21] The romantic musical Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal opposite Adharvaa, also released on the same day in which she played Charulatha, a modern girl based in Bangalore. She played a notable role in renowned director Dr. Biju's Aakashathinte Niram, which was her first art-house film. The film was screened at the competition section for the Golden Goblet Award in the 15th Shanghai International Film Festival.

Personal life[link]

Amala was born on October 26, 1991 in Ernakulam, Kerala to Christian Malayali parents, Paul Varghese and Annice Paul.^[22] After completing her Plus Two examinations at Nirmala Higher Secondary School, Aluva she took a sabbatical to begin a career in films, but has since joined St. Teresa's College in Kochi, to pursue a BA degree in English and is currently in her third year.^[12][23] Her father had been strictly against Amala pursuing an acting career, but was forced to accept her decision with her older brother, Abijith, strongly backing her ambition.^[12] She later claimed she had performing arts in her DNA, revealing that her mother was a singer and her dad was into theatre in college.^[24] Amala had changed her on-screen name to Anakha, on director Samy's insistence, who cited that another actress, Amala had already made her name popular. However, after the failure of Sindhu Samaveli, she reverted to her birth name since she felt that the replacement had brought her bad luck.^[12]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

|Just For Women- Sun TV |Youth Female Actor |style="background: #99FF99; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="yes table-yes2"|Won |}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Amala Paul at the Internet Movie Database
• Amala Paul in Twitter

Prakash Raj
Born	Prakash Rai (1965-03-26) 26 March 1965 (age 47) Puttur, Karnataka, India
Residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Film actor, producer, Film director
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	Lalitha Kumari (1994–2009 divorced) Pony Verma (2010–present)
Children	Meghana Pooja Sidhu (2000 – 20 March 2004)[1]

Prakash Rai (born 26 March 1965), better known by his stage name Prakash Raj, is a National Award winning film actor, director and producer who has worked in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam films.He got introduced to films by K. Balachander in the movie Duet (1994). In remembrance, he named his production company "Duet Movies".^[2][3]

He has played a variety of roles, most notably as the antagonist in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil and of late, as a character actor. He is considered to be one amongst the club of natural actors. He has won a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for Mani Ratnam's Iruvar and a National Film Award for Best Actor in 2009 for his role in Kanchivaram, a Tamil film directed by Priyadarshan.^[4]

Early life[link]

Prakash Raj was born to a ethnic Bunt^[5] family in Puttur, Karnataka on 26 March 1965. He did his schooling from St.Joseph's Indian High School in Bangalore. He later joined St. Josephs College of commerce, Bangalore, where he participated in many plays.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Prakash married actress Lalitha Kumari in 1994. They have two daughters—Meghana and Pooja and a son, Sidhu.^[6] Sidhu died of injuries sustained in a fall in 2004. The couple divorced in 2009.^[7] He then married choreographer Pony Verma on August 24, 2010.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

As actor[link]

Prakash began his acting career with Kannada Doordarshan serials like Bisilu Kudure and Guddada Bhootha. He later took up supporting roles in Kannada films like Raamachari, Nishkarsha and Lockup Death. He was noticed for his dialogue delivery and histrionics. His breakthrough role came in form of Harakeya Kuri starring Vishnuvardhan and Geetha, directed by K. S. L. Swamy. His performance in the movie was noticed by Geetha and she, in turn, introduced him to her mentor K. Balachander, a Tamil film director. He acted under the screen name "Prakash Rai" in Kannada films and was rechristened "Prakash Raj" by K. Balachander for his debut Tamil film Duet, which saw him playing his first major role.

Prakash Raj re-entered Kannada films through Nagamandala in 1997, directed by T.S. Nagabharana which was selected for Indian Panorama in the International Film Festival in 1997. He was also a part of Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai. In 1997, he acted in Mani Ratnam's biopic film Iruvar. The movie dealt with the relationship between politicians M. G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi, for which he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. One of Prakash Raj's greatest hits was his role in Telugu film Okkadu, where he played a gangster who is in love with the heroine. After Okkadu, Prakash Raj was flooded with offers. The film was remade in Tamil as Ghilli and in Kannada as Ajay starring Puneet Rajkumar. He starred in a malayalam film, Pandippada,with Dilip.His 2007 production Mozhi was a box-office hit and praised by critics proving that he can play a comedy role just as good as a negative character.

Mozhi, directed by Radha Mohan, was well acclaimed. He played an important role in Venkat Prabhu's Saroja which became a box-office success. In 2008 he produced a film titled Abhiyum Naanum and played an important character in it. He remade the movie in Kannada as Naanu Nanna Kanasu which was critically acclaimed as well.

As producer[link]

He took on the mantle of producer and has produced several movies in Tamil (Kollywood). Most of the movies he produced turned out to be box-office hits and were also critically acclaimed.^{[citation needed]} His movies are also considered as family entertainers. He produced the movie Dhaya in which he acted as the hero with actress Meena which was a hit and earned him a special jury award for his performance. His movie Poi (lie in English) directed by his mentor, K. Balachander, was a non-grosser. It starred Uday Kiran, K. Balachander and Prakash Raj.

Prakash Raj had danced in the song "Kanchi Paanaiyin Maela" for his film Vellithirai.

His Kannada production Naanu Nanna Kanasu completed 100 days successfully across Karanataka. His next production venture, titled Akasmaath, is a remake of the Telugu hit Aithe and stars himself along with new actors. The movie is scheduled to go on floors in September 2010 to be directed by Dayal Padmanabhan. He made Puttakkana Highway in Kannada which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada in 2011.

As director[link]

Prakash Raj directed Naanu Nanna Kanasu in Kannada (2010), a remake of his own Tamil production Abhiyum Naanum.^[8] His next directorial venture is a Tamil – Telugu bilingual, sports venture Dhoni named after Indian cricket captain

Awards[link]

National Film Awards[link]

• 1998 – Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in the Tamil film Iruvar.^[9][10]
• 1999 – Special Jury Award for his performance in the Telugu film Anthapuram.^[10]
• 2003 – Special Jury Award for his roles in Tamil film Dhaya and Telugu film Khadgam.^[10]
• 2008 – Best Actor Award for his performance in the Tamil film Kanchivaram.^[10]
• 2011 – Best Feature Film in Kannada for the Kannada film Puttakkana Highway (As producer)

Filmfare Awards South[link]

• 2002 – Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (Telugu) – Nuvve Nuvve
• 2003 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (Telugu) – Tagore
• 2004 – Filmfare Best Villain Award (Tamil) – Ghilli
• 2005 – Filmfare Best Villain Award (Tamil) – Sivakasi
• 2009 – Filmfare Best Actor Award (Tamil) – Kanchivaram

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards[link]

• 2000 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain – Vaanavil
• 2005 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain – Various films

Zee Cine Awards[link]

• 2012 – Best Actor in a Negative Role- Singham

Apsara Awards 2012[link]

• 2012 – Best Actor in Negative Role- Singham

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Prakash Raj at the Internet Movie Database

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