Ko (film)
Encyclopedia
Ko is a 2011 Indian Tamil political thriller
film directed by K. V. Anand
starring Jeeva, Ajmal Ameer
, newcomer Karthika Nair
and Piaa Bajpai
. The film was released on 22 April 2011 to mostly positive reviews, and was dubbed into Telugu as Rangam as well. The film's plot outline is inspired by the 2009 film State of Play
. The film is being remade into Hindi with Akshay Kumar
depicting the role of Jeeva and Karthika Nair reprising her role.
s robbing a local bank. He chases them and manages to click photos of the robbers. When he tries to escape, he is stopped by a young woman (Karthika Nair
) who assumes he is the culprit and helps the robbers to take his camera. However, he is able to secure the memory card of the camera and to prove that he is a press photographer he shows the photos to the police, who identify everyone except the gang leader (whose face is covered by a mask). At his office, he meets Renuka ‘Renu’, the woman who earlier mistook him, who has newly joined as Article Editor. Saraswathi ‘Saro’ (Piaa Bajpai
) also works in his office who has feelings for Ashwin. After finding out that Ashwin likes Renuka, she sacrfices her love.
Vasanthan Perumal (Ajmal Ameer
), a recent graduate and engineer, strives hard to enter the political field. He is in contest against his rivals who capture the people at the time of election
s by giving freebies and money. No one cares about Vasanthan and his team of graduates, who promise a healthy government to people. Their group name happens to be 'Siragugal'.
Meanwhile, Renuka writes a cover story about politician Aalavandhan (Kota Srinivasa Rao
), describing his attempt to marry a minor. Enraged by this, Aalavandhan barges into the newspaper office and shouts at Renuka. The audio recording of her interview disappears, and she is fired from her job for falsified reporting. Ashwin now risks his life to capture the pictures of Aalavandhan who actually engages in child marriage. Later the story with the photos is printed in their newspaper and this makes Renuka to fall in love with him.
Vasanthan organizes a political campaign meeting. Ashwin receives a text message from Saro that states there is a bomb underneath the stage where Vasanthan and his political party is. Ashwin manages to save Vasanthan, while he finds Saro seriously injured and fighting for her life amidst the riot, eventually dies from her injuries.
Ashwin, through a video clip recorded by another photographer, finds out that Saro was intentionally killed by someone. He later notices a resemblance between the leader of the bank robbery and this unknown killer, concluding that it is the same person.
Vasanthan wins in the elections taking majority, gaining the title of Chief Minister and his party raises to the secretariat. He orders the release of 20 naxals on Republic Day, citing humanity. Hearing this, Ashwin rushes to meet Vasanthan. In Vasanthan's office, he finds the leader of the bank robbery who had also killed Saro. He tells Vasanthan about it, but he ignores him and pretends to be busy. Ashwin then follows the leader to his hideout.At the same time, the CM (Vasanthan) orders Tamil Nadu Police to go kill the naxals at the address Vasanthan gave and the Police Commandos surrounds the perimeter. There he learns that it was Vasanthan who, with the help of the naxals, planted the bomb and killed Saraswati as she saw the bomb being planted. In the end Vasanthan gets killed by a blast. Ashwin never reveals the relationship between Vasanthan and the killer to the media. Ashwin feared that if he does so, other party members who won along with Vasanth in election will lose their seats because of people. Ashwin tells the press that Vasanth sacrificed himself to kill the naxals.
Special appearances (in alphabetical order) by:
daughter, Karthika Nair
. The trailer of this film was played during Manmadan Ambu and got a favourable response.
in China
as well as in Western Norway at Trolltunga
, Stalheim
, Bergen
and Prekestolen, becoming the first Tamil film to be shot in Norway.
, who had previously worked with Anand on Ayan
. The composition of the songs took place in Macau
. During Diwali
2010 a short teaser was released which featured the song "Enamo Aedho
" which received a high response. Another song, "Aga Naga", featured special appearances by several Tamil film personalities, including composer Jayaraj (see under cast). The album was launched on 19 January 2011 in Chennai
.
, making it Jeeva's biggest wide release. It is also being released in multiplexes across metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Vadodara with English subtitles to attract the non-Tamil audience.Ayngaran International released the movie on DVD and releasing soon on Blu-ray.
cited that "for an audience numbed by predictable Kollywood potboilers week after week, here is an original offering from KV Anand, a fearless filmmaker who doesn't insult your intelligence. He is able to cater to the needs of both the elite as well as mass audiences, which should be applauded." Pavithra Srinivasan from Rediff also gave three out of five saying that Ko was a "spicy ride", further citing that "with its basic plot of politics, it has enough twists and turns to keep you occupied. Best of all are the light touches of sarcasm and humour that make it work. Go for it." She also appreciated Ajmal in particular, labelling him as the "surprise package" who had got "a lot of scope to perform, and makes use of the opportunity well." Malathi Rangarajan from The Hindu
described the film as a "tale with a realistic twist" and praised Anand who "strikes gold with Ko. Blending the commercial with the realistic is a challenge, but K. V. Anand proves adept at it." Times Chennai gave 65/100 and stated that "You feel empathy, rage, helplessness, and triumph at every step of the way". Indiaglitz said that "Racy all through, it is a movie that is worth a watch, if you are really not bothered about logic at certain places", while stating that Jeeva was "impressive and played his part exceedingly well." N. Venkateswaran from The Times of India
gave three and a half citing: "With Ko, director Anand gives notice of his immense talent once again, making a movie that is all set to lord over the box office this summer".
Nevertheless, the film also fetched scattered mixed to negative response. Nowrunning.com rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stating that "Ko staggers throughout, pretending to take risks and after the first misstep; it's nothing but a free fall, all the way. The funny thing is the free fall isn't a smooth ride either. It hits every protruding rock." National Film Award-winning critic, Baradwaj Rangan wrote that "If someone wants to make a case for the abolishment of song and dance from our cinema, Ko would be Exhibit A." He also went on to state that "Ko is a series of big scenes with no transitions, no segues, no scenes that just stop to smell the scenery." A critic from Chennai Online said "The way Naxalite movement is portrayed only betrays the director’s poor knowledge about them. Some of the heroic elements are quite unwarranted and clichéd. Those in the field will vouch for the fact that no journalist in today’s world gets the kind of freedom as the protagonist in our film gets. The political chess game too has been poorly portrayed and lacks imagination. The climax is ridiculous and too long."
. Ko successfully completed 100 days and declared as a "Blockbuster" hit by trade and media. The film, made on a budget of 15 crore is estimated to have grossed over 50 crore.
The Telugu version, Rangam was also declared successful, with distributors organizing celebrations in Tirupati on its 100th day of theatrical run.
Political thriller
A political thriller is a thriller that is set against the backdrop of a political power struggle. They usually involve various extra-legal plots, designed to give political power to someone, while his opponents try to stop him. They can involve national or international political scenarios....
film directed by K. V. Anand
K. V. Anand
K. V. Anand is an Indian cinematographer, film director and former photo journalist. After working for a short period as a journalist, he became a cinematographer in the early 1990s, working for about fifteen films in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu...
starring Jeeva, Ajmal Ameer
Ajmal Ameer
Ajmal Ameer is an Indian film actor, who works in the Malayalam and Tamil film industries.-Background:He was born in Aluva, Kerala. He studied medicine in National Pirogov Memorial Medical University in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, and had plans to open a hospital in future. Shortly after completing his...
, newcomer Karthika Nair
Karthika Nair
Karthika Nair |Josh]] opposite Naga Chaitanya. She rose to fame starring in her second and her first successful tamil film Ko opposite Jeeva.-After birth:...
and Piaa Bajpai
Piaa Bajpai
Piaa Bajpai is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Tamil and Telugu films. She is best known for her performances as Roshini in Venkat Prabhu's comedy Goa and Saro in K. V. Anand's political thriller Ko...
. The film was released on 22 April 2011 to mostly positive reviews, and was dubbed into Telugu as Rangam as well. The film's plot outline is inspired by the 2009 film State of Play
State of Play
State of Play is a six-part British television drama serial directed by David Yates and written by Paul Abbott. The serial, first broadcast on BBC One in 2003, was produced in-house by the BBC in association with the independent production company Endor Productions...
. The film is being remade into Hindi with Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Kumar is an Indian film actor, producer and martial artist who has appeared in over a hundred Hindi films. When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was particularly known for his appearances in feature films commonly called the "Khiladi series",...
depicting the role of Jeeva and Karthika Nair reprising her role.
Plot
Ashwin (Jeeva), a young, energetic photojournalist working for the private newspaper Dina Anjal, witnesses NaxaliteNaxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
s robbing a local bank. He chases them and manages to click photos of the robbers. When he tries to escape, he is stopped by a young woman (Karthika Nair
Karthika Nair
Karthika Nair |Josh]] opposite Naga Chaitanya. She rose to fame starring in her second and her first successful tamil film Ko opposite Jeeva.-After birth:...
) who assumes he is the culprit and helps the robbers to take his camera. However, he is able to secure the memory card of the camera and to prove that he is a press photographer he shows the photos to the police, who identify everyone except the gang leader (whose face is covered by a mask). At his office, he meets Renuka ‘Renu’, the woman who earlier mistook him, who has newly joined as Article Editor. Saraswathi ‘Saro’ (Piaa Bajpai
Piaa Bajpai
Piaa Bajpai is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Tamil and Telugu films. She is best known for her performances as Roshini in Venkat Prabhu's comedy Goa and Saro in K. V. Anand's political thriller Ko...
) also works in his office who has feelings for Ashwin. After finding out that Ashwin likes Renuka, she sacrfices her love.
Vasanthan Perumal (Ajmal Ameer
Ajmal Ameer
Ajmal Ameer is an Indian film actor, who works in the Malayalam and Tamil film industries.-Background:He was born in Aluva, Kerala. He studied medicine in National Pirogov Memorial Medical University in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, and had plans to open a hospital in future. Shortly after completing his...
), a recent graduate and engineer, strives hard to enter the political field. He is in contest against his rivals who capture the people at the time of election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
s by giving freebies and money. No one cares about Vasanthan and his team of graduates, who promise a healthy government to people. Their group name happens to be 'Siragugal'.
Meanwhile, Renuka writes a cover story about politician Aalavandhan (Kota Srinivasa Rao
Kota Srinivasa Rao
Kota Srinivasa Rao is a versatile Indian film actor in Telugu Cinema. He is known for his negative roles, character roles and comedy timing. He also served as an MLA from Vijayawada East assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh, India from 1999-2004.He was a theater artist with Rangasthalam for...
), describing his attempt to marry a minor. Enraged by this, Aalavandhan barges into the newspaper office and shouts at Renuka. The audio recording of her interview disappears, and she is fired from her job for falsified reporting. Ashwin now risks his life to capture the pictures of Aalavandhan who actually engages in child marriage. Later the story with the photos is printed in their newspaper and this makes Renuka to fall in love with him.
Vasanthan organizes a political campaign meeting. Ashwin receives a text message from Saro that states there is a bomb underneath the stage where Vasanthan and his political party is. Ashwin manages to save Vasanthan, while he finds Saro seriously injured and fighting for her life amidst the riot, eventually dies from her injuries.
Ashwin, through a video clip recorded by another photographer, finds out that Saro was intentionally killed by someone. He later notices a resemblance between the leader of the bank robbery and this unknown killer, concluding that it is the same person.
Vasanthan wins in the elections taking majority, gaining the title of Chief Minister and his party raises to the secretariat. He orders the release of 20 naxals on Republic Day, citing humanity. Hearing this, Ashwin rushes to meet Vasanthan. In Vasanthan's office, he finds the leader of the bank robbery who had also killed Saro. He tells Vasanthan about it, but he ignores him and pretends to be busy. Ashwin then follows the leader to his hideout.At the same time, the CM (Vasanthan) orders Tamil Nadu Police to go kill the naxals at the address Vasanthan gave and the Police Commandos surrounds the perimeter. There he learns that it was Vasanthan who, with the help of the naxals, planted the bomb and killed Saraswati as she saw the bomb being planted. In the end Vasanthan gets killed by a blast. Ashwin never reveals the relationship between Vasanthan and the killer to the media. Ashwin feared that if he does so, other party members who won along with Vasanth in election will lose their seats because of people. Ashwin tells the press that Vasanth sacrificed himself to kill the naxals.
Cast
- Jeeva as Ashwin Jayaraman
- Ajmal AmeerAjmal AmeerAjmal Ameer is an Indian film actor, who works in the Malayalam and Tamil film industries.-Background:He was born in Aluva, Kerala. He studied medicine in National Pirogov Memorial Medical University in Vinnytsia, Ukraine, and had plans to open a hospital in future. Shortly after completing his...
as Vasanthan Perumal - Karthika NairKarthika NairKarthika Nair |Josh]] opposite Naga Chaitanya. She rose to fame starring in her second and her first successful tamil film Ko opposite Jeeva.-After birth:...
as Renuka "Renu" Narayanan - Piaa BajpaiPiaa BajpaiPiaa Bajpai is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Tamil and Telugu films. She is best known for her performances as Roshini in Venkat Prabhu's comedy Goa and Saro in K. V. Anand's political thriller Ko...
as Saraswathi "Saro" - Prakash RajPrakash RajPrakash Raj , better known by his stage name Prakash Raj, is a National Award winning actor, director and producer who has worked in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam films. Though he was born in a Tulu family he achieved fame through Kannada, Tamil and Telugu films. He got introduced to...
as Yogeswaran "Yogi" - Kota Srinivasa RaoKota Srinivasa RaoKota Srinivasa Rao is a versatile Indian film actor in Telugu Cinema. He is known for his negative roles, character roles and comedy timing. He also served as an MLA from Vijayawada East assembly constituency in Andhra Pradesh, India from 1999-2004.He was a theater artist with Rangasthalam for...
as Alavandhan - Sona HeidenSona HeidenSona Heiden is an India film actress. She was Miss South India in 2002. She became famous for her best item songs in Kollywood movies. She has appeared in the Tamil film, Kuselan in 2008...
as Susmitha Kothari - D. SureshSubha (writers)Subha is the pen name used by the writing partnership of D. Suresh and A.N. Balakrishnan, who write Tamil detective novels.-Work:The two friends began co-authoring stories when they were in college together, and have been publishing their work since 1979...
as Suresh - Pattimandram RajaPattimandram RajaPattimandram Raja is a Tamil television personality popular for his humorous debate talk shows called Pattimandram broadcast on Sun TV. He also anchors a daily talk show called Vaanga Peasalaam. He is a banker by profession and has acted in the few popular Tamil movies Sivaji, Guru En Aalu and Ko...
as Jayaraman - Jegan as Chander
- Bose Venkat as Kadhir, the Naxalite group head
- AnthonyAnthony (film editor)Anthony is a Tamil film editor. He has worked in over twenty Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu language films. This makes him one of the few editors to have worked for all the 3 biggest film industries in India.-Personal life:Anthony studied BA Lit in Madras Christian College, Tambaram, Chennai...
as himself
Special appearances (in alphabetical order) by:
- AbbasAbbas (actor)Mirza Abbas Ali , known as Abbas, is an Indian film actor and model. He has appeared in Kollywood Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada films.Born in Calcutta and educated in Mumbai, he was discovered modeling in Bangalore...
- Adharvaa
- AnjaliAnjali (actress)Anjali is an Indian film actress and model, who predominantly appears in Tamil films. Following a stint in modelling, she was cast in starring roles in two low-profile Telugu productions, before gaining attention with her critically acclaimed performance as Anandhi in Kattradhu Thamizh , for which...
- Anuja IyerAnuja IyerAnuja Iyer is an Indian actress and model who works in the Tamil film industry. She made her acting debut in the low budget horror flick Sivi and became noted for her performances in Ninaithale Inikkum and Unnaipol Oruvan...
- BharathBharathBharath is an Indian actor, who appears in Tamil films. He is probably best known for his critically acclaimed performances in Kaadhal, Pattiyal, Veyil and Kanden Kadhalai.-Early life:...
- Ganesh VenkatramanGanesh VenkatramanGanesh Venkatraman is an Indian film actor and model. He rose to fame following his performances in films such as The Angrez, Abhiyum Naanum and Unnaipol Oruvan.-Early life:Ganesh was born and raised in Mumbai. His roots are in Tamil Nadu...
- Harris JayarajHarris JayarajHarris Jayaraj is an Indian film composer. He has written scores and soundtracks for Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films.- Early life :Harris Jayaraj hails from a pious Christian Nadar family and was born and brought up in Chennai. Harris studied at Krishnaswamy Matric School, Nungambakam. His father,...
- JaiJai (actor)Jai is a Tamil film actor. He is best known for his performances and appearances in the films Chennai 600028, Subramaniapuram and Engeyum Eppodhum. He is the nephew of music director Deva. Srikanth Deva is his cousin....
- Jayam RaviJayam RaviJayam Ravi is an Indian film actor. Ravi has appeared in films including Jayam, M. Kumaran Son Of Mahalakshmi, Unakkum Enakkum, Santhosh Subramaniam and Thillalangadi all of which have been directed by his brother, M...
- John Vijay
- KannanR. KannanR. Kannan is an Indian filmmaker and screenwriter. He made his directorial debut with the Tamil film Jayamkondaan starring Vinay Rai and Bhavana in 2008.-Career:...
- Karthi
- KrishKrish (singer)Vijay Balakrishnan popularly known by his stage name, Krish, is a Tamil playback singer. Other than working with reputable Indian film composers, including Harris Jayaraj, A. R...
- Madhan KarkyMadhan KarkyMadhan Karky Vairamuthu is an Southindian software engineer, research associate, lyricist, and film dialogue writer. He is better known as the son of poet and lyricist Vairamuthu. He is also an assistant professor of computer science at the College of Engineering, Guindy.-Early life and...
- NarainNarain (actor)Narain is an Indian film actor, who appears in Malayalam and Tamil films.- Personal life:Narain was born in Thrissur, Kerala to Malayali parents. His father is Ponnani Kizhakke Kalathil T.M.Ramakrishnan Nair and his mother is Shantha Nair...
- Peter HeinPeter HeinPeter Hein is a Stunt director, action director, action co-ordinator who did his job for many South Indian Motion Pictures. He was born in Chennai to Vietnamese immigrants and settled down in Chennai. He started his career as Extra Stunt boy, Assistant fight master for many number of Telugu and...
- Rima KallingalRima KallingalRima Kallingal is an Indian model and film actress, predominantly appearing Malayalam films. After being named First Runner Up in the Miss Kerala 2008 contest, she went to pursue a career in acting...
- Sanjana Singh
- M. SasikumarM. SasikumarM. Sasikumar is a Tamil film director, actor and producer. He is best known in the Tamil film industry for his debut film Subramaniapuram...
- ShivaShiva (actor)Shiva is an Indian film actor, starring in Tamil films, and a radio jockey with the radio station Radio Mirchi. Acting mainly as a comedian, he rose to fame following his performances in the Venkat Prabhu directorials Chennai 600028 and Saroja....
- Suriya
- Tamannaah Bhatia
Production
Casting
Initially the film was rumored to have Karthi in the lead. However, it was later officially announced that Silambarasan Rajendar would play the lead in the film, but was later replaced by Jeeva. The lead female role was initially supposed to be enacted by Tamannaah Bhatia, who was replaced by actress Radha'sRadha (actress)
Udaya Chandrika, better known by her screen name Radha is an Indian actress popular in the 80s and early 90s. She has acted in numerous movies with top actors of the South Indian cinema such as Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan , Sathyaraj, Prabhu, Vijayakanth, Chiranjeevi, Karthik, Suresh, Mohan,...
daughter, Karthika Nair
Karthika Nair
Karthika Nair |Josh]] opposite Naga Chaitanya. She rose to fame starring in her second and her first successful tamil film Ko opposite Jeeva.-After birth:...
. The trailer of this film was played during Manmadan Ambu and got a favourable response.
Filming
The film was shot on location in Chennai, HarbinHarbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
as well as in Western Norway at Trolltunga
Trolltunga
Trolltunga is a piece of rock that stands horizontally out of the mountain above Skjeggedal in Odda, Norway.To get to Trolltunga visitors need to go to Odda, then to Skjeggedal via Tyssedal. Previously, a trolley car transported visitors the first 950 metres above sea level during the summer...
, Stalheim
Stalheim
Stalheim is a village in the municipality Voss in the county Hordaland, Norway. The view from Stalheim is known from several paintings, in particular Johan Christian Dahl's painting Fra Stalheim from 1842....
, Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
and Prekestolen, becoming the first Tamil film to be shot in Norway.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack is scored by Harris JayarajHarris Jayaraj
Harris Jayaraj is an Indian film composer. He has written scores and soundtracks for Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films.- Early life :Harris Jayaraj hails from a pious Christian Nadar family and was born and brought up in Chennai. Harris studied at Krishnaswamy Matric School, Nungambakam. His father,...
, who had previously worked with Anand on Ayan
Ayan (film)
Ayan is a 2009 Tamil action thriller film written and directed by K. V. Anand. The film, starring Surya, Prabhu, Tamannaah and Akashdeep Saighal in lead roles, was produced by M. Saravanan and M. S. Guhan, while distribution handled by Sun Pictures. The film score was composed by Harris Jayaraj,...
. The composition of the songs took place in Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
. During Diwali
Diwali
Diwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
2010 a short teaser was released which featured the song "Enamo Aedho
Enamo Aedho
Enamo Aedho is a song from the 2011 Tamil feature film Ko, composed by Harris Jayaraj and performed by Aalap Raju. The song, with lyrics predominatly by Madhan Karky, was released as part of the soundtrack album of the film on 19 January 2011...
" which received a high response. Another song, "Aga Naga", featured special appearances by several Tamil film personalities, including composer Jayaraj (see under cast). The album was launched on 19 January 2011 in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
.
Critical response
The soundtrack did not fare well with music critics. C. Karthik from Behindwoods.com gave 2.5/5 writing: "Overall, Harris has tried to re-create the Ayan magic in KV Anand's latest and has achieved it to an extent [...] There are a couple of songs that give bragging rights to Harris but the others fail to scale the same height. Ko is worth having in your personal collection!" Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff gave a 2/5 citing that "aside from the sweetly melodious Ennamo Edho, the other numbers are all mish-mashed versions of his earlier hits." Indiaglitz said "Ko's music is vivacious with different genres of romantic songs, hip hop and nevertheless even poetic."Release
Ko released in nearly 230 theatres in Tamil NaduTamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, making it Jeeva's biggest wide release. It is also being released in multiplexes across metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Vadodara with English subtitles to attract the non-Tamil audience.Ayngaran International released the movie on DVD and releasing soon on Blu-ray.
Critical reception
The film opened to mostly positive reviews. Behindwoods.com gave three out of five and the verdict "a stylish commercial entertainer!", while also lauding the performances of the lead artists. SifySify
Sify Technologies Limited is an Internet service provider established in 1998, based in Chennai, India.-Company profile:...
cited that "for an audience numbed by predictable Kollywood potboilers week after week, here is an original offering from KV Anand, a fearless filmmaker who doesn't insult your intelligence. He is able to cater to the needs of both the elite as well as mass audiences, which should be applauded." Pavithra Srinivasan from Rediff also gave three out of five saying that Ko was a "spicy ride", further citing that "with its basic plot of politics, it has enough twists and turns to keep you occupied. Best of all are the light touches of sarcasm and humour that make it work. Go for it." She also appreciated Ajmal in particular, labelling him as the "surprise package" who had got "a lot of scope to perform, and makes use of the opportunity well." Malathi Rangarajan from The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
described the film as a "tale with a realistic twist" and praised Anand who "strikes gold with Ko. Blending the commercial with the realistic is a challenge, but K. V. Anand proves adept at it." Times Chennai gave 65/100 and stated that "You feel empathy, rage, helplessness, and triumph at every step of the way". Indiaglitz said that "Racy all through, it is a movie that is worth a watch, if you are really not bothered about logic at certain places", while stating that Jeeva was "impressive and played his part exceedingly well." N. Venkateswaran from The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
gave three and a half citing: "With Ko, director Anand gives notice of his immense talent once again, making a movie that is all set to lord over the box office this summer".
Nevertheless, the film also fetched scattered mixed to negative response. Nowrunning.com rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stating that "Ko staggers throughout, pretending to take risks and after the first misstep; it's nothing but a free fall, all the way. The funny thing is the free fall isn't a smooth ride either. It hits every protruding rock." National Film Award-winning critic, Baradwaj Rangan wrote that "If someone wants to make a case for the abolishment of song and dance from our cinema, Ko would be Exhibit A." He also went on to state that "Ko is a series of big scenes with no transitions, no segues, no scenes that just stop to smell the scenery." A critic from Chennai Online said "The way Naxalite movement is portrayed only betrays the director’s poor knowledge about them. Some of the heroic elements are quite unwarranted and clichéd. Those in the field will vouch for the fact that no journalist in today’s world gets the kind of freedom as the protagonist in our film gets. The political chess game too has been poorly portrayed and lacks imagination. The climax is ridiculous and too long."
Box office
Ko collected 5 crore during its first two days of screening. In Chennai, it collected 73.39 lakhs in the opening weekend. After 9 weeks, it collected 7.99 crore in ChennaiChennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
. Ko successfully completed 100 days and declared as a "Blockbuster" hit by trade and media. The film, made on a budget of 15 crore is estimated to have grossed over 50 crore.
The Telugu version, Rangam was also declared successful, with distributors organizing celebrations in Tirupati on its 100th day of theatrical run.