Unnale Unnale
Encyclopedia
Unnale Unnale is a 2007 Tamil musical romance film. Directed and co-written by Jeeva
and produced by Oscar Ravichandran its stars Vinay Rai
, Sadha
and Tanisha Mukherjee
in the lead roles. Raju Sundaram
and Lekha Washington
, prominent actors from the south Indian film industry, played the roles of the lead character's friends in the film.
The film revolves around the aftermath of a relationship between a careless man and a serious woman. Despite being in a relationship, the latter walks out on the former due to his antics with other women. However, the man changes his ways and on a business trip to Melbourne
, he encounters another woman. This other woman's personal assistant turns out to be the man's former lover. The events that follow and who the man eventually gets together with form the crux of the story.
The film opened to Indian audiences after several delays, on 14 April 2007, coinciding with the Tamil New Year. Despite receiving mixed reviews on the actors' performances, the film went on to win the box office battle on Tamil New Year's Day and become a major hit at the South Indian box office. Owing to its success, it was later dubbed into the Telugu language
as Neevalle Neevalle.
) and a woman – interviewing civilians' thoughts on love
and the opposite sex. After a mixture of answers, they cease their questions and the credits roll. The credits end as a boy, after being rejected by his girlfriend, commits suicide by jumping onto a passing car. Karthik (Vinay Rai
) walks off disturbed to his girlfriend Jhansi's (Sadha
) office. There, he is criticized by her for his antics with other women and his lack of passion for their love. She walks off, ending their relationship.
Karthik is then shown as a civil engineer in Chennai
, still playful and fun-loving. Accepting a request from his manager to go on a business trip to Melbourne
, he bids farewell to his friends (Raju Sundaram
and Satish). On the plane, he encounters a playful, flirtatious girl, Deepika (Tanisha Mukherjee
), whom he sits next to during the flight. After spending hours together, they become good friends and exchange details. However, by coincidence, Deepika is travelling to Melbourne to work in the same company as Jhansi, who is settled there. Together they seem to conveniently bump into Karthik at every corner, prompting an unwelcome reunion for Jhansi and Karthik.
While Deepika takes a liking to Karthik, Jhansi still ignores him, even though Karthik has ambitions of getting back together. At a restaurant, Karthik bumps into a fellow Tamilian (Srinath
) and explains his love for Jhansi. The story then moves two years back for a flashback of events. Karthik had met Jhansi at a festival at a temple, where she played a prank on Karthik and his friends. Taking a liking to her, Karthik begins to follow Jhansi intentionally, hoping for her to fall in love with him. Soon after this happens, she becomes more and more suspicious of Karthik. This comes to a head when Karthik acts as the boyfriend of his friend's (Raju Sundaram
) girlfriend, Pooja, (Paloma Rao
), only for Jhansi to get confused and mistake him. His reputation as a trusting boyfriend takes another turn for the worse, when at a wedding, the bride (Lekha Washington
) gives him a kiss after he improvises a song.
As the pair have a love-hate relationship, the break-up beckons when Jhansi sends her friend (Vasundra) undercover to go flirt with Karthik, however, he lies claiming he was at home ill, prompting Jhansi to end their relationship. At the end of the flashback, Srinath suggests to Karthik, that its more important to move on than think regretfully and Karthik gets over his relationship with Jhansi. However, finding out about Deepika's love towards Karthik, Jhansi becomes jealous and reinstates her love for Karthik. Soon, as she sees Deepika and Karthik's compatibility and understanding her faulty, she finally understands what went wrong in their relationship. Then, Karthik tells her through a meaningful conversation that he still loves her, not Deepika. After this, Jhansi run away to Sydney anonymously.
At the end of the film, the male interviewer who appeared at the start questions Jhansi on her decision to leave anonymously, however she refuses to answer, at first. Later, she replies that though she still loves Karthik, she was unable to understand Karthik well. She knew it would not work out and she did not want to hurt Karthik further, thus becoming the sole reason for her departure. She then confirms that she met up with Deepika recently, and had found that she is married to Karthik and has a child. She then walks away, claiming her future lies in her own hands and she is happy the way she is now.
had directed three films, 12B, Ullam Ketkumae
and Run
, a Hindi film. Unnale Unnale became his last finished film prior to his death on the sets of his next film, Dhaam Dhoom
.
The film was originally announced under the title of July Kaatril (In the Winds of July) with a scheduled casting of Arya
, Sonia Agarwal
and Parvati Melton
. However all three of the proposed lead cast opted out of the film. Agarwal cited that her marriage was on the cards and she would find it difficult to sign on for a year, whilst the other two were unable to star in the film due to undisclosed reasons.
In an interview, Jeeva, said "Romance always finds a special place in Tamil films. My new film July Kaatril is also about love", confirming it was a romantic flick. While Harris Jayaraj
was signed on as the music director with Kavignar Vaali
and Pa. Vijay assisting him with the lyrics, Jeeva's wife, Aneez, debuted as a costume designer.
, after Arya
opted out, as Karthik was due to some similarities with the character. Vinay made his debut into the film industry after modelling and featuring in a couple of Tulu
advertisements. However, they finalised the choice of the actor only after the script was ready. The choice of Sadha
was more difficult and since Anniyan
she had received many negative reviews and the film became important to rekindle her success. The role of Deepika went to Tanisha Mukherjee
, who despite being a leading heroine's sister (Kajol
), she was yet to maintain a hit film. Mukherjee, came down to South India
to look for new opportunities and attracted the producer into signing her on. She immediately expressed her satisfaction with the character and consented for the role. The camaraderie that the lead actors shared during the filming, added on to their good performances. Raju Sundaram
and Satish were picked for their dancing skills while actresses Paloma Rao
, Lekha Washington
, Aravind Akash
and Vasundra all played floating cameos in the film.
The film was mostly shot in Melbourne
, Australia overlooking the Melbourne Docklands
. The climax was shot in Sydney
while the beginning and the flashback was picturized in various cities across South India
. For the film's music and soundtrack, Jeeva renewed his previous association (12B and Ullam Ketkumae) with Harris Jayaraj
. Playback singer, Chinmayi
dubbed for Tanisha Mukherjee
,
and Arputha Theevu
on Tamil New Year's Day, 14 April 2007. Owing to the success of the film, the number of reels grew to about hundred, it was estimated that the film garnered about 40 crores in India. The film completed 100 days of screening in the theaters in the state of Tamil Nadu
. In local parlance, this is considered to be one of the measures for a film's success. The reception in Malaysia was equally successful and was released in six major metropolis
es for up to 9 weeks, the film collected $114,883 (then approximately 5 million) within its 50 day run.
but describe Tanisha Mukherjee
's and Vinay Rai
's performances as mediocre, while the reviewers at SearchIndia.com contradict the statement, praising Tanisha and criticizing the other pair. The film made business for Vinay, who signed up to many films after the project.
all around the world. It is available in 16:9 Anamorphic widescreen
, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, progressive
24 FPS
, widescreen
and NTSC
format.
with the lyrics primarily penned by Vaali
and Pa. Vijay. The audio of the film released nationwide on 24 January 2007, three months prior to the movie release. The Soundtracks where highly acclaimed and won "Youthfull album of the year" award from "Tamil Music Awards".
Jeeva (director)
Jeeva was a popular cinematographer and film director in Tamil cinema.-Career:The four completed films he directed, namely 12B, Run , Ullam Ketkumae and Unnale Unnale, have become blockbusters. He died after suffering acute cardiac arrest in Russia on 25 June at the age of 43...
and produced by Oscar Ravichandran its stars Vinay Rai
Vinay Rai
Vinay Rai is an Indian film actor, commonly appearing in Tamil films, as well as modelling and catwalking in noted fashion shows. His mother tongue is Tulu.- Career :...
, Sadha
Sadha
Sadhaf Mohammed Syed , better known as Sadha, is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films. Her most notable films include Jayam, Anniyan and Unnale Unnale.-Personal:...
and Tanisha Mukherjee
Tanisha Mukherjee
Tanisha , also known as Tanisha, is a Hindi, Telugu and Tamil actress.-Family background:Tanisha is an Indian actress of Bengali–Marathi descent. Tanisha comes from a prominent industry family, which has been working in Bollywood since the 1940s...
in the lead roles. Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram is a Kollywood cine artiste who acts, directs, and choreographs for films. He is an eldest son of dance master Mugur Sundar, and elder brother to Prabhu Deva and Nagendra Prasad.-Birth:...
and Lekha Washington
Lekha Washington
Lekha Washington is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu films and Kannada language films...
, prominent actors from the south Indian film industry, played the roles of the lead character's friends in the film.
The film revolves around the aftermath of a relationship between a careless man and a serious woman. Despite being in a relationship, the latter walks out on the former due to his antics with other women. However, the man changes his ways and on a business trip to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, he encounters another woman. This other woman's personal assistant turns out to be the man's former lover. The events that follow and who the man eventually gets together with form the crux of the story.
The film opened to Indian audiences after several delays, on 14 April 2007, coinciding with the Tamil New Year. Despite receiving mixed reviews on the actors' performances, the film went on to win the box office battle on Tamil New Year's Day and become a major hit at the South Indian box office. Owing to its success, it was later dubbed into the Telugu language
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
as Neevalle Neevalle.
Plot
The film opens with two people – a man (Aravind AkashAravind Akash
Aravind Akash is an Indian actor who has acted in TV shows as well as Tamil and Malayalam films.-Career:...
) and a woman – interviewing civilians' thoughts on love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
and the opposite sex. After a mixture of answers, they cease their questions and the credits roll. The credits end as a boy, after being rejected by his girlfriend, commits suicide by jumping onto a passing car. Karthik (Vinay Rai
Vinay Rai
Vinay Rai is an Indian film actor, commonly appearing in Tamil films, as well as modelling and catwalking in noted fashion shows. His mother tongue is Tulu.- Career :...
) walks off disturbed to his girlfriend Jhansi's (Sadha
Sadha
Sadhaf Mohammed Syed , better known as Sadha, is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films. Her most notable films include Jayam, Anniyan and Unnale Unnale.-Personal:...
) office. There, he is criticized by her for his antics with other women and his lack of passion for their love. She walks off, ending their relationship.
Karthik is then shown as a civil engineer 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...
, still playful and fun-loving. Accepting a request from his manager to go on a business trip to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, he bids farewell to his friends (Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram is a Kollywood cine artiste who acts, directs, and choreographs for films. He is an eldest son of dance master Mugur Sundar, and elder brother to Prabhu Deva and Nagendra Prasad.-Birth:...
and Satish). On the plane, he encounters a playful, flirtatious girl, Deepika (Tanisha Mukherjee
Tanisha Mukherjee
Tanisha , also known as Tanisha, is a Hindi, Telugu and Tamil actress.-Family background:Tanisha is an Indian actress of Bengali–Marathi descent. Tanisha comes from a prominent industry family, which has been working in Bollywood since the 1940s...
), whom he sits next to during the flight. After spending hours together, they become good friends and exchange details. However, by coincidence, Deepika is travelling to Melbourne to work in the same company as Jhansi, who is settled there. Together they seem to conveniently bump into Karthik at every corner, prompting an unwelcome reunion for Jhansi and Karthik.
While Deepika takes a liking to Karthik, Jhansi still ignores him, even though Karthik has ambitions of getting back together. At a restaurant, Karthik bumps into a fellow Tamilian (Srinath
Srinath (actor)
For Malayali actor see SreenathSrinath is an Indian actor and director. He starting in drama troupes, and has transitioned to the film industry. After appearing in various television serials such as Kadhalikka Neramillai, he started to play supporting roles in films such as Ullam Ketkumae and...
) and explains his love for Jhansi. The story then moves two years back for a flashback of events. Karthik had met Jhansi at a festival at a temple, where she played a prank on Karthik and his friends. Taking a liking to her, Karthik begins to follow Jhansi intentionally, hoping for her to fall in love with him. Soon after this happens, she becomes more and more suspicious of Karthik. This comes to a head when Karthik acts as the boyfriend of his friend's (Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram is a Kollywood cine artiste who acts, directs, and choreographs for films. He is an eldest son of dance master Mugur Sundar, and elder brother to Prabhu Deva and Nagendra Prasad.-Birth:...
) girlfriend, Pooja, (Paloma Rao
Paloma Rao
Paloma Rao is a Chennai-based music VJ and actress.-Career:A graduate of B.Sc Visual Communication from Loyola College, Chennai, Paloma began her career as a theatre artist. In 2004 she become a VJ on SS Music, and hosted the popular shows First Frame, Autograph and Just Connect...
), only for Jhansi to get confused and mistake him. His reputation as a trusting boyfriend takes another turn for the worse, when at a wedding, the bride (Lekha Washington
Lekha Washington
Lekha Washington is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu films and Kannada language films...
) gives him a kiss after he improvises a song.
As the pair have a love-hate relationship, the break-up beckons when Jhansi sends her friend (Vasundra) undercover to go flirt with Karthik, however, he lies claiming he was at home ill, prompting Jhansi to end their relationship. At the end of the flashback, Srinath suggests to Karthik, that its more important to move on than think regretfully and Karthik gets over his relationship with Jhansi. However, finding out about Deepika's love towards Karthik, Jhansi becomes jealous and reinstates her love for Karthik. Soon, as she sees Deepika and Karthik's compatibility and understanding her faulty, she finally understands what went wrong in their relationship. Then, Karthik tells her through a meaningful conversation that he still loves her, not Deepika. After this, Jhansi run away to Sydney anonymously.
At the end of the film, the male interviewer who appeared at the start questions Jhansi on her decision to leave anonymously, however she refuses to answer, at first. Later, she replies that though she still loves Karthik, she was unable to understand Karthik well. She knew it would not work out and she did not want to hurt Karthik further, thus becoming the sole reason for her departure. She then confirms that she met up with Deepika recently, and had found that she is married to Karthik and has a child. She then walks away, claiming her future lies in her own hands and she is happy the way she is now.
Cast
The cast from the film was minimal, mainly focused on the three lead actors.- Vinay RaiVinay RaiVinay Rai is an Indian film actor, commonly appearing in Tamil films, as well as modelling and catwalking in noted fashion shows. His mother tongue is Tulu.- Career :...
as Karthik – A fun-loving young man who despite being a civil engineer, keeps his main intentions of attracting women. The child in his heart is released when he gets to know Jhansi. - SadhaSadhaSadhaf Mohammed Syed , better known as Sadha, is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films. Her most notable films include Jayam, Anniyan and Unnale Unnale.-Personal:...
as Jhansi – A very reserved, hypocritical and caring young woman who expects Karthik to stay loyal to her. Her dominant vivacity presents Karthik, no hope but to leave her. - Tanisha MukherjeeTanisha MukherjeeTanisha , also known as Tanisha, is a Hindi, Telugu and Tamil actress.-Family background:Tanisha is an Indian actress of Bengali–Marathi descent. Tanisha comes from a prominent industry family, which has been working in Bollywood since the 1940s...
as Deepika – A bubbly, happy-go lucky young girl, who likes the antics of Karthik unlike Jhansi, prompting her to fall in love. - Raju SundaramRaju SundaramRaju Sundaram is a Kollywood cine artiste who acts, directs, and choreographs for films. He is an eldest son of dance master Mugur Sundar, and elder brother to Prabhu Deva and Nagendra Prasad.-Birth:...
as Raju – An energetic friend to Karthik with a severe habit of ruining the situation. - Satish as Satish – A silent friend to Karthik who attempts to reconcile the relationship.
- SrinathSrinath (actor)For Malayali actor see SreenathSrinath is an Indian actor and director. He starting in drama troupes, and has transitioned to the film industry. After appearing in various television serials such as Kadhalikka Neramillai, he started to play supporting roles in films such as Ullam Ketkumae and...
as Vaidyanathan – Meets Karthik in MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and becomes an advisor to him. - Lekha WashingtonLekha WashingtonLekha Washington is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu films and Kannada language films...
as Lekha – Plays a vital cameo as a bride who kisses Karthik, further annoying Jhansi.
The key elements
The entire production of the film took about a year and a half to be completed and released. Prior to Unnale Unnale, JeevaJeeva (director)
Jeeva was a popular cinematographer and film director in Tamil cinema.-Career:The four completed films he directed, namely 12B, Run , Ullam Ketkumae and Unnale Unnale, have become blockbusters. He died after suffering acute cardiac arrest in Russia on 25 June at the age of 43...
had directed three films, 12B, Ullam Ketkumae
Ullam Ketkumae
Ullam Ketkumae is a 2005 Tamil romantic film directed and co-written by Jeeva, with dialogues by Sujatha. The film features Shaam, Arya, Laila, Asin and Pooja in the lead roles as five college students. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Harris Jayaraj, while Vairamuthu penned the...
and Run
Run (2004 film)
Run is a Hindi film released in the year 2004. It stars Abhishek Bachchan and Bhumika Chawla in the lead roles. It is directed by Jeeva and is a remake of the Tamil blockbuster starring Madhavan and Meera Jasmine. The film was produced by Boney Kapoor...
, a Hindi film. Unnale Unnale became his last finished film prior to his death on the sets of his next film, Dhaam Dhoom
Dhaam Dhoom
Dhaam Dhoom is a 2008 Tamil romantic thriller film. Directed and co-written by Jeeva shortly before his death and produced by Sunanda Murali Manohar, its stars Jayam Ravi, Kangna Ranaut and Lakshmi Rai in the lead roles...
.
The film was originally announced under the title of July Kaatril (In the Winds of July) with a scheduled casting of Arya
Arya (actor)
Arya is an Indian film actor who mainly appears in Tamil films. He is best known for his roles in the films Pattiyal , Naan Kadavul , Madrasapattinam , and Boss Engira Bhaskaran.-Personal life:...
, Sonia Agarwal
Sonia Agarwal
Sonia Agarwal is an Indian film actress and model. Having predominantly acted in Tamil films, she is probably best known for her performances as Divya...
and Parvati Melton
Parvati Melton
Parvati Melton is a tall Indian model. She acts in Telugu and Malayalam movies. She acted with Raja in the film Vennela, which turned out to be a success. She acted in the super hit Malayalam film Hallo with South Indian star Mohanlal.-Filmography:-External links:...
. However all three of the proposed lead cast opted out of the film. Agarwal cited that her marriage was on the cards and she would find it difficult to sign on for a year, whilst the other two were unable to star in the film due to undisclosed reasons.
In an interview, Jeeva, said "Romance always finds a special place in Tamil films. My new film July Kaatril is also about love", confirming it was a romantic flick. While Harris Jayaraj
Harris 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,...
was signed on as the music director with Kavignar Vaali
Vaali (poet)
Vaali is a Tamil poet and lyricist who writes Tamil poetry and film song lyrics. Most recently he has extended lyrics for a couple of songs in Engeyum Kaadhal for the music of Harris Jayaraj. He has also acted in several films, most notably Hey Ram, Parthale Paravasam and Poi Kaal Kudhirai...
and Pa. Vijay assisting him with the lyrics, Jeeva's wife, Aneez, debuted as a costume designer.
Casting, location and music
The casting of Vinay RaiVinay Rai
Vinay Rai is an Indian film actor, commonly appearing in Tamil films, as well as modelling and catwalking in noted fashion shows. His mother tongue is Tulu.- Career :...
, after Arya
Arya (actor)
Arya is an Indian film actor who mainly appears in Tamil films. He is best known for his roles in the films Pattiyal , Naan Kadavul , Madrasapattinam , and Boss Engira Bhaskaran.-Personal life:...
opted out, as Karthik was due to some similarities with the character. Vinay made his debut into the film industry after modelling and featuring in a couple of Tulu
Tulu language
The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...
advertisements. However, they finalised the choice of the actor only after the script was ready. The choice of Sadha
Sadha
Sadhaf Mohammed Syed , better known as Sadha, is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films. Her most notable films include Jayam, Anniyan and Unnale Unnale.-Personal:...
was more difficult and since Anniyan
Anniyan
Anniyan is a 2005 Tamil psychological thriller film directed by S. Shankar. The film stars Vikram, Sadha, Prakash Raj, and Vivek, while featuring background score and soundtrack composed by Harris Jayaraj. The film was released worldwide on 10 June 2005....
she had received many negative reviews and the film became important to rekindle her success. The role of Deepika went to Tanisha Mukherjee
Tanisha Mukherjee
Tanisha , also known as Tanisha, is a Hindi, Telugu and Tamil actress.-Family background:Tanisha is an Indian actress of Bengali–Marathi descent. Tanisha comes from a prominent industry family, which has been working in Bollywood since the 1940s...
, who despite being a leading heroine's sister (Kajol
Kajol
Kajol Devgn , better known as Kajol, is an Indian film actress appearing in Hindi films. She is regarded as one of India's most successful and talented female actors....
), she was yet to maintain a hit film. Mukherjee, came down to South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
to look for new opportunities and attracted the producer into signing her on. She immediately expressed her satisfaction with the character and consented for the role. The camaraderie that the lead actors shared during the filming, added on to their good performances. Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram is a Kollywood cine artiste who acts, directs, and choreographs for films. He is an eldest son of dance master Mugur Sundar, and elder brother to Prabhu Deva and Nagendra Prasad.-Birth:...
and Satish were picked for their dancing skills while actresses Paloma Rao
Paloma Rao
Paloma Rao is a Chennai-based music VJ and actress.-Career:A graduate of B.Sc Visual Communication from Loyola College, Chennai, Paloma began her career as a theatre artist. In 2004 she become a VJ on SS Music, and hosted the popular shows First Frame, Autograph and Just Connect...
, Lekha Washington
Lekha Washington
Lekha Washington is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu films and Kannada language films...
, Aravind Akash
Aravind Akash
Aravind Akash is an Indian actor who has acted in TV shows as well as Tamil and Malayalam films.-Career:...
and Vasundra all played floating cameos in the film.
The film was mostly shot in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia overlooking the Melbourne Docklands
Melbourne Docklands
Docklands is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia occupying an area extending up to 2 km west of and adjacent to Melbourne's Central Business District . Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...
. The climax was shot in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
while the beginning and the flashback was picturized in various cities across South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
. For the film's music and soundtrack, Jeeva renewed his previous association (12B and Ullam Ketkumae) with Harris Jayaraj
Harris 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,...
. Playback singer, Chinmayi
Chinmayi
Chinmayi Sripada is an Indian playback singer, singing predominantly in Tamil. She is also a voice actor in Tamil and Telugu films, and has worked as a television presenter and a radio jockey as well. She is the founder and CEO of a translation services company called Blue Elephant.-Early life and...
dubbed for Tanisha Mukherjee
Tanisha Mukherjee
Tanisha , also known as Tanisha, is a Hindi, Telugu and Tamil actress.-Family background:Tanisha is an Indian actress of Bengali–Marathi descent. Tanisha comes from a prominent industry family, which has been working in Bollywood since the 1940s...
,
Reception
Unnale Unnale was released worldwide alongside Mayakannadi, Madurai VeeranMadurai Veeran (film)
Madurai Veeran is a low budget Tamil movie.. The film is a romance-action film.The film stars Githan Ramesh and Saloni Aswani in the lead roles. The film is directed by Vincent Selvah. The score and soundtrack are composed by Srikanth Deva...
and Arputha Theevu
Arputha Theevu
Arputha Theevu is a Tamil film released on 14 April 2007 starring Prithviraj Sukumaran, Guinness Pakru and Mallika Kapoor amongst others. It is the dubbed version of Malayalam film Albudhadweep....
on Tamil New Year's Day, 14 April 2007. Owing to the success of the film, the number of reels grew to about hundred, it was estimated that the film garnered about 40 crores in India. The film completed 100 days of screening in the theaters in the state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil 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...
. In local parlance, this is considered to be one of the measures for a film's success. The reception in Malaysia was equally successful and was released in six major metropolis
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
es for up to 9 weeks, the film collected $114,883 (then approximately 5 million) within its 50 day run.
Critical acclaim and controversies
Despite its relative commercial success, the film received mixed reviews on the storyline and the performances of the actors themselves. Rediff.com praised SadhaSadha
Sadhaf Mohammed Syed , better known as Sadha, is an Indian actress who mainly appears in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada films. Her most notable films include Jayam, Anniyan and Unnale Unnale.-Personal:...
but describe Tanisha Mukherjee
Tanisha Mukherjee
Tanisha , also known as Tanisha, is a Hindi, Telugu and Tamil actress.-Family background:Tanisha is an Indian actress of Bengali–Marathi descent. Tanisha comes from a prominent industry family, which has been working in Bollywood since the 1940s...
's and Vinay Rai
Vinay Rai
Vinay Rai is an Indian film actor, commonly appearing in Tamil films, as well as modelling and catwalking in noted fashion shows. His mother tongue is Tulu.- Career :...
's performances as mediocre, while the reviewers at SearchIndia.com contradict the statement, praising Tanisha and criticizing the other pair. The film made business for Vinay, who signed up to many films after the project.
DVD
The DVD version of the film was released on 8 August 2007 in the United Kingdom. This DVD release was distributed by Ayngaran InternationalAyngaran International
Ayngaran is a film distribution and production company of Tamil films, based in the United Kingdom. The company has distributed various Indian-produced Tamil films in Europe and North America. It is also responsible for the production of Tamil films into home media, such as VHS, DVD, and blu-ray...
all around the world. It is available in 16:9 Anamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic widescreen
Anamorphic widescreen, when applied to DVD manufacture, is a video process that horizontally squeezes a widescreen image so that it can be stored in a standard 4:3 aspect ratio DVD image frame. Compatible playback equipment can then re-expand the horizontal dimension to show the original widescreen...
, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, progressive
Progressive scan
Progressive scanning is a way of displaying, storing, or transmitting moving images in which all the lines of each frame are drawn in sequence...
24 FPS
Frame rate
Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...
, widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
and NTSC
NTSC
NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...
format.
Soundtrack
The film has six songs composed 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,...
with the lyrics primarily penned by Vaali
Vaali (poet)
Vaali is a Tamil poet and lyricist who writes Tamil poetry and film song lyrics. Most recently he has extended lyrics for a couple of songs in Engeyum Kaadhal for the music of Harris Jayaraj. He has also acted in several films, most notably Hey Ram, Parthale Paravasam and Poi Kaal Kudhirai...
and Pa. Vijay. The audio of the film released nationwide on 24 January 2007, three months prior to the movie release. The Soundtracks where highly acclaimed and won "Youthfull album of the year" award from "Tamil Music Awards".