Vaanam
Encyclopedia
Vaanam is an Indian Tamil drama film
written and directed by Krish
. A remake of his 2010 Telugu
film Vedam
, the film features an ensemble cast
of Silambarasan, Bharath
, Anushka Shetty
, Prakash Raj
and Saranya
. The score and soundtrack were composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja
, while cinematography and editing were handled by Nirav Shah
and Anthony Gonsalves
, respectively.
Vaanam is an anthology film
; the story revolves around five individuals from different walks of life, representing the five natural elements
—sky, air, water, fire and earth —and illustrates how their fates intertwine on New Year's Eve
at a hospital in Chennai
. The film, jointly produced by Ganesh Janardhanan and R. Ganesh and distributed by Dayanidhi Azhagiri's Cloud Nine Movies
, was released on April 29, 2011, and received critical acclaim.
area in Chennai
. He bemoans his poverty and wishes to become rich by marrying his girlfriend Priya (Jasmin Bhasin
). He cons her into believing he is well off, and adopts a well-bred persona in front of her. Raja is always accompanied by his best friend Seenu (Santhanam) and guided by Bhajan
singer Ganesh (VTV Ganesh). When he is asked by Priya to buy high-priced passes to a New Year's Eve
gala, he finds himself severely short of money. After a failed attempt at chain snatching and crossing paths with the police, he heads to a hospital with theft on his mind.
Bharath Chakravarthy (Bharath
) is an aspiring rockstar from Bangalore
, who is irresponsible but well-meaning. His mother disapproves of his dreams and wishes him to become an army officer, which he opposes. When his band misses their flight to a live concert because of him, he takes them to Chennai
via road. En route, Bharath and his girlfriend Laasya (Vega Tamotia
) are attacked by religious fanatics, but are aided by strangers, which causes him to reflect on life. They finally arrive in Chennai, but their vehicle collides with an auto-rickshaw carrying a pregnant woman. Sacrificing their concert, Bharath and Laasya rush her to the hospital.
Saroja (Anushka
) is a prostitute working at Rani Amma's brothel at the Tamil Nadu
-Andhra
border. When she discovers that her life is constantly in danger while working there, she escapes to Chennai with her co-worker Karpooram (Nikki), a eunuch, in hopes of starting her own business venture. On arrival, she is hounded by both thugs and policemen, ultimately being led into a trap. In an ensuing fight, Karpooram is mortally wounded. Desperate, Saroja carries her to the hospital.
Rahim (Prakash Raj
) and his wife Zara (Sonia Agarwal
) had lost their unborn twins in a communal riot in Coimbatore
. When Zara becomes pregnant again a few months later, Rahim heads to Chennai to locate his younger brother who had run away following the riots. There, he comes into repeated conflict with anti-Muslim officer Shivaram (Ravi Prakash), who suspects him of being a terrorist. Despite his claims of innocence, Rahim is brutally assaulted by the cop, and admitted in the hospital under close watch.
Lakshmi (Saranya
) is the daughter-in-law of a poor weaver in Thoothukudi
. When the weaver is unable to pay back a loan to a cruel money lender ('Kadhal' Dhandapani), the latter kidnaps Lakshmi's young son, a bright student, and refuses to release him until his debt is cleared. Lakshmi arrives in Chennai with her father-in-law, hoping to sell her kidney
to obtain the money. After initial hassles, she undergoes the operation and receives the money, although it is still insufficient. At that point, Cable Raja enters and steals the cash from her, ignoring her pleas. In a state of despair, Lakshmi and her father-in-law contemplate suicide.
Struck by his conscience, Raja is unable to continue his plan. He admits the truth to Priya and returns the money, even giving up some of his own money, gaining Lakshmi's forgiveness. Meanwhile, Rahim discovers that terrorist leader Mansoor Khan (Jayaprakash
) and his gang are planning to kill all the people at the hospital. Rahim tries to escape, but on seeing Bharath wheeling in a pregnant woman, he is reminded of his wife and offers to help them. The terrorist strike begins and several people are shot dead. Raja, Bharath, Rahim and Saroja lead a small bunch of survivors to an abandoned room.
Cable Raja and Bharath fights and kill a terrorist one-on-one. While Bharath sustaining multiple bullet wounds to his shoulder in order to save Saroja. Rahim saves Shivaram from a shooter and comes face to face with his brother, who is part of the terrorist gang. When confronted, Rahim's brother shoots himself. Just then, Mansoor Khan reveals himself to be a human bomb, and primes himself to explode. Cable Raja sacrifices himself by throwing himself and Khan out the window, and dies in the explosion.
In the aftermath, Bharath has lost his hand but is alive; he is hailed as a national hero. Saroja and Karpooram head toward a new decent life, hoping to find redemption. Lakshmi pays off the money lender and gives her son a proper education. Rahim is asked forgiveness by Shivaram, which he grants, and accepts him as his brother. Cable Raja is mourned by the people in his community, and Priya as well, and Ganesh and Seenu hail him as a martyr
.
in the original film, while either Namitha or Anushka Shetty
were reported to essay the lead female role of Saroja. However, to the surprise of all, Silambarasan bagged the lead role, who had seen the original version and was immediately impressed by the "Cable" Raju character, and started shooting for the film from early July, while he was expected to work on Podaa Podi
during that period. By accepting this film, Silambarasan was said to have lost the project
with N. Linguswamy
and Dayanidhi Azhagiri, who were unhappy about Silambarasan starting to shoot for this film without informing them and further delaying their film.
Meanwhile, Anushka was reported to have denied the offer, following which Taapsee Pannu
, who was the female lead in Vetrimaran
's Aadukalam, was considered for the prostitute character, Saroja. During the launch of the film then, sources claimed that Anushka, following her refusal, had been roped in by the producers for an item number
only, which was specially included for the Tamil version and didn't feature in the original, for which she was supposedly paid an "exorbitant price". However, Anushka dismissed all these reports and eventually confirmed that she would reprise her role from the original, citing that "at no point did I refuse to be a part of this project". Mohan Babu
's son Manoj Manchu
was also supposed to reprise his original character and enact the rockstar role in Vaanam, but was forced to opt out, following an accident during the shoot of his Telugu film Jhummandi Naadam
and had to undergo an operation. He was replaced by Bharath
, who was approached by Silambarasan himself for the role and immediately agreed as he loved Vedam
".
For the character essayed by Deeksha Seth in the original, Sneha Ullal
was initially roped in. She was to make her Tamil debut with this film and play Silambarasan's love interest. Vega Tamotia
was roped in to essay a rock musician, played originally by Lekha Washington
, being paired opposite Bharath, while producer Ganesh would appear in a cameo role, too. In September 2010, Sonia Agarwal
was also signed up for a pivotal role, returning to acting after four years, replacing Siya Gautham as Zara, the wife of Prakash Raj's character, which she was initially supposed to play in the original version itself, but eventually missed due to personal problems. Compared to the original, however, she cited that she would have more scenes and one "extra song". Prakash Raj himself, would play a Muslim, enacting Manoj Bajpai
's role from the original. Noted Telugu actor Ravi Prakash was roped in to play the same role he did in the original version, making his Tamil film debut. However there was a turn of events in early 2011, as Sneha Ullal, who had already shot for significant portions, was replaced by Delhi
-based model Jasmin Bhasin
. Jasmin, who completed her portions in 15 days and also dubbed
for herself, had initially auditioned for the rock musician role of Vega Tamotia. Furthermore, scenes shot with Jagan were removed from the project, and then filmed with Santhanam after Jagan had fallen out with Silambarasan.
.com's critic felt the film was "very good", citing that the "this short story genre [...] manages to work well for the new age audience. Almost all the stories are deftly told, with the mandatory twist in the climax which keeps you riveted". The reviewer further praised the director and his team as they "push the cinematic envelope and bring savvy freshness to Tamil cinema". A reviewer from Indiaglitz.com wrote that Vaanam was a "novel attempt in Tamil cinema and Krish pulls it off well thanks to a beautifully conceived script and well-written characters", comparing the film to "reading a set of interesting short stories". A Oneindia critic claimed that "the first half was entertaining and the second half makes the audience to sit on the edge of their seats", while pointing out that "the common and mass audiences could not understand the story because of its clumsy nature". Krish was labelled as the "real hero" of the film and was lauded for "writing a ripping story, excellent screenplay and brilliant direction".
Malathi Rangarajan from The Hindu
said "Pithy, poignant, funny and serious as the situation warrants, dialogue (Gnanagiri) is a highpoint of Vaanam. Climax is another. Krish seems to have cut and pasted a few scenes from the Telugu original — they give a dubbed-film feel to Vaanam. Coming after the stupendous hit, VTV, Vaanam should be another significant film in STR's career."
In contrast, Rohit Ramachandran of nowrunning.com gave the film one out of five, stating that "Vaanam is an unrealistic film about uninteresting people that deadlocks into blandness." National Film Award winning critic Baradwaj Rangan wrote that his "glass-half-full side wants to deliver a smallish pat on Vaanam’s back and label it [...] a "praiseworthy attempt", especially within mainstream parameters", while the "glass-half-empty side" was "still shaking angry fists at what could have and should have been a milestone", criticizing that "half the story strands are simply not interesting enough".
The film grossed 71,05,586 at the Chennai
box office in its first weekend, notably without much publicity. At the end of its seventh week, the film had collected 4.50 crores in Chennai alone and was declared 'above average'. The film crossed 100 days in Chennai.
s score, Yuvan Shankar Raja
was approached and assigned as the music director of Vaanam to produce original songs and score, owing to his friendship with lead actor Silambarasan, who recommended him. In a novel attempt, the song "Evan Di Unna Pethan
" was separately released as a single track
to promote and popularize the film. The track was initially planned to be launched in London
, but after several complications and delays, it was officially unveiled on November 28, 2010 at the Citi Center, Chennai
, four months ahead of the actual audio launch.
While the original soundtrack consisted of eight tracks, the Vaanam soundtrack featured only five tracks, including the earlier released single. The entire soundtrack album was finally launched on 21 March 2011 at the The Residency Towers in Chennai in a simple manner. Na. Muthukumar
had penned lyrics for three songs, while the other two songs ("Evan Di Unna Pethan" and "Cable Raja") were penned by the singers themselves. Film composer Srikanth Deva
had lent his voice for the fifth song, collaborating with Yuvan Shankar for the first time, as did the composer-duo Abhishek-Lawrence.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by Krish
Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi
Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi , also known as Krish is an Indian film director, in the Telugu film industry. He made his directorial debut in 2008 with Gamyam and followed it up with Vedam in 2010, with both the films garnering widespread critical acclaim and fetching him the Filmfare Award for Best...
. A remake of his 2010 Telugu
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...
film Vedam
Vedam (film)
Vedam is a 2010 Telugu drama film written and directed by Krish, starring Allu Arjun, Manoj Kumar Manchu, Anushka Shetty, Manoj Bajpai,Saranya Ponvannan, Deeksha Seth, Lekha Washington, and Siya Gautham. The film was critically acclaimed, received several accolades including four Filmfare Awards...
, the film features an ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
of Silambarasan, Bharath
Bharath
Bharath 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:...
, Anushka Shetty
Anushka Shetty
Anushka Shetty is an Indian film actress who works mainly in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. She debuted in the 2005 Telugu film Super and rose to fame following her performance in Vikramarkudu...
, Prakash Raj
Prakash Raj
Prakash 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...
and Saranya
Saranya Ponvannan
Saranya Ponvannan, is an Indian film actress, who has predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. Saranya made her debut in a lead role in Mani Ratnam's Nayagan and went on to play lead roles in a few films during the late 1980s...
. The score and soundtrack were composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer, singer and occasional lyricist. He has predominantly scored music for Tamil as well as several Telugu films. His musical career began in 1996, at age 16, as he composed the film score for Aravindhan...
, while cinematography and editing were handled by Nirav Shah
Nirav Shah
Nirav Shah is an acclaimed Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of major box office hits in Hindi and Tamil since his debut with the 2004 Hindi film Paisa Vasool.-Career:...
and Anthony Gonsalves
Anthony (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...
, respectively.
Vaanam is an anthology film
Anthology film
An anthology film is a feature film consisting of several different short films, often tied together by only a single theme, premise, or brief interlocking event . Sometimes each one is directed by a different director...
; the story revolves around five individuals from different walks of life, representing the five natural elements
Five elements
Five elements may refer to: In philosophy: *Five elements *Mahabhuta*Pancha Tattva *Five elements In science:*Boron, element 5*Group 5 element*Period 5 element-See also:...
—sky, air, water, fire and earth —and illustrates how their fates intertwine on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
at a hospital 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...
. The film, jointly produced by Ganesh Janardhanan and R. Ganesh and distributed by Dayanidhi Azhagiri's Cloud Nine Movies
Cloud Nine Movies
Cloud Nine Movies is a Tamil film production and distribution company, based in Chennai. It is owned by Dayanidhi Azhagiri and Vivek Rathinavel and was founded in 2008.-History:...
, was released on April 29, 2011, and received critical acclaim.
Plot
Cable Raja (Silambarasan) is a cable operator born and raised in a slumSlum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
area 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...
. He bemoans his poverty and wishes to become rich by marrying his girlfriend Priya (Jasmin Bhasin
Jasmin Bhasin
Jasmin Bhasin is an Indian Model and actress. Jasmin is a professional model based in New Delhi recently moved to Mumbai.She made her film debut in the Tamil film Vaanam as part of an ensemble cast, playing a "fresh-out-of-college girl" and love interest of the main lead character essayed by...
). He cons her into believing he is well off, and adopts a well-bred persona in front of her. Raja is always accompanied by his best friend Seenu (Santhanam) and guided by Bhajan
Bhajan
A Bhajan is any type of Indian devotional song. It has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan or as sophisticated as the dhrupad or kriti with music based on classical ragas and talas. It is normally lyrical, expressing love for the Divine...
singer Ganesh (VTV Ganesh). When he is asked by Priya to buy high-priced passes to a New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
gala, he finds himself severely short of money. After a failed attempt at chain snatching and crossing paths with the police, he heads to a hospital with theft on his mind.
Bharath Chakravarthy (Bharath
Bharath
Bharath 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:...
) is an aspiring rockstar from Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, who is irresponsible but well-meaning. His mother disapproves of his dreams and wishes him to become an army officer, which he opposes. When his band misses their flight to a live concert because of him, he takes them to 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...
via road. En route, Bharath and his girlfriend Laasya (Vega Tamotia
Vega Tamotia
Vega Tamotia is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is probably best known for her performances as Saroja in the same-titled film, and Sobikannu in Pasanga...
) are attacked by religious fanatics, but are aided by strangers, which causes him to reflect on life. They finally arrive in Chennai, but their vehicle collides with an auto-rickshaw carrying a pregnant woman. Sacrificing their concert, Bharath and Laasya rush her to the hospital.
Saroja (Anushka
Anushka Shetty
Anushka Shetty is an Indian film actress who works mainly in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. She debuted in the 2005 Telugu film Super and rose to fame following her performance in Vikramarkudu...
) is a prostitute working at Rani Amma's brothel at the 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...
-Andhra
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
border. When she discovers that her life is constantly in danger while working there, she escapes to Chennai with her co-worker Karpooram (Nikki), a eunuch, in hopes of starting her own business venture. On arrival, she is hounded by both thugs and policemen, ultimately being led into a trap. In an ensuing fight, Karpooram is mortally wounded. Desperate, Saroja carries her to the hospital.
Rahim (Prakash Raj
Prakash Raj
Prakash 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...
) and his wife Zara (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...
) had lost their unborn twins in a communal riot in Coimbatore
Coimbatore
Coimbatore , also known as Kovai , is the second largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a major commercial centre in Tamil Nadu and is known as the "Manchester of South India"....
. When Zara becomes pregnant again a few months later, Rahim heads to Chennai to locate his younger brother who had run away following the riots. There, he comes into repeated conflict with anti-Muslim officer Shivaram (Ravi Prakash), who suspects him of being a terrorist. Despite his claims of innocence, Rahim is brutally assaulted by the cop, and admitted in the hospital under close watch.
Lakshmi (Saranya
Saranya Ponvannan
Saranya Ponvannan, is an Indian film actress, who has predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. Saranya made her debut in a lead role in Mani Ratnam's Nayagan and went on to play lead roles in a few films during the late 1980s...
) is the daughter-in-law of a poor weaver in Thoothukudi
Thoothukudi
Thoothukudi , also known as Tuticorin, is a port city and a Municipal Corporation in Thoothukudi district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Thoothukudi is the headquarters of Thoothukudi District....
. When the weaver is unable to pay back a loan to a cruel money lender ('Kadhal' Dhandapani), the latter kidnaps Lakshmi's young son, a bright student, and refuses to release him until his debt is cleared. Lakshmi arrives in Chennai with her father-in-law, hoping to sell her kidney
Organ donation
Organ donation is the donation of biological tissue or an organ of the human body, from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplantation. Transplantable organs and tissues are removed in a surgical procedure following a determination, based on the donor's medical and...
to obtain the money. After initial hassles, she undergoes the operation and receives the money, although it is still insufficient. At that point, Cable Raja enters and steals the cash from her, ignoring her pleas. In a state of despair, Lakshmi and her father-in-law contemplate suicide.
Struck by his conscience, Raja is unable to continue his plan. He admits the truth to Priya and returns the money, even giving up some of his own money, gaining Lakshmi's forgiveness. Meanwhile, Rahim discovers that terrorist leader Mansoor Khan (Jayaprakash
Jayaprakash
Jayaprakash is an Indian film actor and producer. He ventured into film business in the early 2000s as a producer, making several films under his banner GJ Cinema and later turned actor, with Cheran's 2007 film, Mayakannadi...
) and his gang are planning to kill all the people at the hospital. Rahim tries to escape, but on seeing Bharath wheeling in a pregnant woman, he is reminded of his wife and offers to help them. The terrorist strike begins and several people are shot dead. Raja, Bharath, Rahim and Saroja lead a small bunch of survivors to an abandoned room.
Cable Raja and Bharath fights and kill a terrorist one-on-one. While Bharath sustaining multiple bullet wounds to his shoulder in order to save Saroja. Rahim saves Shivaram from a shooter and comes face to face with his brother, who is part of the terrorist gang. When confronted, Rahim's brother shoots himself. Just then, Mansoor Khan reveals himself to be a human bomb, and primes himself to explode. Cable Raja sacrifices himself by throwing himself and Khan out the window, and dies in the explosion.
In the aftermath, Bharath has lost his hand but is alive; he is hailed as a national hero. Saroja and Karpooram head toward a new decent life, hoping to find redemption. Lakshmi pays off the money lender and gives her son a proper education. Rahim is asked forgiveness by Shivaram, which he grants, and accepts him as his brother. Cable Raja is mourned by the people in his community, and Priya as well, and Ganesh and Seenu hail him as a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
.
Cast
- Silambarasan as Cable Raja
- 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:...
as Bharath Chakravarthy - Anushka ShettyAnushka ShettyAnushka Shetty is an Indian film actress who works mainly in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. She debuted in the 2005 Telugu film Super and rose to fame following her performance in Vikramarkudu...
as Saroja - 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 Rahim - Saranya PonvannanSaranya PonvannanSaranya Ponvannan, is an Indian film actress, who has predominantly appeared in Tamil language films. Saranya made her debut in a lead role in Mani Ratnam's Nayagan and went on to play lead roles in a few films during the late 1980s...
as Lakshmi - Santhanam as Seenu
- Sonia AgarwalSonia AgarwalSonia Agarwal is an Indian film actress and model. Having predominantly acted in Tamil films, she is probably best known for her performances as Divya...
as Zara Rahim - Vega TamotiaVega TamotiaVega Tamotia is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is probably best known for her performances as Saroja in the same-titled film, and Sobikannu in Pasanga...
as Laasya - Jasmin BhasinJasmin BhasinJasmin Bhasin is an Indian Model and actress. Jasmin is a professional model based in New Delhi recently moved to Mumbai.She made her film debut in the Tamil film Vaanam as part of an ensemble cast, playing a "fresh-out-of-college girl" and love interest of the main lead character essayed by...
as Priya - Ganesh as "Bajna" Ganesh
- Radha RaviRadha RaviRadha Ravi is a Tamil film and television actor, who played supporting roles throughout his career. He is the son of yesteryear actor, M. R. Radha and the uncle of Vasu Vikram and halfbrother of Raadhika Sarathkumar. He is a chief member of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association...
as Police Officer - JayaprakashJayaprakashJayaprakash is an Indian film actor and producer. He ventured into film business in the early 2000s as a producer, making several films under his banner GJ Cinema and later turned actor, with Cheran's 2007 film, Mayakannadi...
as Mansoor Khan - Ravi Raghavendra
- Ravi Prakash as Shivaram
- Kadhal Thandapani as Narasimman
- BrahmanandamBrahmanandamBrahmanandam Kanneganti is an Indian actor, commonly appearing in Telugu films. He was born into a Viswakarma gold smith family. He holds Guinness World Record for acting in the most number of films in a single language. He was starred in over 900 films till date. He is noted for Physical comedy...
as Bhairavan - Nikki as Karpooram
- KrishRadhakrishna JagarlamudiRadhakrishna Jagarlamudi , also known as Krish is an Indian film director, in the Telugu film industry. He made his directorial debut in 2008 with Gamyam and followed it up with Vedam in 2010, with both the films garnering widespread critical acclaim and fetching him the Filmfare Award for Best...
in a cameo appearance
Casting
After Tamil producer R. B. Choudary had bought the rights of Vedam for a "hefty amount" to remake it in Tamil, his younger son Jeeva was initially supposed to play the role enacted by Allu ArjunAllu Arjun
Allu Arjun is an Indian film actor known for his work in Telugu cinema. He has won two Nandi, two Filmfare and a CineMAA Award for his performances in Arya, Parugu and Vedam.-Personal life:...
in the original film, while either Namitha or Anushka Shetty
Anushka Shetty
Anushka Shetty is an Indian film actress who works mainly in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. She debuted in the 2005 Telugu film Super and rose to fame following her performance in Vikramarkudu...
were reported to essay the lead female role of Saroja. However, to the surprise of all, Silambarasan bagged the lead role, who had seen the original version and was immediately impressed by the "Cable" Raju character, and started shooting for the film from early July, while he was expected to work on Podaa Podi
Podaa Podi
Podaa Podi is an upcoming Indian Tamil romance-comedy film written and directed by debutant Vignesh Shivan, featuring Silambarasan, Shobana and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar in the lead roles, while Meena Latchman playing a pivotal role and director Gautham Menon playing a cameo role...
during that period. By accepting this film, Silambarasan was said to have lost the project
Vettai
Vettai is an upcoming Indian Tamil action film written and directed by N. Linguswamy, that stars Madhavan, Arya, Sameera Reddy and Amala Paul in the lead roles. The film revolves around two brothers settled in Thoothukudi, with the elder one working as a police officer...
with N. Linguswamy
N. Linguswamy
N. Linguswamy is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, working primarily in Tamil cinema based in Chennai. He made his directorial debut with the family-drama Aanandham in 2001 and followed it up with the highly successful action films Run , Sandakozhi , Bheema and Paiyaa...
and Dayanidhi Azhagiri, who were unhappy about Silambarasan starting to shoot for this film without informing them and further delaying their film.
Meanwhile, Anushka was reported to have denied the offer, following which Taapsee Pannu
Taapsee Pannu
Taapsee Pannu better known mononymously as Taapsee, is an Indian model-turned-film actress who works mainly in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. Born to a Punjabi family, Taapsee worked as a software professional and also pursued a career in modelling before becoming an actress...
, who was the female lead in Vetrimaran
Vetrimaran
Vetrimaaran is a Tamil film director, working primarily in the Tamil film industry based in Tamil Nadu. He made his directorial debut with the critically acclaimed Polladhavan . His second feature film Aadukalam won six National Film Awards, with Vetrimaaran receiving two awards for Best...
's Aadukalam, was considered for the prostitute character, Saroja. During the launch of the film then, sources claimed that Anushka, following her refusal, had been roped in by the producers for an item number
Item number
An item number or an item song, in Indian cinema, is a musical performance that has little to do with the film in which it appears, but is presented to showcase beautiful dancing women in very revealing clothes, to lend support to the marketability of the film...
only, which was specially included for the Tamil version and didn't feature in the original, for which she was supposedly paid an "exorbitant price". However, Anushka dismissed all these reports and eventually confirmed that she would reprise her role from the original, citing that "at no point did I refuse to be a part of this project". Mohan Babu
Mohan babu
Mohan Babu is an actor & producer in Telugu Cinema. He is a former Member of Parliament - Rajya Sabha and Educationist from Andhra Pradesh...
's son Manoj Manchu
Manoj Manchu
Manoj is an Indian actor. He is the younger son of Mohan Babu. He did his bachelors degree from Southeastern Oklahoma State University.Manoj is familiar to Telugu audience right from his childhood. He played many roles as a child artist in his own banner movies when his father Mohan Babu is shown...
was also supposed to reprise his original character and enact the rockstar role in Vaanam, but was forced to opt out, following an accident during the shoot of his Telugu film Jhummandi Naadam
Jhummandi Naadam
Jhummandi Naadam is a 2010 Telugu film produced by Lakshmi Manchu and directed by veteran K. Raghavendra Rao. The film stars Manoj Manchu and Taapsee Pannu in the lead roles and Mohan Babu in a supporting role. The film has music scored by M.M. Keeravani...
and had to undergo an operation. He was replaced by Bharath
Bharath
Bharath 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:...
, who was approached by Silambarasan himself for the role and immediately agreed as he loved Vedam
Vedam (film)
Vedam is a 2010 Telugu drama film written and directed by Krish, starring Allu Arjun, Manoj Kumar Manchu, Anushka Shetty, Manoj Bajpai,Saranya Ponvannan, Deeksha Seth, Lekha Washington, and Siya Gautham. The film was critically acclaimed, received several accolades including four Filmfare Awards...
".
For the character essayed by Deeksha Seth in the original, Sneha Ullal
Sneha Ullal
Sneha Ullal is an Indian film actress who has appeared in Tollywood and Bollywood films. She is best known for her role in the Telugu film Ullasamga Utsahamga and Simha.-Personal life and education:...
was initially roped in. She was to make her Tamil debut with this film and play Silambarasan's love interest. Vega Tamotia
Vega Tamotia
Vega Tamotia is an Indian film actress and model, who has appeared in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is probably best known for her performances as Saroja in the same-titled film, and Sobikannu in Pasanga...
was roped in to essay a rock musician, played originally by 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...
, being paired opposite Bharath, while producer Ganesh would appear in a cameo role, too. In September 2010, 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...
was also signed up for a pivotal role, returning to acting after four years, replacing Siya Gautham as Zara, the wife of Prakash Raj's character, which she was initially supposed to play in the original version itself, but eventually missed due to personal problems. Compared to the original, however, she cited that she would have more scenes and one "extra song". Prakash Raj himself, would play a Muslim, enacting Manoj Bajpai
Manoj Bajpai
Manoj Bajpai , also credited as Manoj Bajpayee, is an Indian film actor, known for playing offbeat and unconventional roles. He first shot into fame with his breakthrough role in Ram Gopal Varma's 1998 film Satya.-Early life:...
's role from the original. Noted Telugu actor Ravi Prakash was roped in to play the same role he did in the original version, making his Tamil film debut. However there was a turn of events in early 2011, as Sneha Ullal, who had already shot for significant portions, was replaced by Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
-based model Jasmin Bhasin
Jasmin Bhasin
Jasmin Bhasin is an Indian Model and actress. Jasmin is a professional model based in New Delhi recently moved to Mumbai.She made her film debut in the Tamil film Vaanam as part of an ensemble cast, playing a "fresh-out-of-college girl" and love interest of the main lead character essayed by...
. Jasmin, who completed her portions in 15 days and also dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
for herself, had initially auditioned for the rock musician role of Vega Tamotia. Furthermore, scenes shot with Jagan were removed from the project, and then filmed with Santhanam after Jagan had fallen out with Silambarasan.
Critical response
Vaanam garnered generally very positive critical response. Behindwoods.com rated it as three and a half out of five, citing that the film was "succulent with diverse complex human emotions from deceit to greed to rage to remorse. The film has a plot that can find patrons among wider variety of audience as the theme of humanity is much a catholic one that transcends barriers", going to describe the film as an "intelligent fare with substance". Rediff's Pavithra Srinivasan rated it as three out of five and stated that Vaanam was "engaging", further adding that "if you ignore the minor lapses, you've got a reasonably engaging story, and a moving climax." SifySify
Sify Technologies Limited is an Internet service provider established in 1998, based in Chennai, India.-Company profile:...
.com's critic felt the film was "very good", citing that the "this short story genre [...] manages to work well for the new age audience. Almost all the stories are deftly told, with the mandatory twist in the climax which keeps you riveted". The reviewer further praised the director and his team as they "push the cinematic envelope and bring savvy freshness to Tamil cinema". A reviewer from Indiaglitz.com wrote that Vaanam was a "novel attempt in Tamil cinema and Krish pulls it off well thanks to a beautifully conceived script and well-written characters", comparing the film to "reading a set of interesting short stories". A Oneindia critic claimed that "the first half was entertaining and the second half makes the audience to sit on the edge of their seats", while pointing out that "the common and mass audiences could not understand the story because of its clumsy nature". Krish was labelled as the "real hero" of the film and was lauded for "writing a ripping story, excellent screenplay and brilliant direction".
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...
said "Pithy, poignant, funny and serious as the situation warrants, dialogue (Gnanagiri) is a highpoint of Vaanam. Climax is another. Krish seems to have cut and pasted a few scenes from the Telugu original — they give a dubbed-film feel to Vaanam. Coming after the stupendous hit, VTV, Vaanam should be another significant film in STR's career."
In contrast, Rohit Ramachandran of nowrunning.com gave the film one out of five, stating that "Vaanam is an unrealistic film about uninteresting people that deadlocks into blandness." National Film Award winning critic Baradwaj Rangan wrote that his "glass-half-full side wants to deliver a smallish pat on Vaanam’s back and label it [...] a "praiseworthy attempt", especially within mainstream parameters", while the "glass-half-empty side" was "still shaking angry fists at what could have and should have been a milestone", criticizing that "half the story strands are simply not interesting enough".
Box office
The film grossed 71,05,586 at the 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...
box office in its first weekend, notably without much publicity. At the end of its seventh week, the film had collected 4.50 crores in Chennai alone and was declared 'above average'. The film crossed 100 days in Chennai.
Soundtrack
While Krish worked with composer M. M. Keeravani for VedamVedam (film)
Vedam is a 2010 Telugu drama film written and directed by Krish, starring Allu Arjun, Manoj Kumar Manchu, Anushka Shetty, Manoj Bajpai,Saranya Ponvannan, Deeksha Seth, Lekha Washington, and Siya Gautham. The film was critically acclaimed, received several accolades including four Filmfare Awards...
s score, Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer, singer and occasional lyricist. He has predominantly scored music for Tamil as well as several Telugu films. His musical career began in 1996, at age 16, as he composed the film score for Aravindhan...
was approached and assigned as the music director of Vaanam to produce original songs and score, owing to his friendship with lead actor Silambarasan, who recommended him. In a novel attempt, the song "Evan Di Unna Pethan
Evan Di Unna Pethan
"Evan Di Unna Pethan" is a song by Indian artist and film composer Yuvan Shankar Raja. A part of the soundtrack album to the 2011 film Vaanam, it was released as a single track on 28 November 2010, in order to promote the film...
" was separately released as a single track
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
to promote and popularize the film. The track was initially planned to be launched in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, but after several complications and delays, it was officially unveiled on November 28, 2010 at the Citi Center, 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...
, four months ahead of the actual audio launch.
While the original soundtrack consisted of eight tracks, the Vaanam soundtrack featured only five tracks, including the earlier released single. The entire soundtrack album was finally launched on 21 March 2011 at the The Residency Towers in Chennai in a simple manner. Na. Muthukumar
Na. Muthukumar
Na. Muthukumar is a Tamil poet and lyricist, who writes lyrics for Tamil film songs.-Career:Muthukumar began his career wanting to be a director and worked under Balu Mahendra for four years. But then he became a lyricist, beginning with the lyrics for the songs of the Tamil film Veera Nadai,...
had penned lyrics for three songs, while the other two songs ("Evan Di Unna Pethan" and "Cable Raja") were penned by the singers themselves. Film composer Srikanth Deva
Srikanth Deva
Srikanth Deva is a music director of Tamil films. He made his debut as music director in the Tamil movie Doubles in 2000. He is the son of Tamil music director Deva.-Biography:...
had lent his voice for the fifth song, collaborating with Yuvan Shankar for the first time, as did the composer-duo Abhishek-Lawrence.