Chikku Bukku

Plot

Arjun (Arya), a London-based disc jockey, leads a happy life. Also there is Anu (Shriya Saran), who completes her MBA in a London university. One day, Arjun is forced to come to his native village in Karaikudi to ensure that his ancestral property is not sold. Also Anu too is forced to come to Madurai to meet her father who is injured in an accident. The two strangers meet in a train. There begins their journey towards their respective destinations. Meanwhile, a diary of Arjun's father pops out from his bag. He browses through it to understand his dad's love life. In flashback, the movie goes back to 1985. It is revealed that Sekar (Arya) returns to his village after getting selected as a Police.

He falls in love with Meena (Preetika Rao). But when their romance is revealed, Sekar's family resists the relationship due to class differences. A dejected Sekar leaves to begin training as a police officer. There he becomes acquainted with Ammaiappan (Anoop kumar), a young colleague. He comes to know that Ammayappan is in love with his uncle's daughter. A sequence of events reveals that both men love the same girl Meena. Returning to the film's contemporary setting, we find that Arjun and Anu after crossing several hurdles in their journey reach their respective houses. They then realise that they have fallen for each other. Meanwhile, the film employs a Deus Ex Machina, in the form of Anu’s father, to ensure all story arcs are resolved. When Anu's father Ammaiappan realiases that Anu is in love with Sekar's son he immediately approves of their relationship. It is implied that Anu and Arjun are then to stay together.

Cast

Production

Following the success of Mediaone's previous venture, Dhaam Dhoom (2008), the production house opted to invest in another Tamil language production. They associated their interest with director Manikandan, who had worked in completing Dhaam Dhoom after the original director Jeeva had suffered a heart attack and died during the shooting in 2007. Manikandan along with Aneez Jeeva, the late director's wife, completed the film under the production of Metro Films. Chikku Bukku was announced to the general public on 10 February 2009.

With the initial announcement, the cast was revealed. Arya, who had enjoyed critical and commercial success with his role of an aghori in Naan Kadavul, was signed up for his second successive love story after completing his shoot for Sarvam. Vidya Balan was earlier being considered to play the main female lead in the film but she was unavailable due to earlier commitments. hence Preetika, the younger sister of Hindi actress Amrita Rao, was chosen in her place. Preetika who has been a model and a journalist-columnist will make her film industry debut in Chikku Bhukku. Touted to be a triangular love subject, Genelia D'Souza was considered for a third lead role in the film as well, however, a week after the announcement of the film, it was revealed that Shriya Saran had replaced Genelia in the film, due to the latter's insistence for a relatively high salary. R. B. Gurudhev was selected as cinematographer, while Hariharan and Lesle Lewis operated as the music directors for their second film, following Modhi Vilayadu.

Filming bagan in February 2009, with a 22-day schedule in Karaikudi being completed immediately after with Arya and Preetika. Shriya Saran began her shoot in April 2009. Other filming sites included the South Indian hill resort Ooty, London, and Tiruchirapalli International Airport.

Release

The satellite rights of the film were secured by STAR Vijay. On 16 November 2010, the film was given a "U" certificate by the Indian Censor Board.Chikku Bukku sold 2 million tickets worldwide. The release date was confirmed as 3 December 2010, following several postponements. It was released in 300 theatres worldwide. The film gained average reviews from critics, with a reviewer from Rediff stating "Chikku Bukku could have been a neat romantic tale, but the journey breaks down too much to ever hold your attention for long", concluding it as "tedious". Behindwoods offered a similar review, though stated "On the dot, if there is one perfect reason to get you intact with the show, the brilliant visuals stand out as a substantial ingredient." The Hindu stated "Chikku Bukku is a neat film that moves on parallel tracks, before the lines meet and culminate in a joyous climax. And though guessable, the narration sustains your interest. A feel-good romance!"