Silambattam (film)

Plot

Vichu (Silambarasan) is a quiet village priest brought up by his maternal grandfather (Nedumudi Venu). Owing to specific reasons, the caring elder has purposefully toned down (Simbu uses his eyes to convey the inner quietude of Vichu) the young boy's emotional quotient and has taught him a peculiar art of living. As a result, Vichu is soft-spoken, passive and is groomed to tolerate all sorts of malicious misdemeanors aimed at him. Vichu assists his grandfather in carrying out the religious rituals as well as being the care-taker of the temple. Vichu's only consolation comes in the company of his sweetheart Janu (Sana Khan). Janu's kiddish jokes and teasing remarks make up for all the precious and youthful moments he has missed in his growing-up years.

Though Vichu abides by his elder's advice, an incident in the temple premises reveals his real persona. On the particular day, Vichu witnesses a big band of ruffians bashing a seemingly meek individual. Becoming furious at the sight of the power-play, Vichu gets into the tussle and saves the victim. But, as the man takes a hard look at his saviour face, he is stunned! What is the secrecy in Vichu's past? How does it intimidate the stranger?

Cut to a flashback, there is a huge clash between the two village groups headed by Muthuvel (Prabhu) and Veeraiyan (Ponvannan). Reason? Veeriayan claims back every bit of land he has donated to the landless and poor villagers whereas Muthuvel and his brother Tamizharasan (Silambarasan) oppose his order. In the violent power-struggle, too many people die. It includes the fervent activist Tamizh, his dear wife Gayathri (Sneha) and Veeraiyan himself. Veeraiyan stabs himself and says that Tamizh stabbed him to death. The police come in search of Tamizh but he is missing in the house. He is with Gayathri on that night in a goods train. Tamizh is produced before court and as he was missing on that night, he is doubted and granted punishment. But Gayathri intervenes and says that she spent that night along with Tamizh on that train. She says that they behaved like how a husband & wife would be in each other's company. It's proven and Tamizh is released. Only Veeraiyan's last son Duraisingham (Kishore of Polladhavan fame) and Muthuvel are spared in the tragedy. The burning intensity of the mishap stays alive in Duraisingham's heart and Muthuvel is another witness to the past. What happens next? Duraisingam enters Muthuvel's house and kills everyone including Tamizh. A large group of rowdies enter and kill the rest. It is revealed that Gayathri escapes to her father's home and later, dies giving birth to Vichu. The rest of the film is about Vichu settling the long-term dispute and explaining the situation to his grandfather.

Cast

Development

In September 2007, early indications suggested that Lakshmi Movie Makers were set to make a film starring T. R. Silambarasan directed by Saravanan. Simbu confirmed the project and stating that he had put on weight and grew a beard for his participation in the project. Following the flop of Kaalai, Silambarasan started immediately to commencing his shoot for the film. The film was launched at AVM Studios on 7 December 2007. Silambattam was 25th film for "Lakshmi Movie Makers". The 40-member unit consisting of Silambarasan, director Saravanan, cameraman Mathi, action choreographer Kanal Kannan and a few stunt men from Chennai began their first schedule for a 10-day stint.

The crew shot schedules in Theni and Ooty and various other locations in South India during the filming. The film finished its talkie portion in early September 2008, and the song were canned in India as well as parts of Sri Lanka. The film, initially described as a "musical action comedy".

Casting

Following the announcement of the project, Kajal Aggarwal was rumoured to be the heroine, following her successful role in Pazhani. However, due to differences, Kajal was ousted from the project due to her limited callsheets. However other indications claimed that Kajal was ousted from the project, even Bhavana and Shriya were considered for the role. Then Sneha replaced Kajal Agarwal. Sana Khan was introduced as the other heroine of the project. Nedumudi Venu was selected to play the role of the grandfather of Silambarasan, whilst Prabhu Ganesan was given a chance to make a cameo appearance in the film as Silambarasan's uncle. Supporting actors Santhanam, Karunaas and Premji Amaren also play roles in Silambattam. For a particular sequence, Simbhu donned the costume of Billa. Meenakshi of "Karuppusaamy Kuthagaithaarar" fame has roped in for a single song.

Filming

Simbhu was dancing for a song sequence at Pollachi but due to his misfortune he sustained sprain injury in his ankle leading to the cancellation of the shooting. He was immediately rushed to a local hospital where he was administered treatment and was advised for the next couple of days. Some scenes for Silambattam were shot in a small village called Thirukadaiyur near Kumbakonam district. Since the shooting in Thirukadaiyur is over, the Silambattam troop has now moved to Thiruvaiaru which is near Thirukadaiyur for shooting the next part. A grand set has been erected to depict a 'thiruvizha' scene and shooting is going on day and night. For a song sequence, a set was put up for a cost of Rs. 70 lakhs and it was picturized for 10 days. Yesteryear actress Sangita, who married Saravanan, helped her husband on Silambattam shooting.

Soundtrack

The music of Silambattam was scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja. Initially Dhina was roped in as the composer, before Silambarasan opted for his friend Yuvan Shankar Raja, with whom he has often worked together and has given very successful albums. The soundtrack was released on 20 October 2008, and features 5 songs, whilst lyrics were penned by 'Kavignar' Vaali, Gangai Amaran, Na. Muthukumar, Earl, Suzie Q. and Silambarasan himself. Already before the audio launch, three preview songs of the film were released online, "Nallamdhana", "Silambattam" and "Where is the Party". The songs from the albums were released in late September to four leading FM stations in Chennai, with one song per station, in attempt to popularize it before the official launch.

After the release, the songs gained much popularity especially among youth, with "Where is the Party" in particular, topping the charts for several weeks. The song and also the album featured in Top 10 lists, too. The album got three awards at the Isaiaruvi Tamil Music Awards 2008 in the categories, Sensational Youth Album, Crazy Song of the Year ("Where Is The Party") and Best Remix Song of the Year ("Vechikkava").

Release

The satellite rights of the film were sold to Kalaignar. The film was given a "U/A" certificate by the Indian Censor Board. Originally scheduled to release on Diwali, but due to post-production works it was postponed to 12 December 2008.

Special screenings

Silambarasan had a special screening with Ajith Kumar. Later Vijay was also invited to a screening. On Sunday, 21 December 2008, the cast and crew of Silambarasan's next film Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya also watched this film on a special screening.

Critical reception

Nowrunning wrote: "There is nothing to write home about in this routine film except that it is a wasted attempt by Silambarasan". Sify wrote: "Silambattam is a typical mass masala entertainer. It is another 'Formulaic' film revolving around a larger than life hero, who romances, does comedy". Hindu wrote: "What begins as a fairly suspenseful narrative dwindles into a run-of-the-mill line post-interval. Tales of vendetta have been churned out ever so many times". Kollywood today wrote: "On the whole, Silambattam is a flick that is better to avoid watching".

Awards