Bagavathi is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language gangster action film written and directed by A. Venkatesh, starring Vijay and Reema Sen. Jai (in his film and acting debut), Vadivelu, Ashish Vidyarthi, K. Viswanath, and Yugendran play supporting roles, while Deva composed the music for the film. The movie was released on 4 November 2002 during Diwali. The film was a commercial decent hit at the box office.[2] The film was remade in Kannada as Kashi from Village (2005)[3] and in Bengali Bangladesh as Teji Purush (2004).
| Bagavathi | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | A. Venkatesh |
| Written by | A. Venkatesh Pattukkottai Prabakar (Dialogues ) |
| Screenplay by | A. Venkatesh |
| Story by | A. Venkatesh |
| Produced by | K. Muralidharan V. Swaminathan G. Venugopal |
| Starring | Vijay Reema Sen |
| Cinematography | R. Rathnavelu |
| Edited by | V. T. Vijayan |
| Music by | Deva |
Production companies | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 164 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹4 crore |
| Box office | ₹20.50 crore[1] |
Plot
editBagavathi owns a tea shop, while Vadivelu, works at his tea shop. Bagavathi lives with his younger brother Guna. He meets a girl named Anjali. She ends up appreciating his kindness, and they fall in love. Guna has a girlfriend named Priya, with whom he secretly develops a physical relationship. Guna's love is objected to by Priya's father, Easwarapandiyan. Bagavathi tries to convince Easwarapandiyan to let Priya and Guna marry, but is humiliated. Guna attempts to marry Priya with his brother's help, but Easwarapandiyan kills Guna, as well as Bagavathi's friend Anand, who is trying to defend Guna.
Bagavathi mourns over Guna's death. Guna, in his last moments, promises he will be with his brother forever. After Guna's death, everyone realises that Priya is pregnant. Bagavathi thinks that Guna will be reborn. However, Easwarapandiyan attempts to kill the child before birth. Bagavathi challenges him, saying the child will touch the earth. To do so, Ganga helps him turn into a gangster. With the help of Anjali and Vadivelu, Bagavathi overcomes all hurdles by Easwarapandiyan and manages to protect Priya to allow for the safe birth of his brother's child. In the end, Bagavathi avenges the death of his brother by killing Easwarapandian.
Cast
edit- Vijay as Bagavathi
- Reemma Sen as Anjali
- Jai as Guna, Bagavathi's brother
- Monica as Priya
- Vadivelu as Vadivelu and Vibration
- Ashish Vidyarthi as Easwarapandiyan MP, Priya's father
- Yugendran as Anand, Childhood friend of Bagavathi
- Ponnambalam as Vibuthi Ganesan
- Ramji as Ashok
- Thalaivasal Vijay as Ganga
- K. Vishwanath as Chief Minister
- Seema as District Judge, Anjali's mother
- Sathyapriya as Priya's mother
- Ilavarasu as Singamuthu MP
- Singamuthu as Nattamai
- Benjamin as Perumal
- Vimalraj as Henchman
- Bayilvan Ranganathan as Traffic Police
- Citizen Mani as Cyclist
- Robo Chandru
- V. Swaminathan (special appearance)
- Vasanthi (special appearance in "Allu Allu")[4]
Production
editLakshmi Movie Makers initially started the project Unnai Ninaithu with Vijay directed by Vikraman; however Vijay left that film due to creative differences, with Suriya replacing him and the production company instead started a new project Bhagavathi with A. Venkatesh directing.[5] Venkatesh selected a newcomer, Jai, to play the role of Guna after seeing him at Jai's uncle, Deva's, recording studio, noting Jai's resemblance to Vijay.[6] The film was shot at various locations including Chennai, Nellore, Araku Valley, Vishakhapatnam with two songs picturised at Sydney, Australia.[5] Prior to the title being confirmed as Bagavathi, the maker considered the title Namma Aalu.[7]
Soundtrack
editThe soundtrack consists of six songs composed by Deva.[8] The song "Kai.. Kai.." is based on the song "Raanu Raanu" from Telugu film Jayam.[citation needed] Deva composed twelve tunes out of which the film's director chose six tunes.[9]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "July Malargale" | Pa. Vijay | Karthik, Sadhana Sargam | 4:45 |
| 2. | "Achamillai" | Snehan | Shankar Mahadevan | 3:43 |
| 3. | "Kai... Kai.." | Kalai Kumar | Shankar Mahadevan, Anuradha Sriram | 4:19 |
| 4. | "Saiyo Saiyo" | Na. Muthukumar | Timmi, Sadhana Sargam | 5:23 |
| 5. | "Allu Allu" | Vaali | Udit Narayan | 5:20 |
| 6. | "Coca Cola (Podango Podango)" | Kalai Kumar | Vadivelu, Vijay | 4:19 |
| Total length: | 27:49 | |||
Release and reception
editBagavathi was released in Diwali alongside Villain.[10] The film was released in Malaysia under the title Pasupathy.[11] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 37 out of 100.[12] Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote "The film that seemed to move at an interesting pace makes a nosedive in the climax [..]".[13] Deccan Herald wrote "The film lacks a storyline and turns out to be a dull affair after the second half with the director focussing more on the main character instead of the script".[14] Indiainfo wrote, "The film starts off well but ends in a very predictable manner. That's the major itch. The film could have been better if Venkatesh focused on screenplay".[15] Cinesouth wrote "Vijay's affection for his younger brother and Vadivelu's comedy are the two things that save the film. Otherwise, the film has all the ingredients that his recent half baked films had".[16]
References
edit- ^ "விஜய் – ரீமா சென் நடிப்பில் வெளியாகி சூப்பர் ஹிட்டான 'பகவதி'… இப்படத்தின் மொத்த வசூல் இத்தனை கோடியா?". Filmy Focus (in Tamil). 28 March 2022. Archived from the original on 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Bagavathi box office successful producer passes away due to COVID". The Hindu. 10 August 2020. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Kashi from village". Sify. 4 April 2005. Archived from the original on 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Calling Agent Tina: Vasanthi on her journey from dance assistant to Vikram's ferocious spy". News9live. 7 June 2022. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
- ^ a b ""Bhagavathi"". Dinakaran. 25 October 2002. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ Kumar, S. R. Ashok (18 December 2010). "My First Break: Jai". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ "Hotnews!". Cinesouth. 22 July 2002. Archived from the original on 13 December 2003. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ^ "Bagavathi". Gaana. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
- ^ Rasika (31 October 2002). "Best of songs". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 17 December 2002. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Adding glamour to Deepavali". The Hindu. 1 November 2002. Archived from the original on 4 July 2003. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
- ^ "New Movies". New Media Online. Archived from the original on 9 March 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ^ சார்லஸ், தேவன் (22 June 2021). "பீஸ்ட் : 'நாளைய தீர்ப்பு' டு 'மாஸ்டர்'... விஜய்க்கு விகடனின் மார்க்கும், விமர்சனமும் என்ன? #Beast". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (7 November 2002). "Bhagavathy". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 23 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Film Reviews". Deccan Herald. 29 December 2002. Archived from the original on 3 October 2003. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
- ^ "BHAGAVATHY - Masala Mix film". Indiainfo. Archived from the original on 10 December 2002. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
- ^ "Bagavathy". Cinesouth. Archived from the original on 1 December 2002. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
