Kolai (transl. Murder) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language psychological thriller film directed by Balaji K. Kumar.[1][2] The film stars Vijay Antony, Ritika Singh, and Meenakshi Chaudhary.[3][4] The film's music is composed by Girishh G.[5][6][7] The film was released on 21 July 2023. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb.[8]
| Kolai | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Balaji K. Kumar |
| Written by | Balaji K. Kumar |
| Starring | Vijay Antony Ritika Singh Meenakshi Chaudhary |
| Cinematography | Sivakumar Vijayan |
| Edited by | R. K. Selva |
| Music by | Girishh G. |
Production companies | Infiniti Film Ventures Lotus Pictures |
| Distributed by | Sakthi Film Factory |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editA singer and model Leila was murdered in her own apartment.The rest is a classic whodunit with potential suspects the boyfriend Sathish, modelling friend Arjun, a bombay Marketing Agent Aditya Kaushik and a thief Babloo.
Cast
edit- Vijay Antony as Vinayak
- Meenakshi Chaudhary as Leila Borkar
- Ritika Singh as Sandhya Mohanraj
- Radhika Sarathkumar as Rekha
- Rajeev Shresta as Babloo
- Murali Sharma as Adithya Koushik
- Siddhartha Shankar as Sathish
- M. R. Kishore Kumar as Babloo
- John Vijay as Mansoor Ali Khan
- Arjun Chidambaram as Arjun Vasudev
- Anand as DCP Tilak Varma
- Samkit Bohra as Vinoth
- Yamuna Chinnadurai as Vinayak's wife
- Sivakumar as Constable Marudhu
- Sharmila Thapa as Mekala
- Amruth Kalam as Balram
- Kodangi Vadivel as Marimuthu
- Mamathi Chari as Dr. Kanchana
- Manasvi Kottachi as Yamini
- Prarthana as Ammu
Production
editProduction for the film began in 2018 and entered post-production in October 2021.[9][10] The film is based on true incident of Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters that happened in New York in 1923 and according to the director is a palimpsest of the film Another Life (2001).[10]
Soundtrack
edit| Kolai | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 2023 | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 21:06 | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Girishh G. chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| Kolai – Full Jukebox on YouTube | ||||
The music was composed by Girishh G.,[11] collaborating with the director for the second time after Vidiyum Munn. The song "Paartha Nyabagam Illayo" was remixed and included in the film.[12]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Neerkumizho" | Karthik Netha | Sid Sriram | 4:19 |
| 2. | "Yaar Nee" | Girishh G. | Anjana Rajagopalan, M. S. Krsna | 4:06 |
| 3. | "Nesam Maruma" | Mohan Rajan | Anjana Rajagopalan | 3:23 |
| 4. | "Kelvi Mattum Thangudhey" | Kaber Vasuki | Pradeep Kumar | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Paartha Nyabagam Illayo" | Kannadasan | Shreya Ghoshal | 5:05 |
| Total length: | 21:06 | |||
Reception
editJanani K of India Today rated with 1.5/5 stars and wrote that "In an attempt to give the murder mystery a stylised treatment, the story of 'Kolai' is compromised. Hence, there is no desired impact while watching the film".[13] Kirubhakar Purushothaman of Indian Express rated the film with 1.5/5 stars and wrote "Kolai ends up being a plastic film that is shallow and uninteresting."[14] A critic from The Hindu wrote that "Despite all the quirky cinematic techniques on show, Balaji Kumar's film, starring Vijay Antony and Ritika Singh, only comes across as a staple whodunit with no attempt to subvert anything".[15] The Times of India rated the film 3/5 stars and stated as "An interesting yet slow-paced murder mystery thriller".[16]
References
edit- ^ "'Every Murder Has A Flaw', Says Vijay Antony In 'Kolai'". Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ "Vijay Antony's Kolai trailer promises an intriguing murder mystery". The Times of India. 16 August 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ "Kolai Trailer: Vijay Antony, Ritika Singh starrer murder mystery looks interesting". www.moviecrow.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ "Vijay Antony and Ritika Singh solve a murder mystery in 'Kolai'". The Times of India. 7 April 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ Kollywood, Only (18 August 2022). "Kolai Trailer: Vijay Antony's next looks like a highly stylized investigative drama". Only Kollywood. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ "Kolai trailer: Vijay Antony nails the role of a smart detective in this imperfect murder mystery". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ "Pa Ranjith shares intriguing trailer of Vijay Antony's Kolai. Watch video". India Today. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
- ^ "Vijay Antony scores biggest disaster in his career". TrackTollywood. 24 July 2023. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ "Prasanna, Andrea, and Madonna in Vidiyum Munn director's next?". The Times of India. 23 April 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
- ^ a b Chandar, Bhuvanesh (25 October 2021). "Director Balaji Kumar: Kolai is inspired by a real-life incident". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Kolai (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP by Girishh Gopalakrishnan, Karthik Netha & Mohan Rajan". 10 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023 – via music.apple.com.
- ^ "Kolai review: A plastic murder mystery". 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ "Kolai Review: It's style over substance for Vijay Antony's murder mystery". India Today. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ "Kolai review: A plastic murder mystery". 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
- ^ "'Kolai' movie review: An unflattering murder-mystery that prioritises style over substance". The Hindu. 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023 – via www.thehindu.com.
- ^ "Kolai Movie Review : An interesting yet slow-paced murder mystery thriller". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.