Naan Than Bala (transl. I am Bala) is a 2014 Tamil-language drama film directed by Kannan and produced by J. A. Lawrence under SSS Entertainments. Vivek plays the film's lead role.[1] The film released on 13 June 2014.
| Naan Than Bala | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Kannan |
| Produced by | J. A. Lawrence |
| Starring | Vivek Shwetha Bandekar Venkatraj J |
| Cinematography | Azhagiya Manalavan |
| Music by | Venkat Krishi |
Production company | SSS Entertainments |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editBala (Vivek), a poor priest, lives in an agraharam in Kumbakonam, looking after his aged parents and performing puja at a Perumal temple. Circumstances force him to accept help from a hired killer named Poochi (Venkatraj J) to save his father from a jail sentence. Life takes an unfortunate turn for Bala. Unable to bear the taunts of the neighbours, Bala's parents commit suicide. Bala is forced to leave the agraharam. He begins a new life with Poochi in Kancheepuram. Vaishali (Shwetha Bandekar), a young Saurashtrian who sells poli on the streets, comes into Bala's life.[2] Soon they get engaged. Meanwhile, a close friendship develops between Bala and Poochi. Bala learns of Poochi's true identity. The police are desperate to hunt down Poochi. Bala is a good influence on Poochi, and he reforms a cold-hearted killer. The second half is all about whether their friendship survives this war of principles.
Cast
edit- Vivek as Bala
- Venkatraj J as Poochi
- Shwetha Bandekar as Vaishali
- Cell Murugan as Thomas Alva Edison
- Thennavan as Kattooran
- Lavanya
- Sujatha Sivakumar
- Mayilsamy
- Ganesh Gopal as Auto Driver
Production
editKannan had approached Vivek with the script and the team began preliminary work in June 2013.[3] In November 2013, Vivek confirmed filming had started and stated he would portray the role of a Hindu priest at a Perumal temple in Kumbakonam, who gets into a relationship with a local thug. He said that he opted to move away from his usual comedy roles after being advised by director Bala and Kamal Haasan.[4] During production, the media wrongly reported that R. Kannan who had made Settai (2013) was director of the film. He later clarified it was not him but R. Kannan, who is the younger brother of screenwriter R. Selvaraj, and who previously directed Raasaiyya (1995). [5]
The team held a large scale audio launch event in December 2013 at Kamala Theatre, Chennai with Mani Ratnam, Bharathiraja, K. Balachander and A. R. Rahman in attendance as chief guests.[6] Vivek was insistent that Rahman attended the event and pushed back the launch by a week and changed the setting from Sathyam Cinemas, in order to accommodate the composer.[7]
Music
edit| Song Title | Singers | Lyricist |
|---|---|---|
| "Thiru Vai" | Priyadarshini | Vaali |
| "Uyire Unakkaga" | Srinivas, Priyadarshini | Na. Muthukumar |
| "Amma Romba" | Baby Lokeswari Prabhu | Na. Muthukumar |
| "Ariyama" | Madhu Balakrishnan | Na. Muthukumar |
| "Bhojanam" | Priya sisters | Traditional |
| "Kanmani Penmani" | Priya sisters | Na. Muthukumar |
| "Eruna Rayiluthan" | Haricharan, Suchitra | Ilaiyakammban |
Release
editThe satellite rights of the film were sold to Jaya TV.
Reception
editBaradwaj Rangan wrote, "Naan Than Bala should have been shattering drama. That it isn't is a function of the usual problems of our cinema — sketchy performances in the supporting parts, flavourless romance, comedy that constantly undermines the film's seriousness, lazy contrivances, mood-killing songs and an over-the-top ending".[2] The Times of India gave the film 2 stars out of 5 and wrote, "There is juicy melodrama in-built in the story of Naan Than Bala but the writing and direction are plain amateurish. The trouble is that the director, Kannan, never really has a grip on this material...Kannan's treatment of this material is at best TV serial melodrama".[8] IANS gave 2.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Shoddy writing and direction makes Naan Than Bala a boring film despite good intention".[9] The New Indian Express wrote, "The plot did have the potential to turn into an intriguing play-out of human inadequacies and emotions. But the director fails to capitalise on it".[10] Silverscreen.in wrote, "There is nothing wrong with the premise in itself : a simple tale of amity between a Hindu priest and a hardened criminal, but there is a lot wrong with the execution".[11] Behindwoods gave it 1.75 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Naan Than Bala is an old tale of Dharma's triumph over evil that doesn't engage you well enough and is kind of preachy at places, but with a very heartfelt performance from Vivek".[12] Indiaglitz.com also gave 1.75 out of 5 and wrote, "Debutante director R.Kannan's intentions are noble. But what hampers the overall impact is the script replete with cliches and uninteresting narration. The glitches in writing and execution are too many to let us hope that a good message and Vivekh's acting prowess can help the film sail through".[13]
Box office
editThe film collected ₹6 lakh (US$7,200) in Chennai in first weekend.[14]
References
edit- ^ MOVIEBUZZ. "Vivek starts 'Naan Thaan Bala'". Sify. Archived from the original on 29 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ^ a b Rangan, Baradwaj (14 June 2014). "Naan Than Bala: Friends with benedictions". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ^ "Feels privileged to work with Kalam: Vivek". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ^ "Vivek to take the serious route!". Sify. Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ^ "Confusion over who is Vivek's director!". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ^ ""Kamal told me now's the time to do something different" - Vivek". behindwoods.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ^ http://www.southscope.in/tamil/article/racing-towards-crore?page=2 [dead link]
- ^ "Naan Than Bala Movie Review {2/5}: Critic Review of Naan Than Bala by Times of India", The Times of India, retrieved 29 September 2018
- ^ IANS (14 June 2014). "'Naan Than Bala' a film with good intention (IANS Tamil Movie Review)". Business Standard India. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ^ "Vivekh Does a Serious Lead Role With Nonchalance". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ^ Naan Than Bala Review | Silverscreen.in
- ^ "Naan Than Bala (aka) Naanthan Bala review". behindwoods.com. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ^ "Naan Than Bala review. Naan Than Bala Tamil movie review, story, rating - IndiaGlitz.com". IndiaGlitz.com. Retrieved 29 September 2018.
- ^ "Box Office Collection: 'Mundasupatti', 'Naan Thaan Bala', 'Kochadaiiyaan' and Other Tamil Films". International Business Times. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2020.