Vallinam

Vallinam
Theatrical release poster
Directed byArivazhagan
Written byArivazhagan
Produced byV. Ravichandran
StarringNakul
Mrudhula Bhaskar
Atul Kulkarni
Siddhu Jonnalagadda
CinematographyK. M. Bhaskaran
Edited byV. J. Sabu Joseph
Music byThaman S
Production
company
Aascar Films
Release date
  • 28 February 2014 (2014-02-28)
Running time
146 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Vallinam (transl. Hardness) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language sports film written and directed by Arivazhagan and produced by V. Ravichandran. The film stars Nakul and newcomer Mrudhula Bhaskar, while Atul Kulkarni, Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Anaswara Kumar, Amzath Khan, and Jagan play supporting roles. The music was composed by Thaman S with cinematography by K. M. Bhaskaran and editing by V. J. Sabu Joseph. The film was released on 28 February 2014. Sabu Joseph received the National Film Award for Best Editing at the 61st National Film Awards.

Plot

Krishna and Shiva are childhood friends studying in the same college and prominent basketball players preparing for a national-level basketball tournament. Following the events of the college, Shiva dies from a heart attack because he was hit by a basketball shot by Krishna. This makes Krishna end his college career. He then joins a new college where a basketball game is teased by a cricket team there. The story lines up when Krishna takes on basketball again and wins the national-level tournament.

Cast

Production

Vallinam is Arivazhagan's second directorial after Eeram (2009). K. M. Bhaskaran made his debut as cinematographer.[1] V. Ravichandran of Aascar Films agreed to produce the film after Arivazhagan spent a year seeking producers.[2] Nakul, the lead actor, underwent special training to portray the role of a basketball player,[3][4] wanting to "live the character rather than to act".[5] Bindu Madhavi was initially signed to portray the lead actress. However, she was dropped from the project since the director and the crew were not impressed with her performance.[6] She was subsequently replaced film by a newcomer Mrudhula Bhaskar.[7] Atul Kulkarni was cast as an antagonistic coach as Arivazhagan felt he had the perfect looks and physique required.[8] Siddhu Jonnalagadda was selected to play another antagonist after Arivazhagan spotted him on a poster of Life Before Wedding (2011) while scouting locations with Praveen Sattaru in Hyderabad.[9]

The film faced production delays due to various factors such as changes in weather and the makers' struggles to acquire permission to film in the desired locations.[1] During production, the makers ran into crowd trouble with students attempting to get autographs from Nakul when he was preparing for the shoot, they were subsequently prevented in doing so from the crew of the film, prompting a student protest.[10] The team worked for 72 hours continuously for an action scene which was shot on a train as the director wanted to "match the call sheets of the artists with the availability of the train".[11] A set used for the climax cost ₹1.25 crore (equivalent to ₹2.4 crore or US$280,000 in 2023). The makers also imported a basketball court mat from the United States for ₹35 lakh (equivalent to ₹66 lakh or US$78,000 in 2023).[12]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Thaman S,[13] and was launched on 11 March 2013.[14][15]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Maaman Machaan"VivekaSilambarasan, Thaman S, Mukesh Mohamed4:52
2."Uyiril Uyiril"VivekaHaricharan4:49
3."Nakula"ParvathiNakul, Andrea Jeremiah3:15
4."Uyiril Uyiril" (Reprise)VivekaS. Thaman2:34
5."Vallinam"VaaliPalakkad Sreeram, Rahul Nambiar, Naveen Madhav, Ranjith3:42
Total length:19:12

Release and reception

Vallinam was initially scheduled to release on 24 January 2014,[16] but ultimately released on 28 February 2014.[17] Baradwaj Rangan wrote in The Hindu, "Arivazhagan isn’t a lazy filmmaker, and at a time when most Tamil films have begun to look like flatly lit television serials, without the slightest interest in framing and staging, this quality cannot be underestimated".[18] M Suganth of The Times of India wrote, "It is an idealistic film, yes, but what makes Vallinam a commendable effort is that it doesn't resort to cricket-bashing to drive home its point [...] The filmmaking too is a bit heavy-handed here when a little bit of understatement would have been welcome".[19]

Accolades

At the 61st National Film Awards, V. J. Sabu Joseph won the award for Best Editing.[20]

References

  1. ^ a b Gupta, Rinku (13 March 2013). "All intermingled Vallinam". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 24 January 2026. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  2. ^ "Good banner essential for film's success: Arivazhagan". The Times of India. 18 March 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  3. ^ "My film will focus on basketball: Arivazhagan". The Times of India. 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  4. ^ "Nakul returns". The New Indian Express. 25 May 2011. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  5. ^ "Vallinam — it's basketball vs cricket". The Times of India. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  6. ^ Suganth, M (1 November 2011). "Bindu is out of Vallinam!". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 October 2024.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  7. ^ "'Eeram' director returns". The New Indian Express. 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 24 January 2026. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  8. ^ "Atul Kulkarni joins Vallinam team". The Times of India. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 23 January 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. ^ Galatta Plus (1 April 2024). Siddhu Jonnalagadda Interview With Baradwaj Rangan | Conversations | Tillu Square. Event occurs at 29:10. Archived from the original on 6 April 2024. Retrieved 6 April 2024 – via YouTube.
  10. ^ "Nakul draws students' ire". The Times of India. 8 July 2011. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  11. ^ "Action all the way for Nakul". The Times of India. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. ^ "Shot Cuts: A different ball game". The Hindu. 24 December 2012. Archived from the original on 24 January 2026. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  13. ^ "VALLINAM — Thaman. S Tamil Audio Cd". Audio CDs World. Archived from the original on 24 January 2026. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  14. ^ "Vallinam audio launch on 11th March". The Times of India. 28 February 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  15. ^ "Vallinam audio launched!". The Times of India. 12 March 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  16. ^ "Vallinam to release on January 24". The Times of India. 5 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. ^ "Vallinam to release on Feb 28th". The Times of India. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  18. ^ Rangan, Baradwaj (1 March 2014). "Vallinam: Ball is well". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  19. ^ Suganth, M (28 February 2014). "Vallinam". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  20. ^ Gupta, Rinku (17 April 2014). "'It's an Award for Both TN, Cinema'". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 23 January 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
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