Thenavattu (transl. Courage) is a 2008 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by V. V. Kathir, starring Jiiva and Poonam Bajwa in the lead roles, with Ganja Karuppu, Ravi Kale, Shafi, Saikumar, and Rajan P. Dev in supporting roles. The music of the film was composed by Srikanth Deva. Thenavattu was released on 21 November 2008.[2]
| Thenavattu | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | V. V. Kathir |
| Written by | V. V. Kathir |
| Produced by | Anthony |
| Starring | Jiiva Poonam Bajwa |
| Cinematography | Vetri |
| Edited by | Raja Mohammad |
| Music by | Srikanth Deva |
Production company | ELK Productions |
| Distributed by | Sun Pictures[1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 140 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editKailasam, a somber bigwig, performs the last rites of someone dear to him, while Kottai appears swinging a scythe. In a flashback from a few months ago in Ramnad, Kottai's mother cuts down logs while boasting about her son; a god that deserves to see the world. Kottai then journeys to Chennai with Vellaiayan, a dimwit friend. The two end up at a massive house of Kailasam, a local terror.
Kottai and Vellaiayan think that Kailasam only uses their blacksmithing skills for instruments to chop trees, but Kottai discovers that he was hired by Kailasam to make sickles to kill people. Kottai then feeds crying children milk and helping men with epileptic seizures. Later, he falls in love with kind-hearted music teacher Gayathri.
Santhosh, Kailasam's son who regularly rapes women, is helplessly watched by a cop called Suryaprakash. Kottai continues making arrivals until he sees Santhosh touching Gayathri inappropriately. Kottai then beats Santhosh to death, unbeknownst to him that he is Kailasam's son, when he learns about this, he attempts to get revenge on Kottai, but he and the minister is killed by him along with Suryaprakash. Kottai later returns to his home.
Cast
edit- Jiiva as Kottai
- Poonam Bajwa as Gayathri (voice dubbed by Renuka Kathir)
- Ganja Karuppu as Vellaiayan
- P. Sai Kumar as Suryaprakash (voice dubbed by P. Ravi Shankar)
- Shafi as Santhosh
- Ravi Kale as Kailasam
- Rajan P. Dev as Minister
- Saranya as Kottai's mother
- Delhi Ganesh as Gayatri's father
- Manobala as a man who works under Kailasam
- Kovai Babu as a baby's father
- Vishalini as a baby's mother
- Bava Lakshmanan as Bonda Mani's lover
- Siva Narayana Murthy as priest
- A. Revathi as Transgender Chief
- Suja Varunee in a special appearance
- Vimal as Santhosh's henchman (uncredited)
Production
editThe film was shot in places including Panruti, Chennai, Kumbakonam, Araku Valley and Rajahmundry. The song "Usilampatti Sandhaiyile" was shot at Madurai and Theni.[3] During the first day of filming, a painting factory near the filming location caught fire, leading to filming being briefly halted.[4]
Soundtrack
editThe soundtrack was composed by Srikanth Deva in his second collaboration with Jiiva after E (2006), with lyrics by Na. Muthukumar.[5] The audio launch was held at Sathyam Cinemas in May 2008.[6]
| Song | Singers |
|---|---|
| "Enakkena Pirandhavalo" | Karthik, Suchitra, Arun |
| "Enge Irundhai" | Harish Raghavendra |
| "Onnu Rendu" | Tippu, Ganga |
| "Pattampoochi" | Krish, Chinmayi |
| "Usilampatti Sandhaiyila" | Shankar Mahadevan, Mahalakshmi Iyer, Senthildass Velayutham |
Reception
editPavithra Srinivasan of Rediff.com called it "silly and ridiculous" and also added "the culprit here clearly is V. V. Kathir's half-baked script that manages to destroy Jiiva's credibility. This flick is all aruvaal and no brains".[7] Magimairajan of Kalki praised the acting of Jiiva and also praised the director for portraying transgenders in dignified manner but panned Srikanth Deva's music, Anal Arasu's stunt choreography and Ganja Karuppu's humour and felt the director who concentrated on racy dialogues should have done the same for screenplay.[8] Cinesouth wrote, "Director Kadir has courageously used a far fetched story line and made a film out of it".[9] Bangalore Mirror wrote, "Director Kadhir seems unaware of the strides made in storytelling methods in Tamil films. Not only has he stuck to an age-old narrative style, but also handed over the important responsibility of composing the musical score to Srikanth Deva whose work is ear-splitting".[10]
References
edit- ↑ "Why did Enthiran shift to Sun Pictures?". The New Indian Express. 3 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ↑ "Thenavattu (2008)". Screen 4 Screen. Archived from the original on 7 November 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
- ↑ "Song shot at Madurai, Theni for 'Thenavattu'". Cinesouth. 10 April 2008. Archived from the original on 14 April 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
- ↑ "I had a testing time – Jeeva on 'Thenavattu'". Cinesouth. 8 May 2008. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ↑ "Thenavattu". JioSaavn. January 2008. Archived from the original on 14 April 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
- ↑ "Jeeva for more masala!". The Times of India. 9 May 2008. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ↑ Srinivasan, Pavithra (21 November 2008). "Silly and ridiculous". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
- ↑ மகிமைராஜன் (7 December 2008). "தெனாவட்டு". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 32. Retrieved 1 September 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ "Thenavattu". Cinesouth. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
- ↑ "Thenavattu: Mindless mayhem". Bangalore Mirror. 22 November 2008. Archived from the original on 21 December 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
