Rhythm (film)
Encyclopedia
Rhythm is a 2000 Tamil
film directed by Vasanth
. The film stars Arjun, Meena and Manivannan
in lead roles and Ramesh Aravind
and Jyothika in supporting roles. The music is by A. R. Rahman
, while cinematography was handled by P.S. Vinod and Arthur A. Wilson
. The film was released in August 2000 in India and worldwide.
Based on the real events which widowed people face while setting a steady course for their lives, the movie contains elements of both arthouse and commercial cinema. The film won critical acclaim upon its release.
The soundtrack of this movie, to be written by music composer A. R. Rahman, was hyped as being unique, based on the 5 elements of nature. In addition to the music, the cast of the movie included two reigning lead stars of Tamil cinema of the 1990s, Arjun and Meena, and their director Vasanth, who also carved a niche for himself in the cinema world known for offbeat, character-based storylines at the time.
The title branding of the movie was another contributing factor to the fan hype on the net projecting it to be a novel "musical based love story" by avid fans of AR Rahman. Though bits of news about the movie were released over time in entertainment magazines and tabloids, much of its production was generally low profile. At some point due to the long delay in its release, unconfirmed news was circulating that production had been shelved due to financial constraints.
), is a photographer cum editor working in Indian Express. Chitra (Meena) is a bank employee. Both reside at Navi Mumbai
. Karthik meets Chitra in the bank she works while opening a bank account. While returning home Karthik again meets her in a train. He offers his seat but Chitra does not want to accept it. Again during a train strike he invites her to travel in same auto to reduce expenses, but Chitra nose cuts him. When Chitra hesitated to travel in same train with Karthik he becomes angry and explains that he talked to her just because both are from same nativity and he says he will never talk to her anymore. After some days Chitra volunteerly talks to him. Karthik in return accompanies her to police station to get back her snatched hand bag. Karthik invites Chitra to his home to meet his parents.
Karthik's parents like Chitra and all become friends. Karthik's mother requests Chitra to tell Karthik to get married. When she convey his parent's wish, Karthik explains about his wife (Jyothika) who died in a train accident. Karthik comes to know about Chitra and her husband Srikanth (Ramesh Aravind
) who died in same train accident. Chitra adopted a boy Shiva as per her husband's wish. Karthik's parents wish both of them to get married.
Chitra's son shiva moves close to Karthik and his family, while Chitra tries to prevent relations with Karthik. Karthik's father (Nagesh) understands Karthik's interest towards Chitra and he meets and requests her to marry Karthik. But she refuses and once for all avoids Karthik. Karthik understood her intention and he stayed away from her. Chitra meanwhile gets confused regarding second marriage due to the trouble given by her neighbour's husband and Shiva's passion for Karthik. Chitra's neighbour once uttempts to rape her but she manages to escape. Karthik who heard about it attacks the man for misbehaving and makes him to vacate Mumbai. Chitra decides to marry Karthik for herself and her son and she calls him to meet at the station to express her decision. While returning home she meets her mother-in-law (Lakshmi) who once upon a time opposed the marriage of her son Srikanth with her. Chitra's mother-in-law requests her to come and live with her as she is very lone after her husband's death. Chitra then decides to leave with her mother-in-law. But she is not dared to meet Karthik and she leaves without informing him. Karthik and his family are very much disappointed by this. After some months Chitra panics on seeing a news at television about bomb blast at Mumbai Indian Express and verifies Karthik's safety. Karthik leaves for Coonoor on an official assignment. There he meets Chitra with her mother-in-law. Chitra introduces him to her and tells about Karthik's wife's death in the same train accident where her son died. On hearing this, Chitra's mother-in-law invites Karthik to have lunch with them, the next day. This delights Shiva. Shiva eagerly waits for Karthik and leaves school well before but struck up in traffic jam for a long time. Meanwhile Chitra explains about her decision to marry him and later changed it as her mother-in-law requested her to live with her. Karthik leaves without meeting Shiva to catch the train. This disappoints Shiva and when Chitra tried to console him he blames her that she did not keep up the promise that he, Chitra, Karthik and his parents to live together. Chitra's mother-in-law hears this, understood the meaning of it and she realised the mistake she did. She catches Karthik at railway station and requests him to marry Chitra. Karthik and Chitra leave for Mumbai and get married which delights Karthik's parents.
, with lyrics by Vairamuthu
. The songs were inspired by the five elements
.
The soundtrack was well received by music fans upon its initial release and has been hailed as an ingenious piece of work by A. R. Rahman
. It appeared in the list of top selling soundtracks in its opening week. The film's background score, also done by A. R. Rahman
, manages to seamlessly flow into the story and draws the viewer into the scene. The soundtrack has been acknowledged as one of A. R. Rahman
's best works.
Three songs were later reused in the Bollywood movie Lakeer – Forbidden Lines.
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
film directed by Vasanth
Vasanth
Vasanth is an Indian film director and screenwriter, working in the Tamil film industry. Following a stint as journalist and after assisting K. Balachander, he made his directorial debut with Keladi Kanmani in 1990, which along with the trendsetting Aasai and Rhythm , are considered his finest...
. The film stars Arjun, Meena and Manivannan
Manivannan
Manivannan is a popular Tamil actor and director. With over 400 films to his name, Manivannan is one of the most experienced actors in the field. He normally plays the role of a dad or a senior comedian.- Background :...
in lead roles and Ramesh Aravind
Ramesh Aravind
Ramesh Aravind or Ramesh is a popular Kannada, Tamil and Telugu movie actor. He is considered one of the most versatile actors in Indian cinema.-Early days:...
and Jyothika in supporting roles. The music is by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
, while cinematography was handled by P.S. Vinod and Arthur A. Wilson
Arthur A. Wilson
Arthur Wilson is a cinematographer from India. He has also worked in many Tamil films like Rhythm, Anbe Sivam,Panchathanthiram,Vanathai pola,V.I.P,Shajahan, Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi and Pammal K. Sambandam. He is well known in the movie Naan Kadavul. His latest movie is Bala's Avan-Ivan-References:...
. The film was released in August 2000 in India and worldwide.
Based on the real events which widowed people face while setting a steady course for their lives, the movie contains elements of both arthouse and commercial cinema. The film won critical acclaim upon its release.
Pre-release
Originally announced with pre-release stills in websites in early 1997, the movie was three years in the making, considered to be a fairly long production time in the Indian film industry.The soundtrack of this movie, to be written by music composer A. R. Rahman, was hyped as being unique, based on the 5 elements of nature. In addition to the music, the cast of the movie included two reigning lead stars of Tamil cinema of the 1990s, Arjun and Meena, and their director Vasanth, who also carved a niche for himself in the cinema world known for offbeat, character-based storylines at the time.
The title branding of the movie was another contributing factor to the fan hype on the net projecting it to be a novel "musical based love story" by avid fans of AR Rahman. Though bits of news about the movie were released over time in entertainment magazines and tabloids, much of its production was generally low profile. At some point due to the long delay in its release, unconfirmed news was circulating that production had been shelved due to financial constraints.
Plot
Karthikeyan (ArjunArjun Sarja
Arjun Sarja is an Indian film actor and director. Son of Kannada film star Shakti Prasad, he has primarily acted in Tamil films, and also appeared in Kannada and Telugu films. The title "Action King" has been given to Arjun by fans, for the numerous roles he has portrayed in action films. He is...
), is a photographer cum editor working in Indian Express. Chitra (Meena) is a bank employee. Both reside at Navi Mumbai
Navi Mumbai
Navi Mumbai is a Planned Satellite City on the west coast of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was developed in 1972 as a twin city of Mumbai, and is the largest planned city on the planet, with under the jurisdiction of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation and a total area of . Navi Mumbai...
. Karthik meets Chitra in the bank she works while opening a bank account. While returning home Karthik again meets her in a train. He offers his seat but Chitra does not want to accept it. Again during a train strike he invites her to travel in same auto to reduce expenses, but Chitra nose cuts him. When Chitra hesitated to travel in same train with Karthik he becomes angry and explains that he talked to her just because both are from same nativity and he says he will never talk to her anymore. After some days Chitra volunteerly talks to him. Karthik in return accompanies her to police station to get back her snatched hand bag. Karthik invites Chitra to his home to meet his parents.
Karthik's parents like Chitra and all become friends. Karthik's mother requests Chitra to tell Karthik to get married. When she convey his parent's wish, Karthik explains about his wife (Jyothika) who died in a train accident. Karthik comes to know about Chitra and her husband Srikanth (Ramesh Aravind
Ramesh Aravind
Ramesh Aravind or Ramesh is a popular Kannada, Tamil and Telugu movie actor. He is considered one of the most versatile actors in Indian cinema.-Early days:...
) who died in same train accident. Chitra adopted a boy Shiva as per her husband's wish. Karthik's parents wish both of them to get married.
Chitra's son shiva moves close to Karthik and his family, while Chitra tries to prevent relations with Karthik. Karthik's father (Nagesh) understands Karthik's interest towards Chitra and he meets and requests her to marry Karthik. But she refuses and once for all avoids Karthik. Karthik understood her intention and he stayed away from her. Chitra meanwhile gets confused regarding second marriage due to the trouble given by her neighbour's husband and Shiva's passion for Karthik. Chitra's neighbour once uttempts to rape her but she manages to escape. Karthik who heard about it attacks the man for misbehaving and makes him to vacate Mumbai. Chitra decides to marry Karthik for herself and her son and she calls him to meet at the station to express her decision. While returning home she meets her mother-in-law (Lakshmi) who once upon a time opposed the marriage of her son Srikanth with her. Chitra's mother-in-law requests her to come and live with her as she is very lone after her husband's death. Chitra then decides to leave with her mother-in-law. But she is not dared to meet Karthik and she leaves without informing him. Karthik and his family are very much disappointed by this. After some months Chitra panics on seeing a news at television about bomb blast at Mumbai Indian Express and verifies Karthik's safety. Karthik leaves for Coonoor on an official assignment. There he meets Chitra with her mother-in-law. Chitra introduces him to her and tells about Karthik's wife's death in the same train accident where her son died. On hearing this, Chitra's mother-in-law invites Karthik to have lunch with them, the next day. This delights Shiva. Shiva eagerly waits for Karthik and leaves school well before but struck up in traffic jam for a long time. Meanwhile Chitra explains about her decision to marry him and later changed it as her mother-in-law requested her to live with her. Karthik leaves without meeting Shiva to catch the train. This disappoints Shiva and when Chitra tried to console him he blames her that she did not keep up the promise that he, Chitra, Karthik and his parents to live together. Chitra's mother-in-law hears this, understood the meaning of it and she realised the mistake she did. She catches Karthik at railway station and requests him to marry Chitra. Karthik and Chitra leave for Mumbai and get married which delights Karthik's parents.
Cast
- Arjun as Karthikeyan
- Jyothika as Aruna
- Ramesh Arvind as Srikanth
- Meena as Chitra
- LakshmiLakshmi (actress)Lakshmi Narayan is an Indian National Film Award winning actress who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Lakshmi has acted in more than 300 films in all south Indian languages apart from few in Bollywood. She has won a Filmfare Best Actress Award and eight Filmfare Awards South.-Early...
as An Orthodox woman, Srikanth's mother - ManivannanManivannanManivannan is a popular Tamil actor and director. With over 400 films to his name, Manivannan is one of the most experienced actors in the field. He normally plays the role of a dad or a senior comedian.- Background :...
as Karthikeyan's colleague - NageshNageshNagesh , was a Tamil film actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian during the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the most prolific comedians in Tamil cinema....
as Karthikeyan's dad - Ramya KrishnanRamya KrishnanRamya Krishnan is an actress who performs in Indian cinema. She has acted in over 200 films in five languages; Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.-Early life and background:...
(Cameo) - Raju SundaramRaju SundaramRaju Sundaram is a Kollywood cine artiste who acts, directs, and choreographs for films. He is an eldest son of dance master Mugur Sundar, and elder brother to Prabhu Deva and Nagendra Prasad.-Birth:...
(Cameo) - Shankar MahadevanShankar MahadevanShankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:...
(Cameo in song sequence "Thaniye") - Anant MahadevanAnant MahadevanAnant Mahadevan , also credited as Ananth Narayan Mahadevan, is an actor and director of Marathi and Hindi films and television serials in India, who hails from Kerala ; a state down the south of INDIA. He has acted in Bollywood films since the 1980s playing character/minor roles...
(Cameo) - Nagendra PrasadNagendra PrasadNagendra Prasad is a Kollywood cine artiste who acts and choreographs for films. He is the youngest son of dance master Mugur Sundar, and younger brother to popular cine artistes Prabhu Deva and Raju Sundaram...
(Cameo in song sequence "Thaniye) - [Siddarth] [meena's son]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack features 5 songs composed by A. R. RahmanA. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
, with lyrics by Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu
Vairamuthu Ramaswamy Thevar is an award-winning Tamil poet and lyricist.Debuting in the film Nizhalgal with the lyrics for the song "Ponmalai Pozhudhu", he has now about 5800 songs to his credit as of January 2009. His partnership with the composers Ilaiyaraaja, and later A. R...
. The songs were inspired by the five elements
Five elements (Japanese philosophy)
One may encounter two kinds of five elements philosophy in Japan. One is called, in Japanese, gogyō , having its backgrounds in the Chinese five elements, and the other is called godai . Godai is usually regarded as a Buddhism term in Japan, with certain influences from Hinduism. The following...
.
The soundtrack was well received by music fans upon its initial release and has been hailed as an ingenious piece of work by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
. It appeared in the list of top selling soundtracks in its opening week. The film's background score, also done by A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
, manages to seamlessly flow into the story and draws the viewer into the scene. The soundtrack has been acknowledged as one of A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
's best works.
Three songs were later reused in the Bollywood movie Lakeer – Forbidden Lines.
Tracklist
| Song | Artist(s) | Element |
|---|---|---|
| "Nadhiye" | Unni Menon Unni Menon Unni Menon is an Indian film playback singer. He has sung over 3000 songs in South Indian languages like Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. In the early part of his career, he spent many years as a low-profile playback singer. The turning point in his career came when he sang the song "Pudhu... |
Water Water (classical element) Water is one of the elements in ancient Greek philosophy, in the Asian Indian system Panchamahabhuta, and in the Chinese cosmological and physiological system Wu Xing... |
| "Kaatre" | Unnikrishnan, Kavita Krishnamurthy | Wind Air (classical element) Air is often seen as a universal power or pure substance. Its supposed fundamental importance to life can be seen in words such as aspire, inspire, perspire and spirit, all derived from the Latin spirare.-Greek and Roman tradition:... |
| "Thaniye" | Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan Shankar Mahadevan is an Indian music composer and singer. He is a part of the Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio team that composes for Indian films and a playback singer.-Early life:... |
Earth Earth (classical element) Earth, home and origin of humanity, has often been worshipped in its own right with its own unique spiritual tradition.-European tradition:Earth is one of the four classical elements in ancient Greek philosophy and science. It was commonly associated with qualities of heaviness, matter and the... |
| "Anbae Idhu" | Sadhana Sargam Sadhana Sargam Sadhana Sargam is an acclaimed Indian playback singer. She is a recipient of the prestigious National Film Award and Filmfare Awards.Sargam has sung in many Indian languages for films, television serials and music albums. She is well known for her 90s Hindi songs and recent South Indian songs. She... |
Sky |
| "Pathikiche" | Udit Narayan Udit Narayan -Career:King of melody, Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December, 1955 in a village called Bhardaha in the Saptari district , Nepal. His father was Hare Krishna Jha and his mother was Bhuwaneshwari Devi.Narayan studied at P.B... , Vasundhara Das Vasundhara Das Vasundhara Das born 1977, is an Indian singer and actress. She has acted in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam films. She is the co-founder of world music band Arya. As a playback singer, she is best remembered for singing "Shakalaka Baby" from the Tamil film Mudhalvan, which was also her debut... |
Fire Fire (classical element) Fire has been an important part of all cultures and religions from pre-history to modern day and was vital to the development of civilization. It has been regarded in many different contexts throughout history, but especially as a metaphysical constant of the world.-Greek and Roman tradition:Fire... |
In other media
- Some of the music was reused later in the Hindi-language film Lakeer - Forbidden LinesLakeer - Forbidden LinesLakeer - Forbidden Lines is a 2004 Bollywood film, directed by Ahmed Khan and starring Sunny Deol, John Abraham, Sunil Shetty and Sohail Khan. It was the biggest disaster of the year at the box office. -Plot:...
(2004). - The film was dubbed into TeluguTelugu languageTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
as Rhythm.
External links
- http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Reviews/articles/Rhythm_142548.html
- http://www.raaga.com/channels/tamil/album/T0000257.html