Ullam Ketkumae
Encyclopedia
Ullam Ketkumae is a 2005 Tamil
romantic
film
directed and co-written by Jeeva
, with dialogues by Sujatha
. The film features Shaam
, Arya
, Laila
, Asin
and Pooja in the lead roles as five college students. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Harris Jayaraj
, while Vairamuthu
penned the lyrics for the songs. The story tells the reunion of five friends who were together at college and exploring their relationships during the years. The film released after several delays in 2005 and went on to win critical and commercial success.
), Emaan (Arya
), Pooja (Laila
), Priya (Asin
) and Irene (Pooja). The friends gather for the wedding of Emaan, years after everyone has parted ways.
The movie starts with Pooja leaving USA for the wedding. Meanwhile, everyone else is helping Emaan with the preparations for the wedding. The movie goes through series of flashbacks of old memories during their college days. Emaan & Irene meet for the first time in a long time, and the first flashback occurs. The audience finds out that they were once in love and find out what went wrong between them.
Another flashback occurs when Shaam remembers Pooja. Pooja is a fun-loving tomboy
who was best friends with Shaam and was treated as if she's "one of the guys". Shaam realizes he's in love with Priya, and Pooja realizes she's in love with Shaam. Shaam and Pooja decides to reveal their love to the ones they love. Pooja learns that Shaam is in love with Priya, so she kept her love a secret. When Priya finds out Shaam's in love with her, she rejects his love, for she is a very cultural and innocent girl.
At last when we are taken back to the present day, the wedding. Everyone meets each other, and Pooja arrives. Pooja is no longer the same girl they all once knew. Does Pooja finally reveal her love to Shaam? Does Shaam finally realize who he's supposed to be with?
and Richa Pallod
were going to team up with director Jeeva
, who had launched Shaam in the critically acclaimed 12B, for a college love story titled Pepsi. The title Pepsi had stemmed from the first letter from the names of the five friends - Priya, Emaan, Pooja, Shyam and Irene. The film was later renamed and the film took the brand Pepsi
's tagline in South India - Ullam Ketkumae - as the new title. Asin
signed the film aged eighteen and the film was meant to mark her début in Tamil films, but the delay meant that M. Kumaran son of Mahalakshmi
released almost a year before this one. while working as a software engineer
, Arya was approached by Jeeva to audition for the film in 2003 as the pair had lived in the same neighbourhood and had attended the same local mosque. Arya immediately signed on for the project and was given the stage name of Arya for the film by Jeeva. Pooja was also signed on to make her début and play Irene in the film, although the film's delay meant that several of her other films released before Ullam Ketkumae hit the screens.
Art director Thotta Tharani
created a college campus for the film to be shot in, with his work drawing appeciation. A scene featuring an inter college day cultural had 100 students from various states take part in the shooting while decorations and a podium were put up for a marriage scene in Taj Connemara hotel. Raju Sundaram
choreographed five songs including a song shot at hot water springs in New Zealand
.
The film went through production hell, with three years being spent on the announcement till release. The delay also led to the actors featuring in other projects during the period and Jeeva moving on to direct a Hindi film, Run
. Despite giving indications that the film would release after delays on April 14, 2004 it was further pushed back due to financial issues. In May 2005, the Supreme Court finally cleared the decks for the release, as earlier the Madras High court by a February 25 order appointed “Joint Receivers” for the film, which was objected by Prasad Labs who had gone to Supreme Court. It was agreed that the collections from the film will be received by “joint receivers” who will pay Prasad Labs for 72 prints of the film. The film subsequently opened in Tamil Nadu on June 3, 2005.
in the opening weekend. The film surprisingly opened at number two at the Chennai box office despite competition, just below the Rajinikanth starrer Chandramukhi
.
A critic from nowrunning.com labelled that "Ullam Ketkumae is worth seeing as it has a certain truth and universality to it", claiming that "Shyam and Laila give an impressive performance" and that Jeeva has "remarkably caught the collage atmosphere, and the underlying passion, love and friendship". The success of the film brought a series of offers for Shaam
, whose career was struggling prior to release, whilst Arya
and Asin
were able to consolidate their positions of rising actors. The success of the film later prompted a dubbed Telugu version being released on March 30, 2006 as Preminchi Choodu.
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...
romantic
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed and co-written by Jeeva
Jeeva (director)
Jeeva was a popular cinematographer and film director in Tamil cinema.-Career:The four completed films he directed, namely 12B, Run , Ullam Ketkumae and Unnale Unnale, have become blockbusters. He died after suffering acute cardiac arrest in Russia on 25 June at the age of 43...
, with dialogues by Sujatha
Sujatha Rangarajan
Sujatha was the pseudonym of the Tamil writer S. Rangarajan, author of over 100 novels, 250 short stories, ten books on science, ten stage plays, and a slim volume of poems. He was one of the most popular writers in Tamil literature, and a regular contributor to topical columns in Tamil...
. The film features Shaam
Shaam
Shamshuddin Ibrahim, known professionally as Shaam , is a Tamil film actor and model. Starting his career as a professional model, he soon made his acting debut in the film Khushi , appearing in a cameo role. He further appeared in lead roles in critically and commercially successful films such as...
, Arya
Arya (actor)
Arya is an Indian film actor who mainly appears in Tamil films. He is best known for his roles in the films Pattiyal , Naan Kadavul , Madrasapattinam , and Boss Engira Bhaskaran.-Personal life:...
, Laila
Laila Mehdin
Laila Mehdin is an Indian actress. She has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi language films. She is probably best known for her critically acclaimed and award-winning performances in the Bala-directed films Nandha and Pithamagan.-Career:She made her debut in the Telugu film...
, Asin
Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal , known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian film actress, model and stage performer who acts primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood....
and Pooja in the lead roles as five college students. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Harris Jayaraj
Harris Jayaraj
Harris Jayaraj is an Indian film composer. He has written scores and soundtracks for Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films.- Early life :Harris Jayaraj hails from a pious Christian Nadar family and was born and brought up in Chennai. Harris studied at Krishnaswamy Matric School, Nungambakam. His father,...
, while 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...
penned the lyrics for the songs. The story tells the reunion of five friends who were together at college and exploring their relationships during the years. The film released after several delays in 2005 and went on to win critical and commercial success.
Plot
The movie is all about a group of five college friends - Shaam (ShaamShaam
Shamshuddin Ibrahim, known professionally as Shaam , is a Tamil film actor and model. Starting his career as a professional model, he soon made his acting debut in the film Khushi , appearing in a cameo role. He further appeared in lead roles in critically and commercially successful films such as...
), Emaan (Arya
Arya (actor)
Arya is an Indian film actor who mainly appears in Tamil films. He is best known for his roles in the films Pattiyal , Naan Kadavul , Madrasapattinam , and Boss Engira Bhaskaran.-Personal life:...
), Pooja (Laila
Laila Mehdin
Laila Mehdin is an Indian actress. She has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi language films. She is probably best known for her critically acclaimed and award-winning performances in the Bala-directed films Nandha and Pithamagan.-Career:She made her debut in the Telugu film...
), Priya (Asin
Asin Thottumkal
Asin Thottumkal , known mononymously as Asin, is an Indian film actress, model and stage performer who acts primarily in Bollywood and Kollywood....
) and Irene (Pooja). The friends gather for the wedding of Emaan, years after everyone has parted ways.
The movie starts with Pooja leaving USA for the wedding. Meanwhile, everyone else is helping Emaan with the preparations for the wedding. The movie goes through series of flashbacks of old memories during their college days. Emaan & Irene meet for the first time in a long time, and the first flashback occurs. The audience finds out that they were once in love and find out what went wrong between them.
Another flashback occurs when Shaam remembers Pooja. Pooja is a fun-loving tomboy
Tomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
who was best friends with Shaam and was treated as if she's "one of the guys". Shaam realizes he's in love with Priya, and Pooja realizes she's in love with Shaam. Shaam and Pooja decides to reveal their love to the ones they love. Pooja learns that Shaam is in love with Priya, so she kept her love a secret. When Priya finds out Shaam's in love with her, she rejects his love, for she is a very cultural and innocent girl.
At last when we are taken back to the present day, the wedding. Everyone meets each other, and Pooja arrives. Pooja is no longer the same girl they all once knew. Does Pooja finally reveal her love to Shaam? Does Shaam finally realize who he's supposed to be with?
Cast
- ShaamShaamShamshuddin Ibrahim, known professionally as Shaam , is a Tamil film actor and model. Starting his career as a professional model, he soon made his acting debut in the film Khushi , appearing in a cameo role. He further appeared in lead roles in critically and commercially successful films such as...
as Shyam - AryaArya (actor)Arya is an Indian film actor who mainly appears in Tamil films. He is best known for his roles in the films Pattiyal , Naan Kadavul , Madrasapattinam , and Boss Engira Bhaskaran.-Personal life:...
as Emaan - LailaLaila MehdinLaila Mehdin is an Indian actress. She has acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi language films. She is probably best known for her critically acclaimed and award-winning performances in the Bala-directed films Nandha and Pithamagan.-Career:She made her debut in the Telugu film...
as Pooja - AsinAsínAsín is a municipality located in the Cinco Villas comarca of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, located a few kilometers west of Orés. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 106 inhabitants....
as Priya - Pooja as Irene
- MuraliMurali (Tamil actor)Murali was a Tamil film actor who appeared in the leading and supporting roles throughout his career. Murali has acted with many stars including Vijaykanth, Prabhu, Sathyaraj, Karthik, Prabhu Deva, Surya, Parthiban, Sarath Kumar, Mammootty and Sivaji Ganesan...
Production
The film was first reported in April 2002, where it was revealed that ShaamShaam
Shamshuddin Ibrahim, known professionally as Shaam , is a Tamil film actor and model. Starting his career as a professional model, he soon made his acting debut in the film Khushi , appearing in a cameo role. He further appeared in lead roles in critically and commercially successful films such as...
and Richa Pallod
Richa Pallod
Richa Pallod is an Indian model and film actress who has featured in regional Indian films. After appearing as a child artiste, she appeared in an award-winning role in Nuvve Kavali, her first film in Telugu. She has appeared in several low-budget Hindi films with her most notable appearance being...
were going to team up with director Jeeva
Jeeva (director)
Jeeva was a popular cinematographer and film director in Tamil cinema.-Career:The four completed films he directed, namely 12B, Run , Ullam Ketkumae and Unnale Unnale, have become blockbusters. He died after suffering acute cardiac arrest in Russia on 25 June at the age of 43...
, who had launched Shaam in the critically acclaimed 12B, for a college love story titled Pepsi. The title Pepsi had stemmed from the first letter from the names of the five friends - Priya, Emaan, Pooja, Shyam and Irene. The film was later renamed and the film took the brand Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
's tagline in South India - Ullam Ketkumae - as the new title. Asin
Asín
Asín is a municipality located in the Cinco Villas comarca of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, located a few kilometers west of Orés. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 106 inhabitants....
signed the film aged eighteen and the film was meant to mark her début in Tamil films, but the delay meant that M. Kumaran son of Mahalakshmi
M. Kumaran son of Mahalakshmi
M. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi is a 2004 Tamil family-drama film directed by M. Raja. It is a remake of super hit Telugu film Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi starring mass hero Ravi Teja, Prakash Raj, and Jayasudha directed by ace director Puri Jagannath released on 19, April 2003...
released almost a year before this one. while working as a software engineer
Software engineer
A software engineer is an engineer who applies the principles of software engineering to the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the software and systems that make computers or anything containing software, such as computer chips, work.- Overview :...
, Arya was approached by Jeeva to audition for the film in 2003 as the pair had lived in the same neighbourhood and had attended the same local mosque. Arya immediately signed on for the project and was given the stage name of Arya for the film by Jeeva. Pooja was also signed on to make her début and play Irene in the film, although the film's delay meant that several of her other films released before Ullam Ketkumae hit the screens.
Art director Thotta Tharani
Thotta Tharani
- Film career :Thota Tharani has been involved in the art of set design since he was just twelve when he helped his father. Be it the creation of a realistic set of the Dharavi Slums or the colourful transparent bus of Kaadhalan, Tharani succeeds in creating the right ambience and the right...
created a college campus for the film to be shot in, with his work drawing appeciation. A scene featuring an inter college day cultural had 100 students from various states take part in the shooting while decorations and a podium were put up for a marriage scene in Taj Connemara hotel. Raju Sundaram
Raju Sundaram
Raju 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:...
choreographed five songs including a song shot at hot water springs in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The film went through production hell, with three years being spent on the announcement till release. The delay also led to the actors featuring in other projects during the period and Jeeva moving on to direct a Hindi film, Run
Run (2004 film)
Run is a Hindi film released in the year 2004. It stars Abhishek Bachchan and Bhumika Chawla in the lead roles. It is directed by Jeeva and is a remake of the Tamil blockbuster starring Madhavan and Meera Jasmine. The film was produced by Boney Kapoor...
. Despite giving indications that the film would release after delays on April 14, 2004 it was further pushed back due to financial issues. In May 2005, the Supreme Court finally cleared the decks for the release, as earlier the Madras High court by a February 25 order appointed “Joint Receivers” for the film, which was objected by Prasad Labs who had gone to Supreme Court. It was agreed that the collections from the film will be received by “joint receivers” who will pay Prasad Labs for 72 prints of the film. The film subsequently opened in Tamil Nadu on June 3, 2005.
Release
The film released on June 3, 2005 and became a commercial success at the box office with pundits describing the film as a "sleeper hit". The film took a 90 percent opening in four Chennai screens with large collections reported at the Devi theatre in ChennaiChennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
in the opening weekend. The film surprisingly opened at number two at the Chennai box office despite competition, just below the Rajinikanth starrer Chandramukhi
Chandramukhi
Chandramukhi is a 2005 Indian horror, comedy and drama film directed by P. Vasu and produced by Ramkumar Ganesan. With a few deviations, it is a remake of Vasu's 2004 Kannada film Apthamitra, which was in-turn a remake of the 1993 Malayalam film Manichithrathazhu...
.
A critic from nowrunning.com labelled that "Ullam Ketkumae is worth seeing as it has a certain truth and universality to it", claiming that "Shyam and Laila give an impressive performance" and that Jeeva has "remarkably caught the collage atmosphere, and the underlying passion, love and friendship". The success of the film brought a series of offers for Shaam
Shaam
Shamshuddin Ibrahim, known professionally as Shaam , is a Tamil film actor and model. Starting his career as a professional model, he soon made his acting debut in the film Khushi , appearing in a cameo role. He further appeared in lead roles in critically and commercially successful films such as...
, whose career was struggling prior to release, whilst Arya
Arya (actor)
Arya is an Indian film actor who mainly appears in Tamil films. He is best known for his roles in the films Pattiyal , Naan Kadavul , Madrasapattinam , and Boss Engira Bhaskaran.-Personal life:...
and Asin
Asín
Asín is a municipality located in the Cinco Villas comarca of the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, located a few kilometers west of Orés. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 106 inhabitants....
were able to consolidate their positions of rising actors. The success of the film later prompted a dubbed Telugu version being released on March 30, 2006 as Preminchi Choodu.
Music
| Title | Singers |
|---|---|
| Ennai Pandhada | Srinivas Srinivas Srinivas/Sreenivas/Shrinivas/Shreenivas is a common given name for males in India. The word Srinivas is combination of two Sanskrit words, Sri and nivas . Sri means 'radiance' or 'diffusing light'; nivas means 'place of residence'... & Madhumitha Madhumitha Madhumitha is an Indian actress, who has appeared in films in various South Indian industries, frequently in Tamil and Telugu films... |
| Kanavugal | Karthik Karthik Karthik is a male given name that is most common name in the southern part of India. The name stands for the Hindu god "Muruga," son of Lord Shiva.The name may refer to:-Actors:... , Arun Arun Arun is a local government district in West Sussex, England. It contains the towns of Arundel, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, and takes its name from the River Arun, which runs through the centre of the district.-History:... , Tippu Tippu (singer) Tippu is a South Indian playback singer who has performed in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu languages. Tippu's original name, as told by him in Koffee with Anu, is Ekambaresh. He is married to playback singers Harini. Tippu did his schooling at St. John's Matriculation Higher Secondary School... , Premji Amaran, Febi Mani, Pop Shalini Pop shalini Shalini Singh popularly called as Pop Shalini is a singer from Tamil Nadu, India.Shalini Singh popularly known as Pop Shalini was one of the first teenagers to release an album when she was only 13. She has sung over 500 songs in various Indian languages for Indian films... & Suchitra Suchitra Suchitra Karthik Kumar is an Indian Tamil Radio Jockey and Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu playback singer. Born and brought up in Kerala, she had her school education in Bhavans Vidya Mandir Giri Nagar, Kochi. She is a graduate from the Kerala University... |
| O Maname | Hariharan Hariharan (singer) Hariharan , born 3 April 1955) is an Indian playback singer in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bhojpuri and Telugu movies, an established ghazal singer, and one of the pioneers of Indian fusion music. His melody is strongly appreciated by the film fraternity... |
| Mazhai Mazhai | Unni Krishnan & Harini Harini Harini is an Indian film playback singer and classical singer, who sings mainly in Tamil films. She has also sung in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam language films, whilst working with many leading film composers. She is married to another playback singer, Tippu.-Career:Harini learnt Carnatic... |
| Dho Dho | KK & Franko |