Once More is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Vijay, Simran, and Saroja Devi, while Manivannan, Charle, S. S. Chandran and Anju Aravind play supporting roles. It incorporates footage from Iruvar Ullam (1963) as flashback scenes of Ganesan and Saroja.
| Once More | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | S. A. Chandrasekhar |
| Written by | S. P. Rajkumar (Dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | S. A. Chandrasekhar |
| Story by | Shanmugapriyan |
| Produced by | C. V. Rajendran |
| Starring | Sivaji Ganesan Vijay Simran Saroja Devi |
| Cinematography | Selva. R |
| Edited by | B. S. Vasu Saleem |
| Music by | Deva |
Production company | Shree Ganesh Vision |
Release date |
|
Running time | 161 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹50 lakh |
| Box office | ₹8.95 crore[1] |
Once More released on 4 July 1997 and became a commercial success.[2][3][4] It was remade in Telugu as Daddy Daddy (1998).[citation needed]
Plot
editVijay, a young businessman whose only one aim in life is to have fun, is the managing director of a big tea estate in Ooty. His company goes on a big loss because of his mismanagement. Vijay spends most of his time partying and flirting with girls. To manage the loss to his company, Vijay invites his father Rajashekar, who is in the United States, to come to India to sign some documents. Unfortunately, Rajashekar dies in a plane crash on his way to India. Vijay's maternal uncle Ashok comes up with the idea of having another elderly person act as Vijay's father for a while until the documents are signed. So they visit a senior home in Coimbatore, where they meet Selvam, one of the inmates, and they request him to act as Vijay's father. He agrees to it and starts to act as Vijay's father.
Selvam observes Vijay's careless, easy-going lifestyle and is reminded of his old days when he used to be like Vijay. Selvam is very affectionate towards Vijay and considers him as his son. Vijay finds out about Selvam's past life, that Selvam was married to Shantha and they have been living separately for the past 34 years. He wants them to get united, so he searches and finds the whereabouts of Shantha. Meanwhile, Kavitha joins Vijay's company and talks to Vijay in her own style. Vijay is knocked out by Kavitha's beauty and falls in love with her. Then, their love gets into trouble because of Kavitha's mother. Now, Vijay tries to unite Selvam and Shantha, while in return, Selvam tries to unite Vijay and Kavitha. Kavitha first tries to kill Vijay to avenge her sister Anju, who committed suicide due to Vijay rejecting her love for him. But through Ashok and Selvam, Kavitha understands Vijay's good heart and reunites with him. Also, Selvam and Shantha meet once again and get married 'Once More'. The film hence ends with a happy note.
Cast
edit- Sivaji Ganesan as Selvam
- Vijay as Vijay
- Simran as Kavitha
- Saroja Devi as Shantha
- Manivannan as Ashok, Vijay's maternal uncle
- Anju Aravind as Anju
- Charle as Kesavan Nair
- S. S. Chandran as Shanmugasundaram (SS)
- Thalapathy Dinesh as Karthik, Shantha's relative
- Mohan Raman as Tension Thiyagarajan
- C. R. Saraswathi as Lakshmi, Kavitha and Anju's mother
- Mannangatti Subramaniyam as Mani, Shantha's bodyguard
- Chaplin Balu as Ramu
- S. A. Chandrasekhar as Rajashekar, Vijay's father (voiceover)
Production
editThe director, S. A. Chandrasekhar, convinced Sivaji Ganesan to feature in the film after Sathya Sai Baba told him to continue acting for this role.[5] Scenes from Iruvar Ullam (1963) were also featured extensively in the film,[6] being used as flashback scenes depicting the backstory of Ganesan and B. Saroja Devi's characters.[7] Saroja Devi considered Once More to be a sequel to Iruvar Ullam.[8]
The film marked the debut of actress Simran in Tamil cinema, with Once More and her other Tamil film, V.I.P. both releasing on 4 July 1997.[9] Simran had earlier rejected Tamil films including Bharathiraja's proposed Siragugal Murivathillai, and had garnered popularity in the Tamil film industry prior to the release of her first film. She worked on Once More alongside her commitments for V.I.P., Nerrukku Ner (1997) and Poochudava (1997).[10]
Soundtrack
editThe soundtrack was composed by Deva.[11]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Chinna Chinna Kaadhal" | Vairamuthu | Malaysia Vasudevan, Krishnaraj, Deva, Anuradha Sriram | 05:46 |
| 2. | "Malargale" | Vairamuthu | S. N. Surendar, Anuradha Sriram | 05:21 |
| 3. | "Ooty Malai Beauty" | Palani Bharathi | Mano, Swarnalatha | 05:01 |
| 4. | "Oormila Oormila" | Vairamuthu | Vijay, Shoba Chandrasekhar | 04:46 |
| 5. | "Poove Poove Penpoove" | Vairamuthu | S. N. Surendar, K. S. Chitra | 05:07 |
| Total length: | 26:21 | |||
Critical reception
editK. N. Vijiyan New Straits Times wrote that the film was a good family entertainer.[12] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 39 out of 100.[13]
References
edit- ^ "விஜய் – சிவாஜி நடிப்பில் வெளியாகி ஹிட்டான 'ஒன்ஸ்மோர்'... இப்படத்தின் மொத்த வசூல் இத்தனை கோடியா?". Filmy Focus (in Tamil). 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "Tamil Filmmaker SA Chandrasekhar's Once More Completes 25 Years". News18. 5 July 2022. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "Vijay – Superstars Success Streak". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ "20. Once More (1997) – Top 20 Best Films of Vijay". Behindwoods. 4 December 1992. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
- ^ "Sai Shanti inaugurated". The Hindu. 25 October 2006. Archived from the original on 24 November 2006. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
- ^ "Her last years in the industry". Rediff.com. 1 July 2008. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
- ^ "When Thalapathy Vijay regaled the audience by playing characters named Vijay". The Times of India. 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ "There in no such thing as right talent". The Times of India. 9 May 1998. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "Highlights Of Career". Arigem Entertainment. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ "Simran". Dinakaran. Archived from the original on 15 June 1998. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ "Once More". JioSaavn. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ Vijiyan, K. N. (26 July 1997). "See this one for the great Sivaji". New Straits Times. pp. Arts 4. Archived from the original on 14 November 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2020 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ சார்லஸ், தேவன் (22 June 2021). "பீஸ்ட் : 'நாளைய தீர்ப்பு' டு 'மாஸ்டர்'... விஜய்க்கு விகடனின் மார்க்கும், விமர்சனமும் என்ன? #Beast". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
