April Maadhathil (transl. In the month of April) is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by newcomer S. S. Stanley. It stars Srikanth and Sneha, with Gayatri Jayaraman, Venkat Prabhu, Devan and Karunas among others in the supporting cast. The film, which had music scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja and cinematography handled by M. V. Panneerselvam, released on 29 November 2002.[1] The film was later dubbed into Hindi as Mr. Rangeela and in Telugu as Vaallidharu and released in 2004. The film's title is inspired by a song from Vaali.
| April Maadhathil | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | S. S. Stanley |
| Written by | S. S. Stanley |
| Produced by | V. Gnanavelu V. Jayaprakash |
| Starring | Srikanth Sneha |
| Cinematography | M. V. Panneerselvam |
| Edited by | Anil Malnad |
| Music by | Yuvan Shankar Raja |
Production company | G. J. Cinema |
Release date |
|
Running time | 153 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editIt's a story of friendship among eight girls and boys. Kathir is an intelligent guy who grew up in a poor family. His younger brother stopped his education for Kathir. In college, Kathir meets a girl named Shwetha and over time they become friends. Many guys are interested in her, but she finds something different about Kathir. The friends then decide to visit each others homes for their vacation. At Shwetha's home, they learn that Shwetha's father is thinking of getting her married the next year. At graduation, they cut their names on a tree since it is their final year. Though Kathir and Shwetha love each other, they are unable to express it. The rest of the story is about how they get together.
Cast
edit- Srikanth as Kathir
- Sneha as Swetha
- Gayatri Jayaraman as Nirmala ("Nimmi")
- Venkat Prabhu as Venkat ("Venky")
- Devan as Shwetha's father
- Karunas as Cycle Jackson
- Kamala Krishnaswamy as Kathir's mother
- Daniel Balaji as Suresh
- Mayilsamy
- Bava Lakshmanan
- Anju Mahendran as Kathir's friend
- Kottachi
- S. P. Balasubrahmanyam as himself
- Ramakrishnan as Kathir's friend (uncredited)
Production
editS. S. Stanley who had apprenticed with directors Mahendran and Sasi made his directorial debut with this film. It was Srikanth's second film after Rojakoottam.
The film was mostly shot at the YMCA College of Physical Education in Chennai, since a large part of the film plays in a campus, filming was held at locations in Chennai, Bangalore, Mysore, Ooty and Visakhapatnam.[2][3]
Soundtrack
editThe soundtrack, which released on 6 October 2002, was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, who himself had sung one of the songs. Opera singer Shekhina Shawn Jazeel sang one song under the name Prasanna.[4] The soundtrack features 6 songs with lyrics written by five different lyricists, Palani Bharathi, Pa. Vijay, Thamarai, Na. Muthukumar and Snehan. The song "Bailomo Bailomo" originally composed for this film was used in Bala.[5]
| Song | Singer(s) | Duration | Lyricist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Yeh Nenje" | Harish Raghavendra, Sadhana Sargam | 5:11 | Thamarai | |
| "Azhagaana Aangal" | Prasanna | 4:27 | Palani Bharathi | |
| "Kanavugal Pookkum" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Pop Shalini | 4:32 | Na. Muthukumar | |
| "Manasae Manasae" | Karthik | 4:58 | Pa. Vijay | |
| "Poi Solla Manasukku" | Yuvan Shankar Raja | 5:05 | Snehan | |
| "Sight Adippom" | Silambarasan, Karthik | 4:27 | Pa. Vijay |
Critical reception
editThe Hindu wrote: "Stanley who heads [sic] direction, deserves special mention for a very decent handling of romance."[6] Chennai Online called it "just another youth-based college campus caper, the scenes moving through college-time, vacations (to justify the title), and back to the college. The saving grace is the freshness of the teaming and the on-screen chemistry of the lead pair."[7] Visual Dasan of Kalki wrote it is a college campus formula love story of friendship first then love but as if it has not been painted with an old color, the scenes are refreshingly new, often freeing us from the state of watching a film and making us feel like we are rewinding our college life.[8] Cinesouth wrote "The film states loud and clear that friendship between a boy and a girl ends in love without exception. And, the first time director Stanley has also proved that more than heroism, it is screenplay that matters the most for a film".[9]
References
edit- ^ "Srikanth". Sify. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ^ "Romance on campus". The Hindu. 6 September 2002. Archived from the original on 8 September 2003. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
- ^ Mannath, Malini (26 July 2002). "April Maathathil". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 1 March 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ Kumar, Divya (5 April 2012). "Vocal Score". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 February 2020. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- ^ "Success guaranteed". The Hindu. 19 November 2005. Archived from the original on 22 March 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
- ^ "April Madhathil". The Hindu. 6 December 2002. Archived from the original on 3 October 2003. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
- ^ "April Maathathil". Chennai Online. 5 December 2002. Archived from the original on 5 April 2005. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
- ^ தாசன், விஷுவல் (22 December 2002). "ஏப்ரல் மாதத்தில்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 80. Archived from the original on 29 October 2023. Retrieved 29 October 2023.
- ^ "April Maadhathil". Cinesouth. Archived from the original on 19 December 2002. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
