Kolai (film)
Kolai (transl. Murder) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language mystery-thriller film directed by Balaji K. Kumar.[1][2] The film stars Vijay Antony, Ritika Singh, and Meenakshi Chaudhary.[3][4] The film's music is composed by Girishh G.[5][6][7] The film was released on 21 July 2023 and received mixed reviews from critics.
| Kolai | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Balaji K. Kumar |
| Written by | Balaji K. Kumar |
| Starring | Vijay Antony Ritika Singh Meenakshi Chaudhary |
| Cinematography | Sivakumar Vijayan |
| Edited by | R. K. Selva |
| Music by | Girishh G. |
Production companies | Infiniti Film Ventures Lotus Pictures |
| Distributed by | Sakthi Film Factory |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
A singer and model Leila was murdered in her own apartment.The rest is a classic whodunit with potential suspects the boyfriend Sathish, modelling friend Arjun, a bombay Marketing Agent Aditya Kaushik and a thief Babloo.
Cast
- Vijay Antony as Vinayak
- Ritika Singh as Sandhya Mohanraj
- Meenakshi Chaudhary as Leila Borkar
- Raadhika Sarathkumar as Rekha
- Rajeev Shresta as Babloo
- Murali Sharma as Adithya Koushik
- Siddhartha Shankar as Sathish
- John Vijay as Mansoor Ali Khan
- Arjun Chidambaram as Arjun Vasudev
- Anand as DCP Tilak Varma
- Yamuna Chinnadurai as Vinayak’s wife
- Sivakumar as Constable Marudhu
- Sharmila Thapa as Mekala
- M. R. Kishore Kumar as Babloo
- Amruth Kalam as Balram
- Mamathi Chari as a doctor
- Manasvi Kottachi as Yamini
Production
Production for the film began in 2018 and entered post-production in October of 2021.[8][9] The film is based on true incident of Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters that happened in New York in 1923 and according to the director is a palimpsest of the film Another Life (2001).[9]
Soundtrack
| Kolai | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 2023 | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 21:06 | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Girishh G. chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| Kolai – Full Jukebox on YouTube | ||||
The music was composed by Girishh G.[10] The song "Paartha Nyabagam Illayo" was remixed and included in the film.[11]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Neerkumizho" | Karthik Netha | Sid Sriram | 4:19 |
| 2. | "Yaar Nee" | Girishh G. | Anjana Rajagopalan, M. S. Krsna | 4:06 |
| 3. | "Nesam Maruma" | Mohan Rajan | Anjana Rajagopalan | 3:23 |
| 4. | "Kelvi Mattum Thangudhey" | Kaber Vasuki | Pradeep Kumar | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Paartha Nyabagam Illayo" | Kannadasan | Shreya Ghoshal | 5:05 |
| Total length: | 21:06 | |||
Reception
A critic from India Today wrote that "In an attempt to give the murder mystery a stylised treatment, the story of 'Kolai' is compromised. Hence, there is no desired impact while watching the film".[12] A critic from The Hindu wrote that "Despite all the quirky cinematic techniques on show, Balaji Kumar’s film, starring Vijay Antony and Ritika Singh, only comes across as a staple whodunit with no attempt to subvert anything".[13]The Times of india rated the film 3.0 stars out of 5 and stated as "An interesting yet slow-paced murder mystery thriller".[14]
References
- "'Every Murder Has A Flaw', Says Vijay Antony In 'Kolai'". Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- "Vijay Antony's Kolai trailer promises an intriguing murder mystery". The Times of India. 2022-08-16. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- "Kolai Trailer: Vijay Antony, Ritika Singh starrer murder mystery looks interesting". www.moviecrow.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- "Vijay Antony and Ritika Singh solve a murder mystery in 'Kolai'". The Times of India. 2022-04-07. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- Kollywood, Only (2022-08-18). "Kolai Trailer: Vijay Antony's next looks like a highly stylized investigative drama". Only Kollywood. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- "Kolai trailer: Vijay Antony nails the role of a smart detective in this imperfect murder mystery". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- "Pa Ranjith shares intriguing trailer of Vijay Antony's Kolai. Watch video". India Today. Archived from the original on 2023-07-07. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
- "Prasanna, Andrea, and Madonna in Vidiyum Munn director's next?". The Times of India. 23 April 2018.
- "Director Balaji Kumar: Kolai is inspired by a real-life incident". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 2022-10-03. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
- "Kolai (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP by Girishh Gopalakrishnan, Karthik Netha & Mohan Rajan". July 10, 2023. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023 – via music.apple.com.
- "Kolai review: A plastic murder mystery". July 21, 2023. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023.
- "Kolai Review: It's style over substance for Vijay Antony's murder mystery". India Today. Archived from the original on 2023-07-22. Retrieved 2023-07-22.
- "'Kolai' movie review: An unflattering murder-mystery that prioritises style over substance". The Hindu. July 21, 2023. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 22, 2023 – via www.thehindu.com.
- "Kolai Movie Review : An interesting yet slow-paced murder mystery thriller". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2023-07-25.