Settai (film)

Settai (transl. Mischief) is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language black comedy film directed by R. Kannan.[1] A remake of the 2011 Bollywood English-language film, Delhi Belly,[2] it stars Arya, Hansika Motwani, Anjali, Santhanam and Premji.[3] The film, which began filming in Chennai on 7 May 2012,[4] released for April 2013. The audio was launched on 30 January.[5] The film released on 5 April 2013.[6][7]

This article is about 2013 film. For the town of ancient Lydia, see Settai (Lydia).

Settai
Theatrical release poster
Directed byR. Kannan
Written byJohn Mahendran (dialogues)
Screenplay by
Story byAkshat Verma
Based onDelhi Belly by
Abhinay Deo
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyP. G. Muthiah
Edited byLeo John Paul
Music byS. Thaman
Production
company
Distributed byUTV Motion Pictures
Release date
  • 5 April 2013 (2013-04-05)
Running time
136 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot

Journalist Jayaganthan aka J.K. Boss (Arya), photographer Nagaraj (Santhanam) and Cheenu (Premji) are roommates leading an unkempt and debt-ridden life in a shoddy apartment in Mumbai. J.K.'s ditsy fiancée, Madhumita (Hansika), is an air hostess who agrees to deliver a package for Richard (Ashwin Mushran) to Guna (Nassar), without realizing its contents or that Guna is a gangster. Madhumita asks J.K. to deliver the package. J.K., in turn, asks Nagaraj to do so. But Nagaraj is unable to do so as he is experiencing diarrhea after eating Ileana Chicken from a roadside eatery. Nagaraj hands Madhumita's package to Cheenu for delivery to Guna, along with a package containing his stool sample for delivery to Nagaraj's doctor. Cheenu mixes up the two packages which makes Guna furious and he starts the investigation by interrogating Vladimir.

Meanwhile, Nagaraj photographs his landlord (Ali) with a prostitute. He sends an envelope with the photographs to his landlord to blackmail him. J.K. is with Madhumita, and his colleague Shakthi (Anjali) calls him on the pretext of work. When he reaches the place, he realizes that it is just a party and Shakthi called him just to have fun. Rajeev, supposedly Shakthi's ex-husband, sees them together and gives J.K. a black-eye in a fit of jealousy. J.K. retaliates and knocks Rajeev out. As J.K. and Shakthi leave, they are chased by a furious Rajeev and his friends who shoot at them. The duo barely manages to escape.

Richard informs Guna that the mix-up must have been caused by Madhumita as she didn't know what she was carrying in the package. Guna calls Madhumita, informs her about the mix-up and asks her to give him the address of the person who had delivered the package. When J.K. arrives into his apartment, he walks into Guna, who has Cheenu standing on a stool with a noose around his neck. On a very hard interrogation, Guna discovers the mix-up and realizes that the package must be with Nagaraj's doctor.

Nagaraj gets the package from his doctor's office, wherein Guna finds his thirty diamonds hidden inside. Upon recovering his booty, he orders his henchmen to kill the three roommates. One of them is about to shoot J.K., when another kicks the stool on which Cheenu was standing to hang him. Luckily for the roommates, the ceiling of the apartment caves in, since it can't take Cheenu's weight. The cave-in injures and knocks-out Guna and his men. J.K., Cheenu and Nagaraj escape along with the diamonds and spend the night at Shakthi's place. The next day they sell the diamonds to a local jeweler.

As the roommates prepare to get out of town with the money, they get a call from Guna, who has kidnapped Madhumita. He threatens to kill her, if they don't return the diamonds. The trio, try to buy back the diamonds from the jewelry store, who demands a double payment for the sale amount.

Without the money, J.K. comes up with a plan. Nagaraj, Cheenu, J.K. and Shakthi disguise themselves as burglars and go back to the jewelry store. They con the owner, gag him and forcefully take back their diamonds and return his money. They make their get-away in J.K.'s car with the police on their tail and make their way to the hotel where Guna is holding Madhumita. As they are about to make the exchange with Guna, the police arrive at the hotel room. There is a shoot-out between the police and Guna's gang.

Nagaraj, Cheenu, J.K, Madhumitha and Richard who have hit the floor during the gunfight, are left as the only sole survivors. Shakthi is upset to learn about J.K.'s engagement and walks away from him. J.K. breaks off his engagement to Madhumitha. Later, it is revealed that Nagaraj did not return the cash to the jewelry store owner, and had kept the money for himself. The film ends when Shakthi comes to the roommates' apartment to return J.K.'s car's hubcap lost while escaping from Rajeev. J.K. jumps into her car through the open window and kisses her passionately.

Cast

Production

Casting

After UTV Motion Pictures announced that the studio will be remaking the Hindi-language film Delhi Belly in Tamil, R. Kannan, who had earlier directed Jayam Kondaan and Kanden Kadhalai, was selected as the director.[9] G. Dhananjayan, South Business chief of UTV, stated that, unlike the original version, which received an adult rating, the remake would be made for a family audience, making clear that the core plot would be retained, while the dialogue would be changed and "risque jokes" be avoided. Dhananjayan further added that he, Kannan and John Mahendran (director of Sachein and son of award-winning director Mahendran) would be credited for additional screenplay and adaption, while the latter would write the new dialogues as well.[10] Varuthapadaatha Vaalibar Sangam and Vai Raja Vai were amongst the suggested titles for the film,[11] with the team eventually zeroing in on Settai. Arya, Santhanam and Premji were selected to play the three lead roles.[12] Vijay Raaz, who portrayed the main antagonist in Delhi Belly, was approached to reprise his role.[13] His role later went to Nassar. Suja Varunee was cast to appear in a cameo role which was played by Anusha Dandekar in the original.[14] Telugu comedian Ali joined the cast, making his Tamil film debut.[15]

Filming

The film was launched on 7 May 2012 in Chennai. Two huge sets resembling a hotel and a bachelor's room were reportedly constructed for the shoot.[16] The first schedule got over after 20 days of shoot in three differently constructed sets. Arya, Hansika and Anjali along with the crew will be leaving for Switzerland on 23 September to shoot two songs over there. According to Kannan, 75% of the film has been shot and the film is gearing up for a December release.[17]

Soundtrack
Settai
Soundtrack album by
S. Thaman
Released30 January 2013
Recorded2013
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length19:17
LabelSony Music Entertainment
ProducerS. Thaman
S. Thaman chronology
Naayak
(2012)		 Settai
(2013)		 Jabardasth
Singam II
(2013)

The soundtrack album comprises six tracks composed by S. Thaman uniting with director Kannan for the second time after Vanthaan Vendraan and with Arya for the first time. The album was released on 30 January 2013.

Track-List
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Agalathey Agalathey"Madhan KarkyVijay Prakash, Megha03:48
2."Nee Thaane Osthi Ponna"Gaana BalaGaana Bala02:42
3."Arjuna Arjuna"ThamaraiKarthik, Suchitra03:35
4."Laila Laila"Na. MuthukumarAndrea Jeremiah03:51
5."Poyum Poyum Indha Kadhalukkulle"Madhan KarkyHaricharan, Chinmayi03:42
6."Theme Music" (Instrumental) Devan Ekambaram & Anbu Raju01:39
Total length:19:17

Release

Critical reception

S Saraswathi of Rediff gave the film 2 stars out of 5 and said: "Settai is, sadly, a great disappointment ... The director has ruined a perfectly good script and has given an absolutely boring version of the exciting and racy Delhi Belly. From beginning to end, the film follows the same pace and all the scenes are so boring and slow, you could actually sleep through the entire movie."[18] NewsTrackIndia gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and issued the verdict, "Settai misses the soul of the original".[19] in.com rated it 2.5 out of 5 and stated "Settai is watered down version of Delhi Belly and lacks the punch of the original".[20] Oneindia gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and delivered a verdict, "The film works only in parts. The adult comedy which made the original film 'Delhi Belly' a blockbuster has been completely toned down in this version".[21] Behindwoods also gave 2.5 out of 5 saying "The first half is slow and the Agalathey number although good in looks and presentation, impedes the proceedings in second half. The scenes evoke smile but not laughter. Santhanam has become repetitive".[6] Shailesh K Nadar of CinemaSpice.in rated Settai as 3/5 mentioning in his review that "It’s not bad, but would have been a better entertainer by following the essence of the original more faithfully. In short, Settai is a joyride – but only if you haven’t seen Delhi Belly." Baradwaj Rangan of the Hindu wrote "Those who haven’t seen Delhi Belly will probably find all this fresh, while for the rest of us the sole saving grace is Santhanam’s brand of comedy...the rhyming gags aren’t exactly new, but the zingers keep coming at such a pace that even with a fifty per cent success rate, we’re still left with some amusement. He’s labelled “Comedy Super Star,” and for once the hype seems justified."[22]

Box office

In Malaysia, the film grossed $280,086 in four weeks.[23]

Controversy

RJ Balaji who reviewed the movie on SoundCloud tweeted he got threatening calls from UTV employee.[24][25]

References
  1. Dhanajayan in Twitter, Dhanajayan via Twitter, archived from the original on 3 February 2016, retrieved 7 May 2012
  2. "First Look: Settai, the Tamil remake of 'Delhi Belly'". 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 10 October 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  3. "Arya and Santhanam's next to go on floor". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  4. "'Delhi Belly' rolls as 'Settai'". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  5. "Settai Audio Launch Date". iFlickz. 9 January 2013. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  6. "Settai Movie Review". Behindwoods. 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  7. Chennai Box-Office – April 26 to 28 – Sify.com
  8. Settai (DVD): end credits from 2:01:27 to 2:01:48
  9. "Now, Delhi Belly to be remade in Tamil". Hindustan Times. 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 1 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  10. "Delhi Belly remake to be called Naughty in Tamil". Rediff. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
  11. Subramanian, Anupama (29 April 2012) Delhi Belly is Varuttha Padadha Vaalibhar Sangham. Deccan Chronicle.
  12. "'Delhi Belly' to be remade in Tamil". Indian Express. 30 April 2012. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  13. V Lakshmi, TNN (20 April 2012). "Vijay Raaz comes to Kollywood". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  14. V Lakshmi (20 May 2012). "Suja steps into Anusha's shoes". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 July 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  15. "Ali joins cast of Delhi Belly's remake". Postnoon. 8 May 2012. Archived from the original on 16 December 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  16. "The 'Settai' boys". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 13 May 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  17. "Arya & Hansika off to the swiss Alps". Sify. 21 September 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  18. S Saraswathi (5 April 2013). "Review: Settai, not a patch on Delhi Belly". Rediff Movies. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  19. "'Settai' – misses soul of original (Tamil Movie Review)". Newstrackindia.com. 6 April 2013. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  20. "Movie review: Settai lacks the punch of the original!". In.com. 6 April 2013. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  21. Shanmugan (6 April 2013). "Settai Movie Review". Oneindia. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  22. "Settai: Belling the scat". The Hindu. 6 April 2013. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  23. "Settai grossed $280k in Malaysia". Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  24. "RJ Balaji on Twitter". Archived from the original on 6 October 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  25. "Is RJ Balaji hurting Tamil movie industry". Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
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