Udhavikku Varalaamaa
Udhavikku Varalaamaa (transl. May I come for help?) is a 1998 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by Gokula Krishnan.[1] The film stars Karthik, Devayani, Sangeetha and Anju Aravind, with Janagaraj, Pandiyan, Vadivukkarasi, Manivannan, Kovai Sarala and Jai Ganesh playing supporting roles. It was released on 16 January 1998 and failed at the box-office.[2] This was Gokula Krishna's last film as director and continued as dialogue writer before his death in 2008 and also was his last collaboration with Karthik after Poovarasan and Muthu Kaalai.
| Udhavikku Varalaamaa | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | Gokula Krishnan |
| Screenplay by | Gokula Krishnan |
| Story by | G. Kavitha |
| Produced by | M. Gafar |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jayanan Vincent |
| Edited by | K.R. Gowri Shankar T.R. Sekar |
| Music by | Sirpy |
Production company | Taaj International |
Release date | 16 January 1998 |
Running time | 150 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
Muthurasu has come to the city to earn money to finance his mother's operation and asks for ideas from his friend Annamalai. To rent a place owned by a Brahmin couple, Muthurasu transforms himself into a Brahmin Pichumani and also falls in love with Mythili, the couple's daughter. Getting a job at a company owned by a devout Muslim makes him put on the garb of Hussein, a Muslim. Things get more complicated when an unsafe situation makes him take on the role of Pastor James, a Christian and Stella, his secretary in the office where he works as Hussein, falls in love with him.
Cast
- Karthik as Muthurasu / Pichumani / Hussein / Pastor James
- Devayani as Mythili
- Sangeetha (credited as Rasiga) as Stella
- Anju Aravind as Aisha
- Janagaraj as Annamalai
- Pandiyan as Paalrasu
- Vadivukkarasi as Mutharasu's mother
- Manivannan as Mythili's father
- Kovai Sarala as Mythili's mother
- Jai Ganesh as Aisha's father
- Kaka Radhakrishnan as Hussein's father
- J. Lalitha as Stela's mother
- Shakeela as an item number
Soundtrack
The music was composed by Sirpy, with lyrics written by Palani Bharathi.[3]
| Song | Singer(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| "Thottu Thottu" | Mano, Swarnalatha | 4:23 |
| "Ennodu Edho" | Mano, Sujatha Mohan | 4:06 |
| "Salakku Salakku" | Mano, Swarnalatha | 4:54 |
| "Neethan Neethan" | Deva | 4:16 |
| "Singapore" | Krishna Raj, Devie Neithiyar | 4:00 |
Reception
D. S. Ramanujam wrote for The Hindu, "The director Gokul Krishna, who has written the screenplay and dialogue has created several situations, some of which are good while others are highly cinematic". He added, "Sirpi draws a blank again with his music while Jayanen Vicent's camera work is pleasant".[4] A writer from Screen called the film "a total farce which taxes the patience of the viewers. Karthik plays a conman, who woos three girls posing as a Hindu, Muslim and Christian, but fails to impress in all three".[5] The film failed at the box office, and distributors who suffered losses demanded Karthik to compensate them as he was reported to have financed the entire film, despite Gafar being credited as producer.[6]
References
- "Udhavikku varalama ( 1998 )". Cinesouth. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2011.
- Pillai, Sreedhar (10–16 May 1998). "Flop parade" (PDF). Sunday. pp. 52–53. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
- "Udhavikku Varalaamaa". JioSaavn. 3 February 2018. Archived from the original on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 18 February 2023.
- Ramanujam, D. S. (30 January 1998). "Film Reviews : Metro \ Uthavikku Varalama". The Hindu. p. 26. Archived from the original on 21 October 1999. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
- "Mammootty's Marumalarchi tops". Screen. 7 February 1998. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- Gobichetipal, Chandra (February 1999). "The stalemate". Minnoviyam. Archived from the original on 27 June 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2023.