Devathaiyai Kanden

For the TV series, see Devathaiyai Kanden (TV series).

Devathaiyai Kanden
DVD cover
Directed byBoopathy Pandian
Written byBoopathy Pandian
Produced byM. A. Kajamaideen
K. Aayisha
StarringDhanush
Sridevi Vijaykumar
CinematographyM. V. Panneerselvam
Prasad Murella
Music byDeva
Production
company
Roja Combines
Release date
  • 14 January 2005 (2005-01-14)
Running time
156 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Devathaiyai Kanden (transl. I Saw an Angel) is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by Boopathy Pandian in his directorial debut. The film stars Dhanush and Sridevi Vijaykumar, while Kunal and Karunas play supporting roles as Sridevi's doctor and Dhanush's best friend respectively. The film borrows its name from a song from another Dhanush film, Kaadhal Kondein (2003). The music was composed by Deva.

Devathaiyai Kanden released on 14 January 2005 and went on to become a commercial success.[1] The film was remade in Kannada as Jaaji Mallige (2009).[2]

Plot

Babu is a struggling tea vendor who makes a living out of selling milk tea, carrying the business on his bicycle. He falls in love with Uma, a rich college girl. Gradually, Uma also reciprocates Babu's feelings for his good nature, and things go smoothly for a while.

Uma's parents find her a groom Bala, who is wealthy and who well-educated. Uma is in a dilemma on whom to choose as her life partner. She thinks of her future if she chooses the impoverished Babu, where she visualizes herself giving birth to a child in a government hospital, her husband unable to raise required money for her medical expenses, and overall a very difficult life; in contrast to a life where she is pampered by everyone, her every need taken care of almost instantly if she chooses to marry Bala.

While Babu is on a religious trip to Sabarimala, Uma decides to marry Bala so that she can continue to lead a comfortable life. Babu is devastated when he learns of this and heartbroken when Uma goes to the extent of shouting at him. He accuses her parents for changing her mind.

Babu gets arrested after trying to attempt suicide during a Valentine's Day gathering. He is taken to the police station and gets beaten up by an inspector. Babu's friend Kaduppu Subramani pleads with the inspector, saying that he and Babu are orphans and there is no one to ask after them if they get killed. This changes the inspector's mind and makes him look at Babu's plight kindly, and he agrees to file a case against Uma.

In a unique way, Babu files a case against Uma for not holding the promise made to him of sharing a life together for a good 50 years. The case soon gathers momentum and has the public discussing it everywhere. As the case progresses, several sacrifices made by Babu for the sake of Uma come into light through revelations made by people known to him and by his close friends. Uma has a change of heart and on the final day of the hearing, decides to reunite with Babu.

When Uma offers a rose to Babu, he refuses to accept her, saying that the case was filed not to win her back, but to teach a lesson to her and every girl with an attitude identical. He justifies further by saying that yesterday she hated him because of his status but today she loves him and tomorrow she may again find him unattractive. Babu also says that as he did not know English, she left him. While leaving the court complex, much to the surprise of the visibly embarrassed Uma, he tells his last word to her in his known English, "Goodbye".

Cast

Production

Dhanush signed a film titled Ennai Mattum Kadhal Pannu (transl. Love me only) soon after the success of his debut film Thulluvadho Ilamai, and the venture was initially set to star Sherin, who appeared alongside him in that film.[3] Since then, the title went through multiple changes, briefly being referred to as Kadhal Sughamanathu (transl. Love is peace), Kadhalna Summava (transl. Is love a joke?) and then finally as Devathaiyai Kanden, after a song from the Dhanush-starrer Kaadhal Kondein (2003). Later, Sridevi Vijaykumar replaced Sherin.[4][5]

The film was delayed as Dhanush had signed on to appear in several other films following the success of Kaadhal Kondein. Other projects he prioritised over Devathaiyai Kanden included Pudhukottaiyilirundhu Saravanan (2004), Sulaan (2004), Dreams (2004) and Adhu Oru Kana Kaalam (2005). He also worked on a number of dropped films during the period including K. S. Ravikumar's Odipolaama, Selvaraghavan's Doctors, Sibi Chakravarthy's Raghava and Manmadha Rasa.[6]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Deva.[7][8]

Title Singer(s) Lyrics
"Azhage Brammanidam" Harish Raghavendra, Ganga Sitharasu Pa. Vijay
"Ore Oru Thopula" Sabesh, Srilekha Parthasarathy Velam C. Manohar
"Maama Paiya" Ranjith Na. Muthukumar
"Thundai Kaanom" Dhanush, Anuradha Sriram Thiraivannan
"Velakku Onnu" Yugendran, Grace Karunas Pa. Vijay

Release and reception

Devathaiyai Kanden was released on 14 January 2005 on the eve of Pongal with other releases like Ayya, Iyer IPS, Aayudham and Thirupaachi.[9] Malini Mannath of Chennai Online wrote "It is Bhoopathypandian's first directorial venture and he can be appreciated for trying out something out of the routine here. If only he had polished up the earlier scenes too!".[10] Visual Dasan of Kalki praised Pandian's direction, the performances of Dhanush and Sridevi.[11] Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote, "Coherence is a casualty in [Devathaiyai Kanden] and so is tautness. The first half just languishes in light-hearted happenings that are anything but funny. It is in the last hour that the story gains some momentum".[12] However Sify wrote "Bhoopthy Pandian, the debutant director has no clue about what he was trying to convey to the audience. All the characters are etched out in poor light and less said about the lead pair, the better! For a change, Deva’s lifted music is a blessing. The story, script, presentation is amateurish and the direction is incredibly lifeless and uninvolving".[13]

References

  1. ^ Sekar, Raja (16 October 2019). "With the success of Asuran, Dhanush proves he's a rare Tamil star who strikes the balance between scale and substance". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  2. ^ Vijayasarathy, R G (3 April 2009). "Jaaji Mallige is a good remake". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Cine News". Dinakaran. 1 October 2002. Archived from the original on 29 October 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Danush series continues! 'Kadhalna Summava". Cinesouth. 14 August 2003. Archived from the original on 23 August 2003. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Movie Previews – Thendral". Bizhat. 1 September 2004. Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Silence gave me my hat-trick". Cinesouth. 17 December 2003. Archived from the original on 3 February 2004. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Devathayai Kanden (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Apple Music. 14 January 2005. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  8. ^ "Devathayai Kandan Tamil Audio CD". Banumass. Archived from the original on 12 November 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Pongal Releases, 2005". Rediff.com. 14 January 2005. p. 4. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  10. ^ Mannath, Malini (21 January 2005). "Devathayai Kanden". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 10 December 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  11. ^ தாசன், விசுவல் (13 February 2005). "தேவதையை கண்டேன்". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 65. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (28 January 2005). "Devadhaiyai Kandaen". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Devathaye Kanden". Sify. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2024.