Yavarum Nalam (transl. All are fine) is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language horror film[1] written and directed by Vikram Kumar. The film stars R. Madhavan and Neetu Chandra. Produced by Suresh Balaje and George Pius, the film was simultaneously shot in Hindi as 13B: Fear Has a New Address with a slightly different cast. It was also later dubbed into Telugu as 13-Padamoodu,[4] featuring a few scenes reshot with Ravi Babu. The film's soundtrack was composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, while Tubby-Parik provided the background score. Released on 6 March 2009, the film received mixed reviews but was commercially successful. Rediff placed the film in its list of top Tamil films of 2009,[5] while the American entertainment publication Collider considered it an original and one of the greatest Indian horror films of all time, praising its mixing elements of J-horror with a unique storyline.[6]
A web series with a similar theme called Dhootha written and directed by Vikram Kumar was released in 2023. Some have speculated that Yavarum Nalam and Dhootha exist in the same universe, while others have said that Dhootha is a standalone sequel to Yavarum Nalam.
Plot
Manohar moves into a new apartment, 13B, on the 13th floor with his family. They encounter a series of small, but strange, incidents, which are regarded as inauspicious by his family but shrugged off by Manohar. The elevator in the apartment works for everyone in the building except Manohar, which bothers him.
The women in the family get hooked on a new TV show, Yavarum Nalam (Everyone is Well / Sab Khairiyat (Hindi version)). The show is about a family very similar to Manohar's who have also moved into a new house. As the show unfolds, Manohar notices the incidents happening in the serial reflect what is happening to his family: his sister graduating, or his wife, Priya, getting pregnant and later suffering a miscarriage. Priya is saved by their longtime family friend and doctor, Dr. Balu / Dr. Shinde. The rest of the family remains oblivious to the similarities. Manohar goes to the production company of the serial to inquire about it. To Manohar's horror, he discovers that Yavarum Nalam / Sab Khairiyat is a different TV show -- the serial that his family watches appears only in his house, every day, at 1 p.m/13:00.
Back at home, Manohar finds an album with photographs of the family from the serial, as well as one man he doesn't recognize. He then unravels a terrifying secret: the apartment they live in shared its address with a house where another family of eight was murdered in 1977. It was the family of a TV news anchor, Chitra. On the day of Chitra's engagement, an ardent fan, Sairam Shinde, wanted to stop the engagement because of his obsession with her. He warned that he would kill everyone without leaving a piece of them. But, failing to convince them, he killed himself the very next day. It was revealed that all members of Chitra's family (including Chitra too) were murdered with a hammer on the same day as Sriram's death. The blame rested on the lunatic brother in the family, as he had been seen with the hammer last. The police officer investigating the case also seemed to die by suicide by hanging himself in the same house.
Manohar and his policeman friend, Shiva, meet the mentally disturbed brother Senthil / Ashok (Hindi version). They then meet Chitra's former fiancé, Ramchandar, who tried to plead for Senthil's innocence. After researching one night, Manohar has a nightmare of a murderer climbing the stairs to kill his family. He goes to the hall and witnesses the climax of Yavarum Nalam when they are showing the murderer's identity: Manohar's face is shown as the killer.
Not wanting to risk his family's life, he tells Dr. Balu to book tickets and send his family members somewhere without telling him so that they would be safe. When Manohar and Shiva go to Dr. Balu's house, Manohar requests to be locked up to prevent him from harming his family. It is at that point where he suddenly spots a hammer similar to the one he saw on his TV in the yard. He understands a horrifying truth and manages to convince Shiva to let him out.
Dr. Balu arrives at Manohar's home and gives the flight tickets to Manohar's wife. Suddenly, the television starts when he comes home, and he sees Chitra's spirit. The murderer is revealed to be Dr. Balu. He killed the family in 1977 after the death of his brother, the spurned fan, and also killed the police officer who had found an evidence which could lead to him. Manohar kills Dr. Balu, and this is revealed to be what the TV showed earlier, and that Manohar was innocent and Dr. Balu was the real culprit.
The story ends with Manohar living a normal life with his family. They bring Senthil home, and the apartment's lift finally works for Manohar, while Priya becomes pregnant again. When Manohar uses the lift the next day, he receives a call from Dr. Balu, saying that while the family had haunted the TV, he now haunts Manohar's phone. As the call ends, the elevator drops.
The director of the film, Vikram Kumar, won a National Award for his short film "Silent Scream". Here he teamed up with cinematographer P. C. Sreeram, editor Sreekar Prasad, sound designer A. S. Lakshminarayanan and art director Sameer Chanda, who also happen to be National Film Award winners. The Hindi working title was Channel.[7]
Casting
Esha Deol and Kareena Kapoor were originally considered for the lead role which eventually went to Neetu Chandra. Lead actress Neetu Chandra made her Tamil debut with Yaavarum Nalam. She has starred in successful Hindi films like Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! and Traffic Signal. Playback Singer Chinmayi dubbed for Neetu Chandra in this movie. Lead actor Madhavan and cinematographer P. C. Sreeram had previously worked together on the hit movie Alaipayuthey. Veteran Bengali actor Dhritiman Chatterjee made his Tamil cinema debut in Yaavarum Nalam, but Tamil was not a new language for him, as he is a resident of Chennai. He played the same role in the Hindi version of the film. Veteran Marathi actor Sachin Khedekar, who made his debut in Tamil cinema with Yaavarum Nalam, took great effort in learning his lines. A voice CD was sent to him with his lines readout so that he would get familiar with the Tamil dialogue. He plays the same character in the Hindi version as well.
Filming
The majority of the film takes place inside an apartment. A temporary shooting floor was created from scratch in Egmore, Chennai, inside which an elaborate apartment set was erected.
Soundtrack
The film's music was composed by Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy, while the lyrics in Hindi and Tamil were penned by Neelesh Mishra and Thamarai respectively.
The satellite rights of the film's Tamil version were secured by Kalaignar. The film's Tamil version was given a "U/A" certificate by the Indian Censor Board, but the Hindi version got an "A" certificate from the Censor Board.
Reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Times of India gave the movie a 3.5/5 rating and said, "Watch out for some zippy cinematography, a stylized monochrome tint, and some snazzy editing. Great timepass. Go for it."[8]
Idlebrain.com gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated, "The first half of the film is a little boring. The way the story unfolds in the second half is good. But the flashback episode and the climax is not shot in a gripping manner. The plus points of the film are the story, cinematography, and Madhavan. The negative points are inconsistent screenplay and runtime. Though it has an interesting plot point, 13B fails due to lack of gripping narration."[9]
Rajeev Masand rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "13B is the kind of convenient thriller where you do get a twist ending, but the kind in which anything goes. The logic behind the twist and the back-story to the supernatural premise is so convoluted, it's hardly clever."[10]
Hindustan Times gave the movie 2 out of 5 stars and stated, "If you like horror films, this one's par for the course, especially in the first half, where Vikram K Kumar uses the TV set for an interesting premise, the actors do their bit and the camera picks up suitably weird angles."[11]
Rediff.com rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and said, "One simply wishes it didn't have to be such hard work getting to the point, for the filmmakers as well as the audience."[12]
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and said that "On the whole, 13B is interesting in parts, not in entirety."[13]
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express said, "Forget the irritating item numbers. Stay with the film, and you will come to a smart little end, and leave half-smiling, half-wondering: is this what the future holds?"[14]
Film Journal International wrote in their review, "J-horror-styled supernatural thriller from India doesn't have the gore or intensity of the real thing, and for many in the mainstream, that's a relief. Low-budget-looking but effective, with a great central gimmick."[15]
Box office
The Tamil version was a hit, grossing around ₹13 crore.[3]Yavarum Nalam grossed ₹2.34 crore in Chennai.[16] The Hindi version grossed only ₹10 crore and was a commercial failure, according to Box Office India.[17]
