The film was officially announced in December 2022 under the tentative title Production No. 3, as it is the third production for the former house, and the official title was announced in May 2023. Principal photography commenced the same month as the former month, and wrapped by early August 2023. The film has music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, cinematography handled by Jagadeesh Sundaramoorthy, and editing by Rukesh.
Dear was theatrically released on 11 April 2024.
Plot
Arjun is a newsreader who lives in Chennai with his single mother, his short-tempered brother, Saravana, sister in law, Kalpana and nephew. He suffers from light sleep, which means the quietest of sounds will awaken him. In Coonoor, Deepika Alias Deepu is seeking for an alliance, which fails because she addresses her snoring problem. As Arjuns Mother Lakshmi and Deepika's Mother, Vasanthi were old schoolmates, Arjun and Deepika both get along well and eventually get married. On the first night, Arjun confesses about his light sleepiness, which makes Deepika paranoid. She decides to stay awake on her mothers advice but falls asleep and ends up waking up Arjun. He becomes paranoid, so much so that his honeymoon ends early when he breaks his nose in an accident. Eventually on his friends advice, he decides to address the problem with an understanding and initially things seem fine. But when ENT specialists says its untreatable, he starts arguing with Deepika. He then comes up with an idea of alternating sleep, so whoever's not sleeping has to be awake. Everything goes fine and eventually Arjun gets a job as newsreader at his dream company. But things go south when he doesn't sleep on the day there is a last minute interview with the finance minister, he prepares for it but ends up sleeping in the bathroom, missing the show, being humiliated by his colleagues and fired. Angry, Arjun decides to apply for divorce, much to Deepika's dismay. Everyone else disagrees and tries to pull him out of it, but he wont budge, resulting in him arguing with his brother and mother and leaving the house, living with his friend, Panda. Deepika reveals shes pregnant, however adamant with his decision, Arjun decides to raise the baby separately. Deepika is upset and decides to abort the baby, despite Arjun trying to talk her out of it.
A few months later, Arjun and Deepika is still in the middle of divorce proceedings. Unemployed, unkempt and resorting to drinking and smoking. At one point, he comes to see his mother when shes out, but she gets heart pain and is hospitalized. While she is going through bypass surgery, his mother wishes to see her husband, Shanmugam, who left after accumulating loads of debt. Deepika wants to go search for him and pleads Arjun to do so, as Saravana holds an untameable grudge against his father. They track him to Idukki, and after convincing him, find him and bring him back to see him, all are happy except Saravana, as he lost trust in him. He gets shouted at by his mother, who reveals he made others decisions all by himself without asking anyone. such as Kalpana love for writing stories.
Eventually, Shanmugam and Saravana patch up and on the final day of hearing, Arjun and Deepika, talks through and eventually cancels their divorce. A Couple years later, Arjun and Deepu have a baby, as hes reading them a story, Deepu points out that the baby is snoring, they both laugh and live happily.
Arandhai Rajagopal as Finance Minister's assistant
Production
Development
On 11 December 2022, Nutmeg Productions officially announced their third production venture, which would be helmed by Sethum Aayiram Pon (2019) director Anand Ravichandran. The project would feature G. V. Prakash Kumar and Aishwarya Rajesh in the lead role, pairing opposite each other in the film, in their maiden pairing. The technical crew consisting of Prakash (as the music composer), cinematographer Jagadeesh Sundaramoorthy and editor Kripakaran was revealed along with the official stills of the muhurat puja held the same day in Chennai.[1] The film's official title, Dear, was announced on 4 May 2023.[2]
On the similarities of the storyline between Dear and Good Night, Anand stated "I know Manikandan, who's playing the hero in that film, through a common friend. Before we went to shoot, we sat down and spoke. Except for the fact that the films are about snoring, they are vastly different in terms of treatment. Ours is more commercial, and even visually, the treatment is different." According to Anand, most of the film was shot with sync sound; as he found it too difficult to recreate "the beauty of drama" through dubbing.[3] On 5 April 2024, with the release of the film's trailer, Kripakaran was revealed to have been replaced by Rukesh due to reasons unknown.[4]
Filming
Principal photography began with the first schedule on 11 December 2022.[1] After being predominantly shot in Chennai, principal photography wrapped on 1 August 2023 with a cake-cutting celebration.[5]
Release
Dear was theatrically released on 11 April 2024.[6] The post-theatrical streaming rights of the film were bought by Netflix.The film had its digital premiere on the streaming platform from 28 April 2024.[7]
Reception
123 Telugu critic rated the film 2.5/5 stars and stated that "The film's narrative lacks strength, its execution is mediocre, and it fails to evoke genuine emotional depth. Alternative entertainment options may provide a more satisfying viewing experience".[8]
Roopa Radhakrishnan of The Times of India rated the film 2/5 stars and wrote that the "Film lackluster portrayal of marriage and underdeveloped characters, with missed opportunities for deeper exploration of gender dynamics".[9]
Bhuvanesh Chandar from The Hindu wrote "The tumultuous relationship drama necessitated meticulous storytelling and a concentrated examination of its core conflict".[10]
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