Vaalmiki (film) explained

Vaalmiki
Director:G. Anantha Narayanan
Starring:Akhil
Meera Nandan
Devika
Producer:Vikatan Talkies (P) Ltd.
Music:Illayaraja
Cinematography:N Azhagappan
Language:Tamil

Vaalmiki is a 2009 Indian Tamil-language film directed by G. Anantha Narayanan, starring Akhil, Meera Nandan and Devika.

Plot

Vaalmiki is the story of a petty thief, popularly known as Pickpocket Pandi. He does all the petty crimes for a living and he never regrets to steal, snatch and even rob. He is happy on his life leading a fairly happy-go-lucky lifestyle in the company of his friends. His antics always land him in prison. One day he meets a girl, Vandana, a well behaved, sweet-tempered girl. They find themselves attracted to each other even though they have a very little in common. A flower-seller Kanaka, forms the third angle. Whether Vandana reforms Pandi form the climax.

Cast

Production

The film marked the directorial debut of Anantha Narayanan, who earlier assisted Shankar and Gandhi Krishna.[1]

Soundtrack

Valmiki
Type:film
Artist:Ilaiyaraaja
Genre:Feature film soundtrack
Length:24:48

The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and lyrics by Vaali.[2] Behindwoods wrote "As usual, Ilayaraja’s music blends so delightfully with the lyrics".[3] Milliblog wrote "Ilayaraja returns with a mixed bag in Valmiki; the better parts of the album amazingly outshine even his stupendous work in Azhagarmalai".[4]

No. Song Singers Lyrics
1 "Achadicha Kaasa..." Ilaiyaraaja Vaali
2 "Ennada Pandi..."
3 "Koodavaruviya..." Bela Shende
4 "Oli Tharum Sooriyan..." Bela Shende, Ilaiyaraaja
5 "Poo Sirikkuthu..."
6 "Rekka Katti Parakthu..." Tippu, Rahul Nambiar
7 "Thendralum Maruthu..." Shreya Ghosal

Release

The Times of India gave the film two out of five stars and wrote that "If only the director had gone the extra mile, the film would have been even more enjoyable".[5] Rediff wrote "Though the screenplay is fairly logical, with Pandi's life changing slowly, there are moments when the moralising gets to you. The first half is racy, but post intermission, the pace slackens".[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: When a pickpocket is the hero. 9 July 2009. 1 August 2024. 24 March 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230324063004/http://movies.rediff.com/slide-show/2009/jul/09/slide-show-1-g-anantha-narayanan-on-valmiki.htm. live.
  2. Web site: Valmiki (Junglee Music) [2009-ACDRip-WAV]]. TamilFlac. 1 August 2024. 1 August 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240801145531/https://www.tamilflac.com/product/valmiki-junglee-music-2009-acdrip-wav/. live.
  3. Web site: VAALMIKI MUSIC REVIEW. Behindwoods. Malathy Sundaram. 2 September 2022. 2 September 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220902191952/http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-music-reviews/review-1/vaalmiki.html. live.
  4. Web site: Music review: Valmiki (Tamil – Ilayaraja). Milliblog. 1 August 2024. 24 May 2009. Karthik. 1 August 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240801145617/https://milliblog.com/2009/05/24/music-review-valmiki-tamil-ilayaraja/. live.
  5. News: Vaalmiki Movie Review. Bhama Devi Ravi. The Times of India. 28 May 2020. 12 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230112063851/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/vaalmiki/movie-review/4719788.cms. live.
  6. Web site: Valmiki: Realism & cliches. Pavithra Srinivasan. Rediff.com. 2014-03-25. 12 January 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230112063850/https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/valmiki-review/20090629.htm. live.