Ezhumalai (transl. Seven hills) is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Arjun, who also plays the title character. It also features an ensemble cast of Simran, Gajala, Mumtaj, Vijayakumar and Ashish Vidyarthi. It is the Tamil remake of the Telugu film Narasimha Naidu (2001) which also starred Simran.
| Ezhumalai | |
|---|---|
 Poster of the film's 50th day celebrations | |
| Directed by | Arjun |
| Written by | K. C. Thangam (Dialogues) Arjun Sarja Chinni Krishna (story) |
| Based on | Narasimha Naidu (Telugu) |
| Produced by | V. Ravichandran S.Amaravathy |
| Starring | Arjun Simran Gajala Mumtaj Vijayakumar Ashish Vidhyarthi |
| Cinematography | K. S. Selvaraj |
| Edited by | P. Sai Suresh |
| Music by | Mani Sharma |
Production company | Sri Venkateswara Production |
| Distributed by | Aascar Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 167 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Ezhumalai was released on 21 June 2002 and became a commercial success. It was dubbed into Telugu as Simha Baludu.[1]
Plot
editA feud between two neighbouring villages ensues, where Venkatachalam and Kalingarayan are rivals. Since Venkatachalam is a peace-loving person, their village is suppressed under the toe of malice Kalingarayan. He squats the fields of their Lakshmi Narasimha temple. Looking ahead, Venkatachalam plans to build an army for which he orders to sacrifice a male child from a family, and accords his younger son Ezhumalai.
Years later, Anjali, the pampered daughter of a savage factionist Nagalingam, grows at her maternal uncle’s house. She is later inspired by Ezhumalai, who manages a dance school. Anjali joins as his student and develops feelings for him despite knowing that he is a widower with a son. However, Nagalingam fixes Anjali’s alliance with his nephew, who is the son of Kalingarayan. Anjali later declares her love for Ezhumalai. Knowing this, the bridegroom moves to take hold of Anjali. Ezhumalai and Anjali boards the same train when the bridegroom's henchmen chase after them. At that point, a furious Ezhumalai reveals himself, where the henchmen escape out of fear. Later, Ezhumalai learns about Anjali's identity and reveals his past.
Past: After forming an army, Ezhumalai grows up as a gallant, who warns Kalingarayan to be on terms. On the eve of the celebrations, Kalingarayan onrushes where Ezhumalai slays him. Being cognizant of it, Nagalingam pledges to destroy Ezhumalai and his family. Venkatachalam decides to search a bride for Ezhumalai. He selects Lakshmi, who is a generous woman and sensitive to violence. Nevertheless, Venkatachalam conducts their marriage by concealing his son’s occupation, but Lakshmi realises the fact and bends to his goodness. Later, Ezhumalai's three siblings arrive from abroad along with their families who are conceited and negligent. However, Ezhumalai endears and adulation them a lot, but they always snide at him.
Lakshmi fails to receive and retorts. Listening to this, Ezhumalai exiles her when she reaches her parents' house and gives birth to a boy. Later, Ezhumalai’s brothers are about to return without viewing the newborn baby and refuse to accompany them. While travelling, they are onslaught by Nagalingam’s men, but Ezhumalai secures his family, keeping his life at risk, and safely sends them off. They realise his virtue and plead pardon after soul-searching. Simultaneously, Nagalingam attempts to kill Ezhumalai's son, where Lakshmi is stabbed while guarding him. Before leaving her breath, she implores Ezhumalai to get rid of this climate, which Venkatachalam also convinces him about the same.
Present: An enraged Nagalingam attacks Venkatachalam but is struck seeing Ezhumalai (who has returned to his hometown). Ezhumalai hands over Anjali to him. During this, Ezhumalai's son spells his first words, calling Anjali as his mother. Later, Venkatachalam initiates Ezhumalai to bring Anjali as a mother to his child. Anjali’s wedding arrangements are in progress, where Ezhumalai uproars Nagalingam fixing his match with Anjali and challenges him to block him. He cracks down on the day of the marriage and perceives the presence of Anjali at the hospital, who has removed her uterus as a sacrifice not to have an offspring. At last, Ezhumalai finally accepts Anjali wholeheartedly.
Cast
edit- Arjun as Ezhumalai
- Simran as Lakshmi
- Gajala as Anjali Nagalingam
- Mumtaj as Sandhya, Lakshmi's sister
- Vijayakumar as Venkatachalam, Ezhumalai's father
- Ashish Vidhyarthi as Nagalingam, Anjali's father
- Anandaraj as Nagalingam's brother-in-law
- Keerikkadan Jose as Kalingarayan
- Chandrasekhar as Venkatachalam's friend
- Sathyapriya as Nagalingam's sister
- Gowtham Sundararajan as Ezhumalai's elder brother
- Thyagu as Ezhumalai's elder brother
- Vennira Aadai Moorthy as Marriage Broker
- Peeli Sivam as Lakshmi and Sandhya's father
- Charle as Ezhumalai's assistant
- Vaiyapuri as Marriage Broker's assistant
- Scissor Manohar as Drummer
Soundtrack
editThe songs are by Mani Sharma.[2]
| Song | Singers | Lyrics | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Chillendru" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sujatha | Vaali | 05:21 | |
| "Ella Malaiyilum" | Karthik, K. S. Chithra | 05:28 | Reused "Ninna Kutesinaddhi" from Narasimha Naidu | |
| "Lux Papa" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Swarnalatha | 05:07 | Reused "Lux papa" from Narasimha Naidu | |
| "Maina Kunjo" | Shankar Mahadevan, Sujatha | 04:23 | Reused "Abba Abba" from Narasimha Naidu | |
| "Un Punnagai" | Mallikarjun, Harini | Thamarai | 04:34 | Reused "Nee Navvula" from Aadi |
Critical reception
editMalathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote "The screenplay is Arjun's. So is the direction. And the action hero thrills his fans with stunts aplenty. Yet fights alone, however well choreographed, cannot make a film watchable. You need a well-narrated story — something "Ezhumalai" lacks. Most of the time action waits for no reason and seems to need no logic."[3] Sify wrote that "the film caters strictly to the frontbenchers".[4] Cinesouth wrote "The film is full of blood, gore, fights, unimpactful scenes and an ancient story. These make 'Ezumalai' unworthy of devoted viewing".[5] Chennai Online wrote "A remake of the Balkrishna-starrer 'Narasimhanaidu', the film was a record -breaker in the original version. Arjun, after 'Vedam's failure, seems rather desperate to make it work this time round with a remake of a proven subject. The desperation shows and somewhere along the way he seems to have lost focus".[6]
References
edit- ^ "Simha Baludu". Indiancine.ma. Archived from the original on 3 October 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
- ^ "Ezhumalai". JioSaavn. 31 December 2002. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (28 June 2002). "Ezhumalai". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 February 2003. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Ezhumalai". Sify. 24 June 2002. Archived from the original on 23 August 2019. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Ezhumalai". Cinesouth. Archived from the original on 1 October 2002. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
- ^ "Ezhumalai". Chennai Online. 1 July 2002. Archived from the original on 14 February 2004. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
