Thotti Jaya is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language action film[1] written and directed by Durai and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu. The film stars Silambarasan and Gopika, while Pradeep Rawat (in his Tamil debut) essays a supporting role. The soundtrack was composed by Harris Jayaraj with cinematography by R. D. Rajasekhar and Anthony.
| Thotti Jaya | |
|---|---|
 Poster | |
| Directed by | V. Z. Durai |
| Written by | S. Elango (Dialogue) |
| Screenplay by | V. Z. Durai |
| Story by | V. Z. Durai |
| Produced by | Kalaipuli S. Thanu |
| Starring | Silambarasan Gopika Pradeep Rawat |
| Cinematography | R. D. Rajasekhar |
| Edited by | Anthony |
| Music by | Harris Jayaraj Yuvan Shankar Raja (1 song) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Kalaipuli Films International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 151 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
The film released on 9 September 2005 and received positive response from both audience and critics and was a success at the box office.
Plot
editJayachandran is an orphan working in a hotel as a helper. It is assumed he gets his title name "Thotti Jaya", as he is found in a garbage bin as an infant. One day he beats and fends off a man who gets into a squabble with the hotel owner. The following night, the hotel owner rewards him with cash and dreads him the next morning. He realises people only respect the people they fear, so he walks out from the hotel and reaches Chennai. He is spotted by Seena Thana and is hired as a henchman. In an incident, Thotti Jaya gets entangled in a political and police trap. To escape from the police, he slips to Calcutta and goes into hiding. Meanwhile, Brinda, a college girl from Kanyakumari, comes to Calcutta on a tour along with her friends. Pimps operating in the red light area of Calcutta take her away. Thotti Jaya accidentally meets Brinda when she tries to escape from the gang. He helps Brinda escape from the gang and takes her safely to Kanyakumari. On her way back home by train, Brinda starts admiring Thotti Jaya's niceties and gradually falls in love with him. When she expresses her desire, Thotti Jaya reciprocates her love, and both decide to enter into wedlock, but little does he know that Brinda is actually Seena Thana's daughter. Thotti Jaya takes Brinda away from her house and earns Seena Thana's wrath. Angered by this, Seena Thana summons his rowdy gangs and plots to bump off Thotti Jaya. How Thotti Jaya accomplishes his hopes of marrying Brinda is told in the remaining part of the story.
Cast
edit- Silambarasan as Jayachandran a.k.a. Thotti Jaya
- Gopika as Brinda
- Pradeep Rawat as Seena Thana
- Vadivukkarasi
- Cochin Haneefa
- G. M. Sundar as Santhanam
- Vincent Asokan as Muthu Ganesh
- Ceylon Manohar as Nagu
- G. M. Kumar as Hotel Owner
- Mahanadi Shankar
- O. A. K. Sundar
- Rajendran as Henchman
- R. D. Rajasekhar as a gangster (cameo appearance)
- Linda Arsenio as a bar dancer (item number in the song "Yaari Singaari")
Production
editAfter completing Vijay starrer Sachein, Kalaipuli S. Thanu approved the plotline of narrated by V. Z. Durai. Durai wanted Jeevan to play the lead role and also conducted test shoots with him, but the director was not impressed with his performance, so he replaced him with Silambarasan. Thanu was initially reluctant to have him as the lead actor since Thanu had misunderstandings with his father T. Rajendar during the time of Cooliekkaran; he later made up his mind. Nayanthara was initially selected as the heroine, but she was replaced with Gopika.[2] Thotti Gaja was an early title for the film before Thotti Jaya was confirmed.[3] Silambarasan refused to dub for the film after shooting citing salary problems; the problem was resolved in Tamil Nadu Producers Council.[4]
Soundtrack
editThere are six songs composed by Harris Jayaraj, who collaborated with Durai and Silambarasan for the second time. Lyrics are written by Na. Muthukumar, Thamarai, Kabilan. Yuvan Shankar Raja, who was first signed as the music director, composed the song titled "Indha Ooru" for the film.[5] This song was not included in the soundtrack album and was credited in the movie title card. It was used only in the Tamil version of the movie and was replaced in Telugu version by the song "Ee Calcutta" composed by Harris.[6]"Yaaridamum" was re-used from Harris's song "Ye Chilipi" from Telugu film Gharshana, a remake of Tamil film Kaakha Kaakha, in which film Harris himself was the music director.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Thotta Poweru Da" | Na. Muthukumar | Harris Jayaraj | Shankar Mahadevan | 4:54 |
| 2. | "Acchu Vellam" | Na. Muthukumar | Harris Jayaraj | Ranjith, Saindhavi, Shankar Mahadevan | 5:10 |
| 3. | "Uyire En Uyire" | Na. Muthukumar | Harris Jayaraj | Anuradha Sriram, Bombay Jayashri, Karthik | 5:28 |
| 4. | "Yaaridamum" | Thamarai | Harris Jayaraj | Harini, Ramesh Vinayagam | 4:57 |
| 5. | "Yaari Singari" | Kabilan | Harris Jayaraj | Ceylon Manohar, Karthik, Sriram Parthasarathy, Srilekha Parthasarathy | 5:02 |
| 6. | "Theme" (Instrumental) | Harris Jayaraj | 1:34 | ||
| 7. | "Indha Ooru" | Na. Muthukumar, Karthik Netha | Yuvan Shankar Raja | Mathangi Jagdish | 5:08 |
| Total length: | 32:13 | ||||
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Pyari Singari" | Vanamali | Karthik, M. M. Srilekha, Sriram Parthasarathy | 5:03 |
| 2. | "Ee Calcutta" | Siva Ganesh | Rajya Lakshmi | 3:27 |
| 3. | "Adda Manadira" | Vanamali | Tippu | 4:55 |
| 4. | "Ulike O Chilake" | Vanamali | Karthik, Bombay Jayashri | 5:27 |
| 5. | "Aggilanti Valape" | Vanamali | Tippu, Saindhavi | 5:11 |
| Total length: | 24:03 | |||
Reception
editLajjavathi of Kalki called Silambarasan as the film's biggest plus and praised his performance while also appreciating Gopika's acting, cinematography and praised Jayaraj's background score but felt his songs did not stay in the mind and added the film did not have separate comedy track which is a relief.[9] Sify wrote "Silambarasan?s Thottijaya?s premise is promising and interesting in the first half but later it peters out as a violent film reduced to a staple 'masala' formula. Director V.Z.Dorai who has made that memorable Mughavari in the past, gets influenced by Ramgopal Varma style of underworld stories. The story is reminiscent of Satya in the first half but Dorai lacks sheer grit and the film ends up as a stock revenge drama with mindless action and item numbers".[10] Behindwoods wrote "Altogether, Totti Jaya is a movie mixed with action and emotions in a right manner!"[11] Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu appreciated the cinematography but criticised the story for lacking newness and added, "The screenplay of the first half of `Thotti Jaya' is refreshing. But the film flounders as the climax nears".[12]
Legacy
editVijay Chandar's film Sangathamizhan, having Vijay Sethupathi in the lead role, had a scene in which comedian Soori was shown to imitate the gangster look of black along with Thotti Jaya songs played.
Sequel
editDuring an interview in 2022, Durai announced that he already completed the script for the sequel.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b "Totti Jaya". British Board of Film Classification.
- ^ "'தொட்டி ஜெயா' படத்தில் கதாநாயகன் வேடத்தில் ஜீவனுக்கு பதில் சிம்பு!". Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 27 October 2013. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
- ^ "Shimbu's next is THOTTI GAJA". Indiainfo. 17 June 2004. Archived from the original on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ "தாணுவின் 'தொட்டி ஜெயா' டப்பிங் பேச சிம்பு மறுத்ததால் பிரச்சினை!". Maalai Malar (in Tamil). 28 October 2013. Archived from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
- ^ "Simbu ready for his next". IndiaGlitz.com. 27 July 2004. Archived from the original on 24 October 2004. Retrieved 5 June 2011.
- ^ "Jalakanta (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
- ^ "Harris Jeyaraj: Thotti Jaya – Music Streaming – Listen on Deezer". 7 February 2014. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2018.
- ^ "Jalakanta". JioSaavn. Archived from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ லஜ்ஜாவதி (25 September 2005). "தொட்டி ஜெயா". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 12. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Thottijaya". Sify. 10 September 2005. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
- ^ "Movie Review : Totti Jaya". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 24 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (16 September 2005). "Friction not unusual". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ Simbu's Next Movie with V.Z.Durai | Thotti Jaya 2 | Sundar.C (in Tamil). Cinema Vikatan. 23 February 2022. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024. Retrieved 16 February 2024 – via YouTube.
External links
edit- Thotti Jaya at IMDb