Winner (film)

Winner
Directed by	Sundar C
Produced by	Suthan S. Ramachandran
Written by	Boopathy Pandian (dialogue)
Screenplay by	Sundar C
Story by	Sundar C
Starring	Prashanth Kiran Vadivelu Vijayakumar M. N. Nambiar Riyaz Khan
Music by	Yuvan Shankar Raja
Cinematography	Prasad Murella
Edited by	P. Sai Suresh
Production company	Mother India Movies International
Release dates	27 September 2003
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Winner is a 2003 Indian Tamil language action comedy film written and directed by Sundar C. The film stars Prashanth and Kiran in lead roles, while Vadivelu, Vijayakumar, M. N. Nambiar and Riyaz Khan among others play other supporting roles. The film, which has music scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja and camera work handled by Prasad Murella, released on 27 September 2003 and became a blockbuster hit at the box office.

Plot

Sakthi (Prashanth) is studying in a college in the city and he gets into quarrels every other day. Not able to withstand the threats from hooligans, Sakthi’s mother (Jayamurali) and father (Vijayakumar) packs him up to their village where Sakthi’s grandfather Velayutham (M. N. Nambiar) & grandmother Sivagami (M. N. Rajam) are cultivating Paddy. In that village an innocent and comical servant Kaipulla (Vadivelu) is constantly challenged by Sakthi’s relative Kattadurai (Riyaz Khan). Sakthi visits his grandparents and decides to stay there. A marriage of their relative is planned and the whole family from all over Tamil Nadu assembles. Neelaveni (Kiran) who accompanies her relatives falls in love with Sakthi. Kattadurai is supposed to marry Neelaveni. Many events follow. Kattadurai often clashes with Sakthi and gets beaten up. Amidst the wedding preparation a group of former enemies (Raj Kapoor, Anuradha) along with Neelaveni’s father (Prathap Singh) kidnap Neelaveni. Sakthi goes after them. After a huge tussle whether Sakthi brings back Neelaveni, Whether they unite or not is the rest of the story.

Cast

Production

Prashanth signed on to star in the film, being produced by R. Bhooma Ramachandran in late 2001, with Aarthi Aggarwal signed on the play the film's heroine.^[1] It was reported that she had impressed actress Kushboo with her performances in Telugu films and Kushboo thus receommended her to her film maker husband, Sundar C.^[2] However she was later replaced by Kiran Rathod and filming for project began as early as January 2002. The film was primarily shot in Chennai and Pollachi, while scenes showcasing a wedding at Kiran's house was shot at Vasan House, Chennai.^[3][4] Prashanth was briefly hospitalised after injuring himself filming an action scene for the film.^[5][6]

Despite being completed by the end of 2002, the release of the film was held up after Sundar C decided to prioritise his work on Kamal Haasan's Anbe Sivam.

Release

The film opened to positive reviews in September 2003.^[7][8] A critic noted "It is a typical Sundar C. brand entertainer with comedy, stunts, romance and sentiment thrown in to make the product racy", concluding it was set to be a "box office winner".^[9] Another critic also noted "Vadivelu’s comedy is the highlight of the film. He has given a consistent performance in the film".^[10]

Soundtrack

After Unakkaga Ellam Unakkaga (1998) and Rishi (2000), Sundar C. and Yuvan Shankar Raja worked together for the third time for the music composition of this film. The soundtrack, released on 17 March 2003, features 6 tracks with lyrics penned by Pa. Vijay and Viveka.

References