Thirumalai

Thirumalai is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language masala film written and directed by Ramana. The film stars Vijay and Jyothika in the lead roles, with Manoj K. Jayan, Avinash (in his Tamil debut), Vivek, Raghuvaran, Kausalya and Karunas in supporting roles. Produced by Kavithalayaa Productions banner, filming began in October 2002 and was planned for a January 2003 release coinciding with the Thai Pongal festival, along with Vijay's other romantic comedy film Vaseegara. Eventually, the delays due to the replacement of some actors and actresses caused the movie to release in late 2003, coinciding with Diwali.

Thirumalai released on 24 October 2003 and was declared as a blockbuster at the box office alongside positive reviews from critics, despite facing a delayed release It ran successfully more than 100 days in theatres. The film became a turning point in Vijay's career as he transitioned himself into a leading action hero from a romantic hero in his career.

The film was remade in Telugu as Gowri with Sumanth and Charmme Kaur in 2004. It was also remade in Bengali in 2007 as Kotha Dao Sathi Hobe starring Shakib Khan and Apu Biswas.

Synopsis
Thirumalai is a rough-looking kind-hearted young man who works as a mechanic in Chennai. He has 3 close friends with whom he often plays carrom. Thirumalai have developed close relations with his neighbors – Selvam and Nagalakshmi, who are couples. He considers Nagalakshmi as his sister. Thirumalai develops feelings for Shwetha after meeting her on New Year's Day. At first, Shwetha doesn't want to associate with him and swears to her father that she doesn't even know about him.

Thirumalai tries out many ways to win Shwetha's heart. One day one of his friend elope with his lover from her wedding. Thirumalai went with them at the wedding venue and become successful in winning heart of the girl's father and her fiancee, letting the girl marry his friend. Shwetha soon recropriates his feelings after understanding his good nature. However, Shwetha's father, Ashok, who is the owner of six TV channels, gets unhappy with their relationship due to status issues and assigns a gangster named Arasu to finish Thirumalai.

He kidnaps Thirumalai's friends and neighbors and threatens him. Later Arasu release all of them. Arasu eventually understands Thirumalai is a good person and decides to become a good person which didn't please his assistant Dass. Dass turns Arasu's men against him to beat him and Thirumalai up. Thirumalai eventually fixes the issue and reunites with Shwetha making Ashok understand the way of life.

Production
The filming began in October 2002, when Vijay was simultaneously shooting for his previous masala flicks such as Vaseegara (2003) and Pudhiya Geethai (2003). Directing the film was debutant Ramana who had apprenticed with director R. K. Selvamani. The shooting finally ended in April 2003. On 20th of April 2003, Vijay stated that he had started dubbing for his portions of the film. Vijay also sported a new look, which he maintained and varied for his subsequent films until Puli (2015). It was actually director Ramana, who suggested Vijay that he maintain a new look in the film, with his mustache trimmed and growing a beard. Vijay was initially hesitant to do so, but upon seeing the screen test, he was impressed with his new getup.

Namrata Shirodkar was chosen initially to play the female lead. But the director was not satisfied with her onscreen presence and she was replaced by Jyothika. This was her second film with Vijay after Kushi (2000).

Since the film's protagonist portrays a mechanic residing in Pudhupettai area, a set resembling Pudhupettai with a mechanic shop in it was erected at Mohan Studios at a cost of about 50 lakh within 40 days. Designed by art director Kathir, shooting took place there for 30 days. The film's shooting occurred in Chennai, Nellore and Vishakhapatnam, while the songs were filmed overseas.

Music
Music was composed by Vidyasagar. The audio's album consisting of five songs, was released on 22nd June 2003, which marked Vijay's 29th birthday. It was the third collaboration of Vijay and Vidyasagar, preceded by Coimbatore Maapillai (1995) and Nilaave Vaa (1998). The audio was also well received among the audience and marked a series of collaborations across the 2000s between Vijay and Vidyasagar with Ghilli (2004), Madhurey (2004), Aathi (2006), Kuruvi (2008) and Kaavalan (2011).

Release
The film was released on 24 October 2003 worldwide, on the occasion of Diwali, and was commercially successful. The film released alongside Pithamagan and Anjaneya.

Reception
Ananda Vikatan rated the film 39 out of 100. Nowrunning gave the film 3 out of 5 stars and stated "Yet another poor-boy rich-girl romance with parental opposition and mafia interference". Chennai Online wrote "There's nothing fresh here that we haven't seen in an earlier Vijay film. The Vijay-Jyotika pair, after their successful combination in Kushi, was expected to re-create the same magic on screen. But it doesn't happen". Thiraipadam wrote "Thirumalai sees director Ramana working within two big limitations. He has an age-old poor boy-rich girl love story in hand and has to contend with Vijay's mass image. Considering these restrictions, he has done a commendable job. By fashioning the hero's character a little differently and designing a fast screenplay that contains several stock situations but resolves them differently, he overcomes those negatives to deliver an entertaining feature". Behindwoods wrote " Things were never going easy for Vijay until Thirumalai happened and resurrected his image as a mass hero that he’s become today. The film was a well executed commercial potboiler which showcased Vijay excelling at all aspects of his role."