Kolai (film)

Kolai (transl. Murder) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language psychological thriller film directed by Balaji K. Kumar.^[1][2] The film stars Vijay Antony, Ritika Singh, and Meenakshi Chaudhary.^[3][4] The film's music is composed by Girishh G.^[5][6][7] The film was released on 21 July 2023. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb.^[8]

Kolai
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Balaji K. Kumar
Written by	Balaji K. Kumar
Starring	Vijay Antony Ritika Singh Meenakshi Chaudhary
Cinematography	Sivakumar Vijayan
Edited by	R. K. Selva
Music by	Girishh G.
Production companies	Infiniti Film Ventures Lotus Pictures
Distributed by	Sakthi Film Factory
Release date	21 July 2023 (2023-07-21)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

A singer and model Leila was murdered in her own apartment.The rest is a classic whodunit with potential suspects the boyfriend Sathish, modelling friend Arjun, a bombay Marketing Agent Aditya Kaushik and a thief Babloo.

Cast

• Vijay Antony as Vinayak
• Meenakshi Chaudhary as Leila Borkar
• Ritika Singh as Sandhya Mohanraj
• Radhika Sarathkumar as Rekha
• Rajeev Shresta as Babloo
• Murali Sharma as Adithya Koushik
• Siddhartha Shankar as Sathish
• M. R. Kishore Kumar as Babloo
• John Vijay as Mansoor Ali Khan
• Arjun Chidambaram as Arjun Vasudev
• Anand as DCP Tilak Varma
• Samkit Bohra as Vinoth
• Yamuna Chinnadurai as Vinayak's wife
• Sivakumar as Constable Marudhu
• Sharmila Thapa as Mekala
• Amruth Kalam as Balram
• Kodangi Vadivel as Marimuthu
• Mamathi Chari as Dr. Kanchana
• Manasvi Kottachi as Yamini
• Prarthana as Ammu

Production

Production for the film began in 2018 and entered post-production in October 2021.^[9][10] The film is based on true incident of Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters that happened in New York in 1923 and according to the director is a palimpsest of the film Another Life (2001).^[10]

Soundtrack

Kolai
Soundtrack album by Girishh G.
Released	2023
Recorded	2021
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	21:06
Language	Tamil
Girishh G. chronology
Super Senior Heroes (2022) Kolai (2023)
Official audio
Kolai – Full Jukebox on YouTube

The music was composed by Girishh G.,^[11] collaborating with the director for the second time after Vidiyum Munn. The song "Paartha Nyabagam Illayo" was remixed and included in the film.^[12]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"Neerkumizho"	Karthik Netha	Sid Sriram	4:19
2.	"Yaar Nee"	Girishh G.	Anjana Rajagopalan, M. S. Krsna	4:06
3.	"Nesam Maruma"	Mohan Rajan	Anjana Rajagopalan	3:23
4.	"Kelvi Mattum Thangudhey"	Kaber Vasuki	Pradeep Kumar	4:13
5.	"Paartha Nyabagam Illayo"	Kannadasan	Shreya Ghoshal	5:05
Total length:				21:06

Reception

Janani K of India Today rated with 1.5/5 stars and wrote that "In an attempt to give the murder mystery a stylised treatment, the story of 'Kolai' is compromised. Hence, there is no desired impact while watching the film".^[13] Kirubhakar Purushothaman of Indian Express rated the film with 1.5/5 stars and wrote "Kolai ends up being a plastic film that is shallow and uninteresting."^[14] A critic from The Hindu wrote that "Despite all the quirky cinematic techniques on show, Balaji Kumar's film, starring Vijay Antony and Ritika Singh, only comes across as a staple whodunit with no attempt to subvert anything".^[15] The Times of India rated the film 3/5 stars and stated as "An interesting yet slow-paced murder mystery thriller".^[16]

References

1. "'Every Murder Has A Flaw', Says Vijay Antony In 'Kolai'". Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
2. "Vijay Antony's Kolai trailer promises an intriguing murder mystery". The Times of India. 16 August 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
3. "Kolai Trailer: Vijay Antony, Ritika Singh starrer murder mystery looks interesting". www.moviecrow.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
4. "Vijay Antony and Ritika Singh solve a murder mystery in 'Kolai'". The Times of India. 7 April 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
5. Kollywood, Only (18 August 2022). "Kolai Trailer: Vijay Antony's next looks like a highly stylized investigative drama". Only Kollywood. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
6. "Kolai trailer: Vijay Antony nails the role of a smart detective in this imperfect murder mystery". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
7. "Pa Ranjith shares intriguing trailer of Vijay Antony's Kolai. Watch video". India Today. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
8. "Vijay Antony scores biggest disaster in his career". TrackTollywood. 24 July 2023. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
9. "Prasanna, Andrea, and Madonna in Vidiyum Munn director's next?". The Times of India. 23 April 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
10. Chandar, Bhuvanesh (25 October 2021). "Director Balaji Kumar: Kolai is inspired by a real-life incident". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
11. "Kolai (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP by Girishh Gopalakrishnan, Karthik Netha & Mohan Rajan". 10 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023 – via music.apple.com.
12. "Kolai review: A plastic murder mystery". 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
13. "Kolai Review: It's style over substance for Vijay Antony's murder mystery". India Today. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
14. "Kolai review: A plastic murder mystery". 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
15. "'Kolai' movie review: An unflattering murder-mystery that prioritises style over substance". The Hindu. 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023 – via www.thehindu.com.
16. "Kolai Movie Review : An interesting yet slow-paced murder mystery thriller". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.

External links

• Kolai at IMDb