Kurumbu

Kurumbu (transl. Naughty) is a 2003 Indian Tamil-language teen romantic comedy film directed by Vishnuvardhan, making his directorial debut. The film, a remake of the 2002 Telugu film Allari, stars Naresh, who also starred in the original version, along with Nikita Thukral and Diya.^[1] The film was released on 21 November 2003, failing to repeat the success of the original version and hence, ending up as a box-office bomb.^[2] Although there is the Telugu original, it was dubbed in Telugu also as Naa Allari.

Kurumbu
DVD cover
Directed by	Vishnuvardhan
Screenplay by	Vishnuvardhan
Story by	Nivas
Produced by	Akkineni Indira Anand
Starring	Naresh Nikita Thukral Diya
Cinematography	Ra. Krishnaa
Edited by	A. Sreekar Prasad
Music by	Yuvan Shankar Raja
Production company	Indira Innovations
Release date	21 November 2003 (2003-11-21)
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Plot

Kurumbu deals with a love triangle between three teenagers. The story portrays how the hero finds his true love.

Cast

• Naresh as Ravi
• Nikita as Aparna
• Diya as Ruchi
• Pyramid Natarajan as Ravi's father
• Meera Krishnan as Kalyani, Ravi's mother
• Apsara as Ravi's sister
• Kuyili as Aparna's mother
• Nassar as Ruchi's father
• Nirosha as Ruchi's mother
• R. S. Shivaji as Arokyam, a lift man in the apartment
• Bava Lakshmanan
• Ramya Krishnan in a cameo role

Production

After Vishnuvardhan returned from Mumbai, Gemini Color Labs that had produced The Terrorist offered him to remake the Telugu comedy film Allari in Tamil. Although he did not want his first film to be a remake, he accepted since he felt he shouldn't "ruin the chance".^[3] The film saw Naresh from the original film reprising his role which marked his debut in Tamil alongside debutant actresses Nikita Thukral and Diya.^[2][4]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, teaming up with Vishnuvardhan, who since then has worked together with him and scored the music in all his films until Shershaah. The soundtrack includes a remix of the song "Aasai Nooru Vagai" from the 1983 Tamil film Adutha Varisu, composed by Ilaiyaraaja. This is the first ever remix of a Tamil film song to feature in another Tamil film, starting off a new trend and the era of remixes in the Tamil film industry.^[5][6] The soundtrack was launched in a discotheque while the film crew conducted talent hunt for singers in the same location to promote the film.^[7]

Song	Singer(s)	Duration	Lyrics
"Kingini Mingini"	Yuvan Shankar Raja, Shalini Singh, Prashanthi	3:57	Pa. Vijay
"Oviya"	P. S. Balram	4:11	Pa. Vijay
"Adichchi Pudichchi"	Devan, Sunitha Sarathy	4:07	Pa. Vijay
"Kurumbu"	Instrumental		Pa. Vijay
"Theme Music"	Instrumental		Pa. Vijay
"Aasai Nooru Vagai"	Malaysia Vasudevan, Devan	4:04	Panchu Arunachalam
"Adichchi Pudichchi — II"	Afroze, Gopika Poornima		Pa. Vijay
"Vaa Masakaatre"	Srinivas, Harish Raghavendra, Srilekha Parthasarathy, Subiksha	4:49	Pa. Vijay

Reception

Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu opined that "After all the hype and pre-release publicity of the film you expected much more. But leave alone making you laugh, this Kurumbu does not even tickle".^[8] A critic from Deccan Herald wrote that "Kurumbu, directed by debutant Vishnuvardhan is clearly targetted at the youth".^[9] A critic from BizHat wrote that "Debutant director Vishwardhan (assistant to Santhosh Shivan) has reproduced the original version admirably and taken strains to attract the youth. Camera work by Ra. Krishnaa is worth mentioning especially in song sequences. Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is just ok".^[10] Malini Mannath of Chennai Online wrote that "A faithful remake of the Telugu hit ‘Allari', 'Kurumbu', directed by debutant Vishnuvardhan (apprenticed with Santosh Sivan) and produced by Indira Innovations, is clearly targetted at the youth".^[11] Visual Dasan of Kalki criticised the film for excessive vulgarity but called Nikitha's love as relief and added it seems that Vishnuvardhan, who has miserably directed an old story with a very old screenplay, will not watch Tamil films.^[12] Cinesouth wrote "The film moves at such a slow pace. But, even after the film's over, you remember only two things- the hero Naresh's antics and some very naughty scenes".^[13]

References

1. "Pranks in the making". The Hindu. 18 November 2003. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
2. "Success alone succeeds". The Hindu. 16 September 2005. Archived from the original on 10 November 2007. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
3. "Pattiyal: Toast of the town". Rediff.com. 24 March 2006. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
4. "Kurumbu". Chennai Online. 19 October 2003. Archived from the original on 28 April 2004. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
5. Jeshi, K. (2 November 2007). "Mix and match". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
6. "Remix culture — delighting or sickening??". Kollywoodtoday.com. 23 June 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2009.
7. "Kurumbu's another prank". Cinesouth. Archived from the original on 11 December 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2003.
8. ""Kurumbu"". The Hindu. 28 November 2003. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
9. G.U. (28 December 2003). "Kurumbu". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
10. "Kurumbu". BizHat.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
11. Mannath, Malini (23 November 2003). "Kurumbu". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 5 April 2005. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
12. தாசன், விஷுவல் (7 December 2003). "குறும்பு". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 64. Archived from the original on 27 January 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2024 – via Internet Archive.
13. "Kurumbu". Cinesouth. Archived from the original on 4 June 2004. Retrieved 20 October 2024.

External links

• Kurumbu at IMDb