Vaalee (2001 film)

Vaalee is a 2001 Indian Kannada-language romantic psychological thriller film directed by S. Mahendar starring Sudeep in a dual role and Poonam Singar.^[1] The film features background score and soundtrack composed by Rajesh Ramanath and lyrics by K. Kalyan. It is a remake of the 1999 Tamil film of the same name.^[2][3]

Vaalee
DVD cover
Directed by	S. Mahendar
Written by	R. Rajashekhar (Dialogues)
Screenplay by	S. Mahendar
Story by	S. J. Suryah
Based on	Vaali (Tamil)
Produced by	Ramesh Yadav
Starring	Sudeep Poonam Singar
Cinematography	Sundarnath Suvarna
Edited by	P. R. Soundar Raj
Music by	Rajesh Ramanath
Production company	Royal Pictures
Distributed by	Ramu Enterprises
Release date	19 October 2001 (2001-10-19)
Running time	159 minutes
Country	India
Language	Kannada

The film was released on 19 October 2001 and had a below average box office run.^[4] Sudeep called this film his favorite,^[5] and after this film, he went on to portray several gray characters.^[6]

Plot

Deva and Shiva are twins. Deva, the elder, is deaf and mute. But he is a genius, an expert at lip-reading and the head of a successful advertising company. Shiva loves and trusts his brother. Priya wants to marry only someone who is an ex-smoker, an ex-drunkard and ditched by a girl but still pining for her. Learning this, Shiva invents an old romance between him and Sona and finds his way into Priya's heart.

Deva meanwhile chances upon Priya and becomes obsessed with attaining her. His obsession continues even after his younger brother marries the girl of his dreams and he devises various means of getting close to Priya and keeping Shiva and her separated. Some of the methods Deva uses to woo Priya are masochistic (wounding his hand by the running car engine to stop the couple’s first night) and psychotic (trying to kill his brother in so many ways).

While Shiva is away, Priya has to take care of Deva. Priya realises the not-so-honourable intentions Deva has towards her but Shiva refuses to believe her and has full faith in his brother. He even goes as far as to take Priya to a psychiatrist. To get away from it all, Shiva and Priya go on a long-delayed honeymoon. But Deva shows up there too. Shiva watches Deva kissing the photo of Priya and realises Priya was right all along. Deva beats Shiva mercilessly, packs the unconscious Shiva in a gunny bag and throws him in a lorry.

Deva disguises himself as Shiva and goes near Priya. Priya realises he is Deva and escapes from him before shooting him with her revolver. Deva falls into a pool and dies. Deva's soul talks about his inability to express his feeling as he was mute. Shiva comes and she narrates the whole incident to him. They hug tearfully.

Cast

• Sudeep in a dual role as Shiva and Deva
• Poonam Singar as Priya
• Divyashree as Sona
• Sadhu Kokila as Vicky
• Ashok Rao as Lakshman, Priya's father
• Gurukiran as in a guest appearance as Ravi
• Bank Janardhan as shop owner
• Shanthammma as Shiva's and Deva's grandmother
• Hema Bellur
• Michael Madhu

Production

The film was launched on 27 July 2001 at Kanteerava Studios.^[7]

Soundtrack

Vaalee
Soundtrack album by Rajesh Ramanath
Released	August 19 2001
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	28:23
Language	Kannada
Label	Anand Audio
Producer	Rajesh Ramanath (Original tunes reused)
Rajesh Ramanath chronology
Huchcha (2001) Vaalee (2001) Ninne Preethisuve (2002)
External audio Official Audio Jukebox on YouTube

The soundtrack was composed by Rajesh Ramanath, reusing all the tunes from the original Tamil version, which was originally composed by Deva.^[8] Actor Sudeep sang two songs for this film, marking his debut as a playback singer.^[9]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Singer(s)	Length
1.	"O Sona O Sona"	K. Kalyan	Hariharan and Sudeep
2.	"Vasantha Maasadalli"	K. Kalyan	Sudeep, Unni Krishnan and Anuradha Sriram
3.	"Dil Meri Dil"	K. Kalyan	Gurukiran and Ganga
4.	"Mele Chandrana"	K. Kalyan	Anuradha Sriram and Rajesh Krishnan
5.	"Chandirana Hididu"	K. Kalyan	P. Unni Krishnan and Anuradha Sriram

Awards

Filmfare Awards South^[10]

• Nominated, Best Film
• Nominated, Best Director - S. Mahendar
• Nominated, Best Music Director - Rajesh Ramanath

References

1. "Happy birthday Sudeep: Five times the Kannada star stunned in negative roles". Hindustan Times. 2 September 2020. Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
2. "19 years of Ajith's Vaali -Things you din't know about the blockbuster". Suryan FM. 14 April 2018. Archived from the original on 16 December 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
3. "Revisiting Vaali: A nostalgic look back at Ajith's impressive double-role debut - 20 lesser-known facts". Cinema Express. 5 May 2020. p. 20. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
4. "2001 Year Round Up". Chitraloka.com. 28 December 2001. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
5. "'ಚಂದು' ಸಿನಿಮಾದಲ್ಲಿ 'ಕಿಚ್ಚ'ನ 'ತುಂಟಾಟ'..! ಕರುನಾಡಿನ ಪಾಲಿಗೆ 'ಪಾರ್ಥ'ನೆ 'ಸ್ವಾತಿಮುತ್ತು'..!". Asianet Suvarna News (in Kannada). Archived from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
6. Nathan, Archana (21 October 2017). "'As long as I'm here, I want to entertain': An interview with Kannada star Sudeep". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
7. CNB (30 July 2001). "Rain of remakes". Chitraloka. Archived from the original on 17 November 2001. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
8. "Vaalee (Kannada)". bsnl.hungama.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
9. Rao, Bindu Gopal (20 November 2016). "Like no other". Deccan Herald. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
10. "The 49th Annual Filmfare Awards - South Nominees". downloads.movies.indiatimes.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.

External links

• Vaalee at IMDb