Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam
2013 Indian film by Ponram
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Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam (transl. The Association of Carefree Youths), also known by the initialism VVS, is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by Ponram. Produced by P. Madan under Escape Artists Motion Pictures, it stars Sivakarthikeyan, Soori and Sri Divya (in her Tamil debut), with Sathyaraj in a prominent role. In the film, a young man falls in love with the daughter of the village head, who opposes love marriages.
| Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Ponram |
| Written by | Ponram M. Rajesh (dialogues) |
| Produced by | P. Madan |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Balasubramaniem |
| Edited by | Vivek Harshan |
| Music by | D. Imman |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 157 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹7 crore[2] |
Varuthapadatha Valibar Singam marked Ponram's return to direction after Thirutham (2007). Filming, which took place in Theni, Tiruchirappalli and Chennai, was completed by July 2013. The music was composed by D. Imman, with cinematography handled by Balasubramaniem and editing done by Vivek Harshan. M. Rajesh, whom Ponram had assisted him, wrote the dialogues for the film.
Varuthapadatha Valibar Singam was released on 6 September 2013, coinciding with the Ganesh Chathurthi weekend and became a major commercial success, positioning Sivakarthikeyan as a star in Tamil cinema. The film received praise for the on-screen chemistry between Sivakarthikeyan and Soori, and Soori's dialogues became popular. It was remade in Kannada as Adyaksha and in Telugu as Current Theega, both released in 2014.
Plot
Police officers arrive at the house of Sivanandi, a village head, to question him about the supposed murders of his daughter Lathapandi and her lover Bosepandi. It is rumoured that Sivanandi himself killed them, to protect his honour, because they had eloped with each other. Sivanandi admits to the accusations and agrees to take the police to the crime scene. The story then moves to a flashback sequence.
Bosepandi and Kodi are best friends, and are the leaders of an association named "Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam". Bosepandi falls in love with Kalyani, a school teacher. Bosepandi writes a love letter for Kalyani, but instead of giving it to her himself, he sends the letter through Lathapandi, a student. Lathapandi delivers the letter to Kalyani while tricking Bosepandi into believing many things.
Sivanandi fixes a marriage for Lathapandi, but the latter is unwilling to marry, for she is younger than the legal age and wishes pursue higher studies. Lathapandi's marriage is publicised on a billboard, seeing which Bosepandi and Kodi decide to stop Lathapandi's marriage (after the two wish to publicise their assosciation). Bosepandi and Kodi try to file a complain in the police station, and threaten the officers that if they do not act on the case, the two shall file a case at the commissioner's. The police officers talk Sivanandi into stopping Lathapandi's marriage. Later, Lathapandi informs Bosepandi that Kalyani is getting married. In response, Bosepandi decides to move on with his life, and arranges for a Dindigul–based programme to happen in his area. On the night of the programme, Bosepandi sees Lathapandi dressed in a sari and immediately falls in love with her. The same night, the police reveal to Sivanandi that it was Bosepandi who stopped his daughter's marriage.
The next day, Bosepandi proposes to Lathapandi, but she refuses. As he walks away from Lathapandi, Bosepandi listens to a sad song, when a gang of thugs bash Bosepandi. He finds out that it was Sivanandi's gang that hit him. So, Bosepandi and Kodi decide to steal Sivanandi's gun, something Sivanandi considers special. Bosepandi and Kodi steal the gun and run away, causing trouble. Bosepandi then assures Lathapandi that he will return the gun, if she comes to attend their friends' marriage. Bosepandi returns Sivanandi's gun without anyone's knowledge, and in return, Lathapandi attends that marriage, taking many photos with Bosepandi there. Later, Lathapandi's mother Dhanalakshmi warns Lathapandi to stop contacting Bosepandi. Next, Sivanandi's cow falls into a well when Sivanandi goes out of town, and Bosepandi helps the cow get out of the well. That night, Bosepandi stays with Lathapandi in her house, where they find Sivanandi sleepwalking. The next morning, Bosepandi and Lathapandi wake up to see Sivanandi walking again. Assuming Sivanandi to be sleepwalking, Bosepandi reveals to Sivanandi about having fallen in love with Lathapandi. Once Bosepandi realizes that Sivanandi is indeed awake, he runs away from Sivanandi's house.
Sivanandi then makes Lathapandi promise that she shall marry the groom Sivanandi chooses for her. Thus, Sivanandi's family fixes marriage for Lathapandi with another man, but on the night before the marriage, Lathapandi elopes with Bosepandi. When running away from the village, they get caught by Sivanandi, who instructs them to elope. He also provides them some money, asking them to never return to their village, in return. Sivanandi wants Bosepandi and Lathapandi to run away because he himself dislikes the chosen groom, but he is unable to prevent the marriage considering the honour he commands in their village. Sivanandi watches Bosepandi and Lathapandi get married, then walks towards home, with the blood of a goat he subsequently killed on his shirt. He lies to everyone that the blood is of his daughter, and that he had killed her to protect his honour. The married couple are settled in a hilly area, where Sivanandi returns everyday to meet them. One day, Bosepandi reveals to Sivanandi that Lathapandi is pregnant. Later, Bosepandi's father finds his son and offers him more money than what Sivanandi had given, asking them to return. The couple return to their family, and they together live happily ever after.
Cast
- Sivakarthikeyan as Bosepandi M.A M.Phil.
- Soori as Kodi
- Sri Divya as Lathapandi
- Bindu Madhavi as Kalyani (special appearance)
- Kadhal Dhandapani as Rasu
- Subramaniyapuram Raja as Veeranan
- Naadodigal Gopal as Perumal
- Hello Kandasamy as Dharmar
- Soundararaja as Pulichathanni
- Sriranjani as Dhanalakshmi
- Vinodhini Vaidyanathan as Inspector Bharathi
- Shaalu Shammu as Namitha
- Rajendran as Koormayi
- Joe Malloori as Police Inspector
- Elango Kumaravel as a Police constable
- Yaar Kannan as Bosepandi's father
- Swaminathan as Lawyer Veerasamy
- Thavasi as Kodi's father
- Sathyaraj as Sivanandi
Production
Development
Ponram returned to direction with this film after Thirutham (2007),[3] and M. Rajesh, under whom he was previously worked as assistant director, wrote the dialogues.[4][5] The title Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam was derived from a fictional club that features in Winner (2003),[6] and a real club with the same name which Ponram said "treats serious issues with disdain and frivolous issues seriously".[7] The film was produced by P. Madan under Escape Artists Motion Pictures, photographed by Balasubramaniem and edited by Vivek Harshan.[8] It was announced at a press interaction event on 12 June 2013 at Chennai.[9]
Rajesh initially wrote one version of the script, which Ponram had drafted and then had changed the normal version of the dialogues to suit its village-centric theme.[4] While writing the story, he would often provide feedback from Rajesh suggesting any changes in the script.[7] Since Rajesh knew about the progress of the script from its inception, Ponram insisted him to write the dialogues, to which Rajesh agreed.[7] He considered the humour element to be the highlight for this film.[4]
Casting and filming
Ponram narrated the script to at least 12 actors before Sivakarthikeyan was finalised as the lead character;[10] Shakthi Vasudevan was one of the actors previously considered.[11] Soori was chosen to play a comedic role; he previously worked with Sivakarthikeyan in Manam Kothi Paravai (2012) and Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga (2013).[12] Sri Divya, who previously appeared mainly in Telugu films, made her Tamil debut in this film; she plays Sivakarthikeyan's love interest.[13][14] Sathyaraj was chosen to play Sivanandi; Ponram considered him to be perfect for the role and added that his role was not an antagonist.[7] Much of the film's production had been completed before the team officially announced the film;[9] filming was held in various places such as Theni, Tiruchirappalli and Chennai.[9] The final filming schedule was completed in Theni by early July 2013.[15][16] Ponram noted that he initially wanted the climax to depict the realities of honour killing, but changed it even before Sivakarthikeyan was cast, and was later convinced the original climax would not suit the actor's image.[17]
Themes
Varuthapadatha Valibar Singam deals with the practice of honour killing. Surendhar MK of Firstpost noted that though films with this theme are often considered "preachy" and "gory", Ponram took a light-hearted and comical route for this film. Ponram told him, "Though I tried to put forth the social injustices prevailing in a particular caste or region, I never wanted to use any direct caste references". Instead, he implied it using their customs, traditions and accents to pertain to wide range of audiences.[18] Sivakarthikeyan described it as a political satire.[19]
Soundtrack
The music is composed by D. Imman, with lyrics written by Yugabharathi.[20] Imman collaborated with Sivakarthikeyan for the second time after Manam Kothi Paravai.[21] The soundtrack album features five songs, with a dubstep version and three karaoke versions, thus making it to nine tracks in total.[20] Sivakarthikeyan sung the title track "Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam", making his debut in playback singing.[22] The audio launch took place on 19 July 2013 at Sathyam Cinemas, Chennai.[23]
Release
Initially scheduled to be released during August 2013,[9] Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam was released in theatres on 6 September 2013, during the Vinayagar Chathurthi weekend.[24][25] It was released in 343 screens in Tamil Nadu.[2] The film's television premiere took place on 14 January 2014, coinciding with the Pongal festival on Kalaignar TV, and registered a TRP rating of 12.29.[26][27]
Reception
Critical reception
Baradwaj Rangan wrote for The Hindu, "The film has enough silliness to qualify as mild amusement, especially in the scenes with Bosepandi and his friend Kodi (Soori) — but these gags would work just as well as a compilation clip on YouTube. The plotting is too loose to warrant a two-hour-and-forty-minute movie, with sentimental detours and meandering subplots".[28] The Times of India rated it 3 out of 5, stating "What makes this a rather predictable film appealing to an extent is the lighthearted manner in which Ponram tells his story."[29] IANS wrote, "While the film's biggest strength are its dialogues, its lengthy second half tests the audience's patience".[30]
S Saraswathi of Rediff.com gave a rating of 2 out of 5 and summarised, "Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam is boring and gets repetitive after a while".[31] Sify gave a rating of 2.75 out of 5 stating, "Ponram through VVS follows the comedy template set by his guru Rajesh and blends them with his hero Sivakarthikeyan's image. Add D Imman's peppy melodies with a rural touch and you get a mass comedy entertainer".[32] Malini Mannath of The New Indian Express wrote that the first half was "interesting" but the pace "slackens" in the latter half with "some dull patches and too many songs", although she praised the "surprise fun-ending". Malini criticised the film's length and wrote, "the narration could have been tightened and made crisper [...] the film though not the best of comedies, makes for a fairly pleasant watch".[33]
Box office
Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam opened at number one at the Chennai box office,[34] and remained so for three weeks.[35][36] It grossed over ₹3 crore (equivalent to ₹5.1 crore or US$530,000 in 2023) on the opening day.[37][38] Trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai noted that the opening was the biggest in Sivakarthikeyan's career at the time of its release.[39] In an article dated 25 September 2013, Sreedhar Pillai wrote that the film, made on a production budget of ₹7 crore (equivalent to ₹12 crore or US$1.2 million in 2023), collected ₹10.25 crore (equivalent to ₹17 crore or US$1.8 million in 2023) in its first three days, and ₹27.35 crore (equivalent to ₹46 crore or US$4.8 million in 2023) after 17 days at the Tamil Nadu box office. He considered it "2013's biggest hit" to that point, based on return on investment (ROI) alone.[2] That December, another trade analyst Trinath told IANS that the film earned ₹23 crore (equivalent to ₹39 crore or US$4.1 million in 2023), and concurred that it was "undoubtedly the biggest Tamil hit of the year" with regards to ROI.[40]
Accolades
| Event | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61st Filmfare Awards South | Best Music Director – Tamil | D. Imman | Nominated | [41] [42] |
| 3rd South Indian International Movie Awards | Best Debut Actress | Sri Divya | Won | [43] [44] |
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Sathyaraj | Nominated | ||
| Best Comedian | Soori | Won | ||
| Best Music Director | D. Imman | Nominated | ||
| Best Male Playback Singer | Hariharasudan (for "Oodha Color Ribbon") | Nominated | ||
| Best Dance Choreographer | Dinesh (for "Oodha Color Ribbon") | Nominated | ||
| 8th Vijay Awards | Best Comedian | Soori | Nominated | [45] |
| Best Debut Actress | Sri Divya | Nominated | ||
| Best Music Director | D. Imman | Nominated | ||
| Entertainer of the Year | Sivakarthikeyan | Won | ||
| Favourite Film | Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam | Nominated | ||
| Favourite Song | "Oodha Colour Ribbon" | Won |
In addition to these awards, the film won the Shri B Nagi Reddi Best Wholesome Entertainment Tamil Film Award.[46]
Remakes
Legacy
Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam catapulted Sivakarthikeyan to stardom and made him a bankable star in Tamil cinema.[51][52] Despite his and Soori's previous collaborations in Manam Kothi Paravai and Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, this film garnered significant attention for their on-screen chemistry with the punchlines by Soori becoming popular.[53] Soori noted that his chemistry with the actor was similar to that of Sathyaraj and Goundamani.[54] The film's success led Sivakarthikeyan and Soori to collaborate with Ponram for two other films: Rajinimurugan (2016) and Seemaraja (2018).[55][56] In late 2013, a Tiruppur-based minor stopped her wedding in a manner that the media noted was similar to Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam, which the girl had watched. Sivakarthikeyan commented, "I am happy that my film has influenced people's life in a great way" and called child marriages illegal.[57]
In other media
A comic book adaptation of Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam was published by Naveena Publications in August 2018. Ponram worked with the storyboard team of Seemaraja for around six months to complete all of the artwork.[58][59][60] In a scene from the Tamil film Maan Karate (2014) also starring Sivakarthikeyan, Yogi Babu teases him by singing "Oodha Colour Ribbon".[61] In Rajinimurugan, Sivakarthikeyan, besides playing the title character, reprised his role of Bosepandi for a cameo.[62]
Potential sequel
Ponram initially discussed regarding plans for a sequel in late 2021.[63] During the promotions of his directorial Kombuseevi (2025), he stated that the sequel was still in development stage.[64][65]
