Nenjinile

139 minutesCountryIndiaLanguageTamilBox office₹4.15 crore^[1]

Nenjinile (transl. In My Heart) is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language crime action film written by A. C. Jairam and directed by S. A. Chandrasekhar. The film stars his son Vijay and Isha Koppikar, while Sonu Sood, Sriman, Nizhalgal Ravi, Devan and Manivannan play supporting roles.^[2] The film's music is composed by Deva with cinematography by Vijay Milton. The film is inspired by Abhimanyu (1991).^[3] The film was released on 25 June 1999 and grossed ₹4.15 crore (equivalent to ₹18 crore or US$2.1 million in 2023) worldwide.^[1]

Plot

Karunakaran departs from Ambasamudram to Mumbai in order to seek a job so that he can earn money for his family and his sister's wedding. He lives with his elder sister and meets Nisha, who falls in love with him. Initially rejecting her, Karunakaran later accepts her love. Unable to find a job and through his old friend Chandru, Karunakaran joins as a henchman for a gangster named Supari, where he receives money for completing many assignments and is happy that he can help his family and sister financially. Unfortunately, Karunakaran's own gang members plan to kill Nisha after killing her parents. Karunakaran tries to protect her earns Supari's wrath. What is Nisha's connection with the gang and how does Karunakaran save Nisha and his family from Supari's gang forms the crux of the plot.

Cast

Production

Vijay recommended Isha Koppikar as the female lead to his father S. A. Chandrasekhar after being impressed with her performance in Kaadhal Kavithai, despite her lack of understanding of Tamil.^[4][5] An item number was shot with actress Roja in late March 1999.^[6] During the post-production stages, Chandrasekhar accused the son of K. Balachander of trying to make illegal copies of the film. The allegations prompted Vijay to pull out of a film he had agreed to act in under Balachander's production house.^[7]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Deva.^[8] The song "Manase Manase" is inspired by "Tu Hi Tu" from Kabhi Na Kabhi composed by A. R. Rahman while "Anbe En Anbe" is inspired by "Aicha" by Khaled.^{[citation needed]}

Release and reception

The film was released on 25 June 1999. D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu appreciated Vijay's performance, Chandrasekhar's screenplay and the fight choreography, but said Chandrasekhar "leaves much to be desired" in the comedy subplot.^[9] K. N. Vijiyan of New Straits Times wrote, "Those who go to see [Nenjinile] will either be fans of Vijay or those captivated by Isha".^[10] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 35 out of 100.^[11] However K. P. S. of Kalki gave a positive review, saying both Vijay and Chandrasekhar created a jugalbandi.^[12] A critic from Sify wrote that "Somewhere along the line Chandrasekar loses his senses and the screenplay takes twists and turns which only confuse the viewer and many times defy logic. The wanted criminal comes to the village and conducts his parents and sister`s funeral but the cops are not to be found anywhere. Vijay who plays the educated lad caught in the trap of a mob but suddenly changed and preaching a sermon at the end is bound to invite hoots and cat calls. Isha wears modern dresses and looks adoringly at Vijay throughout the film. Choreography and cinematography are good and Vijay scores in dances and fights".^[3]

References

External links

• Nenjinile at IMDb