| Roja | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Mani Ratnam |
| Screenplay by | Mani Ratnam |
| Story by | Mani Ratnam |
| Dialogues by | |
| Produced by | K. Balachander (presenter) Rajam Balachander Pushpa Kandaswamy |
| Starring | Arvind Swamy Madhubala Nassar Pankaj Kapur |
| Cinematography | Santosh Sivan |
| Edited by | Suresh Urs |
| Music by | A. R. Rahman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | GV Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 137 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Roja is a 1992 IndianTamil-languageromantic thriller film directed and co-written byMani Ratnam. The film starsArvind Swamy andMadhoo (credited as Madhubala). The film was produced byK. Balachander under hisKavithalayaa Productions and distributed byG. Venkateswaran. The film's cinematography was handled bySanthosh Sivan, production design byThota Tharani, music byA. R. Rahman in his debut and editing bySuresh Urs.Roja follows a young woman from a village inTamil Nadu as she makes desperate efforts to find her husband, who is kidnapped by militants during a secret undercover mission inJammu and Kashmir.
The film released on 15 August 1992, India's independence day, to positive reviews, receiving praise for its patriotic theme and critically acclaimed soundtrack. It was featured in the Indian panorama section of the24th IFFI.Roja won threeNational Film Awards, includingBest Film on National Integration, catapulting Ratnam to national acclaim. The film also gained international acclaim with its nomination for Best Film at the18th Moscow International Film Festival. The film was re-released for international audiences in light of the growing fear of terrorist attacks across the world. It is the first in Mani Ratnam's trilogy of films, precedingBombay (1995) andDil Se.. (1998), that depict human relationships against a background of Indian politics.
A. R. Rahman debuted as a composer with this film.[2] He won theNational Film Award for Best Music Direction,Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – Tamil and theTamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Music Director for his work.
InSrinagar, a Kashmiri terrorist, Wasim Khan, is captured by a team led byColonel Rayappa. InTamil Nadu, 18-year old[3] Roja is a simple village girl born and brought up inSundarapandiapuram inTenkasi district. Roja fervently wishes that her sister Shenbagam's marriage proposal with Rishikumar, acryptologist working with theR.A.W., goes smoothly. Unknown to her and her family, Shenbagam is in love with the son of her maternal uncle.
When Rishi wishes to speak to Shenbagam alone, she gathers enough courage to convey this and politely asks him to reject her in front of her parents, to which he obliges. To everyone's surprise, Rishi requests Roja's hand in marriage instead. Being unaware of Shenbagam's love affair, Roja is not willing to accept Rishi's proposal as she believes that he is the best match for Shenbagam but she marries Rishi, and the couple go to live inMadras while Shenbagam marries her cousin.
Initially, Roja does not like what Rishi did, but when she learns of Shenbagam's love story and consequent rejection of Rishi, she apologises and starts seeing him in a new light. Love blossoms and life is blissful for the couple for a short while. Meanwhile, due to the illness of his Chief, Rishi is assigned to an army communications centre inBaramulla to intercept military intelligence. The couple finds themselves in a beautiful yet alien land. Roja's world turns upside down when Rishi is kidnapped by terrorists whose agenda is toseparate Kashmir from India and free their leader, Wasim Khan, from judicial custody.
Faced with the daunting task of rescuing her husband, Roja runs from pillar to post, pleading with politicians and the military for help. Further complicating matters is the language barrier: she cannot speak their language, and they cannot speak hers. Meanwhile, Rishi, held captive by a group of terrorists led by Liaqat, an associate to Wasim Khan, tries to reason with the terrorists, about their misdirected motive for the liberation of Kashmir. Liaqat's sister shows a little compassion towards him. Initially, when Roja's efforts fail, the Indian government denies any negotiations with the terrorists for the release of Rishi in the media.
The angered terrorists attempt to burn an Indian flag. Rishi risks his life to put out the fire and shows the terrorist how much the country means to him, a regular citizen. When Liaqat's younger brother, who with a few other youths from his village was sent across the border to Pakistan for training, is shot by the Pakistan Army, Liaqat's strong belief is shaken, but he still manages to convince himself of the cause. Consequently, Roja's efforts to apprise the politicians of her suffering and pain are successful as a minister pities her and offers to help.
Much to the chagrin of Rayappa, the government decides to release Wasim Khan in exchange for Rishi. Rishi, not wanting to be used as a pawn to release a dangerous terrorist, gets help from the sympathetic Liaqat's sister and escapes — with Liaqat and his men chasing him. Rayappa, Roja, and other army officers get to the hostage exchange spot with Wasim Khan, but Liaqat does not show up. The Army locks Wasim Khan up in the prison.
Rishi has managed to get close to the exchange spot on his own after evading the terrorists. During his escape, Rishi subdues two terrorists. Liaqat catches up with him and holds him at gunpoint. Rishi reasons with Liaqat further and convinces him that his war is immoral. Liaqat lets Rishi go and he goes to the exchange spot. Liaqat escapes from the Indian Army while Rishi and Roja are united once again.
On 28 June 1991, K. Doraiswamy, an executive of theIndian Oil Corporation, was kidnapped by Kashmiri militants and put in captivity for two months.[8][9] This inspired Mani Ratnam to make the filmRoja.[10][11] Doraiswamy's wife was fighting for his release, and according to Ratnam, it was her plight that the film was based on.[12]
During the making ofAnjali (1990), Ratnam told actor and directorKitty the outline ofRoja and offered him to direct the film. Kitty declined, as he wanted to do something of his own. As Ratnam was telling him the outline, the subject became more crystallised. Kitty did not pick it up and when filmmakerK. Balachander asked Ratnam, he told him the outline. All the developments happened after that.[13] It was Balachander who approached Ratnam to make a film for his banner. As Balachander was the inspiration and the reason for Ratnam entering Tamil films, when he asked him to make a film for his banner, Ratnam wanted it to be one of the best films they had produced. Ratnam was keen that it needed to be of Balachander's standard.[8] Balachander instantly approved the outline of the film when Ratnam narrated. However, he disliked the titleRoja (Rose) as he felt it sounded similar to the name of a brand of crushedbetel nut. Ratnam thought the title represented Kashmir because "the rose is something beautiful but with thorns". To satisfy Balachander, he suggested another titleIrudhi Varai (Till the end), but Balachander preferredRoja, which was finalised.[14]
Roja was the first film for which Ratnam used aSteadicam, in the shot that introduces the terrorists' hideout to the audiences.[15] The film was made on a shoestring budget. The technicians worked for less money with the understanding that the film would also be sold for less money. It was not thought of as something that would work on a big scale. The film was composed mostly of newcomers, a new music director, and it was about Kashmir which, according to Ratnam, not much was known to Tamil people at that time. He called the film "a bit of an experiment".[16] It is also the first in Ratnam's trilogy of films that depict human relationships against a background of Indian politics, includingBombay (1995) andDil Se.. (1998).[17]Roja is a contemporary adaptation of the story ofSavitri and Satyavan.[18][19] According to Ratnam, it was not originally planned as a political film: "It was a phase India was going through and these things affected me and found their way into my work."[20]
Arvind Swamy was signed on to play the lead role inRoja afterRajiv Menon declined.[21][22]Aishwarya andAyesha Jhulka were initial choices for the female lead, but declined due to date issues; the role went toMadhoo, credited as Madhubala.[23][24] Aishwarya later revealed that she deeply regretted her decision, which was made by her grandmother against her will, for a Telugu film which was later cancelled.[25] Ratnam wanted a North Indian actor to portray Liaqat, a Kashmiri character, andPankaj Kapur accepted when approached.[8] Ratnam approachedKarisma Kapoor to play a Kashmiri girl, but ultimately decided not to cast her, believing she was "far too expensive for a Tamil film"; the role went to another actress.[26]
Ratnam had planned to shootRoja in Kashmir, but extreme terrorism there forced him to shoot the film in other hill stations resembling it.[27][28] Shooting locations includedCoonoor,[29]Ooty,[30] andManali, Himachal Pradesh.[31][32] The film's cinematographerSantosh Sivan said that a lot of images were written in at the script level; even in the Kashmir sequences, the audience only sees the snow when Roja sees it for the first time. These things were written into the script.[33] The song "Chinna Chinna Aasai" was shot atHogenakkal Falls inDharmapuri and in the Banatheertham Falls inPapanasam, Tirunelveli.[34][35]Shakti Singh dubbed for Arvind Swami in the Hindi version of the film,[36][37] while Madhubala dubbed for herself.[38] The whole film was completed in less than 60 days.[39] The final length of the film was 3,750 metres (12,300 ft).[40]
Writing for the magazineJump Cut, Kumudan Maderya noted thatRoja celebrates "the middle-class yuppie hero’s nationalistic fervor" and positions the "anti-national communalist terrorists in Kashmir" as key threats to India as a whole.[41]Vairamuthu, who was signed as the lyricist, felt the film's "tense and action-packed" content was in sharp contrast to the "poetic" title.[42] Journalist Malini Mannath and a writer forBangalore Mirror comparedRoja toHeld Hostage (1991), atelevision film about the kidnapping of journalistJerry Levin whose rescue was organised by his wife.[43]
The soundtrack and background score for the film was composed byA. R. Rahman in his debut as a music director.Mani Ratnam, who previously worked withIlayaraaja in his earlier films, replaced him with Rahman, who worked as a keyboard programmer for Ilayaraaja for his filmMoodu Pani (1980), also marking their first collaboration as well. The album features seven tracks inTamil andHindi, and six tracks inTelugu,Malayalam andMarathi and five tracks in the instrumental adaptation album.
The song "Thamizha Thamizha" is a poem written bySubramanya Bharathi. "Chinna Chinna Aasai" was the first song Rahman had composed for the film. The song "Kadhal Rojave" has two versions in both Tamil and Hindi; a solo and a duet in the former. The Hindi version of the song, titled "Roja Jaaneman", has two versions – one by S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and the other by Hariharan.
The album received critical acclaim and was also listed inTime magazine's "10 Best Soundtracks" of all time.[44][45] The Tamil and Hindi versions of the album sold over 3 million units in India, with the Tamil version selling over 200,000 units[46] and the Hindi version selling 2.8 million units.[47]
Roja was released on 15 August 1992, and distributed byGV Films.[48] In August 2015, it was screened at the 2015 London Indian Film Festival, in the retrospective seriesPolitics as Spectacle: The Films of Mani Ratnam, along withBombay andDil Se.[49] Owing to the commercial response in domestic market,Roja was dubbed and released inHindi,Telugu,Marathi andMalayalam languages, all of which proved to be equally successful ventures.[15][50][51][52]
Roja received praise for its patriotic themes.[11] On 26 September 1992, K. Vijiyan ofNew Straits Times wrote, "Under Mani Ratnam's direction, Arvind and Madhubala gave their best ... The excellent photography by Santhosh Sivan [who was also the cameraman forThalapathi] makes us appreciate the beauty we take for granted in the villages. The snow-capped mountains and flower-covered valleys of Kashmir are also an eyeful."[6] Writing forThe Indian Express, Malini Mannath comparedRoja unfavourably toHeld Hostage; she praised Arvind Swami's performance, calling him "dignified and natural", but criticised Madhubala's performance in the scenes where Roja pleads for her husband's rescue, saying, "Her tremulous whisper praying for help, sounds contrived". She also felt that Pankaj Kapoor looked "lost in his role", but lauded the cinematography by Santosh Sivan and the editing by Suresh Urs.[53]T. N. Seshan, then theChief Election Commissioner of India declared, "This is a film that every Tamilians should see."[54] S. R. ofKalki applauded the film for Sivan's cinematography, Ratnam's direction, Rahman's music, humorous and strong dialogues, natural acting and story.[55]
1993 National Film Awards (India)[56][57]
Madhubala's performance took her close to winning in the category ofBest Actress, but she eventually lost toDimple Kapadia.[58]
1993Filmfare Awards South[59][60]
1993Tamil Nadu State Film Awards (India)[61][62]
1993 Shantaram Awards[61]
1993 Moscow International Film Festival (Russia)[63]
Bite the Mango Film Festival (United Kingdom)[64]
Wangfujing Film Festival (Beijing)[65]
