| Thegidi | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | P. Ramesh |
| Written by | P. Ramesh |
| Produced by | C. V. Kumar C. Senthil Kumar T. E. Abinesh |
| Starring | Ashok Selvan Janani |
| Cinematography | Dinesh B. Krishnan |
| Edited by | Leo John Paul |
| Music by | Nivas K. Prasanna |
Production company | Vel Media |
| Distributed by | Thirukumaran Entertainment ABI TCS STUDIOS |
Release date |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹2.7 crore[1] |
| Box office | est.₹10 crore |
Thegidi (transl. Dice / Deception) is a 2014 IndianTamil-languageneo-noirmysterythriller film directed by P. Ramesh and produced byC. V. Kumar under his bannerThirukumaran Entertainment. The film featuresAshok Selvan andJanani in the leading roles, whileJayaprakash,Kaali Venkat, Jayakumar, Pradeep K Vijayan, and Rajan Iyer play supporting roles. The music was composed byNivas K. Prasanna with cinematography by Dinesh B. Krishnan and editing byLeo John Paul. The film released on 28 February 2014 and opened to generally positive reviews from critics.[2] This film was remade in Malayalam asChanakya Thanthram in 2018.
Vetri, a criminology student turned detective, investigates a series of murders linked to a forged insurance scam, only to discover his mentor Govardhan's involvement in the crime, leading to Govardhan's confession and suicide, and the revelation that a mysterious figure, Vallabha, is behind it all, setting up a sequel.
The film was announced in June 2013 as a joint venture betweenThirukumaran Entertainment and Vel Media.[4] Along with C. V. Kumar, the film reunited several of the crew fromSoodhu Kavvum (2013) with cinematographer Dinesh, editorLeo John Paul, and actorAshok Selvan all from that unit. The film's director was revealed to be P. Ramesh, andNivas K. Prasanna would compose the music.[5]Janani Iyer, seen before inAvan Ivan (2011) andPaagan (2012), was signed on to depict the role of a college girl.[6]
The film, described as a "murder mystery", was wrapped up within 45 days and in November 2013, post-production works were ongoing. It was reported that all the songs were set to be montages and further filming was not required, even though the songs were incomplete during production.[7]
| Thegidi | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 5 February 2014 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 24:05 | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Label | Think Music India | |||
| Producer | Nivas K. Prasanna | |||
| Nivas K. Prasanna chronology | ||||
| ||||
The film's soundtrack and score were composed by newcomerNivas K. Prasanna.[8]
Prasanna received praise for both the songs and the score.IANS wrote, "IfThegidi turns out to be a hit, debutant music composer Nivas Prasanna deserves huge credit for the success. He carries the tension of the film right till the end with his background score and songs that are placed in the narrative at right junctures".[9]Sify wrote, "[a] highlight of the film is Nivas Prasanna’s music and extraordinary BGM. The romantic melody Yaar Ezhuthiatho... is very soothing and BGM goes with the narration".[10]Rediff wrote, "The music by Nivas is an absolute joy. All the songs, as well as the background score are perfect".[11]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Yaar Ezhuthiyatho" | Kabilan | Sathya Prakash | 4:16 |
| 2. | "Vinmeen Vithaiyil" | Kabilan | Abhay Jodhpurkar,Saindhavi | 4:58 |
| 3. | "Kangalai Oru" | Kabilan | Ajesh | 2:21 |
| 4. | "Neethaane" | Kabilan | Shankar Mahadevan | 7:17 |
| 5. | "Neeyum Dhinamum" | Kurinchi Prabha | Andrea Jeremiah | 5:13 |
| Total length: | 24:05 | |||
The satellite rights of the film were sold toSTAR Vijay.[12] After the censor process, the team announced the release date as 28 February.[13]
Baradwaj Rangan ofThe Hindu wrote "there are plenty of tense moments, thanks to the deliberate pacing (that steers clear of cheap, amped-up thrills) and the fact that the film keeps zooming in on a small cast of characters.Thegidi is proof that if the small things are worked out well, the bigger ones will take care of themselves".[14]Sify called the film "a well-made, edge-of- the-seat thriller with enough twists and turns. It keeps the deception game going till the last scene, with a taut script and outstanding BGM by Nivas Prasanna".[10] Indiaglitz gave it a 3.5/5 rating and stated, "Thegidi is one such brilliant movie flaunted by beaming background score grips your adrenaline rush through the movie".[15]Rediff gave it a 2.5 star rating and called it "a great effort by debutant director P Ramesh, who seems to have extracted the best from his team, be it the actors or the technicians".[16]
The Times of India gave the film 3 stars out of 5 and said "What's refreshing aboutThegidi is how director Ramesh manages to keep things understated even when the situations seem to turn overwhelming. Barring a couple of scenes, there is a matter-of-factness in the approach that keeps the movie from turning into a bombastic thriller in which everything is at stake. This is the film's plus and also its weakness".[17] Oneindia in its review said "The film leaves an impact from the word go, the film attracts you. The first fifteen minutes should not be missed by audience and the opening credits is impressive".[18]IANS gave it 3.5 stars and wrote, "With its share of ups and downs,Thegidi is a taut film executed in style.[9]
The film had a slow start at the box office,[19] but improved later due to positive reviews from critics andword of mouth.[20] According to Behindwoods.com, the film's shows increased in its 4th week.[21] At the Chennai box office, the film had collected₹96,62,193 after 8 weeks.[22] In March 2014, Producers Council's President Keyaar said thatThegidi was one of the two Tamil films that turned out to be profitable ventures for all sections in 2014 till then.[20] Sify later reported that the film was profitable if the collections from the theatrical run and the dubbing and satellite rights were added together.[23] Producer C. V. Kumar in late March informed that the rights for music and overseas were sold for₹7 lacs and₹24 lacs respectively and that the film had collected a theatrical share of₹2.2 crores till then.[1]
In April 2014, director Ramesh stated that he would make a sequel toThegidi in future. He said, "Thegidi 2 is definitely on the cards, but it won't happen immediately. I have started working on a new project which I intend to work on before the sequel".[24] He had planned a sequel even before the release ofThegidi. "I didn't have a bound script ready for the sequel, but I had decided to continue the sequel with Vallabha's character that you see inThegidi. I decided this while working on the [first film]".[24]
அசோக் செல்வனின் ஆசிரியராக வரும் ராஜன் ஐயர்