Minnale (2001)

Minnale (English: Lightning) (Tamil: மின்னலே) is a 2001 Tamil film written and directed by Gautham Menon. It is a stylized romantic and musical comedy. The film stars Madhavan, Abbas, Reema Sen, Vivek and Nagesh. The film's score and songs are composed by Harris Jayaraj and are all time hits and all became chartbusters.


Minnale, oh..it still strikes  now as lightning as much as it did in 2001. This movie which was a stylised hollywood type of indian romance was an insanely huge box office hit a few years back for its story and music. Its success prompted bollywood producers to remake the show in Hindi. Cineindia reported that this gem of a movie set the cash registers rolling in Sathyam Theatres of Chennai. The story was conceived by a debutant director Gautham Menon and a first time music composer Harris Jayaraj, has composed brilliant music that made even AR Rahman sit up and notice. The soundtrack was released months before the film and became widely talked about. Most importantly, Minnale marked the coming of the Gautham- Harris combination as a potent force in the industry for the years to come. Minnale was one of the most successful tamil movies of the 2000s and inspired a slew of similar movies in the years after.


A shrewd street punk (Maddy) who likes a girl (Reema) at first sight, and wanted to woo her. Unfortuntely,this girl is a very practical person who doesnt believe in love , and who wants to settle down in life and have kids. Unknown to Maddy, she is already engaged to someone arranged by her parents she hasnt even met before .Our hero goes to meet her on a casual date. She thinks that her fiance has come to meet her in disguise.

She plays along thinking its her fiance. He plays along making up extravagant stories about himself to impress her .

They date for 10 days and the shocking truth comes out when her real fiance arrives and says he could not make it for the meeting with her the other day because of work commitments.Our hero finds out that the person she is engaged to , and him have the same name and to meet our girl on the same day.....

Reema then thinks that Maddy has cheated her by impersonating as her fiance whom she is to meet on the same day he appeared. Feeling betrayed and angry with Maddy, she tells him off not to see her again ever. Maddy was just unlucky that fate played him around but he didnt meant to cheat her . He became a circumstantial victim of coincidence. But the both of them could not forget the 10 days they were together . She realised that in those 10 days within herself, there is a strange feeling called LOVE. Beneath the deep resentment and extreme prejudice, Reema finally manages to acknowledge that life is not about marrying a successful and rich man , and that life is about marrying someone u really love and wish to spend the rest of that life with.


First time director Gautham Menon has some interesting camera angles and generally the quality of the film is top notch. The subtle nuances and attention to detail makes one wonder the directional capabilities of this promising newcomer. The songs were tastefully done especially Vaseegra, and the music of Harris Jayaraj , a newcomer musician gives AR Rahman, the king, a serious challenge. There is an uncanny resemblance to Rahman many will agree but though the music is original and fresh, it hooks on one instantly and before u realise it , u reach for the repeat button on your hi-fi after the addiction gets into u. Minnale is well worth your time and movie ticket. Energetic,vibrant and full of LOVE.

Production
The film was initially titled O Lala.The filming was done in Chennai, Ooty and Malaysia
The film was later dubbed into Telugu as Cheli
The film was remade in hindi as Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein (RHTDM) which also starred (Madhavan) in lead

Box office
The film grossed $2 million at the box office.
This was then remade in Hindi as Rehna Hai Tere Dil Mein directed by Gautham Menon and starring Madhavan, Dia Mirza and Saif Ali Khan, but apart from a few centers the film was not well received by the audience.[citation needed]
Although the film didn't turn out to be a hit in Hindi, the music was well acclaimed by the Bollywood personalities like the director Subhash Ghai.[citation needed]
The director of Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, N. Krishna made a cameo appearance in the film as a lorry driver.

Soundtrack
Azhagiya Theeye (Harish Raghavendra, Timmy)
Iru Vizhi (Devan)
Maddy Maddy (Timmy , Karthik)
Nenjai Poopol (Harish Raghavendra)
Oh Mama Mama (Shankar Mahadevan, Tippu)
Pooppol Poopol (Tippu, Karthik)
Vaseegara (Bombay Jayashri)
Venmathiye Venmathiye Nillu (Roop Kumar Rathod, Tippu)
Verenna Verenna Vendum (Unnikrishnan , Harini)