Kaaviyyan
Kaaviyyan (English: Poet) is a 2019 Indian road thriller film directed by Sarathi in his directorial debut. The film was shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu languages, with the Telugu version titled as Vaadu Osthaadu.[1][2] The film features Shaam, Athmiya and newcomer Sridevi Kumar in the lead roles.[3]
| Kaaviyyan | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Sarathi |
| Produced by | K.V. Shabarreesh |
| Starring | Shaam Athmiya Sridevi Kumar |
| Music by | Syam Mohan MM |
| Cinematography | N.S. Raajesh Kumar |
| Edited by | Arun Thomas AKD |
Production company | 2 m Cinemas |
| Distributed by | SDC Picturez |
Release date |
|
Running time | 113 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
Two cops, Akilan Vishwanath from the Crime Branch (Shaam) and Bhaskar from the Cyber Crime (Srinath) Department from Chennai are sent as trainees to Las Vegas. They get embroiled in a case dealing with a psychopath, Lucifer Fernando (Justin Vikash), who murders girls for their blood type (B+) to "purify" his blood.
Cast
Production
Development
The film was announced in May of 2016 and was to be produced by 2 m cinemas, making it will be their first venture. Stun Siva was signed on to direct the action sequences.[6] This film was originally announced to be a trilingual film in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada, but it was later revealed that the film was a bilingual with the Telugu version titled as Vaadu Osthaadu.[7] The film will be a road thriller and it will start shooting in the United States.[8] The title Kaaviyyan was revealed to be a portmanteau of ka from kaval thurai (police), and viyyan from viyakkathakkavan (amazing person). [9]
Casting
Shaam is in the main lead marking his comeback into Tamil cinema as a lead actor after 6 Melugu Varthigal, which released in 2013.[4] Malayali actresses Athmiya Rajan, who is known for her role in Manam Kothi Paravai, and Sridevi Kumar (who acted in the 2013 film Emsum Penkuttiyum[10]) are also doing important roles in this thriller. Srinath, who has acted alongside Shaam in 12B and Ullam Ketkumae is also part of this film. The villain is a Hollywood artist whose name is yet to be revealed was not revealed as of 2016.[11] In 2017, Hollywood actor Justin Vikash was reported to play the villain.[1]
Characterisation
Shaam gained a couple of kilograms in order to play his role as a police officer.[5] This is the third time Shaam is portraying the role of a cop in a Tamil film after Purampokku and Thillalangadi.[12]
Filming
The film shooting began in August 2016 in Las Vegas.[13] Majority of the film was shot in Las Vegas.[7] According to the director talking to "Silverscreen", he said that “Technically, it will be on par with Hollywood standards as we are using all the latest technical support available in the US”.[12] The stunt sequences featured fancy cars such as Rolls-Royce and Hummers.[7]
Soundtrack
| Kaaviyyan | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Syam Mohan M.M | ||||
| Released | 2018 | |||
| Genre | Soundtrack | |||
| Length | 3:23 | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Label | Times Music Tamil | |||
| Syam Mohan M.M chronology | ||||
| ||||
Debutant Syam Mohan composed two songs for the film.[4]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Siru Mazhaithuli" | Pragaa | Vandana Dhivyaraja | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Ethuvandha Enna" | Mohan Rajan | Ananthu, Dhivakar | 3:07 |
| Total length: | 6:31 | |||
Release
The motion posters and the first look posters of both the Tamil and Telugu versions were released by choreographer Raghava Lawrence in July of 2017.[14] The film's motion poster was revealed by director Venkat Prabhu in October of 2017. The Tamil version of the film's trailer was released on September 20, 2019 by director Lingusamy. The Tamil version released on October 18, 2019.[5]
Critical reception
Kaaviyyan released to negative reviews. Thinal Menon of The Times of India gave the film 1 out of 5 stars stating "A sloppy script staged in an artificial set up with hardly any character arc".[15] Ashameera Aiyappan of The New Indian Express gave the film a 1.5 stars out of 5 stars stating that "This Shaam-starrer is a lost case".[16]
References
- "'Vadu Osthadu': Technically superior & glitzy". Indiaglitz. 30 May 2017.
- Subramanian, Anupama (26 May 2017). "Actor Shaam in road thriller". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
- "Kaaviyyan all set to start rolling soon". Onlookersmedia. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
- Balu, Aparajitha (25 September 2019). "'Kaaviyyan' Promises To Be A Good Comeback For Actor Shaam". Silverscreen.
- Subramanian, Anupama (12 October 2019). "Thriller shot in USA gets release date". Deccan Chronicle.
- Menon, Thinkal (16 May 2016). "Shaam to act in a road thriller". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- Anupama Subramanian (24 May 2016). "Shaam as a police officer in a road thriller". Deccan Chronicle.
- "Shaam and Athmeeya's 'Kaaviyyan' to hit the floors soon". Malayala Manorama. 25 May 2016.
- Lakshmi Venkatachalam. "Shaam continues his cop act". Times of India.
- https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2015/01/23/las-vegas-based-model-and-actress-sasha-sridevi-kumar-picked-for-abc-pilot/
- "Kaaviyyan has two Malayali heroines". Deccan Chronicle. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
- Priya Saravana (25 August 2016). "Actor Shaam Plays A Cop In Kaaviyan". Silverscreen.
- "'Kaaviyyan' Starts Rolling In Las Vegas". Cinema Bulletin. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
- Mythily Ramachandran (19 July 2017). "'Kaaviyyan' has actor Shaam in the lead". Gulf News.
- Thinkal Menon (19 October 2019). "Kaaviyyan Movie Review : A sloppy script staged in an artificial set up with hardly any character arc". Times of India.
- Ashameera Aiyappan (19 October 2019). "'Kaaviyyan' film review: This Shaam-starrer is a lost case". The New Indian Express.