Aaha Kalyanam
Theatrical release poster
Directed byA. Gokul Krishna
Written byRajiv Rajaram (dialogues)
Screenplay byHabib Faisal
Story byManeesh Sharma
Based onBand Baaja Baaraat by Maneesh Sharma
Produced byAditya Chopra
Starring
CinematographyLoganathan Srinivasan
Edited byBavan Sreekumar
Music byDharan Kumar
Production
company
Release date
  • 21 February 2014 (2014-02-21)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget₹10 crore[1]
Box officeest. ₹22crore[1]

Aaha Kalyanam (transl. Wow Marriage) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by debutant A. Gokul Krishna and produced by Aditya Chopra's Yash Raj Films.[2] A remake of Maneesh Sharma's 2010 Hindi film, Band Baaja Baaraat, the film stars Simran, Nani and Vaani Kapoor.[3] Although it was planned for bilingual release, it was shot completely in Tamil, and a dubbed Telugu version was released simultaneously along with the Tamil version.[4] The film was released worldwide on 21 February 2014.

Plot

Shakthi, a street-smart and fun-loving guy, attends a wedding where he encounters Shruti, an intelligent and quirky woman assisting the wedding coordinator. Shruti suspects Shakthi of gatecrashing to eat for free, but he convinces her that he's part of the film crew. Intrigued by Shruti's dance at the wedding, Shakthi records a video of her routine and tracks her down the next day. However, Shruti reveals her ambition of starting her own wedding planning business, showing no interest in Shakthi's advances.

Both Shakthi and Shruti face familial pressures—Shakthi is urged to return to his village and work in the sugarcane fields, while Shruti's family wants her to get married soon. Shruti makes a deal with her parents to focus on her exams and take five years to establish her business before marriage. When Shakthi's father arrives to take him back, Shakthi lies about starting a wedding planning business and stays with Shruti. Despite promising no romantic complications, Shruti rejects his advances.

Shruti hopes to learn about planning high-class weddings and meets Chandralekha, a renowned wedding planner. Shakthi accompanies Shruti, and Chandra offers him a job after spotting him. Shakthi accepts on the condition that Shruti is hired too. While working with Chandra, Shruti discovers her unethical practices, leading to a confrontation with an angry client. Shakthi defends Shruti and both quit, starting their own business, "Getti Melam," with equal partnership.

They begin organizing small weddings successfully and eventually land a big client. After a hectic yet successful wedding, they celebrate and end up sleeping together. Shakthi feels uneasy and avoids Shruti, unaware that she has fallen in love with him. Misunderstanding her intentions, he tells her the night meant nothing to him. Shruti hides her true feelings but is heartbroken.

Their strained relationship leads to a major fight, causing Shruti to break their partnership, forcing Shakthi to start his own business. Both struggle financially and accumulate debt. However, they receive a lucrative contract that requires them to work together. Despite their differences, they collaborate to recover their losses, dividing the workload. During the wedding preparations, Shakthi tries to dissuade Shruti from getting married, claiming it's wrong and driven by revenge. However, Shruti defends her decision, revealing she moved on after realizing Shakthi didn't reciprocate her love.

Shakthi realizes his love for Shruti but was afraid it would affect their business. Desperate to win her back, he confronts Shruti's fiancé and confesses his love for her. Upon learning about Shakthi's actions, Shruti breaks off her engagement and meets Shakthi on a rooftop. They confess their love for each other, and Shruti calls off her engagement, sealing their reconciliation with a passionate hug.

Cast

  • Nani as Shakthivel "Shakthi"
  • Vaani Kapoor as Shruti Subramaniam (Voice dubbed by Chinmayi)
  • Simran as Chandralekha, a famous wedding-planner (Voice dubbed by Deepa Venkat)
  • Karthik Nagarajan as GK
  • Badava Gopi as Hyder
  • M. J. Shriram as Ramesh
  • Five Star Krishna as Inspector Akhilan
  • Dhanajayan as Tyre King
  • Neela as Shruti's mother
  • Paaki as Shruthi's father
  • Henna as Shruthi's sister
  • Ajith Menon as Shakthi's father
  • Azhar as Danny
  • Shuvakar S as Rahul
  • Shwetha Shekar as Shalini
  • Gandarv Dhinora as Abbas
  • Gayatri MR as Sana

Production

Nani at the Audio Launch of the film

UTV Motion Pictures were reported to have cast Ravi Teja and Trisha in the Telugu version of the film titled Bamchikbam, but the studio later dismissed reports.[5] Other reports suggested that Tamannaah would feature in a Tamil version of the film alongside a newcomer, but Yash Raj Films maintained that they had not sold the remake rights of the film and would produce South Indian versions of the film themselves.[6] The Tamil and Telugu versions of the film were cast in doubt when Yash Raj Studios chose to pursue legal action against the makers of the Telugu film, Jabardasth, citing the film's plot was inspired directly from Band Baaja Baaraat.[7] However, the producers maintained that a South Indian version would still go ahead.

Nani signed on to be the leading actor of the film in December 2012 and a photo shoot was held with actress Vaani Kapoor, who had appeared in Yash Raj Films' Hindi ventures, by March 2013.[8] During the making of the film, Vaani Kapoor took training in Tamil and Telugu, while she also revealed that the original Hindi film's script would be adapted to suit the culture of the South Indian audience.[9] Dharan Kumar was signed on to be music director for the project, composing new tunes rather than retaining the original film's music.[10]

The project began shoot by the end of May 2013 and shot in Hyderabad with Padam Kumar, head of Yash Raj Film's operation in South India, being appointed the creative producer on the project.[11] Scenes were shot predominantly in a swift schedule in Chennai, completing most portions of the shoot with little publicity.[12] The team then shot a schedule in early September 2013 in Mysore in a set erected near Lalith Mahal Hotel, with rain partially disrupting progress.[13] Although it was planned as a bilingual it was completely filmed in Tamil only and was later dubbed in Telugu while the songs and climax scenes were individually shot in both the languages.[14]

Release

The film initially scheduled to release on 7 February 2014 but postponed to 21 February 2014. The film released in 900 screens worldwide for both versions.[15]

Critical reception

Baradwaj Rangan from The Hindu wrote "Gokul Krishna's remake follows the original almost beat for beat, but never does anything more. And despite some wonderfully conversational dialogue, we're left with the strange feeling of watching a Hindi movie dubbed in Tamil, along with the realisation that a story alone doesn't make a movie."[16] IANS gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5 and stated "Aaha Kalyanam is like going to a colourful wedding and being served tasteless food."[17] Gautaman Bhaskaran from Hindustan Times gave a review stating "Indeed, despite high production values (a contrast to most Tamil movies which suffer in this area) and an impressive degree of sophistry (which Bollywood cinema is known for), Aaha Kalyanam did not wow me" and rated the film 2/5.[18]

M. Suganth of The Times of India rated the film 3 stars out of 5 and stated "like the concept of wedding planning, the film too feels a little alien, and we don't really fall in love with it entirely.... And, yet, for all these flaws, Aaha Kalyanam manages to hold your interest and that is mainly because of Habib Faisal's winning script."[19] Sify wrote, "This new-age romance works big time due to the spontaneity of the fresh lead pair, as they light up the screen with their terrific on-screen chemistry. Debutant director Gokul Krisha has packaged the film smartly."[20] IndiaGlitz too gave a positive review stating "In all, the movie is a clean entertainer for all" and added that the film is a "Fun, frolic and colourful lighthearted enjoyment" and rated the film 3.5/5.[21] Behindwoods gave 2.75 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Aaha Kalyanam is like a near perfect wedding, which has very less unpleasant moments that are completely overshadowed by the overflowing happiness."[22]

Box office

The opened 80–90% occupancy on first day collected ₹7.62 crore at the box office while in Telugu version grossed ₹4 crore for adding up ₹11.62 crore at the box office, which is the biggest ever opening in Nani's career.[23][24] According to the International Business Times, the film subsequently did average business in Tamil Nadu, while its performance in Andhra Pradesh was poor. The film was a commercial disaster overseas.[25]

Soundtrack

Aaha Kalyanam
Soundtrack album to Aaha Kalyanam by
Dharan Kumar
Released5 January 2014
Recorded2013
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LanguageTamil
LabelYash Raj Music
ProducerDharan Kumar
Dharan Kumar chronology
Inga Enna Solluthu
(2013)		 Aaha Kalyanam
(2014)		 Naaigal Jaakirathai
(2014)

The soundtrack for Aaha Kalyanam was composed by Dharan Kumar. The lyrics were written by Thamarai and Madhan Karky.

All lyrics are written by Madhan Karky (except where noted)

Track list
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Kadha Kadha"Chinmayi 
2."Honeyae Honeyae - Male"Naresh Iyer 
3."Bon Bon"Haricharan, Sunidhi Chauhan 
4."Koottali Koottali"Benny Dayal, Usha Uthup 
5."Padhiye Padhiye - Female"Shakthisree Gopalan 
6."Mazhaiyin Saaralil" (Thamarai)Naresh Iyer, Shweta Mohan 
7."Aaha Kalyanam - Instrumental"Instrumental 
8."The Punch Song"M. M. Manasi, Nivas 
9."Padhiye Padhiye - Male"Abhay Jodhpurkar 
10."Honeyae Honeyae - Female"Supriya Ramalingam 

References

  1. 1 2 "'Aaha Kalyanam' Review Roundup: Visual Treat for Audience". International Business Times. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  2. ↑ "Aaha Kalyanam- Yash Raj Films first Tamil film !". Sify. 20 December 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  3. ↑ "First look of Nani's Aaha Kalyanam". The Times of India. TNN. 20 December 2013. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  4. ↑ "Aha Kalyanam movie review: Subject no match for Telugu audience". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  5. ↑ "UTV denies rumours on Band Baja Barat remake". The Times of India. 29 April 2011. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  6. ↑ "'Band Baja Barat' to be remade in Tamil". Tamilkey.com. 5 April 2011. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  7. ↑ "Yash Raj Films to sue makers of Jabardasth?". The Times of India. 25 February 2013. Archived from the original on 1 March 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Nani does photoshoot for Band Baaja Baarat remake". Telugu.way2movies.com. Archived from the original on 7 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  9. ↑ Mon, 2 September 2013 11:16am UTC by BollywoodLife (2 September 2013). "Vaani Kapoor: Sushant Singh Rajput is a fantastic co-star & Parineeti Chopra lights up the room! – Bollywood News & Gossip, Movie Reviews, Trailers & Videos at". Bollywoodlife.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ "Dharan gets busy". Chakpak. 12 September 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  11. ↑ "YRF's 'Band Baaja Baaraat' in Tamil!". IndiaGlitz. 21 June 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  12. ↑ Astro Ulagam (13 September 2013). "Nani and Vaani off to Mysore for a song shoot | Celebrity Diaries | Thirai Ulagam". Astro Ulagam. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  13. ↑ "Rain disrupts Nani's film shooting in Mysore". The Times of India. 12 September 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  14. ↑ Nikhil Raghavan (21 December 2013). "Etcetera: Debuting with a crime thriller". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2013. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  15. ↑ 'Aaha Kalyanam' gets U/A - Tamil Movie News
  16. ↑ "Aaha Kalyanam: Conjugal fights". The Hindu. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  17. ↑ "'Aaha Kalyanam' review: This Tamil film is a faithful remake sans creativity". IBN Live. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  18. ↑ "Movie review: Aaha Kalyanam gets its key elements wrong". Hindustan Times. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  19. ↑ "Aaha Kalyanam Review". The Times of India. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  20. ↑ Movie Review : Aaha Kalyanam
  21. ↑ "Aaha Kalyanam - Happily ever after". IndiaGlitz. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  22. ↑ "Aaha Kalyanam (aka) Aaha Kalyanam review". Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  23. ↑ "Telugu movie 'Aaha Kalyanam' review and box-office collections report". Gizmo Crave. 5 June 2014. Archived from the original on 5 June 2014.
  24. ↑ "Aaha Kalyanam Review: Opening Day Box Office Collections at Rs.2.5 Crore". Micro Finance Monitor. 8 June 2014. Archived from the original on 8 June 2014.
  25. ↑ "'Aaha Kalyanam' Box Office Collection: Nani-Vaani Kapoor Starrer a Disaster in Overseas Markets". International Business Times. 25 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 27 February 2014.
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