Badri (2001 film)
Badri is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language sports romantic comedy film directed by P. A. Arun Prasad. The film stars Vijay in the titular role as a spoilt college brat who turns into a kickboxer to prove himself, whereas Bhumika plays the lead heroine. Monal, Vivek, Riyaz Khan and Bhupinder Singh play supporting roles. The film's soundtrack was composed by Ramana Gogula, while the background score was composed by Devi Sri Prasad. It is the official remake of director's own Telugu movie Thammudu which was based on the 1992 Hindi movie Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander which in turn was based on the 1979 English movie Breaking Away. Filming began in August 2000 and was completed by March 2001. The film had its theatrical release on 12 April 2001. The film completed 100 days theatrical run and was successful at the box office. India Today listed the film under top ten films performed by Vijay.[1]
| Badri | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Tamil | பத்ரி |
| Directed by | P. A. Arun Prasad |
| Produced by | B. Sivarama Krishna |
| Written by | N. Prasanna Kumar (dialogues) |
| Story by | P. A. Arun Prasad |
| Based on | Thammudu (Telugu) |
| Starring | Vijay Bhumika Monal Vivek Riyaz Khan Bhupinder Singh |
| Music by | Ramana Gogula (Soundtrack) Devi Sri Prasad (Background Score) |
| Cinematography | Jayanan Vincent |
| Edited by | N. Hari |
Production company | Sri Venkateswara Art Films |
| Distributed by | Oscar Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 160 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
Sri Badrinatha Moorthy aka "Badri" is a happy-go-lucky youth who spends his days roaming around with his friends Azhagu, Howrah and Joot, ogling girls and repeatedly failing his exams. His father Viswanathan, a cafe owner, is disgusted with his irresponsibility and constantly chides him. His older brother Vetri, who is a college-level kickboxer and Viswanathan's favourite son, on the other hand, dotes on him. Janaki aka "Janu", who is Badri's neighbour and childhood friend, is in love with him, but the feeling is one-sided as Badri mainly considers her as a source of money and cars; Badri constantly borrows large amounts of money from Janu as well as expensive cars from her father's garage to impress girls.
One day, Badri meets Mamathi, who is a rich college girl, and poses as a rich industrialist's son in order to impress her. Mamathi falls for Badri's lies and soon expresses her love to him. But when she finds out the truth, she breaks up with him and insults him in front of Viswanathan. When Viswanathan further finds out that Badri has taken large amounts of money from Janu, he disowns Badri, tired of his antics.
Badri, who is now homeless, finds support from Janu, who advises him to be more responsible and redeem himself in Viswanathan's eyes. He realises the love Janu has for him and begins to reform himself. Meanwhile, Vetri is attacked and seriously injured by his kickboxing arch-rival Rohit, who happens to be Mamathi's new boyfriend and Badri's enemy as well, thus ruling him out for the final match of the inter-collegiate kickboxing championship against Rohit. Badri decides to fight for Vetri by taking his place in the final and trains hard for it. He defeats Rohit in the final, thus winning the kickboxing championship. He dedicates the trophy to Vetri, reconciles with Viswanathan and reciprocates Janu's love.
Cast
- Vijay as Sri Badrinatha Moorthy, "Badri"
- Bhumika as Janaki, "Janu"
- Monal as Mamathi
- Vivek as Azhagu
- Riyaz Khan as Vetri, Badri's brother
- Bhupinder Singh as Rohith
- Kitty as Viswanathan, Badri and Vetri's father
- Malaysia Vasudevan as Janaki's father
- Dhamu as Howrah, Badri's friend
- Sanjeev as Joot, Badri's friend
- Anu Mohan as Shanmugam
- Pandu as Professor (cameo)
- Shihan Hussaini as Vetri's coach
- Kazan Khan as Rohith's coach
- Meenakumari as Anitha
- Alphonsa special appearance in the song "Salaam Maharasa"
Production
Badri, produced by Sri Venkateswara Art Films, was announced in August 2000 and was slated to be remake of the Telugu film Thammudu, starring Pawan Kalyan. Arun Prasad, who directed the original, reprises his role as did the composer Ramana Gogula. Most of the other technicians were also taken from Tollywood. Art director G. K. hired 200 technicians to create a high tech complex in Vahini studios for the film.[2][3] When first announced, it was reported that Vijay would essay dual lead roles, although this claim later proved to be untrue.[4] Bhupinder Singh was also selected to reprise his role from the original version as Rohit, the antagonist.[5]
During the filming of a pivotal scene in the "Travelling Soldier" song, Vijay allowed a car to run over his fingers and the shot was canned with three cameras, with the scene attracting media attention. Martial arts expert Shihan Hussaini helped with the production and features in the film in a guest appearance.[6] Other scenes were shot at Amir Mahal in Chennai.[7]
The film teamed up with Coca-Cola for their publicity campaign after Vijay had signed on to the soft drink company as a brand ambassador. [8][9]
Release
The film ran for 100 days in theatres. The Hindu reported that the film Badri clearly reveals the diligence and sincerity of Vijay. But would these alone make a film wholesome? And Monal "needs to work on her expressions".[10][11]
Soundtrack
| Badri | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 2000-2001 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 38:31 | |||
| Label | Star Music Sa Re Ga Ma | |||
| Producer | Ramana Gogula | |||
| Ramana Gogula chronology | ||||
| ||||
The soundtrack of the film was composed by Ramana Gogula who composed for the original film and notably remains his first and only Tamil film he had worked so far, was well received by the audience. The lyrics were penned by Palani Bharathi.
- Tracklist
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Travelling Soldier" | Palani Bharathi | Ramana Gogula | 04:05 |
| 2. | "Adi Jivunnu Jivunnu" | Palani Bharathi | Ramana Gogula, Devi Sri Prasad | 02:04 |
| 3. | "Salaam Maharasa" | Palani Bharathi | Devan Ekambaram, Priya Himesh | 02:21 |
| 4. | "Ennoda Laila" | Palani Bharathi | Vijay | 05:13 |
| 5. | "Kalakalakudhu" | Palani Bharathi | Mano | 05:04 |
| 6. | "Kalakalakudhu" | Palani Bharathi | Shankar Mahadevan | 05:04 |
| 7. | "Kadhal Solvadhu" | Palani Bharathi | Srinivas, Sunitha Upadrashta | 04:34 |
| 8. | "Angel Vandhaaley" | Palani Bharathi | Devi Sri Prasad, Chithra | 04:45 |
| 9. | "King Of Chennai" | Palani Bharathi | Devi Sri Prasad | 04:17 |
| 10. | "Stella Maris Laara" | Palani Bharathi | Tippu, Vivek, Dhamu | 01:44 |
| Total length: | 38:31 | |||
References
- "Happy Birthday Vijay: 10 best films of Ilayathalapathy as a performer". India Today. Retrieved 5 August 2019.
- "Badri". Cinematoday2.itgo.com. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20010407074712/http://www.chennaionline.com/location/badri.asp
- "rediff.com, Movies: Gossip from the southern film industry: Anil Kumble to act?!". Rediff. 31 March 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- "Telugu Cinema Etc". Idlebrain.com. 28 August 2000. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- "Sheer daredevilry". The Hindu. 7 June 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- "Live Life. Mansion-Size. | S. Anand". Outlookindia.com. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- "Interview – Coca Cola India". www.chennaibest.com. Archived from the original on 5 May 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- "Things go better for Coke with Vijay". The Hindu. 20 April 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- "Film Review: Badri". The Hindu. 27 April 2001. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- HostOnNet.com. "BizHat.com – Badhri Review. Vijay, Bhoomika, Vivek, Sanjay, Dhamu". Movies.bizhat.com. Retrieved 31 July 2012.