Bruce Lee (2017 film)
Bruce Lee is a 2017 Tamil action comedy film written and directed by Prasanth Pandiraj, starring G. V. Prakash Kumar and Kriti Kharbanda in the leading roles, while Bala Saravanan, Ramdoss, Rajendran, Mansoor Ali Khan, and Anandaraj play supporting roles. The film was produced by Kenaya Films. The music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar with cinematography by P. V. Shankar. The film began production during July 2015 and was released on 17 March 2017.[1]
Bruce Lee | |
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Film poster | |
Tamil | புரூஸ் லீ |
Directed by | Prashanth Pandiraj |
Produced by |
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Written by | Prasanth Pandiraj |
Starring | G. V. Prakash Kumar Kriti Kharbanda Bala Saravanan Ramdoss Rajendran Mansoor Ali Khan Anandaraj |
Music by | G. V. Prakash Kumar |
Cinematography | P. V. Shankar |
Edited by |
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Production company |
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Distributed by | Linga Bhairavi Creations |
Release date |
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Running time | 125 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Tamil |
Plot
Bruce Lee (G. V. Prakash Kumar) and his friend Abbas (Bala Saravanan) are good-for-nothing guys. An evil don named Ramdoss (Ramdoss) has a gang who throws acid on people. Bruce Lee is in love with Saroja Devi Suprajit (Kriti Kharbanda), a college-going student. Once, Ramdoss kills Minister Mansoor Ali Khan (Mansoor Ali Khan), and a photo of the killing is taken by Bruce Lee accidentally. With fear, Saroja Devi decides to give it to Mansoor's son but comes to know that his son is involved in the killing, so she decides to give the evidence to her uncle, who is a lawyer. Unfortunately, her uncle also defends Ramdoss, and the commissioner asks Ramdoss to find who is shooting them. The next day, the girls are kidnapped by Ramdoss, and he demands the camera from Bruce Lee. Will Bruce Lee save Saroja forms the crux of the story.
Cast
- G. V. Prakash Kumar as Bruce Lee (Gemini Ganesan)
- Kriti Kharbanda as Saroja Devi Suprajit
- Bala Saravanan as Abbas
- Ramdoss as Godfather (Ramdoss)
- Rajendran as Mannikam, Abbas's uncle
- Mansoor Ali Khan as Minister Mansoor Ali Khan
- Anandaraj as Shanmugapandiyan
- Aathma Patrick
Production
The project was first announced in June 2015, when G. V. Prakash Kumar had agreed to work with Prashanth Pandiraj on an action comedy film to be produced by Kenanya Films.[2] The title of the film was changed in July 2015 from Baasha Engira Anthony to Bruce Lee, after the makers failed to acquire the relevant permission to use the title from the makers of Baashha (1995).[3][4] During October 2015, the film had a brief legal tussle with the makers of the Telugu film of the same, Bruce Lee (2015), after they dubbed and released their film in Tamil as Bruce Lee 2. The team of the Tamil production, Bruce Lee, were unable to prevent the release of the Telugu version or its dubbed Tamil version.[5]
Samantha and then Trisha were approached to play the leading female role, but their unavailability meant that Kriti Kharbanda, who also appeared in the Telugu Bruce Lee, was signed on to make her debut in Tamil films.[6][7] The team held a photoshoot in October 2015, with Kriti revealing that her and Prakash would portray college students.[8][9] Production subsequently began later that month, with the makers targeting a release date in early 2016.[10] Despite finishing the shoot in early 2016, the film was delayed to allow several of G. V. Prakash Kumar's other films have a theatrical release first.[11]
Soundtrack
Bruce Lee | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 20 October 2016 | |||
Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
Language | Tamil | |||
Label | Lahari Music | |||
Producer | G.V. Prakash Kumar | |||
G. V. Prakash Kumar chronology | ||||
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G. V. Prakash Kumar composed the songs, Arunraja Kamaraj, Mani kandan, Vairachandran, Gana Vinoth wrote the lyrics. Lahari Music released the album on 20 October 2016.
No. | Title | Lyrics | Artist(s) | Length |
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1. | "Naan Thaan Goppan Da" | Arunraja Kamaraj | Arunraja Kamaraj | 02:42 |
2. | "Sugar Mint-u Kari" | Mani Kandan | G. V. Prakash Kumar, M. M. Manasi | 04:49 |
3. | "Sumar Moonji Kumaru" | Gana Vinoth | Silambarasan | 03:48 |
Release
Following multiple delays, Bruce Lee had a theatrical release on 17 March 2017. The satellite rights of the film were sold to Zee Tamil.[12] The film was panned by the critics as well as audiences and ended up becoming a disaster at the box office.[13][14] Vishal Menon of The Hindu wrote "you need a wicked sense of comedy and great actors to pull off this kind of screwball material, but, sadly, there’s not a single funny moment", while Thinkal Menon of The Times of India wrote "if spirits could watch films, the spirit of real Bruce Lee will turn into Kanchana and Chandramukhi after watching this absurd film".[15][16] A reviewer from FirsPost stated "GV Prakash’s Bruce Lee would make the late legend turn in his grave" and that "the film, which was touted as a black comedy, is amateurish and has neither a story nor style".[17] Further negative reviews were given to the film by The New Indian Express who stated it was a "comedy gone awry", while Sify.com noted that director "Prashanth Pandiraj has a half-cooked script that doesn’t know where to go after setting up its delicious premise".[18][19] Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion wrote "Bruce Lee is supposed to be a comedy. The key word supposed. It’s actually a tale of revenge."[20]
References
- "Bruce Lee, Kattappava Kanom: This Friday, 7 Tamil films vying for screen space!". 15 March 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2017.
- "G.V.Prakash's in another film with Rajini connection". IndiaGlitz. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- "GV's Baasha Engira Antony is now Bruce Lee". The Times of India. 28 July 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- "GV's Baasha Engira Antony to go for a title change". The Times of India. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- "GV Prakash to release his Bruce Lee as Bruce Lee 2 in Telugu". Gulte.com. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- "Kriti Kharbanda replaces Nayan for G V Prakash's movie". Bangalore Mirror. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- "GV Prakash's next film Bruce Lee will have Kriti Kharbanda as his heroine". Behindwoods. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- M, Ramakrishnan (18 March 2017). "Drama Queen" – via www.thehindu.com.
- "What did GV Prakash call Kriti Kharbanda?". The Times of India. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- "Music composer turned hero G V Prakash begins his next film Bruce Lee". Behindwoods. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
- "GV Prakash: 'Bruce Lee is like a Guy Ritchie film with its dark humour' - Entertainment News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 16 March 2017.
- "பிரகாஷ் அவர்களின் அதிரடியான நடிப்பில் BruceLee". twitter.com/ZeeTamil. 28 September 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
- "Too many films flood the market, better planning needed". dtNext.in. 25 March 2017.
- "GV Prakash to experiment with 'Ayngaran' and 'Naachiyar'". Sify.
- Menon, Vishal (17 March 2017). "Bruce Lee: a zero's journey" – via www.thehindu.com.
- "Bruce Lee Movie Review {1.5/5}: Let's just hope no one gets inspired by this film and makes movies titled Jackie Chan, Tiger Chen or Tony Jaa" – via timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
- "Bruce Lee movie review: This GV Prakash film will make the action legend turn in his grave - Entertainment News , Firstpost". Firstpost. 17 March 2017.
- "Bruce Lee review: Black comedy gone awry". Sify.
- "Review: Bruce Lee". The New Indian Express.
- Rangan, Baradwaj (17 March 2017). "Bruce Lee Movie Review".
- Mandal, Manisha (17 March 2017). "Bruce Lee honest movie review: G.V. Prakash Kumar and Kriti Kharbanda's film fails to impress the critics!". India News, Breaking News, Entertainment News | India.com. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- "GV Prakash to experiment with 'Ayngaran' and 'Naachiyar'". Sify. Retrieved 9 May 2020.