Oru Kal Oru Kannadi (transl. A Stone, A Mirror) abbreviated as OKOK is a 2012 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by M. Rajesh.[2] It stars film producer Udhayanidhi Stalin (in his acting debut), Santhanam and Hansika Motwani in lead roles, while Saranya Ponvannan and Azhagam Perumal play supporting roles. The film's music was composed by Harris Jayaraj with cinematography by Balasubramaniem[3] and editing by Vivek Harshan. The film was named after the song of the same name from Rajesh's film Siva Manasula Sakthi (2009).

Oru Kal Oru Kannadi
Theatrical release poster
Directed byM. Rajesh
Written byM. Rajesh
Produced byUdhayanidhi Stalin
StarringUdhayanidhi Stalin
Santhanam
Hansika Motwani
CinematographyBalasubramaniem
Edited byVivek Harshan
Music byHarris Jayaraj
Production
company
Distributed byRed Giant Movies
Release date
  • 13 April 2012 (2012-04-13)
Running time
160 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget13 crore[1]
Box office43 crore[1]

The film released on 13 April 2012. It opened to highly positive reviews and became a blockbuster, running for 175 days in theatres.[4][5][6] It was eventually released in Telugu as OK OK on 31 August 2012.

Plot

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One morning in his house, Saravanan receives his ex-girlfriend Meera's wedding invitation. He and his friend Parthasarathy, aka Partha, leave for Puducherry to attend the wedding by car.

En route, Saravanan recollects his past: he was an easy-going and eccentric youth working in a film theatre with Partha. He lives with his parents: his father Varadharajan, who is educated and works as a college professor; and his mother Shenbagam, who is uneducated and is trying to pass an exam just to get her college degree and her husband's love, since Varadharajan had stopped talking to her the day after their marriage when he found out that she is uneducated.

One day in traffic, Saravanan sees Meera, a girl training to be an air hostess, and falls for her at first sight. He stalks her to a cloth shop and also to her air hostess class. Meera threatens Saravanan by showing her father's photo, who is a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mahendra Kumar. But still, Saravanan stalks her and asks her to love him. Meera takes him to her father's office, and he asks Saravanan to stop following Meera. Meera tells Saravanan that she has some qualifications required by her lover, like shaving regularly, dressing well, breaking his friendship with Partha, coming on time, etc. Saravanan says this to Partha, who asks him if he or Meera is best for him. Saravanan tells him that Meera is more important to him than Partha, causing a break between Saravanan's and Partha's friendship.

Later, Saravanan reunites Partha's broken love. Partha agrees, and then they go to Mumbai, following Meera on a flight. There, Meera tells him that she loves Saravanan. Meanwhile, Varadharajan later realizes his mistake of mistreating Shenbagam and reconciles with her after Saravanan scoffs at him for his behavior. After some months, Meera calls Saravanan once, but he does not pick up the phone and tells Partha that Meera is not his real love and it is all nothing, but a "project." Saravanan says it as a joke; however, Partha had accidentally switched on the phone while Saravanan told him all this. Meera, mistakenly thinking he was intentionally misleading her, comes there and breaks up with him.

While they make their way to the marriage hall in the current situation, Saravanan's parents arrange to betroth him and Meera by going to the temple, while in Pondicherry, both Saravanan and Partha end up drunk (Saravanan truly drinks for the first time, shocking Partha since Saravanan often inebriated earlier by just sniffing the booze bottle as a running gag in the film) and tell a small story to the guests in a comical way describing the broken love of Saravanan and Meera. The guests empathize with them, and just as the marriage is about to happen, Rajini Murugan, a local don, comes there with a pregnant girl and his girlfriend and reveals that Meera's groom has a girlfriend who is pregnant by him and that the girl Rajini Murugan is with, is that girl. The groom admits his mistake and reunites with his old girlfriend. Saravanan and Partha walk off the marriage hall. Just then, Meera comes and hugs Saravanan, hence reuniting with him.

Cast

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Special appearances

Production

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Development

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Udhayanidhi Stalin had bought the distribution rights of Rajesh's previous film Boss Engira Bhaskaran.[8] As the film emerged successful, Udhayanidhi decided to continue the collaboration, going on to play the lead role in the new project.[9]

During the pre-production stage, several actresses including Asin Thottumkal and Nayantara were approached to play the female lead but Hansika Motwani was eventually signed. The protagonist was revealed to be an unemployed youngster, as unofficial reports of a ticket collector and a band master were brushed aside.[10] Arya, Sneha and Andrea Jeremiah were roped in to perform cameo roles.[11] Rajesh planned to retain the same crew members from his first two ventures but since Udhayanidhi wanted Harris Jayaraj to score the music for his debut film, he was signed over Rajesh's usual associate Yuvan Shankar Raja, while the makers decided to proceed with Balasubramaniam as the cinematographer as Sakthi Saravanan was unavailable.[12]

Filming

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A photo shoot for the film was held in February 2011 with the lead.[13] The shooting of the film began in March 2011.[14] Filming was held in Tidel Park and Rajiv Gandhi Road in Chennai on 26 April. The car in which they drive to pondicherry was modified with power steering and other interesting elements. A pondicherry bar was setup in woodlands hotel campus. In the song Azhage, which was totally shot in dubai, in between bgms were recreated in VGP beach and matched by art director Jacki.[15] Overseas shooting locations included Jordan and Abu Dhabi, where the film's team flew over to shoot a song in December 2011.[16][17] Some shots were canned at the PVR theater in Ampa Mall, Aminjikarai. Hansika Motwani and Saranya were spotted doing a scene together in the theater.[18] In the second schedule, director Rajesh shot a scene on Udayanidhi Stalin, Azhagam Perumal and Saranya Ponvannan at KK Nagar.[19] During a schedule, Santhanam was hospitalized due to illness, delaying the shoot.[20]

Release

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The satellite rights of the film were sold to Sun TV. Oru Kal Oru Kannadi was released on 13 April 2012 in Tamil as a Tamil New Year release and on 31 August 2012 in Telugu.[21]

Soundtrack

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Oru Kal Oru Kannadi
Soundtrack album by
Released4 March 2012 (4 March 2012)
Recorded2012
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length25:35
LanguageTamil
LabelSony Music India
ProducerHarris Jayaraj
Harris Jayaraj chronology
Nanban
(2011)
Oru Kal Oru Kannadi
(2012)
Maattrraan
(2012)

The album features five songs,[22] composed by Harris Jayaraj.[23] The composing sessions took place in Singapore, Zimbabwe and Ooty.[24][25] The audio launch was held at the Sathyam Cinemas on 4 March 2012. Actors Karthi, Surya, Jeeva and Arya were present at the event.[26] A three-minute trailer and song sequences was screened for the guests and media people as well.[27]

The soundtrack received generally positive reviews. Behindwoods.com claimed that it "definitely has a few like-able singalongs to keep the audio outlets happy", providing a rating of 3/5.[28] The Song Venam Machan Venam became an Instant hit and topped the chart for several weeks.[29] Indiaglitz.com mentioned that the composer had "fulfilled the director's expectations, as the songs strike a chord during the first-listen itself. 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi' music album celebrates love and reflects youngsters, like the previous films of Rajesh."[30]

All lyrics are written by Na. Muthukumar

Track-List[31]
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Kaadhal Oru"Aalap Raju, Vedala Hemachandra, Sunitha Sarathy, Anuradha Sriram6:04
2."Azhage Azhage"Mukesh Mohamed, Vishnu, Srimathumitha5:54
3."Akila Akila"Aalap Raju, Chinmayi, Sharmila, Aaron George4:43
4."Adada Oru [Based on Westlife - Hit You With the Real Thing]"Karthik3:43
5."Venaam Machaan"Naresh Iyer, Velmurugan5:11
Total length:25:35
Ok Ok
Soundtrack album by
Released2012
Recorded2012
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length25:44
LanguageTelugu
LabelSony Music India
ProducerHarris Jayaraj

All lyrics are written by Bhuvanachandra

Telugu Track-List[32]
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Just Like"Aalap Raju, Vedala Hemachandra, Sunitha Sarathy, Anuradha Sriram6:06
2."Areree Areree"Mukesh Mohamed, Srimathumitha5:59
3."Akila Akila"Aalap Raju, Chinmayi, Sharmila4:42
4."Kalala Oka Devathe"Karthik3:48
5."Vaddura Maavaa"Naresh Iyer, Velmurugan5:09
Total length:25:44

Reception

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Critical reception

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Oru Kal Oru Kannadi received positive reviews and became a blockbuster at the box office. Sify called it a "rollicking comedy", stating: "If all you're looking for is a relaxed time at the movies, then, this is Good Fun. Go with your buddies, you'll laugh till you have tears in your eyes".[33] The Times of India rated it 3.5 out of 5 and said: "M Rajesh is a rarity in Tamil cinema. How else does one explain sitting through almost a three-hour-long movie without realising the passage of time?"[34] IndiaGlitz said "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi – Humour at Its Best!" and wrote that it was a "clean and convincing film that makes you laugh every minute".[35] Behindwoods.com rated the film 3 out of 5, stating: "OKOK double OK".[36] Oneindia stated that the film "may not have a great storyline, but watching the film is worth every penny".[37] Rohit Ramachandran of Nowrunning.com stated that it was "by no means a meaningful film experience, but it is a portal for popcorn escapism".[38] Pavithra Srinivasan from Rediff.com rated it 2 out of 5 and said: "OKOK is a slightly torturous friendship story of two guys and that's pretty much it".[39]

Box office

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Oru Kal Oru Kannadi opened on more than 300 screens, with an average of 95 percent theatre occupancy in urban regions.[6] The film began to collect even larger sums of revenue in the next four continuous weeks, acquiring a total of 15.09 crore in a matter of 25 days in Chennai.[6][40] The film claimed the top spot for more than a month at the Chennai box office. Trade pundits declared the film's collections as impressive.[6][40][41] Taken with a budget of 13 crore it grossed around 42 crore worldwide.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Tamil Cinema 2012- Half Yearly Report (Jan 1-June 30)". Sify. 7 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  2. ^ Anupama Subramanian DC chennai (23 March 2011). "Udhay's new look in OKOK". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 25 March 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  3. ^ Jayaraj to give music for Rajesh's OKOK. The Times of India. (17 January 2011). Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  4. ^ Hansika hikes her fee to 75 lakhs. The Times of India. (22 April 2012). Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  5. ^ Oru Kal Oru Kannadi to be remade in Bollywood. The Times of India. (22 April 2012). Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  6. ^ a b c d "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi". Behindwoods. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi — Kaadhal Oru Video Udhayanidhi, Hansika". 16 December 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2015 – via YouTube.
  8. ^ Red Giant acquires Boss Engira Bhaskaran – Tamil Movie News. IndiaGlitz (29 July 2010). Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  9. ^ "Udhayanidhi is the hero for director Rajesh at Chennai365". Archived from the original on 11 August 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link). chennai365.com. 2 June 2010
  10. ^ "Who is Udhayanidhi in 'OK OK'?". IndiaGlitz. 7 March 2011. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  11. ^ "Arya to do a cameo". IndiaGlitz. 8 August 2011. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  12. ^ "Okok Shoot To Commence". Behindwoods. 8 March 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  13. ^ "Hansika OK OK". Behindwoods. 7 February 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  14. ^ "It's shooting time for 'OKOK'". IndiaGlitz. 16 March 2011. Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  15. ^ Rajesh's Nanbenda becomes OKOK. Sify.com (19 January 2011). Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  16. ^ "OKOK team flies to Jordan". Sify. 17 December 2011. Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  17. ^ "Ok Ok Dubai Schedule Completed". Behindwoods. 27 December 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  18. ^ "Hansika Motwani Spotted at Pvr Theaters". Behindwoods. 28 March 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  19. ^ "Ok Ok Shooting Wrapped Up". Behindwoods. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  20. ^ "Santhanam Is Possessed!". Behindwoods. 5 April 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  21. ^ "OKOK Movie Release date on 13 April".
  22. ^ "'OKOK' track details". IndiaGlitz. 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  23. ^ "On Harris Replacing Yuvan". Behindwoods. 25 February 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  24. ^ "Harris in Singapore. OKOK". IndiaGlitz. 12 March 2011. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  25. ^ "Harris Jeyaraj in Singapore". Behindwoods. 12 March 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  26. ^ "Suriya unveils 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi' music". IndiaGlitz. 6 March 2012. Archived from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
  27. ^ "OKOK music from 5 March | மார்ச் 5-ம் தேதி ஒரு கல் ஒரு கண்ணாடி இசை! – Oneindia Tamil". Tamil.oneindia.in. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  28. ^ Oru Kal Oru Kannadi Music Review – Oru Kal Oru Kannadi Music Review. Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  29. ^ "Venam Machan Venam Song Lyrics from Oru Kal Oru Kannadi". Paatuvarigal – Tamil Song Lyrics. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  30. ^ Oru Kal Oru Kannadi Music Review songs lyrics. IndiaGlitz (7 March 2012). Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  31. ^ "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi – All Songs – Download or Listen Free – Saavn". 5 March 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  32. ^ "Ok Ok – All Songs – Download or Listen Free – Saavn". 8 July 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
  33. ^ "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi is Rollicking comedy". Sify. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  34. ^ "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi Review". The Times of India. Retrieved 14 April 2012.     
  35. ^ "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi – Humour at Its Best!". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  36. ^ "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi Review". Behindwoods. Retrieved 14 April 2012.     
  37. ^ "Oru Kal Oru Kannadi – Review". Oneindia. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  38. ^ Oru Kal Oru Kannadi Review – Tamil Movie Review by Rohit Ramachandran. Nowrunning.com (14 April 2012). Retrieved 2012-05-08.
  39. ^ "Review: Oru Kal, Oru Kannaadi is tortuous". Rediff. Retrieved 14 April 2012.     
  40. ^ a b "Karthi — Kajal team up again? - Tamil Movie News". IndiaGlitz. 14 May 2012. Archived from the original on 16 May 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  41. ^ "OK OK remake rights becomes hot". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014.
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