O Kadhal Kanmani (English: Oh Love, Apple of my Eye), also known as OK Kanmani,[1] is a 2015 Tamil romantic drama filmwritten, directed
and produced by Mani Ratnam.[2] The film stars Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen[3] as a young couple in a live-in relationship[4][5] and was said to be a "reflection of the modern mindset
of urban India", dealing with issues such as marriage and traditional
values.[6] The music was composed by A. R. Rahman.
The film released on 17 April 2015.[7]
Premise
Aadi (Dulquer Salmaan), a computer game developer
who relocates to Mumbai chances upon Thara (Nithya Menen) at a strange situation as soon
he lands in the railway station. Adhi stays with his brother’s ex-colleague
Ganapathy (Prakash Raj) whose
wife Bhavani (Leela Samson) is a
former carnatic singer now an Alzheimer patient. Thara an architect by
profession lives in a ladies hostel and is awaiting admission from a Paris
university for higher studies.
Adhi subsequently meets Thara at his
friend Ananya’s (Ramya Subramaniam) wedding at a church. They exchange phone
numbers and soon become close friends as they share similar thoughts. Soon they
realize that they are in love. Since both don’t believe in the institution of
marriage and are career driven, they decide to ‘live together’ without any
commitments. Thara moves to Adhi’s room although initially Ganapathy does not
approve of their idea. All goes hunky dory until Adhi gets selected to go to US
on deputation. A stage comes when things start to change and they feel that
there’s something more to their relationship than a casual affair. Now they
have to take a vital decision. Whether they enter wedlock or part ways forms
the rest of the story.
Production
Development
Mani Ratnam had discussions with Fahad Fazil, on a bilingual in Tamil and Malayalam.[9] After the project failed to
materialize, he had discussions with Chiranjeevi and his sonRam Charan about other potential
projects, before finalising to make a multi-starrer featuring Ram Charan and Allu Arjun in leading roles.[10][11] Apparently Ram Charan
expressed skepticism noting that it 'lacked the potential of being a commercial
success.'[12] In August 2014, Dulquer Salmaan was signed on by Mani
Ratnam for another project, a romantic drama reportedly on the lines of Alaipayuthey (2000).[13][14] The film was titled OK
Kanmani during the first schedule.[15] During the making, the
cinematographer hinted that the film has contents on the lines of Ratnam's Alaipayuthey (2000),
that was also based on a real life incident.[16] Briefing about the film,
Ratnam called it an urban love story. The story is set in Mumbai and deals with
people away from home who become independent of the rules and regulations of a
family.[17] In a press conference at Taj Coromandel in Chennai, Ratnam went on to add that the film
is a contemporary take on the new generation, their attitudes and their values.[5] Through the film, Ratnam wanted
to portray the change that takes place every five or six years when a new
generation comes in with different set of values.[5] This story revolves about two
different sets of characters with its discords, the understanding and the
changing that comes through.[5] Lyricist Vairamuthu, who has
done lyrical work for the songs stated that the film has been made at a time
when capitalism is dissolving traditional cultures. The entire film was shot
with live sound.[6] Sound engineer Anand Krishnamoorthi was
roped in as sound designer for the post production, including the elaborate
animation scenes used throughout the film.
Casting
For the leading female role, Alia Bhatt was considered but she
rejected the offer.[18] Pooja Hegde was offered the role but was
unable to accept it due to levied contractual obligations until release of her
debut Bollywood film Mohenjo Daro (2016).[19] The team subsequently held
discussions with Nithya Menen for
the role, while actress Parvathy was
also considered, before the former was finalised.[20][21] Actress Kanika shot for a day with the team and
confirmed her part a cameo appearance. P. C. Sreeram was signed on to be the
film's cinematographer, collaborating with after fifteen years.[22] Eka Lakhani had designed the
costumes for the main cast.[23]
The character Aadi (played by Dulquer Salmaan) is about a young urban man.
For this role, Ratnam was looking for 'someone real and belonging to an upper
class family, but not a hero'. Ratnam first met Salmaan at an audio release
function and felt that he was the right choice to play the character Aadi,
although he hadn't seen any of the latter's films. However, Ratnam had watched Nithya Menen's previous films where she played
small roles.[5] Ratnam was quoted saying,
"I found something alive about her, something real and perfectly beautiful
about her. Nithya carries an individuality and is not just a glamorous girl.
Like her character in the film, Tara, she has a mind of her own."[5] The supporting cast includes Prakash Raj and Leela Samson as onscreen husband and
wife.[5] The latter makes her cinematic
acting debut through this film.[24]
Filming
Principal photography began from October 6,
2014 with scenes featuring Dulquer Salman and Nithya Menen being filmed.[25] Menen revealed that the film
would be shot in a short span of time and her portions would be completed by
December 2014, while the team swiftly shot scenes at locations in and around
Chennai, including near a bank inParry's Corner. The last leg of filming,
started in Mumbai in November 2014 with the shooting
lasting for a week.[26] The team shot scenes at Indian
Institute of Management andCEPT University both in Ahmedabad, the following month.[27][28] Filming was completed by
December 2014.[27][29]
Music
Main article: O Kadhal
Kanmani (soundtrack)
The soundtrack and film score were composed by
A. R. Rahman. The lyrics were written by Vairamuthu[30] whereas Sirivennela
Sitaramasastri[31] wrote the Telugu lyrics for
the dubbed version. The soundtrack album was noted to be "youthful"
with Carnatic themes.[32] Since Leela Samson plays the role of an old
Carnatic singer in the film, there is a tinge of Carnatic music in the film.[5] Ratnam wanted an original
soundtrack from Rahman that is contemporary as well as trendy.[5] Rahman's son, A. R. Ameen sang
the track "Maula Wa Sallim" in Arabic. A first preview of the song
"Mental Manadhil (Male version)" was released on March 17,[33] while the full song was
released as a single on March 17 to positive critical response.[34] The soundtrack album was
released by Sony Music India on
April 4, 2015.[35]
Promotion and release
On April 8, 2015, the film was awarded a
"U/A" certificate by the Central
Board of Film Certification because of adult situations depicted
in the film. The makers then sent the film to the revising committee to acquire
a "U" (Universal) certificate but the status remained unchanged.[36]
The film was distributed by Studio Green[37] in 350 theatres in Tamil Nadu [38] whereas producer Dil Raju's Sri Venkateswara
Creations distributed the Telugu version.[39] It was Dil Raju who suggested
Mani to name the Telugu version as Ok Bangaram.[40]
The first poster of the Tamil and the dubbed
Telugu version of the film were released on February 14, 2015.[41] The teaser titled "OK
Kanmani - A Glimpse" was released on February 27.[8] The first trailer was released
on March 1.[42]
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