Kolai (film)

Kolai
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBalaji K. Kumar
Written byBalaji K. Kumar
StarringVijay Antony
Ritika Singh
Meenakshi Chaudhary
CinematographySivakumar Vijayan
Edited byR. K. Selva
Music byGirishh G.
Production
companies
Infiniti Film Ventures
Lotus Pictures
Distributed bySakthi Film Factory
Release date
  • 21 July 2023 (2023-07-21)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Kolai (transl. Murder) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language neo-noir mystery psychological thriller film directed by Balaji K. Kumar.[1][2] The film stars Vijay Antony, Ritika Singh, and Meenakshi Chaudhary (in her Tamil debut).[3] The film's music is composed by Girishh G.[4][5] The film was released on 21 July 2023. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb.

Plot

A famous model and singer called Leila was murdered in her own apartment. The case is investigated by Sandhya Mohanraj, a reliable rookie and Vinayak, a smart but traumatized detective due to personal tragedy. This case became personal to him because of the parallels between Leila and her daughter, whose death affected his marriage. The rest is a classic whodunit with the main suspects being her boyfriend and singer Sathish, modelling friend Arjun, Bombay marketing agent Aditya Kaushik and Thief Babloo, along with flashbacks expalining their potentiel motives to kill her. It's later revealed that Sathish is the one who killed Leila because of Yamini, her sister who slowly died in front of him, which he took pleasure watching it. She later turned into hallucinations for him and asked to kill Leila because of her jealousy. With the case ending, the ghosts of Leila and Vinayak's daughter can finally rest.

Cast

Production

Production for the film began in 2018 and entered post-production in October 2021.[6][7] The film is based on true incident of Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters that happened in New York in 1923 and according to the director is a palimpsest of the film Another Life (2001).[7]

Soundtrack

Kolai
Soundtrack album by
Girishh G.
Released2023
Recorded2021
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length21:06
LanguageTamil
Girishh G. chronology
Super Senior Heroes
(2022) 		Kolai
(2023)
Official audio
Kolai – Full Jukebox on YouTube

The music was composed by Girishh G.,[8] collaborating with the director for the second time after Vidiyum Munn. The song "Paartha Nyabagam Illayo" was remixed and included in the film.[9]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Neerkumizho"Karthik NethaSid Sriram4:19
2."Yaar Nee"Girishh G.Anjana Rajagopalan, M. S. Krsna4:06
3."Nesam Maruma"Mohan RajanAnjana Rajagopalan3:23
4."Kelvi Mattum Thangudhey"Kaber VasukiPradeep Kumar4:13
5."Paartha Nyabagam Illayo"KannadasanShreya Ghoshal5:05
Total length:21:06

Reception

Janani K of India Today rated with 1.5/5 stars and wrote that "In an attempt to give the murder mystery a stylised treatment, the story of 'Kolai' is compromised. Hence, there is no desired impact while watching the film".[10] Kirubhakar Purushothaman of Indian Express rated the film with 1.5/5 stars and wrote "Kolai ends up being a plastic film that is shallow and uninteresting."[11] A critic from The Hindu wrote that "Despite all the quirky cinematic techniques on show, Balaji Kumar's film, starring Vijay Antony and Ritika Singh, only comes across as a staple whodunit with no attempt to subvert anything".[12] The Times of India rated the film 3/5 stars and stated as "An interesting yet slow-paced murder mystery thriller".[13]

References

  1. ^ "'Every Murder Has A Flaw', Says Vijay Antony In 'Kolai'". Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Vijay Antony's Kolai trailer promises an intriguing murder mystery". The Times of India. 16 August 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Vijay Antony and Ritika Singh solve a murder mystery in 'Kolai'". The Times of India. 7 April 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Kolai trailer: Vijay Antony nails the role of a smart detective in this imperfect murder mystery". OTTPlay. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  5. ^ "Pa Ranjith shares intriguing trailer of Vijay Antony's Kolai. Watch video". India Today. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  6. ^ "Prasanna, Andrea, and Madonna in Vidiyum Munn director's next?". The Times of India. 23 April 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  7. ^ a b Chandar, Bhuvanesh (25 October 2021). "Director Balaji Kumar: Kolai is inspired by a real-life incident". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Kolai (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) – EP by Girishh Gopalakrishnan, Karthik Netha & Mohan Rajan". 10 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023 – via music.apple.com.
  9. ^ "Kolai review: A plastic murder mystery". 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Kolai Review: It's style over substance for Vijay Antony's murder mystery". India Today. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Kolai review: A plastic murder mystery". 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  12. ^ "'Kolai' movie review: An unflattering murder-mystery that prioritises style over substance". The Hindu. 21 July 2023. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 22 July 2023 – via www.thehindu.com.
  13. ^ "Kolai Movie Review : An interesting yet slow-paced murder mystery thriller". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
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