Isai: Difference between revisions

| border        = no

| caption        = Theatrical release poster

| director      = [[S. J. Suryah]]

| producer      = S. Subbiah<br />Victor Raj Pandian<br />S. J. Suryah

| starring      = {{unbulleted list|S. J. Suryah|[[Sathyaraj]]|[[Sulagna Panigrahi|Sulagna]]}}

'''''Isai''''' ({{Translation|Music}}) is a 2015 Indian [[Tamil language|Tamil]]-language [[musical film|musical]] [[psychological thriller]] film co-produced, written, directed and composed by [[S. J. Suryah]], making his comeback as a director after a 10-year hiatus since 2005. The film stars himself in the lead role with debutant [[Sulagna Panigrahi|Sulagna]] in a female lead and [[Sathyaraj]] as the main antagonist. The story is about the tiff between Vetriselvan (Sathyaraj) and A. K. Shiva (Surya), the two music composers in the film industry. The film marked the debut of S. J. Surya, as a music director, with cinematography handled by [[Soundararajan (cinematographer)|Soundararajan]] and editing by K. M. Riyas.  

Vetriselvan ([[Sathyaraj]]) is an established and old-fashioned music director who is loved and respected for his works and is termed as the greatest musician of our times. A. K. Shiva ([[S. J. Suryah]]), who works as an assistant under Vetriselvan, gets an opportunity to compose music for a small-time film. When Shiva introduces new techniques and pioneers the use of [[synthesizers]], his music gets the attention of all music lovers. Due to the freshness and modernity that his music possesses, he becomes the most sought after musician and overtakes Vetriselvan. Shiva becomes the number one musician and builds his own studio. Meanwhile, he falls in love with Jeni ([[Sulagna Panigrahi]]) and marries her. When it seems everything he touches turns to gold, Vetriselvan displays his true psychopathic form.

Vetriselvan decides to pull down Shiva by any means. Vetriselvan wants to disturb Shiva's peace of mind so that he could not concentrate on music. Vetriselvan enters into a deal with Shiva's car driver, manager, cook, and studio front office staff to get their help in bringing down Shiva. One day, Shiva's car driver parks the car amidst peak traffic and suddenly runs away, which confuses Shiva. He gets disturbed by the continuous honking sound. Shiva's manager also confuses him by giving some fake incidents which did not happen. Jeni gets conceived but gets aborted as Shiva's cook mixes some medicine in her food. Shiva is worried because of Jeni's miscarriage and cries aloud. He thinks that he is mentally disordered and goes to a mental hospital.

Shiva's strange behavior gets the attention of media, and his image is tarnished amid public. Vetriselvan feels happy seeing this and in the meantime, film directors start approaching him again. Vetriselvan thinks that his lost glory is recovered now. Finally, it is revealed that Jeni is none other than Vetriselvan's daughter who was sent by him so that he can accomplish his plan. Knowing this, Shiva gets furious and comes to kill Jeni. But she reveals that she has really fallen in love with Shiva for his kindness and she is conceived again now. Vetriselvan comes there and persuades to kill Jeni knowing that she really loves Shiva. In the meantime, Vetriselvan stabs Shiva with a knife.

Suddenly, Shiva wakes up, and it is revealed that the entire story was his dream. Madhu ([[Meera Chopra|Nila]]) (from ''[[Anbe Aaruyire (2005 film)|Anbe Aaruyire]])'' is now his wife, and she says that fans are eagerly awaiting for a movie as he has not made a movie in the last 10 years. Shiva says that he got a story from his dream and needs to decide the climax. The movie ends there.

* [[S. J. Suryah]] as A. K. Shiva

* [[Sulagna Panigrahi|Sulagna]] as Jeni

The project was announced by S. J. Suryah in 2004 shortly after the release of ''[[New (film)|New]]'', when he revealed that [[A. R. Rahman]] would also collaborate for three of his future ventures titled ''[[Anbe Aaruyire (2005 film)|Anbulla Nanbane]]'', ''Aezhumazhai vs Chitra'' with [[Silambarasan]] and [[Asin]] and ''Isai''. While the first film released as ''Anbe Aaruyire'' in 2005, the latter two failed to progress.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atxSKlNAOG8 '&#39;'A R Rahman and his Tamil projects in future'&#39;']. YouTube.com. Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref> In January 2006, the film was reported to be back under way with either [[S. S. Chakravarthy]] or [[Navodaya Appachan]] being producer and it was suggested that the film would be about a "cunning assistant music director comes to the top".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tamil movies : A R Rahman to give his best for Isai |url=http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news/jan-06-01/26-01-06-a.r.rahman.html |access-date=2021-12-01 |website=Behindwoods}}</ref> Other reports had also suggested that the film told the tale of the tensions between South Indian musicians [[Ilaiyaraaja]] and [[A. R. Rahman]]. However the failures of S. J. Suryah's films ''[[Vyapari]]'' and ''[[Thirumagan]]'' prompted Rahman reconsider his involvement in the project and subsequently opted out from the project in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tamil Movie News s.j.surya a.r rahman thirumagan vyabari new tamil movie gallery images |url=http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news/apr-07-03/21-04-07-sj.surya.html |access-date=2021-12-01 |website=behindwoods}}</ref>

In 2011, Suryah announced that the film would restart and he would compose the film himself, describing it as a "musical".<ref>[http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/apr-11-02/sj-suryah-isai-11-04-11.html Sj Suryah To Make Beautiful Music! - Sj Suryah - Isai - Ar Rahman - Tamil Movie News]. Behindwoods.com (2011-04-11). Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref><ref>[http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/63516.html SJ Suryah returns - Tamil Movie News]. Indiaglitz.com (2011-01-31). Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref> Reports suggested that [[Lakshmi Rai]], who had back to back successes in 2011 with ''[[Muni 2: Kanchana|Kanchana]]'' and ''[[Mankatha]]'' would play the female lead role but Suryah subsequently denied this stating that he had been auditioning newcomers in Mumbai for the role.<ref>[http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/79545.html SJ Surya: I'm introducing a promising newbie in 'Isai' - Exclusive - Tamil Movie News]. Indiaglitz.com (2012-03-17). Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref> In May 2012, the film's first look posters were finally revealed, with [[Sulagna Panigrahi]], an [[Oriya people|Oriya]] and [[India]]n television and film actress, who had made her [[Bollywood]] debut in the 2011 thriller ''[[Murder 2]]''. The director confirmed that [[Prakash Raj]], [[Ganja Karuppu]] and [[M. S. Bhaskar]] will feature in supporting roles.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/Jero1994lk|title=Jero's Twitter|publisher=Behindwoods|date=23 May 2012|accessdate=23 May 2012}}</ref> Prakash Raj left the project in January 2013 as a result of a busy schedule.<ref>[http://behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-news-10/a-busy-prakash-raj-says-no-isai-prakash-raj-06-01-13.html A busy Prakash Raj says No, Isai, Prakash Raj]. Behindwoods.com (2013-01-06). Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref> Attempts to sign [[Gangai Amaren]] to replace him also proved to be unsuccessful. After a brief stall in the shoot, [[Sathyaraj]] was signed on to play the main antagonist, with Suryah confirming that the film would be based on a tiff between two music composers.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atxSKlNAOG8 Now, Sathyaraj plays Isai Vendan - Times Of India]. YouTube.com. Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref>

The film's plot is said to be inspired from certain real life incidents occurred in the lives of [[Ilaiyaraaja|Ilayaraaja]] and [[A. R. Rahman]] even though it was denied by the director himself .<ref>{{Cite web|title=Isai inspired by raaja and ARR's lives? - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/Isai-inspired-by-raaja-and-ARRs-lives/articleshow/17768982.cms|access-date=2020-07-01|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> The plot of the story is partially inspired from the Hollywood film ''[[The Truman Show]]''.

The album received positive reviews from critics. Behindwoods rated the album 3 out of 5 stating "SJ Suryah should feel proud of his work in Isai!"<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2014-11-01|title=Isai (aka) Isai songs review|url=http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/isai/isai-songs-review.html|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-07-01|website=Behindwoods}}</ref> Milliblog commented "SJ Suryah tries mighty hard, but his music is rough around the edges."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Isai (Music review), Tamil – SJ Suryah by Milliblog!|url=https://milliblog.com/2014/11/15/isai-music-review-tamil-sj-suryah/|access-date=2020-07-01}}</ref> "Isai Veesi" is based on Suryah's  "Ase Koni" from ''[[Ishq Wala Love]]'' (2014).

| extra5 = [[Pop Shalini]]

| extra3 = [[Karthik (singer)|Karthik]], Chinmayi, [[Deva (composer)|Deva]]

Initially planned for releasing on 1 May 2014, the same day were [[Ajith Kumar|Ajith]]-starrer ''[[Vaalee (1999 film)|Vaali]]'' (1999) was released,<ref>{{Cite web|title=SJ Surya to release Isai on the day Vaali released - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/SJ-Surya-to-release-Isai-on-the-day-Vaali-released/articleshow/29307987.cms|access-date=2020-07-01|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> The film was pushed to July 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Isai to release in July? - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/Isai-to-release-in-July/articleshow/32420619.cms|access-date=2020-07-01|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> The makers planned to release the film on 2 October 2014, coinciding with [[Gandhi Jayanti|Gandhi Jayanthi]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=SJ Surya's Isai to hit screens on October 2 - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/SJ-Suryas-Isai-to-hit-screens-on-October-2/articleshow/40906604.cms|access-date=2020-07-01|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> Later the film was scheduled to release on 30 January 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=SJ Suryah's 'Isai' release announced - Times of India|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/news/SJ-Suryahs-Isai-release-announced/articleshow/45999817.cms|access-date=2020-07-01|website=The Times of India|language=en}}</ref> The film released in 300 screens across [[Chennai]] and [[Tamil Nadu]] which is the highest for S. J. Surya.<ref name="tamilstudios1">[http://www.tamilstudios.com/movie/isai-2015/ Isai (2015) - Movie Review]. Tamil Studios (2015-01-31). Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref>

The film received generally positive reviews from critics as well as from audiences. ''[[The Times of India]]'' rated 3.5/5 stated But, there are times when the film turns frustrating as scenes go on and on, in convoluted fashion, with no end in sight. And with the climactic twist, which neither feels organic nor ingenious, Suryah only seems to be acknowledging that he couldn't come up with a satisfying end to the story he set originally out to film. All it does is give him a loophole to brush away the plot holes. Or, maybe, it his way of telling the whole world that SJ Suryah the director has literally woken up from his decade-long slumber.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/Isai/movie-review/46069707.cms Isai Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India]. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com (2015-01-30). Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref> ''Deccan Chronicle'' rated 3.5/5 stated It is director Suryah's intelligently woven brave attempt that enthralls the audiences keeping them hooked to their seats.  Cinematographer [[Soundararajan (cinematographer)|Soundararajan]] should be lauded for capturing the right mood of the film with his alluring lighting compositions. A bit of trimming would have helped. Nevertheless, with Isai, Suryah sends out a strong message that ‘he is back with bang’!.<ref>[http://www.deccanchronicle.com/150130/entertainment-movie-review/article/movie-review-isai-suryah-back-bang Movie review 'Isai': Suryah is back with bang!]. Deccanchronicle.com (2015-01-30). Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref> ''Filmibeat'' rated 3/5, stated Physiological Thriller with good twist at the end. ''Indiaglitz'' rated 3/5 stated Minus these negatives, Isai is a grand comeback for SJ Surya without a doubt. Sathyaraj's role thumps the movie home.Twists, turns, Power packed acting minus music.<ref>[http://www.indiaglitz.com/Isai-tamil-movie-review-13079 Isai review. Isai Tamil movie review, story, rating]. IndiaGlitz.com (2015-01-30). Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref> ''The Hindu'' stated "I found Isai a better watch than the recent big-ticket movies we've been subjected to. It has to do with the plot, which gradually becomes so preposterous that the sheer whatever-next factor pulls you through. After a point, the film lurches madly between psycho-thriller, Victorian melodrama (think Gaslight), horror-movie staples, and&nbsp;— I kid you not&nbsp;— a meta musing on the director's long absence from the screen and his return to it. Whatever else, you have to hand him points for audacity. By the end, I was chuckling."<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-reviews/isai-lots-of-problems-but-the-preposterous-plot-pulls-you-through/article6839653.ece Isai: Lots of problems, but the preposterous plot pulls you through]. The Hindu (2015-01-30). Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref> ''Behindwoods'' rated 2.75/5 stated SJ Surya style glamour, humor, dialogues and power packed performances with a little twist in the end.<ref>[http://behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/isai/isai-review.html Isai (aka) Isai review]. Behindwoods.com (2015-01-30). Retrieved on 2016-01-03.</ref> "Desimartini" rated it 3.1/5. Rakesh Reddy of Desimartini described the movie as "SJ Suryah is back in business but Isai is not his best film. Isai has a raunchy 1st half and a lengthy 2nd half with an unexpected climax."<ref>{{cite web |title= Movie Review&nbsp;— Isa |url=http://www.desimartini.com/movies/isai/md2424.htm |publisher= Desimartini.com |date= 8 February 2015 |accessdate= 9 February 2015}}</ref>

{{S. J. Suryah}}

[[Category:2015 psychological thriller films]]

[[Category:Films directed by S. J. Suryah]]

[[Category:Tamil psychological thriller films]]