Bala (2002 film)

Bala is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Deepak, starring Shaam as the titular character along with Meera Jasmine. Rajan P. Dev, Raghuvaran, Thilakan, and Santhoshi play supporting roles. The music was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja with cinematography by Priyan and editing by V. T. Vijayan. The film was released on 13 December 2002.

Bala
International release DVD cover
Directed byDeepak
Written byDeepak
Viji (dialogues)
Produced byRajaa Baalu
Raju Magalingam
StarringShaam
Meera Jasmine
CinematographyPriyan
Edited byV. T. Vijayan
Music byYuvan Shankar Raja
Production
company
Goldmine Pictures
Release date
  • 13 December 2002 (2002-12-13)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Plot

Bala (Shaam) is the favourite hitman of gangster Pasupathi (Rajan P. Dev). When Bala is not zooming around in jeeps with a wild-looking gang, parading down lanes with the same gang faithfully following a step behind him, or knocking down one person or another, he's successfully wooing Aarthi (Meera Jasmine), the girl he has fallen for at first sight. Aarthi is the daughter of Jeyamani (Raghuvaran), a rival gangster. Ailing don Paranthaman (Thilakan), the mentor of the two rivals, seeing his protégés at each other's throats, brings a compromise by suggesting that Aarthi will be married to Pasupathi's wayward son. Bala naturally becomes a pariah in both camps, till it's all's well that ends well.

Cast

Production

Deepak, who worked as an assistant director to Gandhi Krishna (of Engineer) and as an editor made his directorial debut with this film. Yuvan Shankar Raja was signed to compose the music for the film.[1] Vidya Balan, the original choice for lead actress, was replaced by Meera Jasmine in the film.[2] Shaam departed from his romantic hero role and portrayed an action oriented role in the film.[3]

Some scenes were shot on a boat about fifteen kilometers from the harbour, in Chennai whereas at the Vauhini Studios, Chennai, a lavish set was erected where Shaam and Meera Jasmine danced to the beat of a song.[4]

Soundtrack
Bala
Soundtrack album by
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Released20 October 2002 (2002-10-20)
Recorded2002
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length22:08
LabelFive Star Audio
ProducerYuvan Shankar Raja
Yuvan Shankar Raja chronology
April Maadhathil
(2002)		 Bala
(2002)		 Mounam Pesiyadhe
(2002)

The soundtrack, featuring 5 songs, was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja and released on 20 October 2002.[5] Lyrics were penned by Arivumathi, Kabilan, Pa. Vijay and Pazhani Bharathi. The song "Bailamo Bailamo" was originally composed for the Srikanth-starrer April Maadhathil, but eventually used in this film.[6]

No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Bailamo Bailamo"Pa. VijayYuvan Shankar Raja4:20
2."Poopoovai"ArivumathiUnni Menon, Ganga4:55
3."Theendi Theendi"Pa. VijayP. Unnikrishnan, Sujatha Mohan4:10
4."Vaanathu Poochi"KabilanKarthik, Mathangi4:30
5."En Kannai"Pazhani BharathiShankar Mahadevan4:13

Release

A critic from The Hindu stated that "'Bala' is another of those typical action flicks that flood the cinema scene today".[7] Malini Mannath of Chennai Online opined that "It's yet again a gangster film, the scenes flowing albeit smoothly, but expectantly through clichéd situations giving one a sense of deja vu throughout".[8] Visual Dasan of Kalki criticised the age old story and called the film "boring" while praised the dialogues, background score, and cinematography.[9]

Despite the failure of Shaam's previous films, this film managed to average business.[10]

References
  1. "Youthful team". The Hindu. 31 May 2002. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  2. "Vidya Balan was the original choice for Bala". Times of India. 5 February 2018.
  3. "Bala". Sify. 14 April 2003. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021.
  4. "BALA". 3 October 2002. Archived from the original on 3 October 2002.
  5. "Ready for the fights". The Hindu. 22 October 2002.
  6. "Success guaranteed". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 19 November 2005. Archived from the original on 22 March 2006. Retrieved 28 May 2009.
  7. ""Bala"". The Hindu. 20 December 2002.
  8. Mannath, Malini (19 December 2002). "Bala". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 11 March 2005.
  9. Dasan, Visual (29 December 2002). "பாலா" [Bala]. Kalki (in Tamil).
  10. Warrier, Shobha (10 January 2003). "Tamil Cinema 2002: When The Stars Failed". Rediff.com.
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