Vaalee is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film written and directed by S. J. Surya making his directorial debut and was produced by S. S. Chakravarthy under production company Nic Arts. The film stars Ajith Kumar in a double role with Simran in the lead role. Vivek, Pandu and Livingston in supporting roles. A modern-day fictional adaptation of the legend of Vaalee from the Ramayana, it tells the story of Deva and Shiva, two identical twin brothers, with Deva being deaf and dumb. When Shiva marries his sweetheart Priya, Deva becomes obsessed with and lusts for Priya.
Surya who was assisting Vasanth in Aasai (1995) approached Ajith to do a film under his direction if he had a good script. Simran was selected as the lead actress after attempts to sign Keerthi Reddy and Roja had failed. The soundtrack for Vaalee was composed by Deva and lyrics were written by Vairamuthu with songs like “Oh Sona” and “April Madhathil” becoming popular. The cinematography was handled by Jeeva while the editing was done by the duo of B. Lenin and V. T. Vijayan.
Vaalee was released on 30 April 1999 to positive reviews from critics for direction of S. J. Suryah along with the performances of Ajith and Simran. Vaalee became a commercial success at box-office.
Deva and Shiva (both played by Ajith Kumar) are twins. Deva, the elder, is deaf and mute; but he is a genius, an expert at lip-reading, and the head of a successful advertising company. Shiva loves and trusts his brother. Priya (Simran) wants to marry someone who is an ex-smoker, ex-drunkard, and who got ditched by a girl but is pining for her. Learning this, Shiva, with the help of his friend Vicky (Vivek), invents an old romance between him and Sona (Jyothika), and finds his way into Priya’s heart.
Meanwhile, Deva chances upon Priya and lusts for her. His obsession continues even after his brother gets married to the girl of his dreams, and he devises various means of getting close to Priya and keeping Shiva and her separated. Some of the methods Deva uses to woo Priya are masochistic (wounding his hand by the running car engine to stop the couple’s first night) and psychotic (trying to kill his brother in so many ways).
Priya realises the not-so-honorable intentions Deva has towards her, but Shiva refuses to believe her and has full faith in his brother. He even goes as far as to take Priya to a psychiatrist. To get away from it all, Shiva and Priya go on a long-delayed honeymoon, but Deva shows up there too. Shiva watches Deva kissing Priya’s photo and realizes that she was right all along. While Shiva is away, Priya has to take care of Deva. Deva beats Shiva mercilessly, packs the unconscious Shiva in a gunny bag, and throws him in a lorry.
Deva disguises himself as Shiva and tries to seduce Priya. Priya comes to know that he is Deva and escapes from him before shooting him with her revolver. Deva falls in the pool, and when Shiva comes, she narrates the whole incident to him. Suddenly, Deva comes back to life, but Shiva immediately kills him with the revolver. Deva’s soul talks about his inability to express his feeling as he was mute. His grave with lots of flowers grown on it is shown.
Directed by S. J. Surya
Produced by S. S. Chakravarthy
Written by S. J. Surya
Starring Ajith Kumar, Simran
Music by Deva
Cinematography Jeeva Additional Cinematography: M. S. Prabhu & Ravi Varman
Edited by B. Lenin & V. T. Vijayan
Production Nic Arts
Release date 30 April 1999
Running time 158 minutes
Country India
Language Tamil
