Vellithirai (Eng: Silver Screen) is a 2008 Tamil drama film directed by debutant Viji, previously a dialogue writer. It is a remake of 2005 Malayalam Film “Udayananu Tharam” starring Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Meena, Mukesh with some changes. Vellithirai stars Prithviraj, as an assistant director hoping to make it big and Gopika, his love interest in the lead roles. Prakash Raj, the producer of the movie, also plays a prominent role in the movie. Shooting had taken place in India, Indonesia, and Australia. Vellithirai’s score and soundtrack, are composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, with many songs altered from the original. It is a remake of Rosshan Andrrews’s Malayalam film, Udayananu Tharam, which in turn has its climax adapted from the 1999 Hollywood film Bowfinger. Popular stars like Jayam Ravi and Trisha Krishnan play cameos as themselves in the film. The film received favorable reviews but commercial failure at the box office.
When Saravanan goes to Hyderabad, Kanniah copies Saravanan’s script and pitches it a producer, under the condition that he has to play the hero in the film. Impressed by the script, the producer agrees to the condition. The movie turns Kanniah, now rechristened Dilipkanth, into a star. Saravanan does not give up and creates another story. However, he finds out that he can’t make his film unless Dilipkanth plays the hero.Because of this they lead into minor problems which annoy Saravanan and their team.
Shooting starts with Dilipkanth as hero but is halted midway owing to various tantrums thrown by the new opportunistic hero. Determined to finish the movie, Saravanan seeks the help of his crew and friends in the cinema industry. Unknown to Dilipkanth, Saravanan and crew manipulate him into situations that match the storyline of the movie they are shooting for and capture Dilipkanth’s live reactions. They manage to fool Dilipkanth and finish shooting the climax of the film even as the self claimed new star makes an ass of himself. A few days later, he is invited to watch the premiere of the movie and is shocked to see the recent events of his life unfold on the silver screen. He soon realizes the effort put in by Saravanan and crew and feels humbled. He genuinely acknowledges the talent of the director and leaves the place, apologising to Saravanan for his pathetic behaivour and agreeing that Saravanan is better than him in a very mannered way.
Directed by Viji
Produced by Prakash Raj
Written by Viji & Rosshan Andrrews
Based on Udayananu Tharam by Sreenivasan & Rosshan Andrrews
Starring Prithviraj, Prakash Raj, Gopika, Charle, M. S. Baskar, Sarath Babu, Pratap Pothan
Music by G. V. Prakash Kumar
Cinematography M. V. Panneerselvam & K. V. Guhan
Edited by M. Kasi Vishwanathan
Distributed by Duet Films
Release dates March 7, 2008
Country India
Language Tamil
