| Kolai | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Balaji K. Kumar |
| Written by | Balaji K. Kumar |
| Starring | Vijay Antony Ritika Singh Meenakshi Chaudhary |
| Cinematography | Sivakumar Vijayan |
| Edited by | R. K. Selva |
| Music by | Girishh G. |
Production companies | Infiniti Film Ventures Lotus Pictures |
| Distributed by | Sakthi Film Factory |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Kolai (transl. Murder) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language mystery-thriller film directed by Balaji K. Kumar.The film stars Vijay Antony, Ritika Singh, and Meenakshi Chaudhary.The film's music is composed by Girishh G.The film was released on 21 July 2023. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb.[8]
Plot[edit]
A singer and model Leila was murdered in her own apartment.The rest is a classic whodunit with potential suspects the boyfriend Sathish, modelling friend Arjun, a bombay Marketing Agent Aditya Kaushik and a thief Babloo.
Cast[edit]
- Vijay Antony as Vinayak
- Meenakshi Chaudhary as Leila Borkar
- Ritika Singh as Sandhya Mohanraj
- Radhika Sarathkumar as Rekha
- Rajeev Shresta as Babloo
- Murali Sharma as Adithya Koushik
- Siddhartha Shankar as Sathish
- John Vijay as Mansoor Ali Khan
- Arjun Chidambaram as Arjun Vasudev
- Anand as DCP Tilak Varma
- Yamuna Chinnadurai as Vinayak’s wife
- Sivakumar as Constable Marudhu
- Sharmila Thapa as Mekala
- M. R. Kishore Kumar as Babloo
- Amruth Kalam as Balram
- Mamathi Chari as a doctor
- Manasvi Kottachi as Yamini
Production[edit]
Production for the film began in 2018 and entered post-production in October 2021. 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).[10]
Soundtrack[edit]
| Kolai | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Girishh G. | ||||
| Released | 2023 | |||
| Recorded | 2021 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Length | 21:06 | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Girishh G. chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Official audio | ||||
| Kolai – Full Jukebox on YouTube | ||||
The music was composed by Girishh G.[11] The song "Paartha Nyabagam Illayo" was remixed and included in the film.[12]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Neerkumizho" | Karthik Netha | Sid Sriram | 4:19 |
| 2. | "Yaar Nee" | Girishh G. | Anjana Rajagopalan, M. S. Krsna | 4:06 |
| 3. | "Nesam Maruma" | Mohan Rajan | Anjana Rajagopalan | 3:23 |
| 4. | "Kelvi Mattum Thangudhey" | Kaber Vasuki | Pradeep Kumar | 4:13 |
| 5. | "Paartha Nyabagam Illayo" | Kannadasan | Shreya Ghoshal | 5:05 |
| Total length: | 21:06 | |||
Reception[edit]
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".[13] 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."[14] 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".[15] The Times of India rated the film 3/5 stars and stated as "An interesting yet slow-paced murder mystery thriller".[16]
