Let me start by saying I'm really surprised that there are not many on on IMDb has yet reviewed this cult favourite and famous movie . Minnale was one of the most successful films in tamil in its year of release
The story was not something new in western cinema but definitely new to Indian cinema. Loving a engaged girl was addressed in films even before in Titanic and older Tamil films. The director had included the element of impersonation which itself is new. The crew did their work in a perfect manner. The visuals and the BGM were of top quality.
A DAY IN 2001...
There was a lot of hype surrounding the release of Minnale. The music had indeed struck lightning with everyone. And when the film was finally released for the valentine Day, The group of us decided to hit the theatres.
The story of Minnale is an exercise in creativity when compared to most mainstream Indian movies.
The director of this movie is the now successful director Gautham, for whom this was a debut movie. The music director is Harris Jeyaraj, who too made his debut. He used to be(I believe he still is) AR Rahman's assistant.
But Harris caught me with surprise. One after another, every song in the album was attractive. The freshness and richness in the music reminded me of A. R. Rahman, in his early stages. Harris had a wonderful mix of music, but to call it a trend setter of the millenium is more apt. Nevertheless I was struck with the music, that my cerebrum automatically started collecting information regarding the film. People said that HJ had copied some of ARR's tunes, but whether or not that's true, a man has to be credited for giving excellent music, and Harris Jeyaraj deserves every bit of praise for that. Harris delivered a fresh new sound which appealed to the masses and classes alike.''vaseegara'' went on to become one of the so called millennium hits. The sound was very much like Rahman's but still managed to be different.
Watchable once and maybe a cult favorite for the truly sentimental
Minnale is the first smash hit by the now renowned Tamil director Gautham Menon.
IT'S PERFECT for a Valentine's Day out. ''Minnale'', , is a love story about young hearts, handled with a lot of verve and vigour. This movie has equal amount of romantic and sad moments as both are the part of "true love" journey.
There is no doubt a lot of predictability about the plot, but like somebody said, ''there are only 20-odd stories from which most Indian films borrow themes!'' This has shades of ''Saajan'', where one impersonated the other, but in ''Minnale'', it is done without the other's consent.
The film opens in an engineering college. The rough n' tough Rajesh (Madhavan) and suave and brainy Sam (Abbas) are arch rivals... (they are seen everywhere in the campus except in their respective classrooms!). Most times, it's only first talk.
Two years later... Rajesh is a computer instructor while Abbas has gone to America. Rajesh's grandfather (Nagesh) is always after him to find a girl... and Rajesh finds his dream girl on a rainy night. She is dancing and playing with some street children... he catches glimpses of her in the lightning... Cupid finds his target!
Enter Rina (Rima), a strong-minded, independent girl, who is betrothed to the U. S. settled Rajeev. But Rajesh has lost his heart to her and vows to win her. So he impersonates Rajeev and, naturally Rina falls in love with him.
Although the plot seems simplistic, it is the essence of the movie, the capturing of the life and times of young people in those times of the early 2000s that made it so watchable; seemingly introducing a different trend altogether based on characterization and emphasis on acting quality .
One of the biggest contributors to its success if course the music by Harris Jayaraj. All the songs were magnificent , even the background score , appearing very appropriately in movie scenes.
The magic of this combo of Composer Harris -Gautham director happened for the first time and would set to continue in later years with the duo producing some very good music in modern tamil cinema . This album got immense popularity when it was released. It was evident in all the college/school cultural programs. The music had huge impact in all over Tamil nadu. The music of this movie is still popular among movie buffs and lovers. It became popular prior to movie release and eventually helped the movie to run well at box office.
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