Kodi
Film poster
Directed byR. S. Durai Senthilkumar
Written byVe. Ki. Amirtharaj (dialogues)
Screenplay byR. S. Durai Senthilkumar
Story byR. S. Durai Senthilkumar
Produced byVetrimaaran
P. Madan (Presenter)
Starring
CinematographyVenkatesh S
Edited byPrakash Mabbu
Music bySanthosh Narayanan
Production
company
Distributed byEscape Artists Motion Pictures
Release date
  • 28 October 2016 (2016-10-28)
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Kodi (/koʊdi/ transl. Flag) is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language political action drama film written and directed by R. S. Durai Senthilkumar and produced by Vetrimaaran under his banner Grass Root Film Company. The film stars Dhanush in dual roles, alongside Trisha and Anupama Parameswaran in the lead roles, while Saranya Ponvannan, S. A. Chandrasekhar, Kaali Venkat, Namo Narayana, and G. Marimuthu play other key roles. Dhanush and Trisha pair up for the first time. Kodi, marks the Tamil debut of Anupama Parameshwaran.

Dhanush, who produced R. S. Durai Senthilkumar's previous two films, Ethir Neechal and Kaaki Sattai, played the male lead actor in this film. Principal photography began in January 2016 and wrapped that March. The film's music was composed by Santhosh Narayanan, the cinematography is performed by Venkatesh S, and editing is handled by Prakash Mabbu.

Kodi was released on 28 October 2016, during the week of Diwali. It received five nominations in the Tamil branch at the 64th Filmfare Awards South, including Best Actor (Dhanush), Best Actress (Trisha) and Best Supporting Actress (Anupama and Saranya), but did not win any of them; Trisha instead won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Tamil. The film was remade in Kannada as Dhwaja in 2018.[1]

Plot

Politics have been a part of Kodi's life ever since his birth in Pollachi. Kodi's father Murugan was a low-rung Democratic party worker, bringing him up in the world of politics before self-immolating in protest against a factory whose toxic mercury waste had ruined lives in the locality. Kodi's twin brother Anbu is the complete opposite of him – an engineering college professor and not political at all. Kodi grows up being political with his friend Bhagat, and is in a relationship with Rudra who, like Kodi, has been a politician all her life but with the opposing Republican party currently in power.

While fighting members of the opposition on the street one day, Kodi breaks a trolley of eggs that Malathi is trying to sell to a shopkeeper. She chases after him to no avail, before leaving for an appointment at a college cafeteria where she has an interview for a contract to sell eggs. She comes across Anbu, mistaking him for Kodi, before finding out about his twin brother. Anbu and Malathi fall in love. Later on, Malathi tells him about how the factories near her village dump all of their mercury waste where people live, impacting the lives of the villagers negatively. Anbu is worried and tells Kodi.

Meanwhile, Rudra is frustrated about being stereotyped as lower down in her party because she is a woman. She overhears that Arivazhagan, the State education minister from the Coimbatore district, actually dropped out of school and falsified his election nominations. She tips this information off to the Democratic party, who file a suit against the Minister. The Minister loses the case and is disqualified from his position, and the by-elections are announced for the Pollachi constituency. Rudra befriends the ex-minister, becomes the interim District Secretary, and then kicks him out.

The Democratic party are excited for the by-elections despite the Republicans winning for the last 25 years. Kodi meets his Party Supremo, who tells him that they will talk about the opposition's scandal but after the by-elections. Meanwhile, Anbu provides the documents about the mercury waste to Kodi, who then finds out that his ex-minister and party senior Marimuthu, and the entire Democratic party, are responsible for what happened to the villagers affected by the factory, as they were the ruling party at the time. Feeling betrayed, he shares this with Rudra in confidence, who brings it up at her next public speech.

Enraged and embarrassed, the Democratic leader plots to keep Kodi silent by announcing him as their by-election candidate – now running right against Rudra. When the Republican party finds out about Kodi and Rudra's relationship, they start pressuring her to give up her candidacy. A depressed Rudra asks Kodi to meet her in the woods to talk, and she tells him about the ex-minister standing in her way to success before she eliminated him. They get ambushed by goons that Arivazhagan sent to kill Rudra, but Kodi beats them blue and black. Rudra suddenly backstabs Kodi, apologises, and tells him that he was her last obstacle. Kodi is broken by betrayal but decides to die for her, and the by-elections are cancelled for three months as due to death of candidate.

Anbu goes to quarrel with Kodi's party members, and he is kicked out. Rudra meets Kodi's family and tells them she can convince her party to give Anbu the candidacy for MLA. Though the mother declines it angrily, Anbu accepts it and wins the by-election unopposed. Rudra is made the full-time District Secretary and an MP of Rajya Sabha as a bonus. Anbu, as MLA, comes to congratulate her; his look and body language are now completely changed to match his brother Kodi's, much to Rudra's dismay. Anbu lets her know that he is very invested and interested in his brother's murder as well as the mercury waste issue.

Kotraivel, a member of the Democratic party, finds a forest camera hidden in the woods that recorded Rudra killing Kodi. He threatens Rudra with this, and tells her to fix the mercury waste issue. Rudra uses Crime Branch Inspector V. Ravichandran as a pawn to destroy the evidence and kill Kotraivel, but is still afraid of Anbu finding out about everything as he was taking the documents about the factory to the court.

In an attempt to stop him, Rudra kidnaps his mother and Bhagat, and tells Anbu to come to the factory. Anbu realises that Rudra killed Kodi and he gets in to a fight with Rudra's goons, Kotraivel and Marimuthu, resulting in Anbu coming on top. He came to the factory with the intention to kill Rudra, but his mother tells him that it is not worth it and to let her go. As they leave, Bhagat impales Rudra with an iron rod, saying he wished for Rudra and Kodi to live happily but she ruined it, and tells her to go be with Kodi.

Cast

Production

The project was first announced during August 2015, when Dhanush revealed that he would act in Durai Senthilkumar's next film, after he finished his ongoing commitments.[2] Dhanush would appear in dual roles as two brothers.[3] Vidya Balan was approached for the female lead, but was not willing to do a Tamil film due to date issues.[4] Trisha was eventually signed on, pairing with Dhanush for the first time,[5] and Shamili was signed on to portray the second leading female role.[6] Shamili, after filming some scenes however, opted out due to work conflicts, before Anupama Parameswaran was confirmed as her replacement.[7] The film is Anupama's Tamil debut, and the makers cast her after being impressed with her performance in the Malayalam film Premam (2015).[8] The title Kodi was announced in December 2015.[9] Initially scheduled to start shoot in early December 2015, plans were delayed as a result of the 2015 South India floods and the schedule was delayed by two weeks. Subsequently, the team held an official launch on 11 December 2015.[10][11] Principal photography began on 5 January 2016,[12] and wrapped in early March.[13]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album for Kodi is composed by Santhosh Narayanan. The lyrics of four songs were penned by Vivek while Dhanush and Arunraja Kamaraj wrote and sung the song Kodi Parakkudha. The audio rights of the film were acquired by Sony Music India. The complete album was released on 5 October 2016 at Prasad Labs, Chennai. The album consists of five tracks.

Sify gave a rating of 3 stars out of 5 and stated, "The ear-pleasing numbers make this a solid album".[14] Behindwoods gave 2.75 stars out of 5 and stated "Kodi seems to be an apt composition for the film's subject".[15]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Kodi Parakkudha"Dhanush, Arunraja KamarajDhanush, Arunraja Kamaraj03:24
2."Ei Suzhali"VivekVijaynarain03:37
3."Ariraro"VivekK. S. Chithra03:48
4."Sirukki Vaasam"VivekAnand Aravindakshan, Shweta Mohan04:35
5."Vettu Pottu"VivekShankar Mahadevan03:01
Total length:18:25

Release

Kodi was released on 28 October 2016, during the week of Diwali.[16] It was dubbed in Telugu as Dharmayogi, which released one day after the Tamil version.[17][18] The television premiere of the Tamil version was held on 14 January 2017 on Sun TV.[19]

Critical reception

Srinivasa Ramanujan of The Hindu wrote, "Director Durai Senthilkumar deserves credit for an engaging plot that includes a pre-interval block that jolts you. After all, when was the last time a commercial political film worked to a large extent without the existence of a dominating male villain?"[20] Manathi Mannath of The New Indian Express concluded "Kodi worth a watch for its universal sensibility".[21] M Suganth of The Times of India gave Kodi 4 stars out of 5 and stated, "Kodi shows how a good actor can make a film rise above its genre. Dhanush's performance here, subtly delineating the two roles, is a delight to watch. He shines in the mass hero moments as well as the dramatic ones".[22] Sify stated that Kodi was "deliciously dramatic, and packed with sinister twists and turns with superb performances and solid writing" and rated 4 out of 5.[23] Anupama Subramanian of Deccan Chronicle gave 3 out of 5 concluding "Overall, 'Kodi' with some fine performances, especially Dhanush's, and neat screenplay is an engaging political drama."[24] Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express gave 3 stars stating Kodi "seems to be everything the Tamil audience wants for this festive season".[25] Sreedhar Pillai, writing for Firstpost, stated "Kodi is a well written and packaged commercial entertainer that delivers the goods".[26]

Box office

The film collected ₹15 crore (US$1.9 million) in Tamil Nadu in two days.[27] The film collected ₹6.5 crore (US$810,000) in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala in first weekend. The film collected ₹4.5 crore (US$560,000) in overseas, ₹42 lakh (US$53,000) in United States, ₹26 lakh (US$33,000) in the United Kingdom, ₹62 lakh (US$78,000) in UAE, ₹12 lakh (US$15,000) in France, ₹65 lakh (US$81,000) in Malaysia, ₹23 lakh (US$29,000) in Australia, international collection of ₹2.25 crore (US$280,000) and global collection of ₹26.50 crore (US$3.3 million) in first weekend.[28]

Accolades

Event Category Outcome Recipient Ref.
64th Filmfare Awards South Best Actor – Tamil Nominated Dhanush [29]
[30]
Best Actress – Tamil Nominated Trisha
Best Supporting Actress – Tamil Nominated Anupama Parameswaran
Nominated Saranya Ponvannan
Best Lyricist – Tamil NominatedVivek (for "En Suzhali")
Critics Award for Best Actress – Tamil Won Trisha

References

  1. ↑ M, Athira (3 August 2017). "Striking a balance". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
  2. ↑ "Dhanush to team up with 'Kaaki Sattai' director next". The Indian Express. 11 August 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  3. ↑ "Dhanush in a dual role". The Hindu. 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Vidya Balan not doing Dhanush's next, says director". Hindustan Times. IANS. 28 August 2015. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Srinivasan, Latha (23 November 2015). "Trisha finally signs her first film with Dhanush!". DNA India. Archived from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  6. ↑ Medipally, Ravalika (14 November 2015). "Dhanush Gets his Second Female Lead". indread.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  7. ↑ "Anupama Parameswaran replaces Shamlee in Dhanush's 'Kodi'". The Indian Express. 13 February 2016. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  8. ↑ "Anupama takes acting tips from Dhanush". The Times of India. 5 March 2016. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  9. ↑ "Dhanush's next film is called Kodi". Hindustan Times. 14 December 2015. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  10. ↑ "Dhanush-Trisha's 'Kodi' kick starts with pooja". The Times of India. 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 4 January 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "Kodi Shooting Date is postponed". Tamil Star. 26 December 2015. Archived from the original on 29 December 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  12. ↑ "Dhanush's Kodi Starts Filming". NDTV. 5 January 2016. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  13. ↑ "Dhanush's Kodi wrapped up". Moviecrow. 2 March 2016. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  14. ↑ "Kodi- Audio review". Sify. 5 October 2016. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
  15. ↑ "Kodi songs review". Behindwoods. 5 October 2016. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  16. ↑ "Dhanush's 'Kodi' to release this Diwali". The Times of India. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  17. ↑ Hooli, Shekhar H (27 October 2016). "Dhanush's Kodi Telugu version Dharma Yogi release postponed; Kaashmora to rock at box office". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  18. ↑ James, Anu (29 October 2016). "Dhanush's Dharma Yogi review: Live audience updates". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  19. ↑ @dhanushkraja (14 January 2017). "Time to wave 🏁 on television, #Kodi hoisting at 6 PM world premiere today on @SunTV. Don't miss it. #KodiParakkutha" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 November 2023 – via Twitter.
  20. ↑ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (28 October 2016). "Kodi: Polls apart and flying high". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 30 November 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  21. ↑ Mannath, Manathi (29 October 2016). "Review: Kodi worth a watch for its universal sensibility". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  22. ↑ Suganth, M. (28 October 2016). "Kodi Movie Review 4/5 Stars: Dhanush's Kodi has enough surprise to satisfy audience". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  23. ↑ "Kodi review:Solid political drama". Sify. 28 October 2016. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  24. ↑ Subramanian, Anupama (28 October 2016). "'Kodi' movie review: Strong characterization and powerful cast makes it a winner". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  25. ↑ R, Manoj Kumar (28 October 2016). "Kodi movie review: Dhanush-starrer political thriller is a must-watch". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  26. ↑ Pillai, Sreedhar (29 October 2016). "Kodi review: Dhanush delivers a knockout performance in this perfect Diwali film". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 21 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  27. ↑ "Kodi vs Kaashmora box office collections: Dhanush film dominates Tamil Nadu, Karthi film rocks worldwide". The Indian Express. 31 October 2016. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  28. ↑ "Kaashmora (Kashmora), Kodi worldwide box office collection: Karthi's film beats Dhanush's movie in 1st weekend". International Business Times. 2 November 2016. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  29. ↑ "Tamil Nominations for 64th Jio Filmfare Awards South 2017". The Times of India. 9 June 2017. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  30. ↑ "Winners of the 64th Jio Filmfare Awards (South)". Filmfare. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
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