Vidukathai (film)

Vidukathai
Directed by	Agathiyan
Produced by	K. Balachander Rajam Balachander Pushpa Kandaswamy
Written by	Agathiyan
Starring	Prakash Raj Neena Manivannan
Music by	Deva
Cinematography	Suriyan
Edited by	Lancy-Mohan
Production company	Kavithalayaa Productions
Release dates	30 October 1997
Running time	151 mins
Country	India
Language	Tamil

Vidukathai is a 1997 Tamil drama film directed by Agathiyan. The film stars Prakash Raj and Neena in the lead roles, while Manivannan and Janagaraj portray supporting roles. The music for the film was composed by Deva and the film opened to positive reviews in October 1997.

Cast

• Prakash Raj as Neelakandan
• Neena as Anandhi
• Manivannan
• Janagaraj
• Vijayan
• Balu Anand
• Suthangan
• Ramji
• Jegadeesh
• Akash

Production

Neena, a former child actress in Keladi Kanmani (1991), was selected to portray the lead role in Vidukathai when she was still at school and had to work on her schedules around exams. The production of the film was hampered by the FEFSI strike of 1997 and the makers had to postpone the venture from its original scheduled release date of June 1997. Subbu Panchu, son of producer Panchu Arunachalam worked as a dance choreographer for the film.

Music

The soundtrack was composed by Deva and lyrics were written by director Agathiyan himself along with Vaasan and Kalidasan.

• Idhayam Idhayam — Krishnaraj, Chithra
• Hello Hello — Sabesh, Sujatha
• Manimadathu — Unnikrishnan
• Meenakshi Kaiyil — Chithra, Kalpana
• Kidaichiruchu — Anuradha Sriram, Krishnaraj

Release

The film released in October 1997 to positive reviews with a critic from Indolink.com noting there is "excellent stylization of the characters, superior performance by all actors and a great story with a great ending". The site later listed the film amongst their top Tamil films for 1997, also praising Prakash Raj's portrayal of his character. However, the film did not perform well at the box office, becoming Agathiyan's first commercial failure.