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David (2013 Tamil film)
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Wikipedia article
'David' is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language crime film directed by Bejoy Nambiar, starring Vikram and Jiiva in the title roles, alongside Tabu, Lara Dutta, Isha Sharvani and Nassar. An altered version with the same title 'David' featuring a slightly different cast was simultaneously shot in Hindi. The plot revolves around the lives of two different men named David, who are about to take a step which is going to change their lives forever. The film was released worldwide on 1 February 2013 to positive reviews but did not perform well at the box office. Scenes involving Vikram and Tabu were dubbed from the Hindi version.
Plot
The story is about two Davids living in different parts of India whose lives eventually come together in a twist of events.
'Mumbai, 1999:' 19-year-old David (Jiiva) is an amateur guitarist born into a family of lower-middle class Christians in a poor colony in Mumbai. He is a happy go lucky teenager who dreams of becoming a professional musician and sending his sister, Susannah (Sheetal Menon) off to Dubai to pursue her dreams. Their father, Noel (Nassar), a Protestant priest rallies the locals to do charity work for those in need. A Hindu fanatic politician, Malati Tai (Rohini Hattangadi), finds out about this and makes it appear as if David's father is converting poor people to Christianity in return for money. She attacks David's colony with the help of gangsters and humiliates Noel by blackening his face in front of the media. Traumatized by this, the priest starts to lose his mind. An angry David is then easily persuaded by a political activist to assassinate Malati at a rally to seek vengeance. However, when David tries to kill Malati by a knife, the political activist shouts by David's name and shoots Malati by a Pistol, and bullet attacks her.
'Goa, 2010:' 30-year-old David (Vikram) is an alcoholic fisherman living in the small fishing village of Betul in Goa. He falls in love with the deaf and mute Roma (Isha Sharvani) the only hitch is that she is engaged to be married to his best friend Peter (Nishan Nanaiah) in 10 days. When he finds out Peter does not really love her but is only marrying her for her wealthy father's boat which he will receive as dowry, David is coaxed by his friend, Frenny (Tabu) to stop the wedding. However, David comes to realise that his intentions might not be sincere as both his mother and the priest who tries to help him stop the wedding become involved in separate accidents and are hospitalized. On the day of the wedding, David plans to profess his love for Roma until Peter reveals that he actually sincerely loves her and was only lying that he was marrying her for the dowry out of fear he would be teased. David decides not to stop the wedding.
Gradually, it is revealed that both Davids are connected somehow in the turn of events. Witnessing the Malati's attempted assassination makes the Mumbai David realise what he almost became had he been the one to do the assassination. He then moves to Goa and becomes a priest like his father. In 2010, he is the priest that marries off Peter to Roma. Realising that the Goan David would have spoken out against the wedding, he praises the Goan David for not doing so after the ceremony.
Cast
*Vikram as the fisherman David/Kirku Santa
*Jiiva as the guitarist David
*Lara Dutta as Gayathri
*Tabu as Frenny
*Isha Sharvani as Roma
*Saurabh Shukla as the fisherman David's father
*Rubi Chakravarti
*Nishan Nanaiah as Peter
*Prahlad Kakkar
*Nassar as Noel, the guitarist David's father
*Sheetal Menon as Susannah
*Shweta Pandit as Alice
*Rohini Hattangadi as Malathi Tai
*John Vijay as Ranade Bhai
*Satish Kaushik as Sharma
*Sunder Ramu
*Remo Fernandes in a special appearance
Production
Development
Bejoy Nambiar announced in December 2011 that he would make a Hindi film titled 'David', a gangster-comedy, and signed on Vikram to play a protagonist in the film. The pair had previously worked together in Mani Ratnam's 'Raavan' and 'Raavanan', in which Nambiar had been an assistant director. Sanjeev Lamba of Reliance, the film's producer, then noted that the film had undergone changes and would be made a bilingual in Tamil and Hindi. Vikram was not informed that the film was being made in Tamil. In January 2012, the producers signed Tabu and Isha Sharvani to play lead female roles in the film, with reports that Isha would be paired opposite Vikram. In April 2012, Jiiva confirmed that he joined the film to appear as the second protagonist, announcing that Vikram would be a part of both versions. Jiiva would be playing a rock band star in the film who hails from Bandra, Mumbai.The Tamil version would simultaneously show tracks of two people named David with Vikram's story taking place in Goa, while Jiiva's portion happens in Mumbai. A third story, featuring Neil Nitin Mukesh that was shot for the Hindi version, was planned to be retained for the Tamil version as well, but was eventually scrapped.
Filming
Scenes involving Vikram were filmed out first and were canned in locations which were meant to show a Goan backdrop. The team thus shot scenes featuring Vikram and Isha Sharvani there in late February 2012, before moving to Kuttanad. Mangalore beach was designed to replicate the beaches of Goa and a song featuring Remo Fernandes was also shot in February. Ratnavelu revealed that scenes were also canned in Kapu, Karnataka disguising Goa and that Vikram finished his portions for the film by March 2012. Nishan, a Mumbai-based actor who had appeared in Malayalam language films, was also selected to play a role in the segment, while actress Rubi Chakravarti was also roped in to play Vikram's mother in the film after Bejoy Nambiar approached for a role written with her in mind. Prahlad Kakkar, a noted ad-maker, was convinced by Nambiar to make his debut in film by appearing in the role of a priest and consequently shot his scenes in Mangalore.The scenes of the character playing a musician Jiiva, was the second segment to be shot with Sejal Shah roped in as cinematographer. Lara Dutta plays an extended cameo role as a mother, whose child is tutored by Jiiva's character. Singer Shweta Pandit also shot for the film in both languages making her debut as an actress, while Nassar was roped in to appear in the Tamil version of the film. Manish Jha, director of the 2003 film 'Matrubhoomi', was signed on to act in another pivotal role in the segment with Nambiar noting "he was physically perfect for the part". Actor-director Satish Kaushik also shot for this portion of the film, portraying one of David's neighbours.
Marketing
Bejoy Nambiar planned an innovative strategy to release the first look of the film on sites such as Twitter and YouTube. The trailer of both versions were received very positively all over.Soundtrack
'David's ensemble soundtrack comprises nine tracks by various artists which consists of Bramfatura, Anirudh Ravichander, Maatibaani and Modern Mafia composing each one song, while Prashant Pillai and Remo Fernandes contributing two tracks each, and a remix version by Dub Sharma.The track"Kanave Kanave" which was released as the film's first single on 7 December 2012, sung and composed by Anirudh Ravichander, became popular among its release, and listed on Top 10 Songs in major music charts. The full album was released on 21 December 2012, at a launch event held at the renovated Rani Seethai Hall, in attendance of the film cast and crew. The film's audio CD was launched at the event.
Musicperk.com rated the album 8/10 quoting "A trendsetting killer soundtrack!" Haricharan Pudipeddi from 'Nowrunning.com' gave 3.5 out of 5 and said "One thing common between any A. R. Rahman's soundtrack and this album is that it takes time for the listener to understand and appreciate the music. It's very unlikely that one may like it instantly" IBNLive said that "the soundtrack boasts of trendsetting music" 'Behindwoods' rated 3.5 stars out of 5 by saying "David isn't just a great soundtrack, it's destined to be a trend-setter." NDTV Movies, rated the soundtrack 3 out of 5, with the song "Kanave Kanave" as their pick of the album. Indiaglitz rated the album 3/5, stating "David is a very different album. In fact, different is an understatement. When there are different composers bringing different styles of music to the album, and you are in for quite a ride when you listen to them one after the other. Passing judgement on this, however, is highly difficult. Let's leave it to the people to decide things themselves." MusicAloud rated the album 8/10, stating "There is no doubting Bejoy Nambiar's exquisite sense of music. To do that with as many as nine different composers is quite a feat! Respect." Milliblog reviewed the soundtrack as "David soundtrack is mighty unconventional for a Tamil film. But where it loses out lyrically, it makes up in audacity and sheer diversity, delivering a vibrant pastiche!"
Reception
'David' received positive to mixed reviews from critics. Kirthi Jeyakumar of 'Rediff.com' gave 4 out of 5 stars, and stated "The characters themselves are realistic, and believable. Their emotional struggles and their reactions to the world around them are pictures painted with vibrant shades, rather than the disturbed and dark protagonist that one is wont to consider them to be. Thinking out of the box can sure get one ahead, and Nambiar has proved his prowess with elan." Critic Shanmugan of 'OneIndia' quoted "Director Bejoy Nambiar has brilliantly come out with two distinct characters" and adding their verdict as "David is a worth watching film." and gave the movie a rating of 3.5/5. Subha J Rao of 'The Hindu' stated "Watch if you love a film that is not packed with action. This one flows by languidly, chronicling inner journeys." 'Indiaglitz' rated the movie 3.25/5 by saying "David is twin story induced in a single film with all elements making it a worthy watch." 'tikkview.com' gives 3.2/5.0 and their review says that "Overall David comeup with a two good stories. Main draw back of David is its too slow and weak script." 'Bharatstudent.com' reviewed "Overall, this is a film could have been a lot better had the sequences been proper.", "Technically well made and an interesting plot, can be watched" and gave 3/5. 'Emirates247' criticized the movie for the dubbed feeling, but added "Despite its many downfalls and a rather unbefitting end, David is a brave movie that must be endorsed." 'Behindwoods' review team noted the film was "A different attempt, backed by some good performances by lead actors, but ends up lacking nativity and pace" and gave it 2.5/5.
See also
* David (2013 Hindi film)
References
Buy David (2013 Tamil film) now from Amazon
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