Vedham

{{short description|2001 film}}

{{For|the 2010 film|Vedam (film)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}

{{Use Indian English|date=May 2023}}

{{Infobox film

| image = Vedham DVD cover.jpg

| caption = DVD cover

| director = Arjun

| writer = Arjun

| producer = Arjun

| starring = Arjun
Sakshi
Vineeth
Divyaa Unni
Mumtaj

| cinematography = Ramesh Babu

| editing = P. Saisuresh
Joel Jayakumar

| music = Vidyasagar

| studio = Sree Raam Films International

| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2001|8|22|ref1=}}

| runtime = 140 minutes

| country = India

| language = Tamil

}}

Vedham ({{IPAc-en|v|eɪ|ð|əm}}) ({{Translation|Veda}}) is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written, produced, and directed by Arjun. The film stars himself, Sakshi, Vineeth, and Divyaa Unni, while Mumtaj, Goundamani, and Senthil play important roles. The music was composed by Vidyasagar. The film was released on 22 August 2001.{{Cite web |title=வேதம் / Vedham (2001) |url=https://screen4screen.com/movies/vedham |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20231130143551/https://screen4screen.com/movies/vedham |archive-date=30 November 2023 |access-date=30 November 2023 |website=Screen 4 Screen}} Actor Vishal worked as one of the assistant directors in the film.{{Cite news |date=19 October 2015 |title=Vishal assisted Arjun in the film Vedham |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/did-you-know/Vishal-assisted-Arjun-in-the-film-Vedham/articleshow/49448239.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403215120/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movies/did-you-know/Vishal-assisted-Arjun-in-the-film-Vedham/articleshow/49448239.cms |archive-date=3 April 2020 |access-date=26 November 2019 |work=The Times of India}}

Plot

Sanjay and Anitha are a married couple living in Coimbatore but are on the verge of getting divorced. Vijay, a friend of Sanjay, understands the situation and decides to patch them together. Vijay travels to Sanjay's home and stays with the couple for a few weeks. During their conversations, Vijay keeps describing about his wife Seetha, two kids, and his joyful marriage life. Slowly, Sanjay and Anitha understand each other and want to lead a happy life similar to Vijay and Seetha. Finally, it is revealed that all the stories told by Vijay are just his imagination so that it would inspire Sanjay and Anitha. The truth is that Vijay was in love with Seetha, but she accidentally died before their wedding and Vijay lives her memories. However, he ensures that Sanjay and Anitha do not get to know the truth. In the end, Sanjay and Anitha get united. Vijay leaves to his home in Chennai with the satisfaction of solving Sanjay's problems.

Cast

{{Cast listing|

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Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Vidyasagar.{{Cite web |date=18 November 2001 |title=Vedham |url=https://www.jiosaavn.com/album/vedham/1O1aL8LEf2w_ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531133842/https://www.jiosaavn.com/album/vedham/1O1aL8LEf2w_ |archive-date=31 May 2023 |access-date=31 May 2023 |website=JioSaavn}} The song "Malai Kaatru" was reused from the composer's own Malayalam song "Oru Raathri Koodi", which appeared in the Malayalam film Summer in Bethlehem.{{Cn|date=May 2023}}

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"

! Song !! Singers !! Lyrics

"Hey Meenalochani"Shankar Mahadevan, Swarnalatharowspan="2" |P. Vijay
"Konji Konji Pesi"S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
"Malai Kaatru"Hariharan, Mahalakshmi IyerVairamuthu
"Mudhal Poo"Hariharan, Sujatharowspan="3" |P. Vijay
"Oh Anbe"Shankar Mahadevan
"Umma Ayya"Annupamaa, Sriram Parthasarathy

Critical reception

Sify wrote, "Vedham is sleep inducing. Arjun should stick to patriotism, guns and scantly clad girls dancing in ribaldry. But here he wants to experiment with the idea – “To be in love for ever” but ends up making an insufferable film that leaves you with a migraine'.{{Cite web |title=Vedham |url=http://www.sify.com/movies/vedham-review-tamil-6020480.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531210821/http://www.sify.com/movies/vedham-review-tamil-6020480.html |archive-date=31 May 2014 |access-date=11 May 2017 |website=Sify}} Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote, "Generally it is patriotism that is the underlying theme of Arjun's films. But in Vedham he deviates much, to talk about the sanctity of the institution of marriage and glorify the familial unit. The message is loud and clear – so clear that it turns didactic".{{Cite web |last=Rangarajan |first=Malathi |date=24 August 2001 |title=Film Review: Vedham |url=http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2001/08/24/stories/09240223.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030302012015/http://thehindu.com/thehindu/2001/08/24/stories/09240223.htm |archive-date=2 March 2003 |access-date=11 May 2017 |website=The Hindu}}

Visual Dasan of Kalki praised the fights of Arjun, performances of actors, uncomplicated screenplay by narrating small flashbacks, Saisuresh's editing and realistic dialogues but felt Vidyasagar's hard work was wasted due to songs being forced and concluded saying barring a few sudden cinematic twists, this celluloid class Room is a must-have for today.{{Cite magazine |last=தாசன் |first=விஷுவல் |date=16 September 2001 |title=வேதம் |url=https://archive.org/details/kalki2001-09-16/page/29/mode/2up |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230531133738/https://archive.org/details/kalki2001-09-16/page/28/mode/2up |archive-date=31 May 2023 |access-date=31 May 2023 |magazine=Kalki |pages=28–29 |language=ta |via=Internet Archive}} Malini Mannath of Chennai Online wrote, "The film moves at an interesting pace, promisingly enough, during the first part. But then Arjun, who has taken on the burden of writing, directing, producing, and playing the central role - a burden which seems to sit a bit too heavily on him - loses track of his main theme and drifts into the song-dance-fight routine".{{cite web|url=http://chennaionline.com/moviereviews/tammov139.asp|title=Vedham|website=Chennai Online|access-date=30 October 2024|first=Malini|last=Mannath|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031212022852/http://chennaionline.com/moviereviews/tammov139.asp|archive-date=12 December 2003}}

References

{{reflist}}