Osthe


Osthe is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film directed by S. Dharani, which is a remake of the Hindi film Dabangg, starring Salman Khan. It features Silambarasan in the lead role, while Jithan Ramesh, Richa Gangopadhyay, Sonu Sood, Santhanam, Nassar and Revathi appear in supporting roles. It tells the story of a fearless police officer, 'Osthi' Velan, and his troubled relationship with his stepfather and half-brother; he embarks on a mission to take down a corrupt politician. Sonu Sood reprised his role from the original film Dabangg.
Produced by Balaji Real Media and distributed by Reliance Entertainment, the film was launched at the AVM Studios in Chennai on May 2011, while the principal photography commenced at Mysore, the following month. The film features music composed by S. Thaman, with cinematography handled by Gopinath and editing done by V. T. Vijayan. The film released worldwide on 8 December 2011 and opened to generally mixed reviews from critics and become a moderate success. The Telugu dubbed version was released as Thimmiri on April 2015.

Plot

As the film starts, Velan settles down in few minutes as 'Osthi' Velan, a stylish cop, and his travel begins. He is the police inspector in Kattupakkam in Thirunelveli district. With his subordinates Selva, Maasaana Moorthi, Saravan, and Vaiyapuri, he has a gala time in town.
Then comes Boxer Daniel, a corrupt man with a sole motive to win the election. He uses his power and influence and goes hammer and tongs to win the polls. Osthi Velan becomes his nemesis. He plays spoilsport on all the plans of Daniel.
Meanwhile, Osthi Velan has a half brother named Balan, and there is a love-hate relationship between them. His mother tries to ensure that both meet eye-to-eye, while his father takes Balan's side.
Velan comes across Neduvali, the daughter of a drunkard in the village, and it is romance straightaway. As it happens, Velan's mother dies with a promise from him that he would take care of his brother.
Meanwhile, Daniel decides to take on Velan. A series of conspiracies are hatched by him in the form of Balan. Finally, it ends with a one-to-one brawl where Daniel is killed by 'Osthi' Velan.

Cast

Casting

After considering Bollywood actresses Sonakshi Sinha and Sonam Kapoor, Bengali actress Richa Gangopadhyay, who had starred in a number of Telugu ventures before, was cast as the lead female character. Jithan Ramesh was chosen to play the lead character's brother, while Sonu Sood would reprise his role from the original. Reports indicating that Madhu Shalini was signed to play Ramesh's pair in the film, were dismissed by Silambarasan, who clarified that Saranya Mohan had been finalised for the role. Producer-turned-actor VTV Ganesh, following collaborations with Silambarasan in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa and Vaanam was signed to portray the father of the female lead character, played by Mahesh Manjrekar in the original version. The team took considerably more time to finalise the actress to perform the item number in the film. Sources reported that several actresses including Nayantara, Shriya Saran, Zarine Khan, Katrina Kaif, Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone, Mallika Sherawat and Vidya Balan were considered or even approached, with Sherawat eventually being selected.

Filming

The film was officially launched with a pooja held at the AVM studios in Chennai on 10 May 2011, while filming commenced on 26 June in Mysore. Almost the entire film was shot in and around Mysore in a single schedule, which was completed by mid-August. Silambarasan started a fitness regime with workouts at the gym, on the contrary to Salman Khan who had undergone a special diet to shed his six pack abs. The final schedule of the film was completed with a song shot in Dubai. Mallika Sherawat shot the anticipated item number "Kalasala" during late September and the first week of October in Chennai.

Music

The soundtrack album and background score of Osthi was composed by S. Thaman, in his first collaboration with Silambarasan and Dharani, replacing the latter's usual collaboration with Vidyasagar, who earlier composed his previous films. Silambarasan revealed that composer Yuvan Shankar Raja, who he generally collaborates with, had suggested to sign Thaman as the music director. The music rights were acquired by Sony Music. The soundtrack was initially planned to be released on 6 October 2011, coinciding with Vijayadashami, however the audio launch was held on 28 October 2011, at Chennai. The event was attended by the film's cast and crew and other celebrities. Actor Vijay, who previously worked with Dharani in Ghilli and Kuruvi, was invited as the chief guest and unveiled the audio CD of the film.
The soundtrack album features five songs, with lyrics being written by Vaali and Yugabharathi, while Silambarasan penned the lyrics for the song "Pondaati". About the song, Silambarasan revealed that the song is revolved around a "husband's praises for his wife." This song and "Neduvaali" sung by Rahul Nambiar and Mahathi, has been reused from Thaman's own compositions from Telugu film Mirapakaay. The equivalent version to the chartbusting "Munni Badnaam Hui" from the original was named "Kalasala". Shruti Haasan was reported to have rendered her voice in "Kalasala", but the rumours were denied and instead veteran singer L. R. Eswari had sung the song. Elements of "Kalasala Kalasala" were also sampled in the song "Don't Sell Out" by rapper Tinie Tempah.
The soundtrack generally received mostly positive reviews from music critics and became a commercially successful album. P.G Devi from Behindwoods gave 3 out of 5 and stated that "Osthi lives up to its huge expectations with generous mass entertainers like 'Kalasala Kalasala', 'Pondatti' and 'Neduvaali'. It will be a top musical grosser, alluring listeners with its hits". Prakash Upadhyaya from Oneindia.in praised Thaman's music sense and claimed that it is Simbu's Diwali treat. Indiaglitz also gave a positive verdict writing that "'Kalasala' the Tamil equivalent of Bollywood chartbuster 'Munni' fulfills all expectations, and even exceeds at some places. If your choice is an album that is a collection of mass numbers, there can't be better pick than Osthi. Go and grab it". Pavithra Srinivasan from Rediff also complimented the soundtrack's "mildly appealing combination of masala beats", giving 2.5 out of 5.

Release

The satellite rights of the film were secured by Sun TV for. The film was given a "U" certificate by the Indian Censor Board. Osthe, was released on 8 December 2011, which coincided with the occasion of Karthikai Deepam. The film was released in more than 110 screens overseas, and it was the biggest ever overseas release in Silambarasan's career, with the actor naming it the "biggest action film that he has done so far".

Reception

Critical reception

Osthi opened to mixed reviews. The New Indian Express said "unfortunately it's unable to recreate the same magic of the earlier version, the film a passable routine masala entertainer" and stated the movie lacked the punch in original. Deccan Chronicle rated the film three stars commenting "Osthi is worth watching once." Malathi Rangarajan of thehindu.com said "If Dabangg could make it, Osthe should! And if Salman could do it, so can STR." Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff rated it 2/5 complaining "Osthi lacks the magic that made Dabangg work." IndiaGlitz.com opined "Osthi ends up as an entertainer." Behindwoods rated it 2.5/5 stating that it entertains. Sify called it a "time-pass entertainer." Rohit Ramachandran of Nowrunning.com gave 2/5 and termed the movie "a snoozefest."

Box office

Osthi collected 7 crore worldwide on the first day of its release. The film was reported to have got a "flying start at the box office". The total worldwide gross is. The film was a profitable venture. The film was declared Moderate Hit at the box office. Though the Telugu dubbed version Thimmiri couldn't beat the popularity of the original Telugu version Gabbar Singh.