Red (2002 film)
| Red | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Singampuli |
| Written by | Singampuli |
| Produced by | S. S. Chakravarthy |
| Starring | Ajith Kumar Priya Gill |
| Cinematography | R. D. Rajasekhar |
| Edited by | A. Sreekar Prasad |
| Music by | Deva |
Production company | NIC Arts Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 176 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Red is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Singampuli (under the name Ram Sathya) and produced by S. S. Chakravarthy. The film stars Ajith Kumar (in the titular role) and Priya Gill in the lead roles, while Manivannan, Raghuvaran and Salim Ghouse played pivotal roles. The film's background score and soundtrack are composed by Deva. Red released on 14 January 2002. It had an average box office performance, but later garnered a cult following.[2][3]
Plot
 | This article needs an improved plot summary. (April 2025) |
Aathi is an orphan-gangster who is well known with his alias name RED, (Revolution, Education, and Development) at the Madurai district of Tamil Nadu who possesses a heart of gold, and when not bashing up mercenaries, he spends his time forcing schools to accept students without donations and taking care of orphans. Srini is his biggest enemy. RED falls for Gayathri, the daughter of his friend and confidante Narayanan, and helps her without her knowledge. She likes him but wants him to give up his life of violence. Meanwhile, reporter Manimegalai for Ananda Vikatan begins to serialise RED's life story under the name Aathi, and it becomes quite the rage among readers and rest forms the plot.
Cast
- Ajith Kumar as Aathi alias RED
- Priya Gill as Gayathri
- Manivannan as Narayanan
- Raghuvaran as Sethupathy
- Salim Ghouse as Srini
- Rajan P. Dev as Sarathy
- Revathi as Janaki
- Kavitha as College principal
- Gandhimathi as Veeramma
- K. R. Vatsala as School principal
- Charle as Kaipulla
- Rajeev as Pachamuthu
- Anand as Radha Krishnan
- Ilavarasu as Pandi
- Aakash as Rahul
- Rajesh as Manimegalai
- Nizhalgal Ravi as Anand
- Vinu Chakravarthy as House owner
- Thalaivaasal Vijay as the Ananda Vikatan reporter
- Mahanadi Shankar as Srini's henchman
- Madhan Bob as Aaruchamy
- Bava Lakshmanan as Police officer
- Vindhya as Mayakka, in the song "Dil Dil Italy Kattil"
- Kanal Kannan as himself (cameo appearance)
- Sampath Ram as Srini's henchman (uncredited)[4]
- Ganesh as District Collector (uncredited)[5]
Production
NIC Arts, the producers of Ajith Kumar's previous films
Soundtrack
The soundtrack features six songs composed by Deva. All lyrics written by Vairamuthu.[8] The prelude of the song "Kannai Kasakkum" is based on "Catch the Fox" by Den Harrow.[9] The soundtrack became a success prior to release, with critics praising the songs particularly "Thai Madiyae".[10]
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kannai Kasakkum" | Mahalaxmi Iyer | 6:04 |
| 4. | "Olikuchi Udambukari" | KK, Anuradha Sriram | 6:25 |
| 5. | "Dil Dil Italy Kattil" | Silambarasan, Mathangi Jagdish | 5:46 |
| 6. | "Thai Madiyae" | Tippu | 6:14 |
| Total length: | 36:52 | ||
Critical reception
Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu opined that "When the film begins stating that the title is an earth-shattering acronym (Revolution Education and Development), you wait for something radical and path-breaking. But no ... there is compassion, some mindless violence, a docile retreat, an impulsive retaliation ... and that's about all".[11] A critic from Sify wrote that "Like it or not, in Red didacticism prevails over a clarity of vision, logic and reason. The films leaves you exhausted and stressed and is as avoidable as a migraine".[12] Malini Mannath of Chennai Online said that "But the script is insipid, the scenes are repeated, and it gets all too monotonous towards the end".[13]
References
- ^ "Red". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
- ^ Krishnamoorthy, Mohan (7 December 2018). "ரெட் தோல்வி தான், காரணமும் இது தான் – இயக்குனரே வெளியிட்ட தகவல்.!". Kalakkal Cinema (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ "'தல படத்துல ஒரு தப்பு பண்ணிட்டேன்' Red Movie Director Singam Puli Exclusive Interview... (video)". Nakkheeran (in Tamil). 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
- ^ Rajkumar (11 March 2020). "படத்தில் நீக்கப்பட்ட காட்சியை யூடியூபில் போட்டாங்க - இதான் அந்த வீடியோ". Behindtalkies (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 11 March 2024. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ Christopher Kanagaraj [@Chrissuccess] (13 May 2020). "Pic 1: VTV Ganesh's first appearance in Singampuli directorial #Red (2002) starring Ajith" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Kumar, S. R. Ashok (27 November 2010). "My First Break: Singam Puli". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
- ^ "Itihaasam and Red". ajithkumar.free.fr. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ "Red". JioSaavn. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
- ItwoFS. Archivedfrom the original on 9 April 2025. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
- ^ "Roaring Success 'Red' Songs". ajithkumar.free.fr. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (25 January 2002). ""Red"". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 31 December 2019. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Red". Sify. 25 April 2003. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ Mannath, Malini. "Red". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 24 March 2005. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
External links
- Red at IMDb
- Red at Rotten Tomatoes
