Veedu

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Veedu
Poster
Directed byBalu Mahendra
Screenplay byBalu Mahendra
Story byAkhila Mahendra
Produced byKaladas
StarringArchana
Bhanu Chander
CinematographyBalu Mahendra
Edited byBalu Mahendra
Music byIlaiyaraaja
Production
company
Sri Kala International
Release date
  • 25 November 1988 (1988-11-25)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Veedu (transl. House) is a 1988 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Balu Mahendra. Starring Archana as the central character, it depicts the difficulties faced by a middle-class family in building a house. Apart from directing, Balu Mahendra wrote the script, photographed and did the editing as well. The film score by Ilaiyaraaja earned critical acclaim. At the 35th National Film Awards, the film received two awards including one for the Best Tamil Film. Archana won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 1987 for her role in this film. The film was also screened at the "Indian Panorama" of the International Film Festival of India in 1988. Apart from winning critical acclaim, the film was made on a budget of 12 lakhs and collected 72 lakhs at the box office.

Plot

Sudha, a 22-year-old unmarried woman, lives in an apartment in Madras with her younger sister (Indhu) and grandfather (Murugesan). She is engaged to her colleague Gopi. The owner of the tenement wants all the families to vacate the place as he intends to construct another building on the same site. Sudha's attempts for searching an alternative house turn out to be unsuccessful as her family could not afford the rents fixed by them. At this juncture, she is advised by Iyengar, one of her colleagues, to start constructing a new house. Though initially hesitant, she decides to build a house after Iyengar motivates her. Sudha's grandfather already owns two construction sites in the outskirts of the city. They decide to construct the house on one of them and sell the other one to raise money. In addition, she also seeks a housing loan and pledges her jewels for money. During this time, Sudha gets introduced to a building contractor who drafts a plan for the house. To get the plan approved they had to bribe a government official. By this time, unexpected rains halt the construction thereby inflating the cost. Though Gopi comes forward to provide financial assistance, Sudha declines it stating that his sister's marriage would get affected if he provided money.

A kind-hearted Mangamma, a construction worker, helps Sudha in the construction. When she finds that the contractor steals materials from the site, she informs Sudha which in turn leads to the contractor quitting. Mangamma along with her supervisor, and Iyengar help Sudha during this time as the construction work resumes. Meanwhile, as the sanctioning of loan gets delayed, Sudha seeks monetary help from her superior. She becomes even more dejected only to know that he is a womanizer. With all her funds exhausted, she decides to halt the construction. But Gopi offers some assistance and the work continues to progress further. An excited Murugesan visits the site alone on a Sunday and passes away while returning home. Sudha becomes depressed over the situation. When the house is nearing completion, and when Sudha and Gopi appraise each other, an official from the Metropolitan Water Authority lands at the site and asks them how can they construct a house in a land which was already acquired by the authority. In the end, Sudha is shown sitting in the panchayat office and voice over states that she is seeking justice in the court.

Cast

Production

According to Balu Mahendra, Veedu was inspired from his mother. He recalled in an interview that his mother started building a house when he was eight years old, which affected her psychologically.[1] He cites, "She was not the same after that. She became temperamental. She forgot to laugh. She had no time to teach us or play with us. The changes confused me. Years later, Veedu brought this transformation to life."[2] The childhood event affected Balu Mahendra, and he developed the script based on it. He opted to make the film in Tamil as he felt not many good films were made in Tamil cinema then.[3] The filming began in 1987, coinciding with the International Year of Shelter.[1]

Made on a shoestring budget of ₹12 lakh (worth ₹4 crore in 2021 prices), the film's central theme revolved around the struggle of a middle-class family to build a house. It also marginally focussed on the change in human behaviour and corruption.[1] The story was credited to Balu Mahendra's wife Akhila Mahendra, while he wrote the screenplay, filmed and edited apart from directing the film. The film does not feature any soundtrack.[4] Ilaiyaraaja, a Balu Mahendra regular, was signed as the composer. On the latter's request, he used portions of his composition from the album How to Name It? for the film score.[5][6] Most of the sequences were narrated through jump cuts and montages, shot mostly using a hand-held camera.[1] The final length of the film stood at 3,039 metres (9,970 ft).[7]

Reception

Although filming began in 1987, the film was released only a year after. It turned out to be a box-office failure but won critical acclaim.

Locarno International Film Festival.[12]

Legacy

In a 2013 review,

Sandhya Raagam were the only films that satisfied him the most as he made in these two the fewest mistakes and compromises.[2] The negative of the film is lost.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Baskaran 2013, p. 47.
  2. ^ a b "Balu Mahendra: The method, the madness". Rediff.com. 7 January 2002. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Indian Cinema 1988, p. 76.
  4. ^ Baskaran, S. Theodore (6 January 2002). "Music for the people". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 March 2002. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  5. ^ a b மோ., அருண் (24 September 2013). "தமிழ் சினிமாவின் எல்லையை மாற்றியமைத்த கலைஞர்கள்!". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  6. ^ B, Kolappan (14 February 2014). "Balu Mahendra passes away". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  7. ^ a b Dhananjayan 2014, p. 298.
  8. ^ Krishnaswamy, N. (8 July 1988). "Veedu". The Indian Express. p. 5. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Way to go!". The Illustrated Weekly of India. 1989. p. 57. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  10. ^ Indian Cinema 1988, p. 103.
  11. ^ "Cinema Express readers choose Agni Nakshathiram". The Indian Express. Express News Service. 11 March 1989. p. 4. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  12. ^ Rodier, Melanie (28 June 2002). "No Man's Land producer to head Locarno festival jury". Screen International. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  13. ^ ராம் (15 February 2014). "பாலுமகேந்திரா... தமிழ் சினிமாவின் வீடு!". Ananda Vikatan (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  14. ^ Krishnan, Rukmini (18 February 2014). "Balu Mahendra: A legend that lives on". Daily News and Analysis. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2015.

Bibliography

External links

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