Jana (alternatively spelt Janaa[a]) is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Shaji Kailas and produced by Roja Combines. The film stars Ajith Kumar and Sneha, alongside Siddique, Manoj K. Jayan, Raghuvaran, Srividya, Radha Ravi, Sathyapriya and Bindu Panicker. The soundtrack and musical score were composed by Dhina and C. Rajamani, while cinematography and editing were handled by Rajeev Ravi and L. Bhoominathan respectively.
| Jana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Shaji Kailas |
| Written by | B. Unnikrishnan |
| Produced by | M. Kaja Mohideen K. Ayesha |
| Starring | Ajith Kumar Sneha |
| Cinematography | Rajeev Ravi |
| Edited by | L. Bhoominathan |
| Music by | Songs: Dhina Background score C. Rajamani |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 168 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editJanarthanan alias Jana lives at a village in Tamil Nadu. In an unforeseen circumstance, Jana meets his former rival Viswanathan Bhandari, who wants to exact revenge against Jana for his brother's death, and it is revealed that Jana was a former vigilante at Mumbai with an expertise in computer science. Jana learns that Bhandari and his brother tried to smuggle arms and ammunitions, where Jana kills Bhandari's brother in the process. An enraged Bhandari exacts revenge on Jana by killing his family with his uncle and father as the only survivor. A fight ensues in which Jana finally finishes Bhandari and Veerapandi.
Cast
edit- Ajith Kumar as Janarthanan "Jana"
- Sneha as Manimegalai
- Siddique as Bhandari
- Manoj K. Jayan as ACP Rajasekar, Jana's brother
- Raghuvaran as Jana's father
- Srividya as Jana's mother
- Radha Ravi as Sankarapandi
- Sathyapriya as Mahalakshmi
- Bindu Panicker as Jana's sister
- Vijayan as Salim Bhai
- Ilavarasu as Jana's brother-in-law
- Latha as Jana's aunt
- Manivannan as Manimegalai's uncle
- Sindhu as Deivanai
- Manorama as Manimegalai's grandmother
- Karunas as Tappa
- Baburaj as Chinnapandi
- Vinu Chakravarthy as MLA
- Rajan P. Dev as a minister
- Delhi Ganesh as Saminathan
- Ponnambalam as Inspector
- Riyaz Khan as Bhandari's brother
- Vaiyapuri as Jana's servant
- Thyagu as Balu, a school attender
- Raviraj as a restaurant owner (uncredited)[1]: 1:20:00
- Japan Kumar (uncredited appearance in the song "Thakathimi Thakathimi")[1]: 12:40
Production
editThe film was announced in early 2002 titled as Thiruda. Trisha Krishnan was initially signed on to play the lead female role. but pulled out due to unavailability of dates and she was later replaced by Sneha.[2] The title was subsequently changed to Jana and Ajith began filming in December 2002.[3][4][5] The shooting took place at Palghat, where some sets were erected. It was a lavish set costing ₹9 lakh, consisting of two bungalows, one belonging to Raghuvaran and the other to Radha Ravi, in the film. Most of the story has taken place in these bungalows. Among those present were Ajith and Sneha. The sets have been designed by art director Maniraj. Apart from Palghat, a 20-day schedule took place at Ottappalam and Shornoor in Kerala.[6]
Soundtrack
editThe soundtrack features 6 songs composed by Dhina.[7] Before finalizing Dhina, the makers approach Harris Jayaraj for composing the soundtrack, but he opts out due to creative differences.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Konjam Uravinayum" | Snehan | Shankar Mahadevan | 4:25 |
| 2. | "Oru Vanamai" | Kabilan | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam | 3:27 |
| 3. | "Pothuva Palaruku" | V. Elango | Anuradha Sriram, Karthik | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Poochandi Vanthutta" | Pa. Vijay | Sunitha Sarathy | 3:44 |
| 5. | "Thakathimi Thakathimi" | Pa. Vijay | Tippu | 3:38 |
| 6. | "Thithi Thidavae" | Yugabharathi | Bombay Jayashri | 4:34 |
| Total length: | 24:01 | |||
Release
editJana was released on 1 May 2004, coinciding with Ajith Kumar's birthday.
Reception
editCritical response
editVisual Dasan of Kalki called it a comforting victory film for Ajith.[8] Indiaglitz called it "a complete rehash of Rajini starrer Baashha and that it "is completely out of sorts movie".[9] Behindwoods wrote "Jana is nothing new except a different on screen looks of Ajith".[10] Sify wrote "Neither great nor ghastly Jana packs in a sting but ends with a whimper and is strictly for the no-holds barred Ajith addicts".[11] Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote, "A little of Nayakan and a lot of Baashha peppered with some originality in screenplay, a ravishing heroine and an invincible hero make up this summer cocktail".[12] Chennai Online wrote "One sees the movie and comes out of the theatre with an unclear picture of what it was all about. We carry only the memory of some hotch-potch situations, and a handsome protagonist caught in the midst of it!".[13]
References
edit- ^ a b Jana (motion picture) (in Tamil). Roja Combines. 2004 – via Sun NXT.
- ^ "Ajith Is Back". ajithkumar.fr.fm. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ Warrier, Shobha (21 December 2002). "'Success is like a wild horse'". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ "'Villain' Ajith becomes 'Janaa' now". ajithkumar.fr.fm. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ "Sneha finally stars with Ajith". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012 – via ajithkumar.fr.fm.
- ^ Mannath, Malini (30 June 2003). "Jana". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 14 June 2004. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ "Jana (2004)". Raaga.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ தாசன், விஷுவல் (23 May 2004). "ஜனா". Kalki (in Tamil). p. 80. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Jana Tamil Movie Review". IndiaGlitz. 8 May 2004. Archived from the original on 24 October 2004. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ^ "Jana:A first look". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ "Jana". Sify. Archived from the original on 18 October 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2023 – via ajithkumar.free.fr.
- ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (7 May 2004). "Jana". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 December 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ Mannath, Malini (12 May 2004). "Jana". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
Notes
edit- ^ Spelt as Janaa on the title card