Thoranai (transl. Posture) or Pistha (transl. Person with attitude) is a 2009 Indian masala film directed by Sabha Ayyappan and produced by Vikram Krishna under the banner G K Film Corporation. It stars Vishal and Shriya Saran in the lead roles, while Prakash Raj, Kishore and Santhanam in another pivotal roles. The film was simultaneously shot in Tamil and Telugu languages with different supporting cast in the Telugu version.
| Thoranai | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster of Tamil version | |
| Directed by | Sabha Ayyappan |
| Written by | Sabha Ayyappan |
| Produced by | Vikram Krishna |
| Starring | Vishal Shriya Saran Prakash Raj |
| Cinematography | Priyan |
| Edited by | V. T. Vijayan |
| Music by | Mani Sharma |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 148 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Languages | Tamil Telugu |
Thoranai/Pistha was released on 29 May 2009 and received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
editMurugan is a native of Madurai who arrives at Chennai to find his long-lost brother Ganesan, who had run away from home about two decades ago. Murugan gets stuck in a rivalry between gangsters Guru and Tamizharasu, where he learns that Guru is actually Ganesan. Murugan decides to protect Guru/Ganesan from Tamizharasu and a cat-and-mouse game ensues. Guru/Ganesan finally decide to reform himself where he reunites with Murugan and his mother, while Tamizharasu is killed in a police encounter.
Cast
edit| Actor (Tamil) | Actor (Telugu) | Role (Tamil) | Role (Telugu) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vishal | C. Murugan (CM) | C. Muralikrishna "Krishna" (CM) | |
| Shriya Saran | Indu | ||
| Prakash Raj | Tamizharasan | Suryaprakash | |
| Santhanam | Ali | Vellaichamy | Chittibabu |
| Kishore | Ganesan (Guru) | Rambabu (Guru) | |
| Sriman | Ganesan | Rambabu | |
| Aarthi | Indu's friend | ||
| Geetha | Murugan's mother | Muralikrishna's mother | |
| Sayaji Shinde | Minister Sivanaandi | ||
| M. S. Bhaskar | Tanikella Bharani | Tamizharasan's assistant | Suryaprakash's assistant |
| Paravai Muniyamma | Telangana Shakuntala | Pachamma Patti | |
| Livingston | Surya | Murugan's father | Krishna's father |
| Pandiarajan | Krishna Bhagavaan | Walter Vetrivel | Walter Rangaraju |
| Lal | Chennai Police Commissioner | Vizag Police Commissioner | |
| Suruli Manohar | Srinivasa Reddy | Constable | |
| Mayilsamy | M. S. Narayana | Watchman | |
| T. P. Gajendran | Kondavalasa | Apartment Secretary | |
| Suman Shetty | Murugan's friend | Krishna's friend | |
| Nellai Siva | Resident | ||
| Shanmugarajan | Corrupt inspector | ||
| Muthukaalai | Kallu Chidambaram | Bike customer | |
| Besant Ravi | Guru's henchman | ||
| Sampath Ram | Guru's henchman | ||
| Aryan | Tamizharasan/Suryaprakash's henchman | ||
| Periya Karuppu Thevar | Rallapalli | Panchayat Man | |
| Swaminathan | Cashier | ||
| Senthi Kumari | Indu's friend | ||
| Manobala | Dharmavarapu Subrahmanyam | Birth and Death administration officer | |
| Boys Rajan | Police officer | ||
| Dhadi Balaji | Chitram Seenu | Bystander who pretends to be blind | |
| Kullamani | Cyclist who laughs at Indu | ||
| Karate Raja | Rowdy | ||
| Kadhal Saravanan | Waiter | ||
| Scissor Manohar | Duvvasi Mohan | Man who asks for lift | |
| Raviraj | |||
| Unknown | Annapoornamma | Krishna's grandmother | |
| Unknown | Gautam Raju | Traffic police officer | |
| Meenakshi | Item number | ||
Production
editThe film was initially to be produced by Singanamala Ramesh with Reema Sen as another heroine but, later got shelved and Shriya was confirmed as the single pair for Vishal.[1]
Music
edit- Tamil version[2]
| Song | Singers | Length | Lyrics |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Vedi Vedi Saravedi" | Naveen, Ranjith | 4:26 | Viveka |
| "Vaa Chellam" | Udit Narayan | 5:07 | Pa. Vijay |
| "Pattucha" | Vijay Yesudas, Janani Madhan | 3:58 | Kabilan |
| "Peliccan Paravaigal" | Ranjith, Rita, Rahul, Jai | 4:07 | Vaali |
| "Manjasela Mandakini" | Tippu, Saindhavi | 4:20 | Pa. Vijay |
| "Vaa Chellam" (Version 2) | Ranjith | 5:07 |
- Telugu version[3]
- "Pidi Pidi" - Ranjith, Naveen
- "Naa Maharani" - Udit Narayan
- "Pattuko Pattuko" - Narayanan, Janani Madhan
- "Oka Pelican" - Rahul, Suchithra
- "Naa Maharani" - Ranjith
- "Mandakini" - Tippu, Saindhavi
Reception
editCritical response
edit- Tamil version
Sify wrote "Arbitrarily packing in elements of every genre without actually bothering to stop and see if the mix does work, Thoranai is like an overcooked stew."[4] Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff wrote "Thoranai's only merit is that it's marginally better than Sathyam.[5] The Times of India gave 2/5 stars and wrote "It is a formidable star cast that you see in Thoranai. However, what is missing is a convincing story".[6]
- Telugu version
BVS Prakash of The Times of India gave 1.5/5 stars and wrote "Inspite of a dud like Salute, Tamil star Vishal hasn't realised the significance of a solid plot even for a star-centric film."[7]
References
edit- ^ "Vishal as a playboy". Idlebrain.com. 27 May 2009. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "Thoranai (2009)". Music India Online. 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Pista songs". Raaga. 15 November 2019. Archived from the original on 15 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Review: Thoranai (2009)". Sify. 29 May 2009. Archived from the original on 3 September 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Thoranai: Not good, but not bad either". Rediff. 29 May 2009. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Thoranai Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 7 October 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ Prakash, BVS (30 May 2009). "Pistha Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
