Ko (film)

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Ko (Tamil: ; English: King) is a 2011 Indian Tamil political thriller film directed by K. V. Anand starring Jeeva, Ajmal Ameer, newcomer Karthika Nair and Piaa Bajpai. The film was released on 22 April 2011 to mostly positive reviews,[1] and was dubbed into Telugu as Rangam as well. The film is being remade into Hindi with Akshay Kumar depicting the role of Jeeva and Karthika Nair reprising her role.The Movie borrows its source material from the Hollywood Movie State of Play starring Ben Affleck and Russel Crowe.

Ko

Contents
1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Development and filming 4 Release 5 Reception 5.1 Box office 6 Soundtrack 7 References 8 External links

Directed by Produced by Written by Starring

K. V. Anand Kumar Jayaraman K. V. Anand Subha Jeeva Ajmal Ameer Karthika Nair Piaa Bajpai Harris Jayaraj Richard M. Nathan Anthony R. S. Infotainment Red Giant Movies 22 April 2011 166 minutes India Tamil

Plot
Ashwin (Jeeva), a young, energetic photojournalist working for the private newspaper Dina Anjal, witnesses Naxalites robbing a local bank. He chases them and manages to click photos of the robbers. When he tries to escape, he is stopped by a young woman (Karthika Nair) who assumes he is the culprit and helps the robbers to take his camera. However, he is able to secure the memory card of the camera and to prove that he is a press photographer he shows the photos to the police, who identify everyone except the gang leader (whose face is covered by a mask). At his office, he meets Renuka Renu, the woman who earlier mistook him, who has newly joined as Article Editor. Saraswathi Saro (Piaa Bajpai) also works in his office who has feelings for Ashwin. After finding out that Ashwin likes Renuka, she sacrfices her love.

Music by Cinematography Editing by Studio Distributed by Release date(s) Running time Country Language

Vasanthan Perumal (Ajmal Ameer), a recent graduate and engineer, strives hard to enter the political field. He is

in contest against his rivals who capture the people at the time of elections by giving freebies and money. No one cares about Vasanthan and his team of graduates, who promise a healthy government to people. Their group name happens to be 'Siragugal'. Meanwhile, Renuka writes a cover story about politician Aalavandhan (Kota Srinivasa Rao), describing his attempt to marry a minor. Enraged by this, Aalavandhan barges into the newspaper office and shouts at Renuka. The audio recording of her interview disappears, and she is fired from her job for falsified reporting. Ashwin now risks his life to capture the pictures of Aalavandhan who actually engages in child marriage. Later the story with the photos is printed in their newspaper and this makes Renuka to fall in love with him. Vasanthan organizes a political campaign meeting. Ashwin receives a text message from Saro that states there is a bomb underneath the stage where Vasanthan and his political party is. Ashwin manages to save Vasanthan, while he finds Saro seriously injured and fighting for her life amidst the riot, eventually dies from her injuries. Ashwin, through a video clip recorded by another photographer, finds out that Saro was intentionally killed by someone. He later notices a resemblance between the leader of the bank robbery and this unknown killer, concluding that it is the same person. Vasanthan wins in the elections taking majority, gaining the title of Central Minister and his party raises to the secretariat. He orders the release of 20 naxals on Republic Day, citing humanity. Hearing this, Ashwin rushes to meet Vasanthan. In Vasanthan's office, he finds the leader of the bank robbery who had also killed Saro. He tells Vasanthan about it, but he ignores him and pretends to be busy. Ashwin then follows the leader to his hideout.At the same time, the CM (Vasanthan) orders Tamil Nadu Police to go kill the naxals at the address Vasanthan gave and the Police Commandos surrounds the perimeter. There he learns that it was Vasanthan who, with the help of the naxals, planted the bomb and killed Saraswati as she saw the bomb being planted. In the end Vasanthan gets killed by a blast. Ashwin never reveals the relationship between Vasanthan and the killer to the media. Ashwin feared that if he does so, other party members who won along with Vasanth in election will lose their seats because of people. Ashwin tells the press that Vasanth sacrificed himself to kill the naxals.

Cast
Jeeva as Ashwin Jayaraman Ajmal Ameer as Vasanthan Perumal Karthika Nair as Renuka "Renu" Narayanan Piaa Bajpai as Saraswathi "Saro" Prakash Raj as Yogeswaran "Yogi" Kota Srinivasa Rao as Alavandhan Sona Heiden as Sumitha Kothari D. Suresh as Suresh Pattimandram Raja as Jayaraman Jegan as Chandr eruma maadu Bose Venkat as Kadhir, the Naxalite group head Anthony as himself
Special appearances (in alphabetical order) by:

Abbas Adharvaa Anjali Anuja Iyer Bharath

Ganesh Venkatraman Harris Jayaraj Jai Jayam Ravi John Vijay Kannan Karthi Krish Madhan Karky Narain Peter Hein Rima Kallingal Sanjana Singh M. Sasikumar Shiva Suriya Tamannaah Bhatia

Development and filming

Initially the film was rumored to have Karthi in the lead. However, it was later officially announced that Silambarasan Rajendar would play the lead in the film,[2] but was later replaced by Jeeva.[3] The lead female role was initially supposed to be enacted by Tamannaah Bhatia, who was replaced by actress Radha's daughter, Karthika Nair.[3] The trailer of this film was played during Manmadan Ambu and got a favourable response.[4][5] The film was shot on location in Chennai, Harbin in China as well as in Western Norway at Trolltunga, Stalheim, Bergen and Prekestolen,[6] becoming the first Tamil film to be shot in Norway.

Release
Ko released in nearly 230 theatres in Tamil Nadu, making it Jeeva's biggest wide release.[7] It is also being released in multiplexes in metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chandigarh, Lucknow and Vadodara with English subtitles to attract the non-Tamil audience.

Reception
The film opened to mostly positive reviews. Behindwoods.com gave three out of five and the verdict "a stylish commercial entertainer!", while also lauding the performances of the lead artists.[8] Sify also gave a positive review, citing that "for an audience numbed by predictable Kollywood potboilers week after week, here is an original offering from KV Anand, a fearless filmmaker who doesn't insult your intelligence. He is able to cater to the needs of both the elite as well as mass audiences, which should be applauded."[9] Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff also gave three out of five saying that Ko was a "spicy ride", further citing that "with its basic plot of politics, it has enough twists and turns to keep you occupied. Best of all are the light touches of sarcasm and humour that make it work. Go for it." She also appreciated Ajmal in particular, labelling him as the "surprise package" who had got "a lot of scope to perform, and makes use of the opportunity well." Malathi Rangarajan from The Hindu described the film as a "tale with a realistic twist" and praised Anand who "strikes gold with Ko. Blending the commercial with the realistic is a challenge, but K. V. Anand proves adept at it."[10] Times Chennai

gave 65/100 and stated that "You feel empathy, rage, helplessness, and triumph at every step of the way".[11] Indiaglitz said that "Racy all through, it is a movie that is worth a watch, if you are really not bothered about logic at certain places", while stating that Jeeva was "impressive and played his part exceedingly well."[12] A critic from The Times of India gave three and a half stars and said that "With Ko, director Anand gives notice of his immense talent once again, making a movie that is all set to lord over the box office this summer!" and said that Karthika made "A confident debut in Tamil".[13] Nevertheless, the film also fetched scattered mixed to negative response. Ko is loosely based on the 2009 Russell Crowe starrer State of Play.Rohit Ramachandran of nowrunning.com rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stating that "Ko staggers throughout, pretending to take risks and after the first misstep; it's nothing but a free fall, all the way. The funny thing is the free fall isn't a smooth ride either. It hits every protruding rock." [14] National Film Award-winning critic, Baradwaj Rangan wrote that "If someone wants to make a case for the abolishment of song and dance from our cinema, Ko would be Exhibit A." He also went on to state that "Ko is a series of big scenes with no transitions, no segues, no scenes that just stop to smell the scenery."[15]

Box office
Ko collected 5 crore during its first two days of screening.[16] In Chennai, it collected 73.39 lakhs in the opening weekend.[17] After 9 weeks, it collected 7.99 crore in Chennai.[18]

Soundtrack
The soundtrack is scored by Harris Jayaraj, who had previously worked with Anand on Ayan.[21] The composition of the songs took place in Macau. During Diwali 2010 a short teaser was released which featured the song "Enamo Aedho" which received a high response. Another song, "Aga Naga", featured special appearances by several Tamil film personalities, including composer Jayaraj (see under cast). The album was launched on 19 January 2011 in Chennai.[22] No. Title Lyrics 1. "Aga Naga" Singer(s) Length Vijay Prakash, Tippu, Ranina Pa. Vijay 05:22 Reddy, Priya Subramaniam, Solar Sai 2. "Enamo Madhan Aalap Raju, Aedho" Karky, Prashanthini, Sricharan, 05:36 Sricharan, Emcee Emcee Jesz Jesz 3. "Gala Gala" Tippu, Krish, Haricharan, Kapilan 04:55 Sayanora Philip 4. "Venpaniyae" Sriram

Ko

Soundtrack album by Harris Jayaraj Genre Label Feature film soundtrack Sony Music Harris Jayaraj chronology
Engeyum Kaadhal (2010) Ko (2011) 7aam Arivu (2011)

Professional ratings Review scores

Source Behindwoods Rating
[19]

Parthasarathy, Pa. Vijay Bombay 05:25 Jayashree 5. "Netri Pottil" Madhan Naresh Iyer Karky 6. "Amali Hariharan, Thumali" Swetha Viveka Mohan & Chinmayi 02:43

Rediff

[20]

05:50

References
1. ^ Ko release postponed (http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/apr-11-02/ko-kv-anand-11-0411.html) , Behindwoods, http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-news-1/apr-11-02/ko-kv-anand-11-0411.html 2. ^ "Simbu walks out of KV Anands Ko!" (http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=14930039) . Sify Movies. 2010-02-04. http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=14930039. Retrieved 2011-02-07. 3. ^ a b "Simbu 'OUT' Jeeva 'IN'" (http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/54196.html) . Indiaglitz. 201002-05. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/54196.html. Retrieved 2011-02-07. 4. ^ "Manmadhan Ambu comes with Ko'" (http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/62530.html) . Indiaglitz. 2010-12-23. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/62530.html. Retrieved 2011-02-07. 5. ^ http://www.indiaeveryday.in/tamilnadu/news-five-reasons-to-watch-k-v-anands-ko-1144-2384308.htm 6. ^ "Ko at Western Norway Film Commission" (http://www.wnfc.no/index.php? page=films/profile&counter=182) . Western Norway Film Commission. 2010-10-23. http://www.wnfc.no/index.php?page=films/profile&counter=182. Retrieved 2011-04-25. 7. ^ http://www.sify.com/movies/ko-opening-big-worldwide-news-tamil-levo9qagfgh.html 8. ^ http://behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-reviews/reviews-2/apr-11-04/ko-review.html 9. ^ http://www.sify.com/movies/tamil/review.php?id=14968101&ctid=5&cid=2429 10. ^ http://www.hindu.com/cp/2011/04/24/stories/2011042450410200.htm 11. ^ http://www.timeschennai.com/index.php?mod=article&cat=Entertainment&article=30302 12. ^ http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/review/11894.html 13. ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/tamil/Ko/moviereview/8063480.cms 14. ^ http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/7959/tamil/ko/3055/review.htm 15. ^ http://baradwajrangan.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/bullet-point-report-ko/ 16. ^ http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/66650.html 17. ^ Ko release postponed (http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slide-shows/movie-4/top-ten-movies-apr25/tamil-cinema-topten-movie-ko.html) , Behindwoods, http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slideshows/movie-4/top-ten-movies-apr-25/tamil-cinema-topten-movie-ko.html 18. ^ "Chennai Box office" (http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slide-shows/movie-4/top-ten-movies-june27/tamil-cinema-topten-movie-ko.html) . Behindwoods. http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-slideshows/movie-4/top-ten-movies-june-27/tamil-cinema-topten-movie-ko.html. 19. ^ "KO MUSIC REVIEW" (http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-music-reviews/review-1/ko-musicreview.html) . Behindwoods. http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-music-reviews/review-1/ko-musicreview.html. Retrieved 2011-07-17. 20. ^ "Nothing original about Ko's music" (http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/south-music-reviewko/20110125.htm) . Rediff. http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/south-music-review-ko/20110125.htm. Retrieved 2011-07-17. 21. ^ "Ko, a political thriller" (http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/59757.html) . Indiaglitz. 2010-0831. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/59757.html. Retrieved 2011-02-07. 22. ^ "KO Audio comes in style" (http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/63234.html) . Indiaglitz. 201101-20. http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/tamil/article/63234.html. Retrieved 2011-02-07.

External links
Ko (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1851988/) at the Internet Movie Database Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_(film)" Categories: 2011 films | Indian films | Tamil-language films This page was last modified on 28 July 2011 at 09:51. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.