JK Enum Nanbanin Vaazhkai is a 2015 Tamil-languagemusical film written and directed by Cheran, which was simultaneously made and later released in Telugu as Rajadhi Raja. It stars Sharwanand and Nithya Menen in the lead roles while Prakash Raj and Santhanam play supporting roles. The film featured songs by G. V. Prakash Kumar and film scored by Siddharth Vipin. After failing to have a theatrical release in late 2013, the Tamil version of the film had a direct-to-video release in March 2015, becoming the first venture in a new initiative launched by Cheran known as Cinema2Home. The Telugu version of the film had been indefinitely placed on hold, but was later released theatrically in June 2016, with the makers trying to profit from Sharwanand's popularity.
Plot
Jayakumar, commonly known as JK, is a mid-20s man who does not care about family. Instead, he is obsessed with chatting on Facebook, partying, and passing time with friends. At work, he has a group of friends with similar interests. They all plan on going for a New Year Party. Two years later, JK is shown to be a changed person – very invested in developing, earning money and taking care of his family. He is shown to make business models with an aim of earning a lot of money in a short period of time. He has goals such as getting his two sisters married and ensuring that his brother gets good education. In attempts to start business, he goes to meet a bank manager at his home. As they had to wait for the bank manager to come, JK and his friend notice that the house is not well-maintained and take on the job to organise it. Upon returning, bank manager appreciates their work and tells JK and his friend that it would be very helpful if they could help clean homes regularly. He also suggests that about 150 other flats in his apartment complex would also appreciate this service. This becomes JK's first business venture. For this, he also ropes in help from his school friend Nithya. Together, JK, Nithya, and their friends go on to become very successful with multiple projects. Later, the reason for change in JK's behavior is explained. When JK and friends were planning to go for the New Year Party, Ravi also wants to go with them and becomes a good friend of JK. Ravi comes from a very poor background, and his family is dependent on him. After the party, the gang meets with an accident, resulting in Ravi's death and a serious head injury for JK. JK has only a couple of years left in his life. This makes him realise the importance of life, and he decides to make his family happy and make sure that they have enough money before he dies. However, JK does not tell this to anyone but Nithya. In the end, JK leaves the responsibilities of business and his family to Nithya and goes off to the USA. Nithya is shown to be running the business and living with memories of time spent with her best friend JK.
The soundtrack features five songs composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, with lyrics by Na. Muthukumar, Yugabharathi, Madhan Karky, Cheran. The album was released by Cheran's music company Dream Sounds Digital Solution on 15 September 2013. The film's score was composed by Siddharth Vipin who also composed three additional songs for the film. Milliblog wrote: "Cheran’s last film as director – Pokkisham – had fantastic music from Sabesh Murali; the move to GV Prakash Kumar produces underwhelming results". Indiaglitz wrote: "Funky, rocking and melodious, the album has everything that the youth these days want to listen to. Predominantly duets and only one solo to speak of, the album will certainly be a popular favourite among all". Behindwoods wrote:"There are moments of classic GVP, but could have done with few more". ;Tamil ;Telugu
Marketing
Sharwanand had dubbed for his character in Tamil. As part of the promotion Cheran initiated a project named JK Fest 2013, in which college students from Tamil Nadu could participate. Students were asked to visualise and use their creativity to enact the songs of JK Enum Nanbanin Vaazhkai without knowing the film's story. Cheran revealed that the film would be released on Internet, DVD and satellite, on the same day of its theatrical release. Cheran added that by releasing the film across all media on the same day, piracy could be curbed. However, the theatrical release did not happen; the film was instead released as a direct-to-video film on 6 March 2015, via Cheran's C2H initiative. The film is also available on OTT platform Amazon Prime Video. The Telugu version, initially titled Yemito Ee Maya, was later retitled as Rajadhi Raja and released theatrically on 24 June 2016, with the makers attempting to profit from Sharwanand's resurgence at the Telugu box office. However, this version failed commercially.
Reception
wrote for The Hindu, "There’s something very tragic when JK Enum Nanbanin Vaazhkai has to settle for a straight-to-DVD release, after spending months without finding a buyer. The point isn’t that a grand masterpiece hasn’t made its way to screens near us. The point is that when so many downright bad movies are out there, an established, well-regarded director has had to resort to practically giving his film away for free."
