Close on the heels of Kushi's re-release to celebrate its 25th year, noted veteran composer Deva shared his excitement on the Vijay-Jyotika film returning to the big screen on September 25. In a video message, he reminisced fondly about the romantic entertainer, calling it a "timeless film", praising its direction and the actors' performances.
He recalled memories associated with each of the song, starting from 'Megam Karukuthu'."The first song we shot was 'Megam Karukuthu' in Tamil Nadu's Gingee. Next was 'Oru Ponnu Onnu', but what captivated audiences was 'Kattipudi Kattipudida'. It wasn't just another 'glamorous song', but its specialty lies in its melody. The song was different vibe altogether. I thank director SJ Suryah and producer AM Rathnam for the opportunity and wish them success for the re-release," he said.
The soundtrack of Kushi comprises of six songs - 'Megam Karukuthu', 'Macarena Macarena', 'Oru Ponnu Onnu', 'Mottu Ondru', 'Kattipudi Kattipudida' and 'Oh Vennila' - all of which were hit among audiences.
Earlier, SJ Suryah had revealed how 'Kattipudi Kattipudida' came about. Speaking at a recent press event, SJ Suryah was elated on how audiences still fondly remember and celebrate the song. "When I spoke to Deva sir about it, I told him, ‘Please set it in the tune of 'Senthamizh Thaen Mozhiyal' . That’s how ‘Kattipudi’ was born. Similarly, for the song ‘Mottu Ondru’, he gave a melody instead of a written note. Each line of that song beautifully portrays the love between a man and a woman, and Deva sir’s composition elevated those poetic lines," he said.
The film, marking SJ Suryah's sophomore directorial, revolves around how fate brings together Shiva (Vijay) and Jenny (Jyothika), who had plans that would have never made their encounter possible. They develop a friendship, which then blooms into a romantic interest, but before they can express it to each other, a heated argument creates a rift.
Apart from Vijay and Jyothika, the film released in the year 2000, stars Vijayakumar, Vivek, Nagendra Prasad, Nizhalgal Ravi, Beena Banerjee, and Janaki Sabesh in pivotal roles. The film's Telugu version, also titled Kushi (2001), starring Pawan Kalyan and Bhumika Chawla, was initially planned as a bilingual along with the Tamil version, but released a year later due to production delays. The film was remade in Hindi as Khushi (2003), and in Kannada as Eno Onthara (2010).
