Roja

Roja (1992) is a Tamil feature film directed by Mani Ratnam. The movie was subsequently dubbed in other Indian languages, catapulting Mani Ratnam to national acclaim. This film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman, who debuted in this movie. This soundtrack is among the All Time Top 10 soundtracks listed by TIME magazine [1], issued in 2005.

Roja was dubbed in Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, and Telugu. The film was recently re-released for international audiences in light of the growing fear of terrorist attacks the world over.

Plot

Vaishnavi and Madhoo from the film Roja

Roja (Madhoo) is a village girl, born and brought up in Southern Tamil Nadu. She prays that the handsome suitor and top cryptologist Rishi (Arvind Swamy), arriving in the village soon, accepts a proposal to get married to her sister. It soon emerges that Roja's sister is in love with another, and to everyone's surprise Rishi requests Roja's hand in marriage. Roja gets married to Rishi, and the couple move out of the village to live in the city. They both fall in love here, and settle down. Working for the Indian Government, Rishi is assigned a posting at an army communications center in Kashmir. Roja's world is shattered when Rishi is abducted by militant Kashmiri separatists who want the release of their terrorist leader from prison, held by the Indian military forces. Roja pleads with politicians and the military for help, but she has little success. The film is set against the backdrop of the longstanding struggle between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.

Cast

*Arvind Swamy
*Madhoo
*Pankaj Kapoor
*Nasser
*Janagaraj

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features 6 songs composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Vairamuthu.
*Rukkumani - S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
*Chinna Chinna Asai - Minmini,
*Kadhal Rojave - S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
*Pudhu Vellai Mazhai - Unni Menon, Sujatha
*Thamizha Thamizha - Hariharan
*Chinna Chinna Asai - Minmini

Awards

The film has been nominated for the following awards since its release:

1993 Moscow International Film Festival (Russia)
* Nominated - Golden St. George Award - Mani Ratnam

The film has won the following awards since its release:

1993 National Film Awards (India)
* Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Music Director - A. R. Rahman
* Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Lyricist - Vairamuthu
* Won - Nargis Dutt Award - Best Feature Film on National Integration - Roja - Mani Ratnam

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