isai

Isai (transl. Music) is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language musical psychological thriller film written, directed and scored by S. J. Suryah, who starred himself in the lead role alongside Sathyaraj and Sulagna Panigrahi in her Tamil debut. The film marked Suryah's return to direction after a five-year hiatus since 2010, and also his debut as a music composer. The film revolves around the rivalry between Vetriselvan, an established veteran composer and A. K. Shiva, his assistant and an emerging composer in the film industry. Isai was announced in 2004 with other two projects, but did not materialise. Suryah then revived the project in November 2011. Principal photography commenced in May 2012 and continued till January 2014, despite a brief stalling and production turnaround; filming took place in Chennai and Kodaikanal. The film's cinematography was handled by Soundararajan while editing was done by K. M. Riyas. After being delayed multiple times, Isai was theatrically released on 30 January 2015. It received generally positive reviews from critics, praising the performances (particularly that of Sathyaraj's), screenplay, direction, cinematography, but was critical of the three-hour length and divided opinions regarding the twist in the climax.