123 (film)

Tirupathi (Prabhu Deva), Pazhani (Raju Sundaram) and Chidambaram (Nagendra Prasad) are physically impaired friends – Thirupathi is blind, Pazhani is deaf, and Chidambaram is mute. None of them has a family, and they begin to live under the same roof. Narmada (Jyothika) enters their lives, and all three fall in love with her. The story follows their attempts to win her hand.

In December 2001, the three sons of prominent dance choreographer Sundaram were reported to be coming together to star in the Tamil film, and while Prabhu Deva was an established actor and Raju Sundaram had also appeared in films, it became the first substantial role for Nagendra Prasad.[1] Karunas was selected to play a key role, while Sundaram was reported to be a choreographer in the film, which would be based on a Marathi play title All the Best.[2] Sandeep Chowta was initially expected to be music director, but was later replaced by Deva.[3]

In Telugu, the film was adapted under Siddesh Films with Uttej signed on to reshoot scenes which had featured Karunas in the Tamil version. The dialogues were written by Thotapalli Madhu and lyrics were written by Ponduri, Bhavanachandra and Rohini Krishna as the film was dubbed and released with a few reshot scenes. The mouth freshener brand, Pass Pass, teamed up with the film to put product placement into the venture.[4][5] The film was released in Kannada under the supervision of Sundeep Malani, with another regional actor Komal Kumar chosen to replace Karunas as the thief.[6]

The Tamil version of the film opened on 1 June 2002 to mixed reviews with a critic noting "Dilshad as the blind Tirupathy has done his role well but Raju Sundaram and Nagendra Prasad have to pick up the nuances of acting. Jyothika has very little to do. The comedy of Karnas is good. However, the highlight of the film are the dances and the choreography. The three brothers have tried to outbeat [sic] each other when it comes to dancing. Music by Deva is very average."[7] The Hindu noted "it is a tightrope walk for director K. Subhash because presenting physical impairment without hurting sentiments is not easy. And the director does come out unscathed. Much of it is situational humour and the dialogue, again by Subhash, accentuates the comic impact in some of the scenes."[8] The Telugu version of the film released on the same day. Jeevi of Idlebrain.com gave the film "two stars", stating "The only strength of the film is situation comedy based on the disabilities of three protagonists. Otherwise it's an avoidable film".[9] The Hindu cited "The film keeps grip on the audience, because of the curiosity the subject kicks up, regarding the survival of the handicapped using their sixth sense. The characters are difficult to portray, but the three main artistes do it convincingly."[10]

The soundtrack of the film, composed by Deva, was well received by the audience.[11] Tamil lyrics were written by Thamarai, Kalaikumar and Victor.