Ennavale

James Vasanthan (Madhavan) and his three friends Ganeshan (Charle), Charles (Vaiyapuri), and Mohan (Venu Madhav), have a music troupe that sings at weddings. They are tenants of Subramani (Manivannan) whose daughter Lakshmi (Sneha) shares a good rapport with the youths, helping them in their time of need. Her encouragement puts a new zeal in James, who soon gains recognition as a singer. Not that this brings any change in the group's lifestyle, for J. Suresh still shows them as strugglers. James finally proposes to Lakshmi who rejects him, as she has her past to reckon with. She is a divorcee, her husband having abandoned her soon after marriage for his girlfriend. When Lakshmi's friend and neighbour Seetha (Aswini) puts some sense into her, she decides to make amends. But misunderstandings pile up between the lovers - the situations are all forced here - until J. Suresh leads the story to a desired happy ending.

The director J. Suresh initially approached Mani Ratnam to produce the film, but Mani Ratnam refused the script. He however introduced Suresh to Madhavan, who was signed on to play the lead role.[2] The film was initially titled as Sugham, whilst actress Sneha made her debut with the film after calling off schedules for her film, Virumbugiren.[3][4] Telugu comedian Venu Madhav also made his debut in Tamil films with the project. The film was shot across locations in Chennai, Ooty, Hyderabad and Gopichettipalayam and the filming was completed within 18 days.[2]

The film opened to predominantly negative reviews, with most critics agreeing that Madhavan had taken a wrong career move after the success of Alaipayuthey.[5][6] The Hindu critic revealed that the "reeks of melodrama bogs down even a natural performer like Madhavan".[7] In regard to performances it claimed that "for Madhavan, it is merely a prosaic exercise in melodrama" while the "new heroine Sneha could have shown more emotions and reactions in certain scene". Another reviewer drew particular criticism for the role of Thalaivasal Vijay, claiming it was "arguably the smallest role in his career".[8] The film subsequently did not perform well at the box office.[1]

• Ennavale at IMDb