Roja

Roja (English: Rose) is a 1992 Indian Tamil romantic thriller film co-written and directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars Arvind Swamy and Madhoo in the lead roles. The film was subsequently dubbed in Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam and Telugu languages.

The film won three National Film Awards, including Best Film on National Integration, catapulting Ratnam to national acclaim. The film also gained international acclaim with its nomination for Best Film at the 18th Moscow International Film Festival. The film was later re-released for international audiences in light of the growing fear of terrorist attacks across the world. It is the first in Ratnam's trilogy of films that depict human relationships against a background of Indian politics, including Bombay (1995) and Dil Se.. (1998).

The film's successful and acclaimed score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman, who debuted as a film composer with this film. He won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction, Filmfare Award for Best Music Director - Tamil and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Music Director for his work in his debut film. This soundtrack is among the "10 Best Soundtracks" of all time listed by TIME magazine, issued in 2005.

Roja (soundtrack)

Roja is the soundtrack album to the 1992 Tamil film of the same name, directed by Mani Ratnam, starring Aravind Swamy and Madhoo. Released on Lahari Music, it was the debut work of music composer A. R. Rahman, featuring originally lyrics by Vairamuthu. Roja is considered a milestone in Tamil and Indian film music that heralded the start of a new era. It was also listed in Time magazine's "10 Best Soundtracks" of all time.

Background

Mani Ratnam after his long relationship with Ilaiyaraaja, decided to drop him and introduce a newcomer. He happened to listen to some ad jingles, composed by Rahman, in an awards function, where Rahman received the award for Best Jingle Composer. Impressed with Rahman's works, Ratnam visited his studio and listened to a tune that Rahman had composed long back on the Kaveri River water dispute (later revealed to be "Tamizha Tamizha" from the soundtrack). Ratnam signed him immediately for his next project, Roja, which was the first one in his terrorism trilogy. Rahman, in spite of his reluctance to seriously take up work in films, accepted the offer since Ratnam had the reputation of a director with a good taste for music. Rahman would later say: "I wasn't sure myself why I accepted Roja. I was offered Rs 25,000 for it, a sum that I could make in three days composing ad jingles. I think it was the prospect of working with Mani that enticed me".

Roja (actress)

Roja Selvamani (born Latha Reddy; 17 November 1972) is a South Indian actress and politician. She currently aligns with the YSR Congress party and won as MLA from Nagiri in 2014 general elections.

Early life

Roja was born as Sree Latha in 1972 to Nagaraja Reddy and Lalitha in near Bhakarapeta, Chithoor district, Andhra Pradesh. She was the only girl child with two brothers Kumarasamy and Ramaprasad. Later, the family moved to Hyderabad. She did her Bachelor Degree in Political Science from sri padmavathi university. Roja learnt Kuchipudi and was performing dance before she entered films.

Career

Film career

Roja entered the cinema industry with Telugu films. Her first movie was Prema Thapassu with Rajendra Prasad where the complete movie was shot in Tirupati.

She was introduced to the Tamil film industry by director R.K. Selvamani with Chembaruthi along with actor Prashanth. The movie was a hit and paved way for role in another success, Suriyan with Sarath Kumar. Both the films established her in Tamil cinema. She became popular with songs such as "Veloor Maman" in the film Makkal Aatchi with Mammootty and "Mastana Mastana" in Raasaiyya with Prabhu Deva. Her performance in films with actors such as Rajnikanth in Veera, and Arjun Sarja in Ayudha Poojai were praised. Roja's major career breakthrough was in the film Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen, directed by Vikraman. Her 100th movie was Pottu Amman. Roja later appeared in supporting roles in films like Arasu (2001), Parijatham (2006), Kaavalan (2011) and Saguni (2012).