Sweetheart!
| Sweetheart! | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Swineeth S. Sukumar |
| Written by | Swineeth S. Sukumar |
| Produced by | Yuvan Shankar Raja |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Balaji Subramanyam |
| Edited by | Tamil Arasan |
| Music by | Yuvan Shankar Raja |
Production company | YSR Films |
| Distributed by | Five Star K. Senthil |
Release date |
|
Running time | 144 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹5 crore |
| Box office | ₹1.2 crore[1] |
Sweetheart! is an 2025 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film[2] written and directed by Swineeth S. Sukumar in his directorial debut, starring Rio Raj and Gopika Ramesh in the lead roles, alongside Renji Panicker, Redin Kingsley, Arunachaleswaran Pa, Tulasi, Fouziee, Suresh Chakravarthy and others in supporting roles. The film has music composed and produced by Yuvan Shankar Raja under his YSR Films banner.
Sweetheart! released in theatres on 14 March 2025.[3] The film received mixed reviews from critics flop at box office although the lead cast's performance was praised.
Synopsis
[edit]Vasu and Manu are lovers who meet at a concert and get into a relationship. But given their difference of opinions when it comes to commitment, they part ways. In between all this, Manu is grounded after her family catches her along with Vasu in an intimate circumstance. But what happens when she makes a call to Vasu to tell her that she is pregnant and cannot step out of the house due to her strict household?
Cast
[edit]- Rio Raj as Vasu
- Gopika Ramesh as Manu
- Renji Panicker as Manu's father
- Redin Kingsley
- Arunachaleswaran Pa as Vasu's friend
- Tulasi as Vasu's mother
- Kavitha as Manu's aunt
- Fouziee as Manu's friend
- Suresh Chakravarthy as Manu's uncle
- Aashik Gopinath as Manu's fiancee
- Reshmi Karthigeyan as Vasu's sister
- Yuvan Shankar Raja in a cameo appearance
Production
[edit]In late-July 2024, Yuvan Shankar Raja announced his fourth production venture after Pyaar Prema Kaadhal (2018), Maamanithan (2022) and Pon Ondru Kanden (2024) titled Sweetheart under YSR Films banner.[4][5] The contemporary love film is written and directed by debutant Swineeth S. Sukumar,[6] starring Rio Raj and Gopika Ramesh in the lead roles,[7] alongside Renji Panicker in his Tamil debut.[8] The film also stars Redin Kingsley, Arunachaleswaran Pa, Tulasi, Fouziee, Suresh Chakravarthy and others in important roles.[9] The technical team consists of the film's producer Yuvan Shankar Raja to score the music and Balaji Subramanyam to handle the cinematography, and Tamil Arasan in charge of the editing.[10]
On 6 August 2024, it was announced that Rio had begun dubbing for his portions.[11]
Music
[edit]| Sweetheart! | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Label | Think Music | |||
| Producer | Yuvan Shankar Raja | |||
| Yuvan Shankar Raja chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Sweetheart! | ||||
| ||||
| External audio | |
|---|---|
 Sweetheart - Jukebox on YouTube |
The film has music and background composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja.[12] The first single "Awsum Kissa" released on 11 February 2025.[13] The second single "Kadhavai Thirandhaye" released on 24 February 2025.[14]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Paint Ball" | MC Sanna | MC Sanna | |
| 2. | "Amma Song" | Rio Raj | Yuvan Shankar Raja, Sai Vignesh | |
| 3. | "Kadhavai Thirandhaye" | Madhan Karky | Yuvan Shankar Raja, Sinduri Vishal | |
| 4. | "Awsum Kissa" | Kelithee, Gana Francis | Yuvan Shankar Raja, OfRo | |
| 5. | "Oruthi" | Vignesh Ramakrishna | Yuvan Shankar Raja, Adithya RK | |
| 6. | "Kadhal Adhu Poi" | Arivu | Yuvan Shankar Raja | |
| 7. | "Torture Pro Max" | Arivu | Yuvan Shankar Raja, Arivu, Tanvi Shah |
Release
[edit]Theatrical
[edit]Sweetheart! released in theatres on 14 March 2025.[15] The film received a 'U/A' certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification.[16]
Reception
[edit]Critical response
[edit]Sweetheart! received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the lead cast's performance.
Abhinav Subramanian of The Times of India gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Director Swineeth S. Kumar seems allergic to narrative economy, transforming what should be straightforward plot points into marathon sequences. [...] Sweetheart promises more than it delivers, like a beautifully wrapped gift box containing socks. A rom-com that forgot the com and misplaced the rom."[17] Anusha Sundar of OTTPlay gave 2/5 stars and wrote "There is a visible attempt in Sweetheart to make it a film that works for today’s times and romance. It does want to be that progressive film about complicated romances where the lovers themselves form their obstacles. But when it comes down to the last-minute silliness as a solution to the chaos it created, Sweetheart becomes sour."[18] Sreejith Mullappilly of Cinema Express gave 2/5 stars and wrote "Sweetheart! tries to make up for its flaws with a screenplay structure that reveals information intermittently—almost like a nonlinear structure. The narrative tries to make the film look smart and profound, but the deeper you look at it, the more hollow it appears."[19]
References
[edit]- ^ "Sweetheart! Box Office Collection day 2 & 3, hit or flop?". The Top India. 15 March 2025.
- ^ "I'm happy that Yuvan sir is returning to romcom zone with my film, says Rio Raj". The Times of India. 28 November 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 6 December 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ மலர், மாலை (6 February 2025). "ரியோ நடித்த SweetHeart படத்தின் ரிலீஸ் தேதி அறிவிப்பு | Rio starrer SweetHeart release date announced". www.maalaimalar.com (in Tamil). Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ "Yuvan Shankar Raja announces his next titled 'Sweetheart' starring Rio Raj". The Times of India. 29 July 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ Features, C. E. (28 July 2024). "Yuvan Shankar Raja's next production venture announced". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ "Yuvan Shankar Raja to produce 'Sweetheart!' starring Rio Raj; promo video out". The Hindu. 28 July 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 5 January 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ "First look of Rio Raj & Gopika Ramesh-starrer 'Sweetheart'". The Times of India. 27 November 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 25 December 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ Kumar, Akshay (27 February 2025). "Sweetheart trailer to be out on this date". Cinema Express. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
- ^ B, Jayabhuvaneshwari (27 November 2024). "Firstlook of Rio Raj's Sweetheart out". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 2 January 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ "Sweetheart's first look promises a rom-com". www.dtnext.in. 27 November 2024. Archived from the original on 28 November 2024. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ "Rio Raj starts dubbing for 'Sweetheart'". The Times of India. 6 August 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ மலர், மாலை (10 February 2025). "ரியோ ராஜ் நடித்த `ஸ்வீட்ஹார்ட்' படத்தின் ஃபர்ஸ்ட் சிங்கிள் நாளை வெளியீடு | The first single of Rio Raj's film `Sweetheart' to be released tomorrow". www.maalaimalar.com (in Tamil). Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ Features, C. E. (12 February 2025). "'Awsum Kissa' song from Rio Raj's Sweetheart is a dope track". Cinema Express. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ Kumar, Akshay (24 February 2025). "'Kadhavai Thirandhaye' from Rio Raj-Gopika's Sweetheart drops". Cinema Express. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ Mullappilly, Sreejith (5 February 2025). "Rio Raj starrer Sweetheart! gets release date". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 6 February 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ Kumar, Akshay (13 March 2025). "Rio Raj's Sweetheart clears censorship formalities". Cinema Express. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
- ^ "Sweetheart! Movie Review : Too many flashbacks, too little direction". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
- ^ "Sweetheart Movie Review: A heartbreakingly sour take on modern romance". OTTPlay. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
- ^ Mullappilly, Sreejith (14 March 2025). "Sweetheart! Movie Review: Impregnated with cliches and convenient writing". Cinema Express. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
External links
[edit]- Sweetheart! at IMDb