# Kushi (குஷி) (2000 film)
**Kushi** (குஷி) is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film directed by [S. J. Suryah](https://www.edgepedia.org/s-j-suryah), starring Vijay and Jyothika as college friends whose love for each other is blocked by their own egos. It was released in theaters on 19 May 2000, produced by [A. M. Rathnam](https://www.edgepedia.org/a-m-rathnam) with music by Deva, and became a major commercial and critical success.[1](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/movies/kushi.html) • [2](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/movies/kushi/cast-crew.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 19 May 2000, Tamil language, U certification[1](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/movies/kushi.html) |
| Director / producer | S. J. Suryah (his second film as director, after *Vaali*); produced by A. M. Rathnam under Sri Surya Movies[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2023/may/19/23-years-of-vijay-jyothika-starrer-khushi-43638.html) • [6](https://www.maalaimalar.com/cinema/movie-review/kushi-164025) |
| Leads | Vijay as Shiva, Jyothika as Jennifer (Jenny)[12](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/kushi) |
| Music | Deva; soundtrack released 14 April 2000, running 35:23[4](https://wiki1.tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%B7%E0%AE%BF) |
| Runtime | 178 minutes (2h 58m) per IMDb; other listings give 2h 50m and 2h 49m[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361818/) • [12](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/kushi) • [13](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B7/umc.cmc.5xomwe0y9uripvm53qsx6ddwn?l=ta) |
| Remakes | Telugu (2001, Pawan Kalyan and Bhumika Chawla), Hindi (2003, Fardeen Khan and Kareena Kapoor), and Kannada as *Eno Onthara* (Ganesh and Priyamani)[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2023/may/19/23-years-of-vijay-jyothika-starrer-khushi-43638.html) |
| 25th-anniversary re-release | 25 September 2025, on more than 200 screens in Tamil Nadu[7](https://www.dinamani.com/cinema/cinema-news/2025/Sep/25/kushi-rereleased) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film follows Shiva and Jenny, who meet as children at a store and meet again years later when both take admission in the same college. They become good friends and help their friends Babu and Shanthi elope and marry. After a heated argument the two part ways; both realize they cannot live without each other, but their egos prevent them from expressing their feelings.[13](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B7/umc.cmc.5xomwe0y9uripvm53qsx6ddwn?l=ta) Indian trade summaries describe the same arc: two lovers ruled by ego keep quarreling without confessing their love until the end.[6](https://www.maalaimalar.com/cinema/movie-review/kushi-164025)
## Cast and production
Vijay and Jyothika play the leads, supported by Vivek in a comic role, Mumtaj, Vijayakumar, Nizhalgal Ravi, Janaki Sabesh, Rajan P. Dev, and Nagendra Prasad.[2](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/movies/kushi/cast-crew.html) • [10](https://www.tv9tamilnews.com/entertainment/actors-vijay-and-jyothika-starrer-film-kushi-movie-completed-25-years-today-8346.html) Actress Shilpa Shetty made a special appearance in the "Macarena" song.[10](https://www.tv9tamilnews.com/entertainment/actors-vijay-and-jyothika-starrer-film-kushi-movie-completed-25-years-today-8346.html)
Suryah made the film after his debut *Vaali* became a hit; producer A. M. Rathnam then gave him the opportunity to direct Kushi.[6](https://www.maalaimalar.com/cinema/movie-review/kushi-164025) Cinema Express identifies the cinematographer as Jeeva,[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2023/may/19/23-years-of-vijay-jyothika-starrer-khushi-43638.html) while Hindu Tamil Today's retrospective names [P. C. Sreeram](https://www.edgepedia.org/p-c-sreeram) as the cinematographer.[8](https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/555259-deva-interview-about-kushi-songs.html)
## Music
Deva composed the soundtrack, released on 14 April 2000 with a total length of 35:23 through the labels 5 Star Audio and RPG Music.[4](https://wiki1.tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%B7%E0%AE%BF) Singers on the album include Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, Harini, and [Anuradha Sriram](https://www.edgepedia.org/anuradha-sriram), with lyrics by [Vairamuthu](https://www.edgepedia.org/vairamuthu).[8](https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/555259-deva-interview-about-kushi-songs.html) In a 2020 interview marking twenty years since release, [Deva](https://www.edgepedia.org/deva-composer) called the film a milestone of his career and said it helped break his image as a gaana composer.[8](https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/555259-deva-interview-about-kushi-songs.html) The song "Kattipudi Kattipudida" was, according to Suryah, inspired by the older song "Senthamil Thenmozhiyal"; he asked Deva for a track in that style.[9](https://tamil.webdunia.com/tamil-cinema-news-movie-film/sj-suryah-talked-about-kattipudi-song-in-re-release-event-125092200041_1.html?amp=1) Trade coverage describes all the songs as hits.[6](https://www.maalaimalar.com/cinema/movie-review/kushi-164025)
## Reception and remakes
The film was well received both commercially and critically, and it is regarded as a turning point in Vijay's film market.[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2023/may/19/23-years-of-vijay-jyothika-starrer-khushi-43638.html) • [6](https://www.maalaimalar.com/cinema/movie-review/kushi-164025) Jyothika won the [Filmfare Award for Best Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-award-for-best-actress) in Tamil and a Cinema Express award for her performance.[4](https://wiki1.tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%B7%E0%AE%BF) On IMDb the film holds a rating of 7.9 out of 10 from about 7,100 votes.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361818/)
Kushi was remade into multiple languages, with most versions also becoming blockbusters: Suryah directed the Telugu version (2001) with [Pawan Kalyan](https://www.edgepedia.org/pawan-kalyan) and [Bhumika Chawla](https://www.edgepedia.org/bhumika-chawla) and the Hindi version (2003) with [Fardeen Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/fardeen-khan) and Kareena Kapoor, both titled *Kushi*, while the Kannada version was titled *Eno Onthara* and starred Ganesh and Priyamani.[3](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2023/may/19/23-years-of-vijay-jyothika-starrer-khushi-43638.html) • [14](https://tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%8E%E0%AE%B8%E0%AF%8D._%E0%AE%9C%E0%AF%87._%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%82%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%BE)
## Later availability and 2025 re-release
The film streams in India on Amazon Prime Video and the AP International South Cinema Amazon Channel.[11](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/kushi) After completing twenty-five years, it was re-released on 25 September 2025 by Sakthi Film Factory, the same company that had released the re-release of Vijay's *Ghilli*. Dinamani reported the re-release on more than 200 screens in [Tamil Nadu](https://www.edgepedia.org/tamil-nadu),[7](https://www.dinamani.com/cinema/cinema-news/2025/Sep/25/kushi-rereleased) while Maalai Malar reported more than 263 theaters, with first-day pre-booking collections of ₹3.5 million (₹35 lakh) reported.[6](https://www.maalaimalar.com/cinema/movie-review/kushi-164025) Suryah released the re-release trailer at a press meet and noted that the film followed the successful re-releases of *Ghilli* and *Sachin*.[9](https://tamil.webdunia.com/tamil-cinema-news-movie-film/sj-suryah-talked-about-kattipudi-song-in-re-release-event-125092200041_1.html?amp=1)
## References
1. [Kushi (2000) Movie, Filmibeat Tamil](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/movies/kushi.html)
2. [Kushi Cast & Crew Details, Filmibeat Tamil](https://tamil.filmibeat.com/movies/kushi/cast-crew.html)
3. [Kushi turns 23: Fans celebrate the milestone of the SJ Suryah film, Cinema Express](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/tamil/news/2023/may/19/23-years-of-vijay-jyothika-starrer-khushi-43638.html)
4. [குஷி (திரைப்படம்), தமிழர்விக்கி](https://wiki1.tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%95%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%B7%E0%AE%BF)
5. [Kushi (2000), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361818/)
6. [Kushi re-release coverage, Maalai Malar](https://www.maalaimalar.com/cinema/movie-review/kushi-164025)
7. [200 திரைகளில் மறுவெளியீடான குஷி!, Dinamani](https://www.dinamani.com/cinema/cinema-news/2025/Sep/25/kushi-rereleased)
8. ['குஷி' பாடல்கள் உருவான விதம்: இசையமைப்பாளர் தேவா பகிர்வு, Hindu Tamil Today](https://www.hindutamil.in/news/cinema/tamil-cinema/555259-deva-interview-about-kushi-songs.html)
9. [கட்டிப்புடி பாடல் ரகசியம் பகிர்ந்த எஸ் ஜே சூர்யா, Webdunia Tamil](https://tamil.webdunia.com/tamil-cinema-news-movie-film/sj-suryah-talked-about-kattipudi-song-in-re-release-event-125092200041_1.html?amp=1)
10. [25 வருடங்களை கடந்தது குஷி படம், TV9 Tamil News](https://www.tv9tamilnews.com/entertainment/actors-vijay-and-jyothika-starrer-film-kushi-movie-completed-25-years-today-8346.html)
11. [Kushi streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/kushi)
12. [Kushi, Rotten Tomatoes](https://static.rottentomatoes.com/m/kushi)
13. [குஷி, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/%E0%AE%95%E0%AE%B7/umc.cmc.5xomwe0y9uripvm53qsx6ddwn?l=ta)
14. [எஸ். ஜே. சூர்யா, தமிழர்விக்கி](https://tamilar.wiki/w/%E0%AE%8E%E0%AE%B8%E0%AF%8D._%E0%AE%9C%E0%AF%87._%E0%AE%9A%E0%AF%82%E0%AE%B0%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%BE)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Tamil films of the 2000s › Tamil films of the early 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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