Vaalee is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language psychological romantic thriller film written and directed by S. J. Suryah in his directorial debut.

Suryah completed the script for Vaalee in 60 days, and the project was picked up for production by S. S. Chakravarthy of NIC Arts.

Some of the methods Deva uses to woo Priya are masochistic (wounding his hand by the running car engine to stop the couple's wedding night) and psychotic (repeated attempts to murder his brother).

Ajith asked Suryah to prepare a good script and promised he would give him a chance to make his directorial debut.

After Suryah completed the script of Vaalee in 60 days, the pair approached S. S. Chakravarthy to produce the film.

[11] Jyothika, sister of actress Nagma, made her Tamil debut in the film as an imaginary character, Sona.

[12] She said she was initially offered the female lead role, but declined due to scheduling conflicts with Doli Saja Ke Rakhna (1998).

[2][15] Ajith mentioned that Vaalee "was very close to my heart and I gave it everything I had", adding that he had initially received widespread negative publicity and scepticism for doing a dual role too early in his career.

[16] The scene where one of Ajith's characters answers a phone call was shot at a bungalow in Boat Club Road, Chennai.

[30] Lakshmi of Deccan Herald described the film as "definitely worth seeing", saying it "has something for all tastes – a pleasant love angle, some suspense, complex psychological nuances, good acting, pleasing songs" while praising Ajith's performance.

[31] The New Indian Express labelled Simran's portrayal as "outstanding" while mentioning Suryah does a "fairly good job and succeeds".

[32] K. P. S. of Kalki appreciated Deva's music, the performances of Ajith and Simran, and Jeeva's cinematography, adding that Suryah's future as a director seemed bright.

[3] K. N. Vijiyan of New Straits Times wrote, "It is amazing what fresh ideas new directors can come out with [...] Using a simple story, Suryah has come out with a winner".

[34] D. S. Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "Rich production values, fine performances by Ajit Kumar (playing the dual role of brothers) and Simran, bold and powerful dialogue by S. J. Surya, who has directed the movie based on his story and screenplay, are the major contributing factor[s]" in the film.

In response, Suryah attempted to block Chakravarthy from selling the remake rights by filing a case to the Madras High Court, but his plea was rejected.