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August 27, 2024

Vetrimaaran Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Children, Family, Caste, Wiki & More

Updated On : October 7, 2019

Vetrimaaran

Film director.

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Vetrimaaran popularity on social media, short biography.

National Award Winner, Ace Tamil Film Director, Vetrimaaran was born on 4th September 1975 in a small town called Cuddalore in Tamilnadu, India. The Grim Movie maker has made India proud with his Film Visaranai becoming the official entry at Oscars in Foreign Film Category.

Vetrimaaran Complete Bio & Career

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Vetrimaaran Family, Relatives and Other Relations

He was born to Dr. V. Chitravel and Megala Chitravel . Vetrimaaran is married to Aarthi who is working as a General Manager in a Multinational company. The couple is blessed with 2 children including a daughter named Poonthendral .

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Shocking / Interesting Facts & Secrets About Vetrimaaran

• After Asuran, he will be shooting for a movie based on Kota Neelima's much acclaimed novel 'Shoes Of The Dead' . He announced this film in 2016 but is yet to start shooting.
• Vetrimaaran also launched his own production house called the Grass Root Film Company in the year 2012.
• He is someone who believes in quality rather than quantity as he has directed just 5 films thus far in his 12 years long career.

Vetrimaaran Age, Birthday Facts and Birthday Countdown

48 years, 11months, 23 days old age Vetrimaaran will turn 49 on 04 September, 2024. Only 7 days, 2 hours,35 minutes has left for his next birthday.

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Every Vetrimaaran Movie Ranked and Where to Watch Them

Published on.

Shaurya Singh Thapa

Official JustWatch writer

Known for his gritty crime dramas, underdog heroes, and numerous collaborations with actor Dhanush , Vetrimaaran has established himself as one of Tamil film industry’s leading directors.

If you wish to know more about the Asuran and Vidhuthalai director’s filmography, we have got you covered with a complete streaming guide that leads you to all of Vetrimaaran’s movies and information you need on where to stream them online.

Which Vetrimaaran movies should I watch first? 

The best way to watch Vetrimaaran’s movies is in the same order as their release date, as this sequence would show how the director has only improved in his craft with every passing movie. Vetrimaaran made his directorial debut in 2007 with the action thriller Polladhavan . Dhanush played the lead character, a man whose fate changes after he buys a bike and later gets it stolen. Opening to rave reviews for Dhanush’s acting and Vetrimaaran’s directing, the movie spawned numerous remakes in other languages and popularised the Bajaj Pulsar (the bike featured in the movie) among Tamil youths.

The director and actor joined forces again for the drama Aadukalam . The 2011 hit found Dhanush’s protagonist embroiled in an unattainable romance and a rooster-fighting business. The movie earned Vetrimaaran a National Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay.

While Vetrimaaran’s first two movies addressed social themes like an economic class divide, his political themes got more evident in his third film: a police thriller titled Visaranai (also released as Interrogation). The gruelling social drama revolves around the fates of two men who are forced to confess to a crime after they are locked up by the cops. The film won a National Award for Best Tamil Film and also opened much debate and discourse over the ethics of the police force in Tamil Nadu.

Visaranai’s success opened the avenues for more ambitious projects like the period gangster epic Vada Chennai , yet again starring regular collaborator Dhanush. The movie charts an underdog’s journey between rival criminal factions in a fishing community in ‘70s-era South Chennai. Vada Chennai ended on a nail biting cliffhanger, teasing the possibility of a sequel that fans still await.

With Dhanush already starring in several anti-caste dramas, Vetrimaaran cast him again in Asuran. Addressing the oppression faced by marginalised castes, Asuran starred Dhanush as a hot-headed lower-caste youth who kills an oppressive upper-caste landlord. The ensuing chaos made for a violent, powerful, and relevant watch. As is the case with many Vetrimaaran films, Asuran also earned the National Award for Best Tamil Film. 

Why is Vidhuthalai Part 1 Vetrimaaran’s best movie to watch? 

Intending to direct a two-part saga next, Vetrimaaran directed Vidhuthalai Part 1 . Set in the 1980s and inspired by real-life politics of the era, Viduthalai explores the conflict between the police and a separatist group. However, neither side is good or bad as Vetrimaaran’s story explores the morally grey areas of the policemen and their atrocities as well. Boasting impressive performances by Vijay Sethupathi and Soori, Vidhuthalai is a gripping political thriller.

Where can I watch the best Vetrimaaran movies online? 

Below you can find the latest streaming information for every Vetrimaaran movie. This includes every offer for viewers in India today.

Viduthalai: Part I

Kumaresan, a police constable, gets recruited for an operation implanted to capture Perumal Vaathiyar, who leads a separatist group dedicated to fighting against the authorities for committing atrocities against innocent village women in the name of police interrogations.

Vada Chennai

A young carrom player in North Chennai becomes a reluctant participant in a war between two feuding gangsters.

The teenage son of a farmer from an underprivileged caste kills a rich, upper caste landlord. How the pacifist farmer saves his hot-blooded son is the rest of the story.

Pandi and his friends, immigrant workers in Andhra Pradesh, are picked up by cops for a crime they never committed. And thus begins their nightmare, where they become pawns in a vicious game where the voiceless are strangled by those with power.

Pettaikaaran is famous in his town for an impeccable track record of successes in rooster fights. When one of his aides, Karuppu, goes against his word in a fight, it leads to an enmity between them.

Polladhavan

Prabhu is dejected when he learns that his bike has been stolen. He decides to find the people who stole the bike, but lands in trouble when he realises that his bike has been used to transport drugs.

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Ranking Vetrimaaran Films — From Polladhavan to Viduthalai Part 1

Ranking Vetrimaaran’s films — excluding the short films he made — can feel like picking a winner from a competition of despair. And yet, because of the artistry, his films end up challenging his own filmography; building on his flaws, adopting newer visual languages to express older tropes of a violent world. 

Beginning with Polladhavan (2007), his films increasingly hold you in a brusque, violent, and breathless chokehold. Visaranai (2016), his third and most celebrated film, which was even sent to the Academy Awards as India’s nomination, is best described as a relentless marathon of brutality. Every time you think the film has let go, like steam released from a pressure cooker, the plot tightens into lashings and screams.

That none of this violence feels gratuitous is because of how normal violence feels in the world Vetrimaaran creates on screen. When characters die, they just do. When they are violated, they just are. Is this violence repetitive? Yes. But does it feel repetitive? No, because his films are not hinged on stylized violence. He doesn’t need to find innovative ways to stage it, since his films are about the contexts in which violence begins to feel like an everyday phenomenon — brutal but, like air, everywhere. It is these contexts that keep changing — from Madurai to Vada Chennai (North Chennai), Andhra Pradesh to the forested hills of Tamil Nadu — and the violence remains unsettlingly natural to all of them. 

6) Polladhavan (2007)

The opening credit of “non-linear editor”, the voiceover narration, and the opening shot yanking you into a flashback in Polladhavan — Vetrimaaran’s debut film is preoccupied with time flipping over itself, bending, contorting, staring at a bloody present and then tracing backwards to how we reached this bloodbath. The film follows the fallout after its happy-go-lucky protagonist Prabhu (Dhanush) loses his bike, and comes in contact with first an insecure underworld and then the inefficient blackhole of the police station.  There is a visual recklessness, almost a disenchantment with stillness in the film. When the image does become still, it is usually like a jerk — either a photograph or a forceful pausing of the frame. Here is a director who refuses to be bound by conventional framing and narrative. He will bung in two narrative voiceovers — what Preston Sturgess called “narratage”. He will place the camera between two vessels on the gas, the foreground of coffee being flipped from tumbler to tumbler, with Prabhu entering from behind. 

Polladhavan is dated in the sense that you see a director struggling with his style and the template that he wants to both tap into and wreck open — the grating dream songs of love and amorous celebration in a disco, for example. Vetrimaaran himself said in an interview with Film Companion , “From Polladhavan , I learnt I should never make a film like that.”

5) Aadukalam (2011) 

We begin in the present, but return to it only in the last half hour of this film. Karuppu (Dhanush) is a masterful cockfighter, but the Othello-like machinations of jealousy lead his mentor (played by V.I.S. Jayapalan) to exact violence by slowly chipping away at Karuppu’s reputation through gossip and cross-speak. And yet, as Karuppu’s fortunes balloon, his love for his mentor is never challenged. His mentor’s rejection of him never translates to Karuppu’s resentment. It is the kind of mythological devotion Ekalavya showered on Drona — one incapable of rancour. Blind love, as director Vetrimaaran notes in an interview with Film Companion , can be most dangerous.

The “centrepiece” — where Karuppu has to make his cock fight, not once, but thrice in the dust-flung competition,— is a grunting, unending tapestry of tension. It cemented Vetrimaaran as a director with a vision that drew from the well of Cine Madurai violence while cutting against it, stamping his distinct visual style, his trademark panting exposition in the beginning and his casual irreverence towards heroism. In the first “action scene” Karuppu is given, the camera is static, staring at the fight like a spectator, watching as Dhanush’s lithe frame tries to pummel the goons.

Aadukalam ends with Karuppu escaping the scene with his Anglo-Indian lover (Taapsee Pannu), not wanting to explain himself to those who have misunderstood  him or been manipulated into believing incorrect things about him. It’s a rare, mature narrative closing that shows a protagonist who is okay being thought of as wrong, even though he was wronged. If that means keeping the memory of his mentor — who orchestrated the manipulation — unsullied, so be it. 

4) Visaranai (2015)

Visaranai felt like an aesthetic sharp-turn for Vetrimaaran, showing us that as a director, he is capable of patient storytelling, linear storylines; neat, spare flashbacks, that unfold at the pace of life, without sizzling it up or slurring it down. The only throbbing background score in the film is that of ominous rain and crickets.

Perhaps, because the film is based on events that are true and shocking, Visaranai looks as though it is “captured” and not “shot” as a film (look at these violent words used to describe cinema). It does not even have that “centrepiece” moment of bloodshed that Vetrimaaran usually places carefully somewhere in the middle. It does not need it. The film, based on accounts of police custodial violence — first in Andhra Pradesh to poor Tamil Nadu migrants, then in Tamil Nadu to a white collar auditor — yanked from M. Chandrakumar’s novel Lock Up , is brimming with blood. The centrepiece, if anything, is that moment of quiet, of silence, of hope, that comes in little snatches before it is pulled away. 

The cinematic virtue of this film is its relentless violence which never feels gratuitous. What differentiates one from another? Here is violence treated as life — without drama, without emphasis. A rare restraint that nonetheless produces horror unlike in another film — by Vetrimaaran or anyone else. 

3) Vada Chennai (2018)

With Vada Chennai , Vetrimaaran returns to the titular North Chennai where he shot his debut film. This time, however, there is more blood, more history, and more politics, and a richer, denser world full of human foibles and fumbles. The detailing is more vivid — like prisoners snorting lizard tails to get high. The violence is more structural — it telescopes its attention on a neighbourhood over time, not a group of friends like in Visaranai .  

Like Aadukalam , Vada Chennai starts with bloodshed, which it returns to in the last half-hour. Unlike Aadukalam, this structure feels perfunctory, because the beginning is almost forgotten in the blitzkrieg of rat-a-tat action centred around Anbu (Dhanush), a sincere carrom player, who gets caught in the crossfire of a gang war that he further curdles and erupts. 

This is a hypnotic movie, moving across time, back and forth, sometimes a flashback within a flashback. If you pause the film, turn and ask what year the events are taking place, it takes a moment because of how much is churning in the story. The death of M.G. Ramachandran and Rajiv Gandhi are used as temporal walking sticks to help us wade through the film. The original cut for Vada Chennai was 5.5 hours long, and the reason we feel scenes end abruptly with moments often collapsing as they begin, is because of the unsparing edit to bring it down to 2.5 hours. The action, the relentless throw of context, dialogue, and exposition, keeps you afloat, as though you were being swept away in an furiously rushing river. 

What sets Vada Chennai apart is not just Anbu as an ambivalent hero who is swept into heroism by circumstances, but a hero who is unsure of who is right and who is wrong. He expresses this moral dilemma to his wife in a moving scene. There is a sense that if this film was narrated from another perspective, it might easily flip the moral labels we have slapped on characters. That a film allows its characters this latitude is a triumph of an expanded, exploded imagination — both moral and literary. 

2) Asuran (2019)

Both Vada Chennai and Asuran are, perhaps, the most cinematic of Vetrimaaran’s films — with a slow-motion pay-off that belongs to the masala template, lodged comfortably alongside the various Vetrimaaran-isms. Both insert their intermission after a rousing action sequence that disarms you with its style and emotional punch. However, while Vada Chennai is impatient in its storytelling — by narrative design and editorial desperation — Asuran digs deeper. 

The first shot of the film, of a moon among milky clouds, crumples when feet are placed over it — we realise that we were seeing a reflection of the moon over still water, which is now being trampled over by escaping feet, that of Sivasaami (Dhanush) and his son Chidambaram (Ken Karunas). Chidambaram has just hacked the man who murdered his elder brother — an act of vengeance that dislocates his family, who are now fugitives. 

Asuran perfects a lot of Vetrimaaran’s pursuits — the mass film without the mass conventions. There is no hero entry scene. There is, instead, the intermission block. There is no hip dangling love. There is, instead, trauma and affection. Humour does not exist, distilled in the form of a separate character, like a court jester. It is baked into the exchanges. There is no beauty, no polish. There is a harsh abruptness with which scenes transition. And yet, Asuran has packed in it the most potent scenes of grief and redemptive violence. It is Vetrimaaran allowing his films to char your heart, not just your senses. The second half gives the origin for Sivasaami’s docile nature, one that he has arrived at after a youth of bloodshed that left him orphaned and without love. This mirroring of the two halves is another beautiful Vetrimaaran-ism — from the slippers, to the heroism, to the tragedy that culminates in an escape. It is easy to dismiss this film as templated, but there is a reason templates have survived the onslaught of genre, taste, and time shifts. That it is predictable does not take away from what an artist can do with and within that predictability. Asuran is Vetrimaaran’s most emotionally staining — not draining, but staining — film; its violence lingering as hurt, not horror. 

1) Viduthalai Part 1 (2023)

In one sense, Viduthalai is the culminating artistic collaboration between Vetrimaaran and cinematographer Velraj, who has lensed all of Vetrimaaran’s films except Visaranai . The opening shot of around 10 minutes takes us, in one sweeping, single take, through the debris of a train bombing. The sheer audacity of the scene, the lubricated ease with which the camera slides, both vertically and horizontally, sets the stage for Kumeresan (Soori), a kind-hearted police officer who has been sent to the forested hills as part of a police force that is trying to weed out an extremist group. It invokes awe while depicting horror. The dense prologue, the unfussy heroism of Vetrimaaran are both here. The politics is just as long winded and stiff — like how Vada Chennai questioned development, here, too, the story hinges on how the state uses development as a cover for profiteering; the police, here, too, are brutal beasts. Love comes as a reprieve — both to the character and the narrative. 

But what marks Viduthalai apart is how it makes violence seem so routine, Vetrimaaran isn’t even interested in sharpening it. There is a blunt relentlessness to it. It is not that the director can’t show violence that whips our moral sense of the world. It’s just impossible to fixate and linger on violence the way he did in the previous films. In Visaranai what was happening to a group of friends, in Asuran what was happening to a family, is, in Viduthalai happening to a whole movement of people. Vetrimaaran employs a disenchanted cutting away from these moments before their full impact is even felt, for the impact is not in its festering but in its unrelentingness.

If you notice closely, these rankings are in the order of Vetrimaaran’s filmography, suggesting that, at least artistically, he seems to be streamlining ahead, a swift, sure motion away from where he first began. 

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Every Vetrimaaran Film Ranked and Where to Stream Them

Tamil filmmakerVetrimaaran belongs to a breed of directors whose taut scripts, apt casting, and realistic storyline treatment have fundamentally changed the very nature of mainstream filmmaking. Vetrimaaran films are made for a multicultural audience and backed by the strength of their storytelling and sculpted dialogue, which has reinvigorated the art of popular cinema with a breath of fresh air.

Each film is imbued with a powerful, coherent aesthetic that guides viewers through a dark matrix. At its best, it augments a captivating narrative and sinks viewers into a world of rural and urban Tamil Nadu social realism. The reality that’s depicted is populated with more fallible and life-like characters. The cinema of the carnivalesque, with its larger-than-life characters, melodramatic orientation, and highly romanticized canvas, is something that does not whet his appetite for creativity.

With a filmography of six features and one short film as a director, he has earned his reputation as one of the most accessible filmmakers of the last decade. His style flourishes in a deliberate, soothing rhythm, creating an atmosphere rich with realistic undertones. While some viewers may find his films brutally intense and emotionally jarring, they are also unexpectedly heartwarming, offering moments of surprising tenderness amidst their ruthless depictions.

6. Polladhavan (2007)

Vetrimaaran’s debut feature film opens with a gruesome and brutal fighting sequence. Then, using flashback, the filmmaker takes us into the dynamic world of contemporary Chennai, where an educated young man, Prabhu ( Dhanush ), fights injustice and, in the process, is forced to unleash the animal within him.

Also, Read: Every Sriram Raghavan Film Ranked

The protagonist is an unemployed youth who confronts his father (Murali), and an argument regarding the responsibilities of parents towards their offspring ensues. As a result of this conflict, Prabhu gets a hefty amount from his father, and he uses the money to purchase a Bajaj Pulsar bike. This appears to be a wise investment because owning the vehicle enables him to get a job and earn respect in society. But the situation takes a drastic turn when a gang of anti-socials steals his bike. After that, the film presents the viewers with the transformation of resilience into power and its hold over the life of an individual’s struggle to maintain his position in the harsh reality of everyday life.

The plot of the film has similarities with Wang Xiaoshuai’s Bejing Bicycle (2001). But the well-worked-out mise-en-scenes of “Polladhavan” make it an entertaining tale of a casual, urban, carefree person’s conversion into a person of genuine worth and true dignity. “Polladhavan” was remade in Kannada as “Punda,” in Telugu as “Kurradu” starring Varun Sandesh, in Sinhala as “Pravegeya,” in Bengali as “Borbaad” (2014), and in Hindi as “Guns of Banaras” (2020). However, none of them could achieve the excellence earned by the original version.

Where to Watch:

5. aadukalam (2011).

As the roosters combat in the arena with each other, it becomes a fight of the egos of the individuals who own the fowl. So, when Karuppu’s rooster emerges victorious, he not only earns a lot of money but also the enmity of his bosses, Periyasamy (V. I. S. Jayapalan) and Rathnasamy (Naren). From then onwards, the life of our protagonist will be filled with one hurdle after another as the tale of loyalty, self-esteem, deception, and honor unfolds.

Related Read to Vetrimaaran Films: 10 Great Tamil Movies You Can Stream On Netflix Right Now

In his sophomore venture, Vetrimaaran presents a varied cultural pattern of rural Tamil Nadu. He uses realism, tradition, and contemporaneity, soaked in local flavor within the narrative structure of his tightly structured screenplay. The conflicts introduced within the plot points create tension by employing smart conventions that are able to sustain the viewer’s anticipation. The film’s editing pattern makes a commendable pace and multi-layered visual design that heightens the film’s impact. Though the filmmaker has openly admitted that he was inspired by the dogfighting scene of “Amores Perros” (2000), Vetrimaaran has infused his style and poise within the narrative.

Despite its strong content and potential for box-office success, filmmakers from other regions have not dared remake the film until now. The reason is that the film’s milieu is so rooted in Tamil Nadu. At the 58th National Film Awards, the film won five awards: Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Choreography, and Special Jury Award for Acting.

4. Viduthalai: Part I (2023)

Vetrimaaran’s “Viduthalai,” based on prolific author Jeyamohan’s short story “Thunaivan,” started as a low-budget project like “Visaranai,” reintroducing comical actor Soori as the protagonist. But considering the story’s scope and the casting of Vijay Sethupathi as the rebel leader Perumal ‘Vaathiyar,’ “Viduthalai” became the long-gestating project in Vetrimaaran’s career. Set during the turbulent 1980s period in Tamil Nadu and heavily drawing from the documented cases of police brutality (like the Vachathi case), “Viduthalai: Part I” unfolds from the perspective of Kumersan (Soori), a low-ranked police official assigned to the special police battalion in charge of quelling the Tamil People’s Army’s rebellion, and catch its leader, Perumal. Kumerasan drives the police jeep in the hilly terrain and witnesses firsthand the various oppressive tactics to displace the tribal communities and clear the land for the mining operations. 

“Viduthalai: Part I” is not only the most brutally violent film in Vetrimaaran’s filmography but also one of the most disturbing films ever made in Tamil cinema. The graphic depiction of the police authorities’ violence – particularly against women – can profoundly distress the viewers. Like Vetrimaaran’s previous works, “Viduthalai” highlights the major issues of environmental exploitation and social injustice. Yet one could wish the film was relatively concise and not make us wait for the answers with a sequel that’s going through one reshoot after another. The most significant discovery of “Viduthalai” is Soori as the leading man. Unlike most comedian-turned-lead actors, Soori has proved his incredible acting range and followed it with versatile performances in “ Garudan ” and “Kottukaali.”

3. Asuran (2019)

What becomes the last resort for a farmer who goes on the run with his family as he is compelled to protect his son, who has murdered a wealthy upper-caste landlord in a fit of vengeance? The reply should be to fight with the oppressing forces and reclaim his identity. That is precisely what Sivasaami (Dhanush) does to break away from the uncomfortable social status he has inherited. Based on the novel “Vekkai” by Poomani, Vetrimaaran’s screen adaptation is so watertight that every occurrence in the screenplay feels alluring.

Related Read to Vetrimaaran Films: Asuran (2019) Review: Rise, Asuran, Rise!

With “Asuran,” Vetrimaaran continues his excellent cinematic flair as a director, enhancing his commendable grasp on the tropes of mainstream cinema. The film also benefits from technical polish – the cinematography, background score, and editing are all top-notch. “Asuran,” too, has gut-wrenching violence and prepares the viewer for the edge-of-seat tension. The narrative follows a rhythm where the plot is revealed without wasting much of the screen time. The film belongs to the genre of revenge saga, which is told from the perspective of an oppressed caste protagonist.

It’s one of those mainstream films that fulfills a social purpose, for it’s hard to imagine anyone viewing “Asuran” and not abhorring the evil practice of casteism in our country and how it voluntarily degrades human values and status. At the Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards 2020, Vetrimaaran won the award for best director. The film also won two National Film Awards—Best Feature Film in Tamil and Best Actor.

Read the Complete Review of Asuran (2019) Here

2. visaranai (2016).

Based on the novella “Lock Up” by M. Chandrakumar, Vetrimaaran’s third outing in its first half has such brutal scenes of police torture that one could genuinely feel the bestial act of police torture. The viewers are compelled to cringe and empathize with the plight of four helpless souls. The film’s narrative can be strictly divided into two sections. Four Tamil migrant workers are falsely accused in a burglary case that has taken place at a wealthy and affluent man’s bungalow in Andhra Pradesh. The police beat these four men, black and blue, and want them to confess. Not able to withstand the pain, they agree to accept the charges. Once they are produced in the court, the film’s narrative takes a twist, and the viewers are presented with one shocking surprise after the other.

The filmmaker displays superb craftsmanship and commitment to an engaging dramatic tale that ends in a tragedy. The film subtly depicts that the characters in the movie become victims because of the system that protects criminal behavior. It is a profoundly troubling film that is devoid of cathartic and healing moments. Vetrimaaran is not hesitant to construct the brutal scene with ease, and he is not afraid to carve out his unique style. The film premiered at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Amnesty International Italia Award. Back home, it won three National Film Awards: Best Feature Film in Tamil, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Editing.

1. Vada Chennai (2018)

A tale of criminal activities narrated in a non-linear pattern over the span of more than two decades is the perfect recipe for a crime drama. Vetrimaaran’s narrative takes the viewers on a journey lasting nearly a hundred and sixty-four hours. It introduces them to the world of guilt, regret, and vital decisions leading to loyalty turned into betrayal. The protagonist of the film Anbu (Dhanush) is an expert carrom player but his life gets entwined into the world of crime. He gets pulled into the vortex so deeply that penitence alludes to him after a point in time.

Related Read to Vetrimaaran Films: Top Tamil Movies of 2018 and Where To Watch Them

With an ensemble cast, the film’s story is set in the underbellies of North Chennai, as the title implies, and the film’s theme is more nuanced than the conventional black-and-white morality tales where evil is punished by good at the end. “Vada Chennai” blatantly showcases the graphic world of crime and violence and investigates the nature of friendship and the ethics of vigilantism. Vetrimaaran’s script is a masterclass in non-linear narration. He delves deeply into the minds of his conflicted characters and explores how marginalized people grapple with moral codes and their emotions.

He further engages with many of the most fundamental questions about our humanity and how we relate to one another in a complex world. The stylistic elements in the film earn comparisons, bearing marked connections to several of Vetrimaaran’s other films. The film won the Best Film (People’s Choice Award) at the Pingyao International Film Festival 2018. At the Filmfare Awards South, Dhanush won the trophy for the Best Actor.

Read the Complete Review of Vada Chennai (2018) Here

Special mention: oor iravu (2020).

“Oor Iravu” is a part of the Tamil anthology drama “Paava Kadhaigal” (2020). Owing to its shorter running time, I have included it in the special mention category. On the surface level, the film depicts the tale of a daughter, Sumathi (Sai Pallavi), who had eloped from her village and now has reunited with her father, Janakiraman (Prakash Raj). However, as the story progresses, we discover the sensitivity and intricacies of the complex human psyche of individual characters within the film.

Also, Read: Paava Kadhaigal (2020) Netflix: Sinful Filmmaking under the Garb of Hard Hitting Social Drama

Vetrimaaran treated the film with a bold and innovative style, choosing a subject in which form and content merge. The pacing is not fast like in his other films; instead, it is a slow study of how Sumathi’s decision has impacted the lives of various family members. Vetrimaaran did not deviate from his usual style of narrative exploration, but he brought an understated rhythm to the unfolding of the events. “Oor Iravu” ends on a depressing note as we realize that such evil things are a reality and will continue to happen unless and until the evils of casteism are not obliterated from our society.

Vetrimaaran Links: IMDb , Wikipedia

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Dipankar Sarkar is a freelance writer on various topics related to cinema. His articles have appeared in Scroll, The Hindu, Livemint, The Quint, The Tribune, Chandigarh, Upperstall, and vaguevisages.com amongst others.

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Why Vetrimaaran is the most interesting director in Tamil films today

Vetrimaaran is arguably among the most interesting filmmaker working in the tamil film industry. here’s documenting his rise and what it takes to be a talent like him..

His production house’s name, Grass Root Film Company, is a clear pointer to Vetrimaaran’s worldview. This Deepavali’s biggest release in Tamil Nadu is, arguably, Kodi (Flag), a political thriller he has produced that stars Dhanush in his first double role, as twin brothers. The twins may be identical but their natures are mutually exclusive. Refreshingly, Kodi casts Trisha as a feisty woman politico, giving Dhanush’s eponymous hero a run for his money.

“For a hero movie, it’s pretty decently written,” pronounces Baradwaj Rangan, film critic and associate editor at The Hindu. “There’s a conflict, there are surprises and even within a commercial film, it’s properly written and directed. It’s not some random moments strung together to get people whistling.”

The film’s premise is how politics and political interests shape communities and the quality of their life. In this case, it involves skullduggery surrounding a factory emitting toxic effluents. It could be happening not too far away from our backyards.

At the Oscars

Vetrimaaran himself, however, was conspicuous by his absence during Kodi’s promos. He has a bigger task on hand. Visaaranai (Interrogation), the part-docudrama, part-crime thriller he directed, is India’s official entry to the 89th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. So he is in the US persuading jurors take note of his film, which has some truly hairy torture scenes. The last Tamil film that made it to the Oscars was 16 years back: Hey Ram starring Kamal Haasan.

Usually, the choice of any film to represent the country at the Oscars polarises critics, but Visaaranai remains largely unchallenged. Rangan agrees. “Visaaranai was a fantastic film.”

It tells the story of innocent migrant labourers picked up and tortured by the police to extract a false confession for a fatal robbery at an influential man’s house. How the film, shot in 42 days on a Rs 2-crore budget and eventually wining three National Film Awards, got made is interesting. After his Aadukalam in 2011, Vetrimaaran had busied himself with his production ventures, Udhayam NH4, Poriyaalan and Kaaka Muttai. When he was prepared to shoot his next, the script he picked was Soodhadi, a story on gambling, proposing Dhanush in the lead role. However, the actor had to take time off to work in Balki’s Shamitabh, being shot in Mumbai.

Vetrimaaran was mooting a book adaptation when director Balu Mahendra’s assistant serendipitously presented him with Lock Up, a riveting, partly autobiographical book written by M Chandrakumar, a former autorickshaw driver. The book, which took five years to write and another four to publish, narrates his harrowing experience while in jail in (then) Andhra Pradesh.

“When I pitched the story to Dhanush, who later produced the film, I said I can only guarantee you a three-day weekend run at the box office. But it’s a low-budget venture; you’ll get your investment back,” Vetrimaaran laughs. “Dhanush was amused, but agreed to fund the project. [I thought] it’s the kind of film that would not bring in repeat audiences. I was proved wrong and it got a good three-week run.”

The author, Chandrakumar, was incarcerated for a fortnight way back in 1983. “Yet his experiences are relevant even today,” points out Vetrimaaran. “Visaaranai reflects a stark reality from which you cannot shut yourself out: that is its success. It was challenging to find the right kind of actors and locations. We employed real stuntmen who could exercise restraint while beating up the actors.”

“What was unique was that there were a lot of first-time actors in the film; that added rawness to it,” says K Hariharan, filmmaker and critic. “Actors like Samuthirakkani and Kishore were entirely on the sidelines. That made it an interesting watch.”

Astutely, the team decided to send it to international film fests right away, confident it would work with foreign audiences. Visaaranai premiered at the Orrizonti section of the 72nd Venice Film Festival, a first for a Tamil film, and won the Amnesty International Italia Award. Crucially, the European audience was exposed to a hitherto unexplored form of Tamil cinema that dealt with grim reality in a non-dramatic but powerful way.

“Europeans have a different policing system. They found my narrative a bit harsh, though they were moved,” explains Vetrimaaran.

A rooted voice

It is Vetrimaaran’s preoccupation with sometimes gritty, sometimes heartwarming reality that makes this 41-year-old one of the best filmmakers of our times.

“The best thing about the regional filmmakers is that they bring in a very ‘native’ feel,” says Rangan. “Like if I watch Nagraj Manjule’s Sairat for instance, I find [elements] that remind me of Vetrimaaran. But that’s more because these filmmakers do these ‘rooted’ things very well. They give you the sense of the atmosphere, the rhythms of life in that particular environment, they take care to bring them alive.”

His critically acclaimed debut venture, Polladhavan (Ruthless Man) in 2007, followed a lower middle-class young man’s search for his stolen bike, an exercise that takes him through the seamy underworld. Four years later came Aadukalam (Arena), a Pongal release that raked in six National Film Awards. The cockfight arena was where love, ego, honour, friendship and betrayal were played out in the rustic backdrop of Madurai.

Says Manimaran, long-time friend and assistant, “Vetri used to like watching cockfights in the neighbourhood in our hometown. So he thought we could develop a story around them.”

There was no doubt about who would play the lead. “I wrote Aadukalam keeping Dhanush in mind,” says Vetrimaaran. “As an actor, he delivers exactly what I need and sometimes more. As a producer, he offers me complete freedom and does not interfere at all. He trusts me completely.”

Rangan explains the Vetrimaaran touch, “There is a world of difference in the way he uses the song and dance elements in Polladhavan and Aadukalam. They have become more organic and rooted; they’re not fantasy elements.”

“I personally prefer Aadukalam to Visaaranai, but it’s like comparing apples and oranges,” says Hariharan. “Aadukalam had a certain kind of warmth and spontaneity. Visaaranai, to me, looked rather staged.”

He explains, “Visaaranai’s [appeal across the world] is that for the first time in Tamil cinema, you see this kind of brute reality without the director taking recourse to a love story or family drama. It’s also interesting that a country like India allowed such a strongly critical film on the system. There’s no doubt that Vetrimaaran is a bold filmmaker.”

Vetrimaaran’s productive chemistry with Dhanush has paid rich dividends. The two went on to produce Kaaka Muttai (Crow’s Egg) in 2015, a subversive film poking fun at what is regarded as cool - pizzas, in this case. This little gem, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, tracks two brothers from a Chennai slum dying to taste a pizza. Directed by M Manikandan with wit, not once is the children’s dignity compromised. Their family struggles in a heartless and corrupt city and soon we find ourselves cheering for our little heroes. Kaaka Muttai pocketed two National Film Awards.

“There is a stamp of quality that people have begun to associate with Vetrimaaran, because even the films he produces are pretty decent,” says Rangan, adding that he looks for, and gets, that certain quality.

Vetrimaaran’s genius lies in shining a light on people we would not even glance at in our rat race. His films show us that ordinary people often lead extraordinary lives if only we stop to talk to them.

Smitten by cinema

Born in Cuddalore near Puducherry and raised in Ranipet, a suburban town in Vellore district, two and a half hours from Chennai, Vetrimaaran was smitten by cinema even as a child. His mother, a writer, ran a school in the area, while his father was a veterinarian. Friends remember him as a film buff who watched every movie that came to town.

“He would bunk classes and watch them, each three or four times. Then he would come to the school ground where we used to hang out until 7:30 in the evening and would retell the whole story to us. My friends and I have actually walked out of the theatre at times because the film was nowhere as good as his narration. He still has that quality,” says Manimaran, his assistant.

Vetrimaaran was in his second year of Masters in English Literature in 1999 when the now-deceased filmmaker Balu Mahendra was invited to judge a short film contest at the Loyola College, Chennai. Shortly afterwards, he attended a seminar conducted by the director and was inspired enough to assist him in Julie Ganapathy, Athu Oru Kanaa Kaalam and the television series Kadhai Neram.

Athu Oru Kanaa Kaalam cemented his friendship with the lead actor, Dhanush, whom he describes as his best friend. While still assisting Balu Mahendra, Vetrimaaran pitched the story of Desiya Nedunchalai, and the actor readily agreed to play the lead.

Recalls Manimaran, “Producers were not hard to come by because we had Dhanush. But a few had misgivings about how Vetri would handle the project as a newcomer. So we tossed aside that script, which I later made into Udhayam NH4.”

The initial years proved to be rough. “I was pitching different scripts to different people for three years and it was the sixth producer who okayed Polladhavan,” says Vetrimaaran on his directorial debut.

Adds Manimaran, who assisted him in the project, “After the film was edited, we were really scared to show it to the producer. We kept stalling the screening telling him it may not have come out as he expected. Finally, when he saw it, he was satisfied. We were relieved and gradually grew confident.”

Pushing for excellence

When Manimaran himself forayed into direction with Udhayam NH4 in 2013, Vetrimaaran returned the favour by stepping in as producer under his banner, Grass Root Film Company. As he puts it, “I want my production house to be a platform for good, interesting ideas. I can find a producer for my films, but others, who may be first-time filmmakers, might have innovative scripts that mainstream producers might not understand. Like Kaaka Muttai for instance.

“I produce films in partnership as I may not be able to afford the entire budget. Dhanush ends up co-producing some of them as our tastes are similar. None of my producers ever ask me for the budget. I always make sure it is within their means and I can give the desired returns.”

For someone who has been successful both commercially as critically, Vetrimaaran has directed only three films in nine years. “For me, every film is a learning process. After each, I take time to unlearn. Then I find new content, learn it completely and then execute it.”

Manimaran describes his working process thus, “Many directors make changes to the script on the spot. But Vetrimaaran is different because he pays attention to detail. He puts in a lot of effort, so there may be last-minute adjustments with lighting and locations. Unlike working with other directors, you need to be available 24 hours.”

Outside of work, the father of two, who met his wife Aarthi while at college, likes to race pigeons, pretty much like the characters he portrays. His rootedness has also led him to voice the germ of an idea: setting up an organic farm eventually.

Rangan describes grit as the definitive quality of Vetrimaaran’s films, and praises his skill in animating the atmosphere in terms of the integrity of the characters, the plot, and the texture. “The way he shapes the characters and writes them, you feel that these are not [just] individual people; you get a sense of where they come from, where they belong. [They’re] not just some random characters floating around.”

His fans are already talking about his fourth film, Vada Chennai (North Chennai), an ambitious gangster trilogy he has been planning since 2003. After undergoing several changes of scripts and stars, Dhanush, Vijay Sethupathi, Amala Paul and Samuthirakkani are among those confirmed on the project that is currently under way. Slated for release next year, Vada Chennai is also bound to have the by-now classic Vetrimaaran stamp.

(Published in arrangement with GRIST Media.)

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"He Will Be Deeply Missed": Vetrimaran Pays Tribute to Vetri Duraisamy

The news of Vetri Duraisamy's tragic passing struck a chord with many on February 4th. While traveling with friends in Himachal Pradesh, an accident in Kinnaur claimed his life, leaving a void in the hearts of those who knew him.

A search operation involving various teams, including the SDRF, NDRF, ITBP, and local police, recovered his body on Monday after a post-mortem examination. Divers located him three kilometers from the accident site.

Numerous political leaders and film personalities joined in grieving Vetri's sudden demise. Director Vetrimaran, a close friend and collaborator, organized a condolence meeting at his educational institution, IIFC, to honor his memory.

Sharing their profound connection, Vetrimaran acknowledged, "Vetri often said he learned cinema from me, but in reality, he taught me just as much. One thing we deeply shared was our love for nature and its creatures."

"He was an explorer, driven by a thirst for knowledge and adventure. For the past decade, he was my constant companion. Whether it was sourcing props for my films, musical instruments for our home, or simply finding joy in nature, he was always there, enthusiastic and supportive," Vetrimaran fondly recalled.

"Vetri's belief in supporting others led him to readily embrace the vision of IIFC. Without his unwavering support, the institute wouldn't be what it is today. He also actively contributed to his father's Humanities Foundation, demonstrating his genuine desire to help others," Vetrimaran continued.

He further highlighted Vetri's passion for wildlife photography, stating, "Vetri's curiosity and passion radiated through his award-winning wildlife photography. His recent expeditions to Africa for gorillas and the Arctic for polar bears showcased his dedication to capturing nature's wonders. Tragically, his life was cut short while pursuing his dream of photographing the elusive snow leopard."

"His infectious smile and genuine kindness extended not only to humans but to all living beings. His absence leaves an unfillable void. Life throws these unimaginable challenges at us. He had just completed his first film and was brimming with potential when this tragedy struck," Vetrimaran said with a heavy heart.

"To honor his memory, we plan to initiate awards at IIFC. One award will be dedicated to the first Tamil filmmaker, and another to wildlife photography, both bearing his name. We will share further details soon," he announced.

"Life brings us many people, some fleeting, others leaving an indelible mark. Vetri Duraisamy was the latter. His absence leaves a profound emptiness, but his memory will continue to inspire us," Vetrimaran concluded solemnly.

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Top 10 best movies of Vetrimaaran

• April 26, 2023 / 02:30 PM IST

Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, who primarily works in Tamil cinema. As of 2021, he has won five National Film Awards, eight Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards and two Filmfare South Awards. Now, we bring you the list of top 10 movies of this critically acclaimed Kollywood director.

1) Polladhavan (2007)

Vetrimaaran’s debut feature film opens up with a gruesome and brutal fighting sequence and then using the device of flashback, the filmmaker takes us into the dynamic world of contemporary Chennai, where an educated young man, Prabhu (Dhanush) fight injustice and in the process is forced to unleash the animal within him.The protagonist of the film is an uneducated youth who due to turn of events confronts his father (Murali) and an argument regarding the responsibilities of parents towards their offspring ensues. As a result of this conflict, Prabhu gets a hefty amount from his father and he uses the money to purchase a Bajaj Pulsar bike. This appears to be a wise investment because owning the vehicle enables him to get a job and earn respect in society. But the situation takes a drastic turn when a gang of anti-socials steals his bike. Thereafter the film presents the viewers with the transformation of resilience into power and its hold over the life of an individual’s struggle to maintain his position in the harsh reality of everyday life.The plot of the film has similarities with Wang Xiaoshuai’s Bejing Bicycle (2001). But the well worked out mise-en-scenes of Polladhavan makes it an entertaining tale of a casual urban carefree person’s conversion into a person of genuine worth and true dignity. Polladhavan was remade in Kannada as Punda, in Telugu as Kurradu starring Varun Sandesh, in Sinhala as Pravegeya, in Bengali as Borbaad (2014) and in Hindi as Guns of Banaras (2020). But none of them could achieve the excellence earned by the original version.

2) Visaranai (2016)

Based on the Tamil novel Lock Up by M. Chandrakumar, Vetrimaaran’s third outing in its first half has such brutal scenes of police torture that one could genuinely feel the bestial act of police torture. The viewers are compelled to cringe as well as empathize with the plight of four helpless souls. The narrative of the film can be divided into two sections-before and after the intermission. Four migrant workers are falsely accused in a burglary case that has taken place at a rich and affluent man’s bungalow. The police beat these four characters in black and blue and want them.

3) Aadukalam’ – Cockfight competition

‘Aadukalam’ is a remarkable Tamil film as it bagged National Award under several categories. Dhanush played the role of a Madurai based cockfighter. The actor has impressed many with his diverse role. Dhanush in the film takes up the challenge put on him by the opponents and wins a series of matches in cockfight competition to win huge prize money. Vetrimaaran has well created the sequence, and GV Prakash Kumar’s music added more power to itself. Not able to withstand the pain they agree to accept the charges. Once they are produced in the court the narrative of the film takes a twist and the viewers are presented with one shocking surprise after the other.

4)Vada Chennai

Anbu turning against Senthil Vetrimaaran and Dhanush joined after a gap of several years for the gangster drama ‘Vada Chennai’. The film carries the story of Dhanush from his childhood to a gangster. Anbu (Dhanush) was on the side of Senthil (Kishore) at the start of the film, but at a point, he turned against him since it was a secret mission to kill the opponent. The film received positive reviews, and it had a good theatrical run all over.

5) Asuran’

Sivasaami regaining his power Dhanush’s character in ‘Asuran’ was an elder one, and he played the father of two youngsters. Sivasaami (Dhanush) teaches his sons to be calm in life and to stay away from problems. It was surprising for the fans to see their energetic star in a calm role, but it was the opposite when his flashback revealed. Sivasaami regains his power to save his son from a group of people and destroys them.

6) Vada Chennai

With Vada Chennai, Vetrimaaran returns to the titular North Chennai where he shot his debut film. This time, however, there is more blood, more history, and more politics, and a richer, denser world full of human foibles and fumbles. The detailing is more vivid — like prisoners snorting lizard tails to get high. The violence is more structural — it telescopes its attention on a neighbourhood over time, not a group of friends like in Visaranai.

Like Aadukalam, Vada Chennai starts with bloodshed, which it returns to in the last half-hour. Unlike Aadukalam, this structure feels perfunctory, because the beginning is almost forgotten in the blitzkrieg of rat-a-tat action centred around Anbu (Dhanush), a sincere carrom player, who gets caught in the crossfire of a gang war that he further curdles and erupts. What sets Vada Chennai apart is not just Anbu as an ambivalent hero who is swept into heroism by circumstances, but a hero who is unsure of who is right and who is wrong. He expresses this moral dilemma to his wife in a moving scene. There is a sense that if this film was narrated from another perspective, it might easily flip the moral labels we have slapped on characters. That a film allows its characters this latitude is a triumph of an expanded, exploded imagination — both moral and literary.

7) Asuran (2019)

Asuran perfects a lot of Vetrimaaran’s pursuits — the mass film without the mass conventions. There is no hero entry scene. There is, instead, the intermission block. There is no hip dangling love. There is, instead, trauma and affection. Humour does not exist, distilled in the form of a separate character, like a court jester. It is baked into the exchanges. There is no beauty, no polish. There is a harsh abruptness with which scenes transition. And yet, Asuran has packed in it the most potent scenes of grief and redemptive violence. It is Vetrimaaran allowing his films to char your heart, not just your senses. The second half gives the origin for Sivasaami’s docile nature, one that he has arrived at after a youth of bloodshed that left him orphaned and without love. This mirroring of the two halves is another beautiful Vetrimaaran-ism — from the slippers, to the heroism, to the tragedy that culminates in an escape. It is easy to dismiss this film as templated, but there is a reason templates have survived the onslaught of genre, taste, and time shifts. That it is predictable does not take away from what an artist can do with and within that predictability. Asuran is Vetrimaaran’s most emotionally staining — not draining, but staining — film; its violence lingering as hurt, not horror.

8) Viduthalai Part 1 (2023)

In one sense, Viduthalai is the culminating artistic collaboration between Vetrimaaran and cinematographer Velraj, who has lensed all of Vetrimaaran’s films except Visaranai. The opening shot of around 10 minutes takes us, in one sweeping, single take, through the debris of a train bombing. The sheer audacity of the scene, the lubricated ease with which the camera slides, both vertically and horizontally, sets the stage for Kumeresan (Soori), a kind-hearted police officer who has been sent to the forested hills as part of a police force that is trying to weed out an extremist group. It invokes awe while depicting horror.

The dense prologue, the unfussy heroism of Vetrimaaran are both here. The politics is just as long winded and stiff — like how Vada Chennai questioned development, here, too, the story hinges on how the state uses development as a cover for profiteering; the police, here, too, are brutal beasts. Love comes as a reprieve — both to the character and the narrative.

But what marks Viduthalai apart is how it makes violence seem so routine, Vetrimaaran isn’t even interested in sharpening it. There is a blunt relentlessness to it. It is not that the director can’t show violence that whips our moral sense of the world. It’s just impossible to fixate and linger on violence the way he did in the previous films. In Visaranai what was happening to a group of friends, in Asuran what was happening to a family, is, in Viduthalai happening to a whole movement of people. Vetrimaaran employs a disenchanted cutting away from these moments before their full impact is even felt, for the impact is not in its festering but in its unrelentingness.

If you notice closely, these rankings are in the order of Vetrimaaran’s filmography, suggesting that, at least artistically, he seems to be streamlining ahead, a swift, sure motion away from where he first began.

A motorbike-obsessed son dupes his father into paying for his chopper in order to impress his lady-love. But the young fellow has lessons to learn, and miles to go.vetrimaaran is story writer of the film.Vetrimaraan only provided story for the film.

10) Naan Rajavaga Pogiren

A young man gets sucked into an adventure as he searches for his lookalike. Vetrimaaran gave story and dialogues for this experimental movie.

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Viduthalai: part i, விடுதலை: பாகம் i.

Directed by Vetrimaaran

Kumaresan, a police constable, gets recruited for an operation implanted to capture Perumal Vaathiyar, who leads a separatist group dedicated to fighting against the authorities for committing atrocities against innocent village women in the name of police interrogations.

Soori Bhavani Sre Chetan Gautham Vasudev Menon Rajiv Menon Ilavarasu Munnar Ramesh Vijay Sethupathi Balaji Sakthivel Saravana Subbiah Tamizh Aryan Sardar Satya Manimegalai S. Chandran Bala Hasan Pavel Navageethan Thendral Raghunathan Sundareswaran CVC R. Ganesh Gurung Asuran Krishna R. Velraj Appukutty Surya Vijay Sethupathi

Director Director

Vetrimaaran

Co-Directors Co-Directors

Still Robert A. Jagadeesan

Producers Producers

Elred Kumar V Manikandan

Writers Writers

Vetrimaaran Manimaran R. S. Durai Senthilkumar Mathi Maran

Original Writer Original Writer

Editor editor, cinematography cinematography, additional directing add. directing.

R. S. Durai Senthilkumar Manimaran Tamizh Mathi Maran

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

Art direction art direction, visual effects visual effects.

Harihara Suthan

Stunts Stunts

Peter Hein Stunt Silva

Choreography Choreography

Baba Baskar

Composer Composer

Ilaiyaraaja

Songs Songs

Suka Ilaiyaraaja

Sound Sound

T. Udayakumar

R S Infotainment Grassroot Film Company

Alternative Titles

విడుదల : పార్ట్ 1, విడుదల: పార్ట్ 1, Viduthalai Partie 1

Crime History Thriller Action

Crime, drugs and gangsters Violent crime and drugs Bollywood emotional dramas Show All…

Releases by Date

30 mar 2023, 31 mar 2023, releases by country.

• Theatrical A

146 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Anurag Kashyap 9

Very powerful film, superb performances across board , the best opening shot I’ve seen in the longest time .. looking forward to part 2 .. Vetrimaran is our best .

Review by Michael James ★★★★ 5

Another immersive socio political period drama from Vetrimaaran. His craftsmanship and control over layered storytelling is simply stupendous. The police brutality, custodial violence and systemic oppression is portrayed in a disturbingly hard hitting manner. How media turn into a PR machine to the system for delivering manipulated incidents through social narratives were well depicted. The lead character perfectly resonates the common man dilemma, as he gets caught in between the struggle. The opening single shot sequence sets the tone straight away. And along with the final 20 minutes, they are two standout impact sequences.

Based upon a power struggle conflict between government and revolutionary activist groups, the first part sets up its world, emotional landscape and conflicts effectively with enough question…

Review by Barry Egan 2002 ★★★★

Vetrimaaran, in glorious form once again, shows cop violence in its most brutal form yet, with Soori as the honest, powerless cop holding the narrative together. Absolutely not for the faint-hearted. Must-watch!

The opening sequence, a continuous shot, was extraordinary for the way the camera covered the entire location for a long duration, and also heartbreaking showing the loss of human lives. Vetrimaaran, from this sequence, tells the viewer, "Be prepared to get mind fucked". The scene reminded me of 'Atonement''s superb Dunkirk sequence. We then see Soori's introduction. Vetrimaaran, in an interview, said that he cast Soori due to his innocent looks. Although I thought a couple of lines were delivered as if he were a comedian, Soori, as…

Review by jack ★★★★★

vetrimaaran stop winning challenge

Review by Alicecharles ★★★★★

If someone had told me back that I would shout at the top of my lungs for a firing scene by Soori, i would have called it a joke but OH MY GOD WHAT THE FUCK !!!!!!

Review by Arjun Rajput ★★★★

Vijay Sethupathi in an interrogation scene is cinema. Can't wait for the next part.

Review by cinema_made ★★★★ 2

The mere mention of Vetrimaran is a hypetrain for his film and Vetrimaran easily surpasses that. After a long wait, Viduthalai arrives as a special and scintillating film, that only Vetrimaran has guts to make. The film is the journey of the constable recruit, who in turn becomes rooted in the violent conflict between the police and the revolutionaries. As all the paths come together, there’s more tension and revelance of truth, that makes the character meet dark ends and change their mindsets.

Right from the start, Vetrimaaran channels the film with a strong dose of realism and raw filmmaking that keeps us in the center of the action at all times. This is definitely not a film for the…

Review by joelmathew ★★★ 5

Definitely the most underwhelming Vetrimaaran film so far... although I don't know if its really fair to call it a "film" because only half the story has been told. The whole story of Vada Chennai has also not been told yet but the first film still holds on its own, this however just felt like the first half of a movie...

Also felt it was one of his weaker films technically. Vetri na is known for working on his films till literally the day before it releases. He was making dubbing corrections and changes for Vada Chennai and Asuran few days before release and this one was also no different I heard. But this time it kind of backfired. Some…

Review by sydney ★★★★★ 1

don't feel great about the gratuitous violence against women and how it's used here, it's not done especially offensively here but it is always frustrating to see it used as a shortcut to underline just how evil someone is and cliche to have women characters exist only as tools to move the male lead along. that said it's an incredible film, cried more than once, it's beautiful and soul crushing and i both can't wait to see the conclusion and am dreading it

Review by Deepak Chazhoor ★★★★½ 5

Watched FDFS.

Soori is a revelation here; easily his career best yet. Vijay Sethupathi, with his terrific screen presence and powerhouse potential as an actor, makes every scene he’s featured in, though few and far between, his own. The long takes are fantastic. Ilaiyaraaja’s work here is among his finest of late; “ Kaattumalli ” is an instant favorite. Overall, yet another great work, with its focus on its hard-hitting politics and unapologetic commentary about police brutality searing as ever, from one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. Vetrimaaran never disappoints. Can’t wait for  Part II .

Review by Kibriya⚡ ★★★★ 9

Viduthalai was gut wrenching and gory as expected with powerful performance by Soori.  The electrifying one shot opening scene was terrific 🥵. Bring me part 2 and Vijay Sethupathi bringing fire on the screen 🔥

Cinematic parallels - Kumaresan and Desmond Doss from Hacksaw Ridge 

Vetrimaaran the real Polladhavan !

2023 Ranked Vetrimaaran Ranked

Review by Jaisri Nandhini ★★★★

Love it when police brutality is ripped off of it's sugar coating Onscreen! Let's wait for the part 2!

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Vetrimaran's 'Viduthalai' to release in two parts

CHENNAI: Ace director Vetrimaran's eagerly-awaited upcoming film,'Viduthalai', featuring Soori in the lead and actor Vijay Sethupathi as 'Vaathiyaar', will release in two parts, its makers have now announced. Interestingly, both parts of the film -- 'Viduthalai' and 'Viduthalai-2' -- are to be presented by actor, producer and politician Udhayanidhi Stalin's production house, Red Giant Movies. The shooting of 'Viduthalai-1' has already been completed and post-production work is on in full swing. Only a few portions are left to wrap up the shooting of 'Viduthalai-2', which is currently happening in Sirumalai and Kodaikannal. Produced by RS Infotainment's Elred Kumar, the 'Viduthalai' franchise is being made on a whopping budget. The film's grandeur has been generating a strong buzz. Only recently, a train and Railway bridge set worth Rs 10 crore was erected for the film. The train compartments as well as the bridge were made using the same materials that engineers use to manufacture trains and build bridges. Earlier, the art department headed by Jackie had erected a huge village set in Sirumalai. The makers of 'Viduthalai' say that it is an intense story that needs proper storytelling to make sure it appeals to the audience. It is for this reason that they say they decided to break the story into two different parts. Currently, preparations for shooting a breath-taking action sequence between Vijay Sethupathi and Soori are going on in Kodaikanal. Peter Hein is choreographing this action sequence in which a group of proficient stuntmen from Bulgaria will be a part. The star cast of 'Viduthalai' includes Vijay Sethupathi, Soori, Bhavani Sre, Prakash Raj, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Rajeev Menon and Chethan. Maestro Isaignani is composing music for 'Viduthalai', which features cinematography by Velraj.

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Ranking All Vetrimaran Movies

1. Vada Chennai

2. Visaaranai

3. Aadukalam

5. Viduthalai: Part 1

6. Polladhavan

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2024 Election

Rfk may be unable to withdraw his name from ballots in some swing states.

Stephen Fowler

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. listens during a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump Friday in Glendale, Ariz. Kennedy suspended his independent presidential campaign and is backing Trump. Rebecca Noble/Getty Images hide caption

After spending several months and millions of dollars overcoming onerous requirements to try to get on the ballot in all 50 states, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now facing new barriers to get off the ballot in some states.

Last Friday, Kennedy announced he was effectively ending his independent presidential campaign, encouraging his supporters to vote for him in noncompetitive states, but to support Republican Donald Trump in others.

“In about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler, I'm going to remove my name, and I've already started that process and urge voters not to vote for me,” Kennedy said.

Robert F. Kennedy suspends his independent presidential campaign and backs Trump

But an NPR review finds it may not be possible for Kennedy to remove his name from ballots in the majority of seven swing states: Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

“Every state has different procedures and deadlines with regard to ballot access and withdrawal, but the later a withdrawal happens, the harder it is for a state to remove a name from a ballot,” said David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research. “Some states have deadlines that have passed, and many states have already begun the process of printing ballots.”

Before his announcement, Kennedy's campaign said it had gathered enough signatures to appear on 47 ballots and officially gained access in 22 states. And while the campaign did not specify what states he would seek to leave, below is where things stand in 10 of the closest states (in alphabetical order).

Of course, it's unclear how many people in a swing state would actually vote for Kennedy, should he be unable to remove himself from that state's ballot.

Kennedy filed paperwork to remove his name from the Arizona ballot on Thursday, the day before announcing the suspension of his campaign.

RFK Jr.’s campaign filed official paperwork with our office today withdrawing him from AZ’s 2024 election. That filling will be available on our website tomorrow at https://t.co/GsXDYD1kDY pic.twitter.com/JJTG9Q77Vx — Arizona Secretary of State (@AZSecretary) August 23, 2024

Kennedy has withdrawn his name from the ballot in Florida, where he was set to appear as the nominee for the Reform Party.

He submitted the request Friday, one day before the state’s deadline for minor political parties to nominate their presidential and vice presidential candidates and certify those names with the state.

On Monday, an administrative law judge ruled that Kennedy and his electors were not qualified to appear on Georgia’s presidential ballot, with the final decision resting with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

In the initial decision, Judge Michael Malihi  found  that Kennedy and his 16 electors had technical deficiencies with the petition process that made them ineligible to appear. If Raffensperger, a Republican, affirms the judge’s decision then Kennedy will be off the ballot. If Raffensperger disagrees, Kennedy can still request to have his name withdrawn.

Kennedy must stay on the ballot in Michigan, where he obtained ballot access through the Natural Law Party, a minor political party, instead of the more difficult independent petition process.

Michigan state law prevents minor-party nominees from withdrawing after being certified, and the Michigan Bureau of Elections told Michigan Public Radio the deadline for any changes had long passed.

“The Natural Law Party held their convention to select electors for Robert Kennedy Jr.,” spokesperson Cheri Hardmon said. “They cannot meet at this point to select new electors since it's past the primary.”

It’s also too late for Kennedy to remove himself from the Nevada ballot, just missing the Aug. 20 deadline for a request to withdraw. Nevada state law says a request for candidate withdrawal must come seven business days after the filing deadline, which was Aug. 9.

“A withdrawal of candidacy for office must be in writing and must be presented by the candidate in person, within 7 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, after the last day for filing, to the officer whose duty it is to receive filings for candidacy for that office,” the statute reads.

Nevada is also one of several states where lawsuits filed by Democrats and other groups are seeking to remove him from the ballot.

Harris’ momentum continues as she ties with Trump in these swing states

North carolina.

Kennedy’s creation of the We The People Party in North Carolina and the short amount of time before the election mean he could likely stay on the ballot in the state.

The first absentee ballots go out to North Carolina voters starting Sept. 6.

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been nominated by the We The People Party as that party’s presidential candidate to be listed on the ballot,” North Carolina State Board of Elections public information officer Patrick Gannon said. “That party has not informed the State Board of any plans to change its nomination.”

Gannon said that if We The People withdrew Kennedy's nomination, state officials would have to consider if it would be practical to reprint ballots. As of Friday, nearly a third of North Carolina's 100 counties had started the printing process.

Kennedy will no longer appear on Ohio’s ballot, according to Secretary of State Frank LaRose . The deadline for Ohio’s ballot to be finalized is not until Sept. 6.

Pennsylvania

Of all the battlegrounds, perhaps none is being more contested by both Democrats and Republicans than Pennsylvania.

Kennedy's candidacy had been challenged in court — until Friday, when his lawyers filed notice that he no longer opposed the challenge. A judge then granted Kennedy’s request to withdraw his candidacy.

After overcoming one of the more significant ballot access thresholds in the country in Texas, RFK has removed his name from the ballot there, too. According to the Texas secretary of state’s website , Kennedy has withdrawn his candidacy.

Wisconsin is another state where state law appears set to keep Kennedy on the ballot, despite his intentions to withdraw.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Tuesday voted to keep Kennedy on the ballot, even though he filed a letter on Thursday, requesting to be removed.

“Any person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot may not decline nomination,” Wisconsin state law reads. “The name of that person shall appear upon the ballot except in case of death of the person.”

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