''Kallan'' () is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by Chandra Thangaraj.

Karu Pazhaniappan Karuppaih Palaniappan, credited on-screen as Karu Palaniappan, is an Indian film director, actor, and television host who works in the Tamil film industry. He has also hosted the show Thamizha Thamizha on Zee Tamil. Biography Palaniappan hails ...

and Nikita appear in the lead roles. Based in the 1980s, the film narrates the tale of people who had taken up hunting as their profession and how they change their paths and move into a criminal lane after the government bans hunting.Produced by Madhiazhagan, it was released on 21 January 2022.

Cast

Production

Directed by writer-turned-filmmaker Chandra Thangaraj, the film was reported to be based on real-life events which had occurred in a small village in

Theni Theni is a valley town situated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu at the foothills of Western Ghats. It is the headquarters of the Theni district, located in a distance of 70km from Madurai. It is known for the large-scale trading of garlic, c ...

. An erstwhile assistant to directors Ameer and Ram, Chandra stated that it took her nearly four years to find a producer for the film and she finally landed with producer Madhiazhagan after narrating the script to about 50 other producers. Director-actor Karu Pazhaniappan was cast in the lead role, while debutant Nikita from new Delhi was cast opposite him during late 2015. The film began production in December 2015 in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

, before the team moved to film scenes in Theni and Bodimettu. As the film became delayed, Chandra chose to screen the film for prominent directors

Vetrimaaran Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, who works in the Tamil film industry. As of 2021, he has won five National Film Awards, eight Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, two Filmfare South Awards and the Amnesty Inter ...

. Based on his feedback, she re-edited the film during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

Release

The film was released on 18 March 2022 across theatres in Tamil Nadu. A critic from the

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...

wrote "the screenplay is very one-dimensional in spite of having twists and turns" and that "a little extra effort in the writing to enhance a gritty plot like this could have worked wonders for the film". A reviewer from

Cinema Express ''Cinema Express'' was an Indian Tamil-language entertainment fortnightly magazine published from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was a part of The New Indian Express Group, which also publishes ''Samakalika Malayalam Vaarika'' weekly as well as '' Din ...

noted "what sounds like an arresting story on paper, faces endless stutters in getting transferred to the screen". OTT play critic said that "This heist drama, starring Karu Palaniappan in the lead, is an avoidable mess"

References

{{reflist 2020s Tamil-language films 2020s Indian films 2022 films Indian drama films 2022 directorial debut films Films scored by K (composer) 2022 drama films