''Massu Engira Masilamani'' (), also known by its former title ''Masss'', is a 2015 Indian

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

-language

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

horror comedy film Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary genre, literary, television genre, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three ty ...

directed by

Venkat Prabhu Venkat Kumar Gangai Amaren (born 7 November 1975), better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu, is an Indian filmmaker, actor and playback singer in Tamil films. After completing his education, he began pursuing an acting career, with his first ...

. The film was produced by

K. E. Gnanavel Raja K. E. Gnanavel Raja is an Indian film producer and entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu, India. He initially began his career by producing and distributing films starring Suriya and Karthi, before branching out to own two studios — Studio Green and A ...

under his

Studio Green Studio Green is an Cinema of India, Indian film production and distribution company based in Chennai. The company was founded in 2006 by K. E. Gnanavel Raja, relative of actor Sivakumar and many of their films feature his sons Suriya and Karthi ...

banner alongside his then-newly formed studio Aadnah Arts, and was distributed by

Eros International Eros International Media Ltd (also known as Eros India) is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company, based and originated in Mumbai, India. Founded by Arjun Lulla in 1977, it is one of the leading production and distributi ...

and Dream factory. The film features an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

including

Suriya Saravanan Sivakumar (born 23 July 1975), known by his stage name Suriya, is an Indian actor, producer, television presenter and a philanthropist. He primarily works in Tamil cinema where he is one of the highest paid actors. He received numerou ...

Nayanthara Diana Mariam Kurian, known professionally as Nayanthara, is an Indian actress and film producer who is known for her work in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films. She was in the ''Forbes India'' "Celebrity 100" 2018 list, with her total annual ...

Pranitha Subhash Pranitha Subhash is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi films. She debuted as an actress in the 2010 Kannada film, '' Porki''. In 2012, she starred in the critically acclaimed film ''Bheema Theerada ...

Premji Mullamangalath Parameshwaran Bhattathiripad (23 September 1908 – 10 August 1998), commonly known as M. P. Bhatathirippad or Premji, was a social reformer, cultural leader and actor from Kerala state, India. Premji joined Yogakshema Sabha ...

Parthiban R. Parthiban (born 14 October 1958) is an Indian actor and filmmaker who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He has directed 15 films, produced 13 films and acted in more than 70 films. He started his career as assistant director for K. Bhagyaraj in ...

and

Samuthirakani Samuthirakani (born 26 April 1973) is an Indian actor and film director who predominantly works in Tamil films and Telugu films besides appearing in a number of Malayalam films. He worked as an assistant to director K Balachander. He won the N ...

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of Wes ...

composed the film's soundtrack and score, whereas cinematography and editing were handled by

R. D. Rajasekhar R.D. Rajasekhar is an Indian cinematographer who predominantly works in films of Indian languages such as Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi. He is a recipient of the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer.And film fare Award a ...

and

Praveen K. L. Kuchipudi Latha Praveen is an Indian film editor, based in Chennai, who works predominantly in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and English films. He is a recipient of one National Film Award, one Tamizh Nadu State Film Award among others. He ha ...

respectively.Seshagiri, Sangeetha (6 July 2014).Movie is inspired from the Korean movie Man on the Edg
Suriya-Venkatprabhu Film Titled 'Masss'
''

International Business Times The ''International Business Times'' is an American online news publication that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called ''IBTimes'' or ''IBT'', offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on busi ...

''. Retrieved 16 July 2014. The film was launched in April 2014, and the

principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

was commenced in July 2014 and completed in April 2015. Filming took place in various locations of India and Bulgaria. The film's title ''Masss'', was announced in July 2014, however in order to receive exemption from entertainment tax, the film's title was changed to ''Massu Engira Masilamani''. The film was released worldwide on 29 May 2015. A Telugu dubbed version, titled ''Rakshasudu'', was released simultaneously in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India b ...

. It is remade into

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

as '' Naqaab''.

Plot

Former Police Commissioner Shanmuga Sundaram, is murdered by a released prisoner named Kamal Ekambaram. The story then shifts to Masilamani a.k.a. Masss and his friend Jettu who are small-time

con artist A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...

s. Masss meets Manini, a nurse, and they subsequently fall in love. While trying to escape after a heist gone wrong, Masss and Jettu met with a car accident, post which Masss starts seeing dead people, with whom he can communicate. Jettu dies in the accident and is now a ghost, too. Masss forms a group of loitering ghosts to earn money by performing fake

exorcisms Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

and extorting money from scared, rich people, while promising the ghosts that he would fulfill their last wishes in return. Meanwhile, Manini, who thought Masss was working in a finance company, gets to know about the fake exorcisms and leaves him in his plots. One day, Masss meets a ghost called Shakthivel (Shakthi), a

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

and lookalike of Masss. Shakthi initially seems to help Masss to pull off a large heist. However, he wants to use Masss for his own needs. He sabotages the plan and tricks Masss into running over Anthony Xavier, a

hawala Hawala or hewala ( ar, حِوالة , meaning ''transfer'' or sometimes ''trust''), also known as in Persian, and or in Somali, is a popular and informal value transfer system based on the performance and honour of a huge network of money b ...

broker. Corrupt ACP Vikram Lakshman takes charge to investigate the case and learns that Masss is somehow involved in the murder. Meanwhile, the ghosts start striking against Masss as they assume that he is just making use of them and would cheat later on. Masss yells at them and orders them to leave. Just then, Shakthi arrives upon the request of the ghosts. They leave with Shakthi, while Jettu manages to convince Masss. Masss agrees and fulfills the wishes of the ghosts where they attain salvation, which makes him a better person. All these good deeds of Masss, change Manini's assumptions on him positively. Meanwhile, Shakthi manages to use Masss to kill another person, Madhivadhanan (Madhi), an

Member of Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

(MLA) and associate of Anthony. While Masss is furious with Shakthi for having made him a double murderer, Kamal meets Masss and starts telling him about Shakthi's past whereby Masss learns that he is in fact Shakthi's son. Shakthi was a cop in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

, Canada, who married Anuradha (Anu), a teacher in his daughter Megha's school, just for Megha's wish. Shakthi secretly learned that Anu really loves and takes care of Megha. Soon, they both fell in love, and Anu gave birth to a son (Masss). Anu owns an acre of land in India, which she wanted to donate to an orphanage, where a new orphanage could be built there. Kamal, who was the only family-friend of Anu in India agreed to help with the registration. Shakthi and Anu, along with Megha and infant Masss, arrived at India to complete the registration, but learn that

Industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

s Radha Krishnan aka R. K, along with Anthony forged documents and planned to take the land away to construct flats. Since Shakthi remained undeterred and did not give way, R. K., Anthony, Madhi and Sundaram, along with their henchman killed Shakthi, Anu, and Megha and pinned the murders on Kamal for which he was imprisoned for all these years. Masss survived because Megha had left him safe in a small house of a poor family nearby. Through Masss, Shakthi wanted to kill all the people who were responsible for his family's demise. Knowing the truth, Masss decides to kill the last person, R. K, himself. R. K. knowing who Masss is, tries to kill him, but Kamal saves Masss. However, because Masss being hit on the head by R. K., loses the ability to see and converse with the spirits any further. With the help of Vikram, who was bribed by Masss to double-cross R. K. Masss finally kills R. K. As Shakthi's last wish is fulfilled, he obtains salvation and joins Anu and Megha in heaven . Manini reunites with Masss, and they get married, but Jettu remains on earth

Cast

in a dual role as Masilamani, nickname "Masss", a con man with supernatural ability, and Shakthivel (Shakthi), an intelligence officer and Masss's father *

as Manini, a nurse, Masss's love interest later wife, who leaves him after discovering he was cheating people but later after knowing his good deeds reconciles with him (Voice Dubbed By Renuka Kathir) *

as Anuradha "Anu", Shakthi's wife, Masss's mother, and Megha's teacher and stepmother who died saving Megha and infant Masss. *

as Jet Li "Jettu", Masss's best friend who dies in an accident and becomes a ghost *

R. Parthiban R. Parthiban (born 14 October 1958) is an Indian actor and filmmaker who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He has directed 15 films, produced 13 films and acted in more than 70 films. He started his career as assistant director for K. Bhagyaraj in ...

as ACP Vikram Lakshman lPS, a corrupt police officer from Sembikkarai who investigates the case and double-crosses R. K. *

Riyaz Khan Riyaz Khan is an Indian actor and bodybuilder. He predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films and television series, besides acting in a few Telugu and Kannada films, as well as two Hindi films. Riyaz debuted in Malayalam through the 1994 ...

as Kamal Ekambaram, Anu's family friend and an escaped prisoner who reveals Shakthi's past to Masss *

as Radha Krishnan "R. K.", a real estate owner and the main antagonist who, along with his accomplices, kills Shakthi, Anu, and Megha *

Sharath Lohitashwa Sharatchandra Lohithaswa (born 5 May 1972), known popularly as Sharath Lohithaswa, is an Indian actor mostly known for his work in Kannada and Tamil films. He has had a successful career in theatre, where he continues to work, and television. A ...

as Anthony Xavier, R. K.'s partner and a hawala broker *

Charles Vinoth Charles Vinoth is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films as a supporting actor. Career After completing his education, Vinoth briefly began a career in shipping before losing passion in the area. Vinoth has since been a regul ...

as MLA Madhivadhanan "Madhi", R. K. and Anthony's henchman *

Subbu Panchu Subramaniam Panchu Arunachalam, credited as Subbu Panchu or P. Ar. Subramaniam (born 16 February 1973) is an Indian actor and film producer. Son of noted writer-producer Panchu Arunachalam, Subbu first appeared as a child artist in the Malayala ...

as Police Commissioner Shanmuga Sundaram, R. K. and Anthony's henchman who gets murdered by Kamal *

Jayaprakash V. Jayaprakash is an Indian actor and producer who works in Tamil and Telugu-language films. He ventured into film business in the early 2000s as a producer, making several films under his banner GJ Cinema and later turned actor, with Cheran's ...

as Kothandaram Reddy * Aravind Akash as Anthony's henchman *

Yuvina Parthavi Yuvina Parthavi is an Indian actress who has appeared in predominately Tamil and Kannada films and commercials. She was introduced as a child actress in AVM Productions television serial ''Uravukku Kai Koduppom'' (2011), before making a breakth ...

as Megha, Shakthi's daughter, Masss's half sister *

Karunas Karunas (born 21 February 1970 as Karunanidhi Sethu) is an Indian actor, politician and comedian in the Tamil film industry. Appearing mostly in supporting roles, he has also played lead roles in films including ''Dindigul Sarathy'' (2008) an ...

as Azhagu (ghost) *

Sriman Sriman () is an epithet of the Hindu deity Vishnu. It refers to the deity being the possessor of Sri, both referring to his consort Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, as well as the material and non material aspects of fortune. Literature Sri ...

as Salesman Sripathy (ghost) *

Rethika Srinivas Rethika Srinivas is an Indian actress who has appeared in Tamil films. Career Rethika graduated with a degree in electronic engineering from SRM University, before pursuing a master's degree in media studies in the United Kingdom. She subseque ...

as Padma (ghost) *

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

as Chinna (ghost) *

Rajendran A. Rajendran,(born 1 June 1957) credited as Motta Rajendran or ''Naan Kadavul'' Rajendran, is an Indian stunt double and actor working mainly in Tamil cinema. He debuted in 2003 with the Tamil film '' Pithamagan'' and has worked as a stunt doub ...

as a ghost * Sanjay Bharathi as a ghost *

Daniel Annie Pope Daniel Annie Pope is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films. After appearing in uncredited and minor roles, he made his breakthrough as an actor with his comic role in ''Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara'' (2013). Career Da ...

as a ghost *

Shanmugasundaram Shanmugasundaram was an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil films. He began his career as an actor by starring in ''Ratha Thilagam'' (1963) and '' Karnan'' (1964), and continued his career for seven decades. He is also a dubbing artist. He h ...

as a ghost * V. Gnanavel as a ghost * Hareeni Nair as a ghost * Susheela Neethi as a ghost *

Vidyullekha Raman Vidyullekha Raman (born 4 November 1991), also known as Vidyu Raman, is an Indian actress and comedienne who appears in Tamil and Telugu films. The daughter of actor Mohan Raman, Vidyullekha made her debut in Gautham Vasudev Menon's 2012 ''Ne ...

as Julie, Manini's friend and colleague in the hospital *

Brahmanandam Kanneganti Brahmanandam (born 1 February 1956), known mononymously as Brahmanandam, is an Indian actor, comedian, impersonator, and voice actor known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He is particularly known for his comic performa ...

as Dr. Gnanaprakasham, Hospital Dean * Madhusudhan Rao as Reddy *

Sonia Sonia, Sonja or Sonya, a name of Greek origin meaning wisdom, may refer to: People * Sonia (name), a feminine given name (lists people named, Sonia, Sonja and Sonya) :* Sonia (actress), Indian film actress in Malayalam and Tamil films :* Sonia ...

as Gnanaprakasham's wife *

Manobala Manobala (born 8 December 1953) is an Indian film director, producer, actor and comedian who predominantly plays supporting roles in Tamil-language films. He started his career in Tamil cinema in the early 1970s and with Kamal Haasan's referen ...

as Arnold *

Stunt Silva Stunt Silva is an Indian stunt actor, action director and stunt co-ordinator who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Hindi and Sinhala films. He made his debut with the 2005 Telugu film '' Chatrapathi'', directed by S. S ...

as Prince, Reddy's henchman * Prinz Nithik as Mahesh, Madhi's henchman *

Ramya Subramanian Ramya Subramanian, also known as VJ Ramya, is an Indian actress and television host, who has worked in the Tamil film industry. Career Ramya participated in the Miss Chennai competition in 2004. She subsequently went on to host television ...

as Reporter *

Badava Gopi Badava Gopi is an Indian stand-up comedian and actor. Career Badava Gopi is an Indian stand-up comedian, actor, singer, hailing from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He was introduced into films in 2005 in the movie ''Poi'', shot in Sri Lanka by the veter ...

as Registrar * Ramya Ramakrishnan as Ramya * Vikramadithyan as Siddhar * Srilekha Rajendran as Orphanage Caretaker

Cameo appearances

* Jai as Kathiresan (ghost), Ganesh's eye-donor *

Vijay Vasanth Vijay Vasanth (born Vijayakumar Vasanthakumar on 20 May 1983) is an Indian politician who is a Member of Parliament from Kanyakumari Loksabha constituency. He contested and won the bypoll that took place for Kanyakumari Loksabha constituency i ...

as Drinker at Bar * Anjali as Manimegalai (archival footage from ''Engeyum Eppothum'') *

Vaibhav Vaibhav() is a male given name in the Sanskrit language. People * Vaibhav Deshpande (born 1987), Indian cricketer * Vaibhav Kaul (born 1991), Indian photographer * Vaibhav Madhukar Pichad (born 1974), Indian politician *Vaibhav Mangle (born 1975 ...

as Ghost * Sangeetha Krish as S. Shankari, Shakthi's School Principal

Production

Development

In early December 2013, ''

Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...

'' reported that Venkat Prabhu's next film after ''

Biriyani Biryani () is a mixed rice dish originating among the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. It is made with Indian spices, rice, and usually some type of meat (chicken, beef, goat, lamb, prawn, fish) or in some cases without any meat, and so ...

'' (2013) would feature Suriya as the male lead and would also be produced by the actor himself under his newly launched company 2D Entertainment.Suriya & Venkat Prabhu come together!
''

''. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2014. Three days later the project was confirmed by the director, who however clarified that Studio Green would co-produce it along with 2D Entertainment. Subsequently, lyricist

Madhan Karky Madhan Karky Vairamuthu is an Indian lyricist, screenwriter, research associate, software engineer, and entrepreneur. A holder of a doctorate in computer science from the University of Queensland, Karky began his professional career as an ass ...

was signed to write the dialogues for the film. As with Prabhu's earlier films, composer Yuvan Shankar Raja and editor Praveen K. L. were added to the technical crew, while R. D. Rajasekhar was signed as the cinematographer, replacing Prabhu's usual cinematographer

Sakthi Saravanan Sakthi Saravanan is an Indian cinematographer, who works in Tamil and Telugu cinema. He is best known for his hand held and gritty work with Venkat Prabhu and M. Rajesh directorials. 3D from the beginning,Subramanian, Anupama (6 December 2013)
A mega film for Suriya and Venkat Prabhu
''

Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ( ...

''. Retrieved 6 June 2014. but Venkat Prabhu later informed that it was not true. It was reported to be a

horror comedy Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and sp ...

, while Venkat Prabhu stated that he was "trying something new" and that he could not reveal the genre. The film was rumoured to be titled as ''Poochandi'', however Venkat Prabhu announced on 5 July 2014 via Twitter and Facebook that it had been titled ''Masss''.Expectedly unexpected title for Suriya-Venkat Prabhu film
''Behindwoods''. 6 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014. On 25 May 2015, the film was renamed with a Tamil title ''Massu Engira Masilamani'', to be exempted from the State Government's thirty percentage

entertainment tax Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousand ...

Casting

Reports in January 2014 indicated that Suriya would be playing a

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

in the film. Further more, he was said to be given two different looks, one of them having him sport long hair. After completing the film, Suriya stated that he had played two characters, Masilamani, a conman, and Shakti. Venkat Prabhu went on to add that Shakti was a Sri Lankan Tamil. Nayanthara was signed to play one of the female leads along with

Amy Jackson Amy Louise Jackson (born 31 January 1992) is a British actress and model known for her work in Indian films, predominantly in Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu languages. A former Miss Teen World, Jackson has appeared in over fifteen films. She made he ...

,Subramanian, Anupama (4 June 2014)
Nayanthara and Amy Jackson to romance Suriya
''

''. Retrieved 6 June 2014. while the director's brother Premji was given a significant supporting role as in all of Prabhu's films. Mohan was reported to be playing the villain, but the director stated that Mohan was not approached for any role in the film. Actor-director

R. Parthiepan R. Parthiban (born 14 October 1958) is an Indian actor and filmmaker who works mainly in Tamil cinema. He has directed 15 films, produced 13 films and acted in more than 70 films. He started his career as assistant director for K. Bhagyaraj in ...

informed that he had "a special character to essay in ''Masss'', a very significant one". In August 2014, the Times of India reported that

Jayaram Jayaram Subramaniam, (born 10 December 1965) known mononymously as Jayaram, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Malayalam,Tamil films, along with a few Telugu films. He is also a chenda percussionist, mimicry artist, and occasiona ...

, who had worked with Venkat Prabhu in '' Saroja'' (2008), had been added to the cast and would be playing a prominent role, however, he was replaced by Parthiban. Actors

and Daniel Annie Pope of ''

Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara ''Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara'' (), also referred to as ''Idhaaba'' or more commonly as ''Balakumara'', is a 2013 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language comedy film, written and directed by Gokul (director), Gokul. Produced by Leo Visio ...

'' (2013) fame were reported to be playing the roles of spirits in the film. On 10 August 2014, actress

informed that she would be a part of the project. The next day, actor-director Samuthirakani was announced to be part of the project. Sanjay Bharathi was given a supporting role and participated in the Hyderabad schedule. In November 2014, Amy Jackson opted out of the project, explaining that the makers had changed her character and the script, which would have resulted in her shooting only for half the number of days than she was initially committed to. She was replaced by Pranitha Subhash who joined the film's cast later the month. In October 2014, Riyaz Khan was named to be a part of the film, and was said to be playing "a very important role with a unique characterization". Prinz stated that he played one of the villains in ''Masss'' and that he would appear for a short duration but share screen space with Suriya.

Filming

The film was officially launched with a puja ceremony on 14 April 2014, coinciding with

Tamil New Year Puthandu (), also known as Puthuvarudam, and the Tamil New Year, is the first day of year on the Tamil calendar, traditionally celebrated as a festival by Tamil Hindus. The festival date is set with the solar cycle of the lunisolar Hindu cal ...

. Principal photography was reported to start from 11 July 2014,Suriya-Venkat film is titled 'Masss'
''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

''. 6 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014. but commenced three days earlier in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. The first schedule was shot in a house on the ECR stretch for 15 days.K. R. Manigandan (8 August 2014)
Supernatural characters visible only to Suriya
''

''. Retrieved 8 August 2014. The crew with Suriya and Nayanthara shot some scenes at a hospital in Chennai.C. R. Sharanya (20 August 2014)
Suriya to sport two different looks again
''

''. Retrieved 20 August 2014. The first and second schedules of the film were completed by early September 2014. The team reportedly continued filming in

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and so ...

, Kerala and

Kullu Kullu is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Va ...

- Manali in

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

. Forty per cent of the filming was completed by the end of September 2014. In November 2014, the first song was filmed, which was choreographed by Ajay Raaj. By early December, the team shot crucial portions including a duet song sequence involving Suriya and Pranitha in Bulgaria. Following the schedule in Bulgaria, filming continued in

Puducherry Puducherry or Pondicherry may refer to: * Puducherry (union territory), a union territory of India ** Pondicherry, capital of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry district, a district of the union territory of Puducherry ** Puducherry t ...

by January 2015. Later, the makers completed the film's principal photography on 20 April 2015.

Music

The film's soundtrack album features seven tracks composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, with two instrumentals and a remix done by Premgi Amaren. The lyrics for the songs were written by

Gangai Amaran Gangai Amaran is an Indian music composer, singer, lyricist, writer, film director and actor in Tamil films. Personal life Gangai Amaran was born in Pannaipuram in Theni district, Tamil Nadu in December 1947, as the youngest son of Daniel Ram ...

, Madhan Karky and

Viveka ''Viveka'' ( sa, विवेक, viveka) is a Sanskrit and Pali term translated into English as discernment or discrimination. Viveka is considered as first requirement for the spiritual journey. The next requirement in the joureny in Vedanta, ...

. Yuvan Shankar Raja began working on the film's music in August 2014 and stated that the soundtrack would be "completely wacky". In November 2014,

Tanvi Shah Tanvi Shah is the first Indian woman to win a Grammy. Tanvi was born on 1 December 1985 in Tamil Nadu, India. She has sung in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. In addition, she sings in Spanish, Portuguese and other romance languages, as well as Arabi ...

had recorded a song for the soundtrack, which was however, not featured in the album. At an award function later that month, the composer told that he was working on a special track that would be a tribute to

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

and be on the lines of Jackson's " Thriller", later revealed to be "Poochandi". In March 2015, Sify reported that Yuvan Shankar Raja was no longer part of the project and that he had been replaced by

S. Thaman Ghantasala Sai Srinivas Thaman (born 16 November 1983), known professionally as Thaman S, earlier as S S Thaman, is an Indian music composer, professional drummer, and playback singer who predominantly works in Telugu films and Tamil films. Th ...

as the film's composer, who will also hold for the film's background score. Venkat Prabhu denied the news, and Yuvan Shankar Raja later clarified that, because of time constraints, he composed a tune and gave it to Thaman to work on the orchestration part only, since the team needed to finish the shoot quickly. The film's soundtrack was initially scheduled to be released in April 2015. Raja submitted the master copy of the album on 24 April 2015. The album was released online on various streaming platforms, without hosting any audio launch. The songs were aired live through FM stations, on the day of the launch. Thaman had remixed the tune of the song "Gandi Baat" from the Hindi film '' R... Rajkumar'' (2013), which was titled as "Sema Masss" in Tamil and "Super Masss" in Telugu.Shahid Kapoor's Gandi Baat for Suriya in Masss! – Bollywood News & Gossip, Movie Reviews, Trailers & Videos at
Bollywoodlife.com (7 April 2015). Retrieved on 9 June 2015. The song was included in the film's Telugu version, but not featured in the Tamil album altogether. However, it was separately and officially uploaded in YouTube, and also as a bonus track, after the film's release. Tamil version Telugu version The soundtrack for the Telugu version of the film titled as Rakshasudu, was released on 14 May 2015. The launch was coincided with a grand event held at

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, with

Nagarjuna Nāgārjuna . 150 – c. 250 CE (disputed)was an Indian Mahāyāna Buddhist thinker, scholar-saint and philosopher. He is widely considered one of the most important Buddhist philosophers.Garfield, Jay L. (1995), ''The Fundamental Wisdom of ...

S. S. Rajamouli Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli ( ; born 10 October 1973) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is the highest paid director in India, and is known for his action, fantasy, and epic genre films. T ...

and

Prabhas Uppalapati Venkata Suryanarayana Prabhas Raju (born 23 October 1979), known mononymously as Prabhas (), is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Telugu cinema. One of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema, Prabhas has featured in ''Fo ...

attending the event as chief guests. The additional track of the film "Sema Masss", in Telugu titled as "Super Masss", composed by S. Thaman, was included in the film's soundtrack album.Reception The soundtrack received positive reviews from critics. Behindwoods rated the soundtrack 3.25 out of 5 and said "The successful combination of Venkat Prabhu & Yuvan Shankar Raja strike again, this time with more experimentation and vivacity!" Indiaglitz gave it 3 out of 5 and said, "To quote YSR, the album is 'completely wacky'. Promise of surprise element – check, tribute to Michael Jackson – check, high energy – check... This album is a reviving, soulful and definitely a chart-topper material". Bollywoodlife gave the soundtrack 3 stars out of 5 stating "Yuvan's album has one or two standout numbers like Therikkudhu Masss and Piravi which will stay with you even after a while you are done listening. As for the rest, the songs are not so special or different that would make for an interesting album." Milliblog commented "Masss is the weakest soundtrack among all Venkat Prabhu-Yuvan combos." Moviecrow gave 2.75 out of 5 to the album and stated This album provides the right amount of coolness one would expect from a Yuvan Shankar Raja-Venkat Prabhu collaboration, but it just doesn't pull off the "awe" that these two have been providing all over the years. Not the powerhouse we wanted, but definitely the fun we needed."

Release

The film was initially scheduled to release in March 2015. However the makers officially announced that the film would be released on 1 May 2015. Later, the makers have postponed the release to avoid clash with

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

's ''

Uttama Villain ''Uttama Villain'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Ramesh Aravind and written by Kamal Haasan. The film was presented by N. Lingusamy in association with Kamal Haasan and produced by S. Chandrahasan for Raaj Ka ...

''. On mid-April 2015, the makers confirmed that the film would be released on 15 May 2015. However, to avoid clash with

Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films.

's ''

36 Vayadhinile ''36 Vayadhinile'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film directed by Rosshan Andrrews, which is a remake of his own Malayalam film '' How Old Are You'' (2014), and produced by Suriya Sivakumar under his production studio 2D Ente ...

'', which was also produced by Suriya, the makers pushed the release to 29 May 2015. The film was released in around 1900 screens worldwide, including 425 screens in Tamil Nadu, 570 screens in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 143 screens in Kerala, 100 screens in Karnataka, 140 screens in North India and nearly 600 plus screens in overseas territories, thus becoming the biggest release in Suriya's career.

Marketing

The worldwide distribution rights of ''Masss'' were sold to Eros International for approximately . Dream Factory, a subsidiary of Studio Green was confirmed to distribute the film in Tamil Nadu.Suriya and Karthi from the same banner
''Behindwoods''. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014. Sopnam Films bought the Kerala distribution rights for ''Masss'' as well as two other Studio Green productions, ''

Komban ''Komban'' is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by M. Muthaiah and produced by Studio Green. The film stars Karthi and Lakshmi Menon, while Rajkiran, Super Subbarayan, Thambi Ramaiah, Karunas, and Kovai Sarala play suppor ...

'' and '' Darling''. The rights to Karnataka region were sold to distributor Srikanth. The first poster of ''Masss'' was released on 22 October 2014, coinciding with the

Deepavali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali (IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is on ...

festival. The official teaser was released on 25 April 2015 after midnight.

Reception

Critical reception

Upon release, ''Behindwoods'' gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and said, "It has the expected Venkat Prabhu elements, the crowd-pleasing supernatural factors treated in a slightly different way and of course, Suriya in all his glory." ''

'' also awarded the film 3.5 stars and said, "One thing obvious throughout the film is the effort taken by the director to make his movie watchable for audience of all age groups. It has romance, some spooky elements, comedy, witty one-liners, action, songs and dance." ''

Oneindia Oneindia.com is an Indian website established in January 2006 by BG Mahesh. The website provides news updates, information on sports, events, travel, entertainment, business, lifestyle, videos, and classifieds in seven different Indian language ...

'' rated it 3 stars as well and wrote, "Thanks to Suriya's brilliant performance and Venkat Prabhu's intriguing story telling ability, ''Masss'' will surely be enjoyed by the masses albeit poor VFX hindering the quality of the movie." ''Indiaglitz'' gave 3 stars out of 5 too and stated, "Venkat Prabhu has been stereotyped as the director who loves party hard movies, a bit of adult humor and all that, but in ''Masss'' he has steered clear of those elements and has given a wholesome family entertainer with an interesting storyline." ''

'' also rated the film 3 out of 5 and added, "The film lacks the raciness of ''Biriyani'' or ''

Mankatha ''Mankatha'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action crime film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu. It stars Ajith Kumar in his 50th film, along with an ensemble cast including Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Lakshmi Rai, Anjali, Andrea Je ...

'', but there is enough inventiveness and ''

joie de vivre ( , ; "joy of living") is a French phrase often used in English to express a cheerful enjoyment of life, an exultation of spirit. It "can be a joy of conversation, joy of eating, joy of anything one might do… And ''joie de vivre'' may be ...

'' to the scenes to keep us entertained."''Sify'' rated 3.5 out of 5 and described ''Massu Engira Masilamani'' as "a no-holds-barred entertainer with all the essential ingredients." ''

Rediff Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...

'' gave the film 3.5 stars on a scale of 5 and commented, "There is non-stop excitement, with all the characters in the film being on some kind of high, literally bursting with energy." ''

'' rated the film 3.5 out of 5 as well, saying that "the film drives up to an intersection where one sign says horror and another, entertainment, and firmly decides on the latter while paying just a passing reference to the former." ''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. It is owned by The Times Group. ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961. As of 2012, it is the world's second-most widely read English-language bus ...

'' also gave the film 3.5 stars and wrote, "The paranormal twist in ''Massu...'' is what keeps you interested but there are too many twists; some predictable and some good." Writing for ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'',

Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of ''The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hindu'' ...

stated, "The idea behind the supernaturally themed ''Massu'' is terrific, even it feels like a mashup of many spirit-driven films...the thing with Venkat Prabhu's films these days...(is)...they're all ideas and no follow-through...It's only in the last hour or so that ''Massu'' begins to score."Massu Engira Masilamani: Sloppy, with a not-bad second half
The Hindu (29 May 2015). Retrieved on 9 June 2015. Malini Mannath from ''

The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...

'' wrote, "Not very funny, not very scary, and not very original, Venkat Prabhu's attempt at crafting his first supernatural-comic-vendetta flick, turns out to be a disappointing and a boring affair...The director weaves in a hotchpotch of situations, the screenplay is sloppy and narration is jerky. The characters are one too many and the genuinely appreciative moments are few and far between."

Box office

''Masss'' collected 16.5 crores on its first day in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

alone, where the collection of next two days were 4.90 crore and 75 crore taking its first weekend gross to 95 crore in Tamil Nadu and collected nearly 30 crores in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

on its first weekend. It collected 1 crore from

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

alone on its first day, the

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

version ''Rakshasudu'' collected nearly 40 crore on its first two days in AP-Nizam centres. The film grossed around worldwide in its opening weekend, including net in Tamil Nadu alone with 18.4 million from Chennai alone. From the overseas markets, it reportedly earned in its first three days. The film has grossed approximately worldwide from both Tamil and Telugu versions in its lifetime, not adding the entertainment tax in India. Masss was listed as one of the top 10 highest-grossing

Tamil films Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

of the year.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2015 action comedy films 2015 comedy horror films 2010s supernatural thriller films 2010s Tamil-language films 2015 comedy films 2015 films Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police Films directed by Venkat Prabhu Films scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja Films set in Quebec City Films set in Tanzania Films shot in Bulgaria Films shot in Chennai Films shot in Himachal Pradesh Films shot in Kerala Films shot in Ooty Films shot in Puducherry Indian action comedy films Indian comedy horror films Indian ghost films Indian supernatural thriller films Royal Canadian Mounted Police in fiction Films scored by Thaman S Tamil films remade in other languages