Viduthalai Part 1

''Viduthalai Part 1'' () is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language period crime thriller film written and directed by Vetrimaaran.." Produced by Elred Kumar under the banners of RS Infotainment. It is adapted from the short story ''Thunaivan'' () written by B. Jeyamohan. The film stars Soori and Vijay Sethupathi. It was presented by RS Infotainment.

''Viduthalai: Part 1'' was released worldwide theatrically on 31st March 2023 where it received critical acclaim from critics.

Plot

After the deadly bombing of a train, the police commence 'Operation Ghosthunt' to nab "Vaathiyar" Perumal, the leader of the Makkal Padai (People's Army), who are the alleged perpetrators. Kumaresan, an earnest constable, joins the police force as a driver but owing to his good conscience, begins to question the inhumane practices of the police which end affecting his love interest.

Cast

* Soori as Constable Kumaresan
* Vijay Sethupathi as Perumal "Vaathiyaar"
* Bhavani Sre as Tamilarasi alias Paapa
* Gautham Vasudev Menon as Sunil Menon, Head of Operation Ghosthunt
* Rajiv Menon as A. Subramaniyan, Chief Secretary
* Ilavarasu as Ila. Ilavarasu, Minister of Public Works
* Balaji Sakthivel
* Saravana Subbiah
* Tamizh
* Chetan as Ragavendar, Officer-in-charge of E-Company
* Aryan
* Munnar Ramesh as Ramasamy (Chow Chow)
* Pavel Navageethan
* Sardar Sathya
* Manimegalai
* Bala Hassan
* S. Chandran
* Asuran Krishna
* Sundar CVC
* R. Ganesh Gurung

Production

Development

During the pre-production works of ''Vaadivaasal'', Vetrimaaran was reported to collaborate with Soori for another project in July 2019, due to the extensive pre-production of the former. Vetrimaaran decided to adapt late Na. Muthukumar's short story ''Pattamppoochi Virpavan'' and later opted for Meeran Moideen's novel ''Ajnabi'', which involved multiple foreign locations such as Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In April 2020, due to the restrictions in air travel to curb COVID-19 pandemic, Vetrimaaran had decided to make changes in the script and used the lockdown period for pre-production works. Media reports later claimed that, Vetrimaaran had adapted the short story ''Thunaivan'' written by B. Jeyamohan, with the film being titled the same. However, the makers decided to title the film as ''Viduthalai'', which was officially confirmed on 21 April 2021 with the first look being released. Originally intended as a single film, it was later split into two parts.

Casting

In January 2021, Vijay Sethupathi joined the film's cast and also shot few portions during the commencement of the shoot, thus marking his first collaboration with Vetrimaaran. Vetrimaaran revealed that Sethupathi would play the role of Soori's mentor in the film, which is said to be a crucial one, although Soori plays a crucial part in the story. This is Soori's first film in a leading role. The team recreated Sethupathi's character, which is based on Ku. Kaliyaperumal Vaathiyaar, a member from Tamil Desiyam Group. While Soori's character is based on the Indian bandit Veerappan, the team rubbished the rumours clarifying that there is no connection of Veerappan with the script.

Bharathiraja was reported to join the film in his first collaboration with Vetrimaaran, although he was replaced by Kishore during the filming of the first schedule. Ilaiyaraaja was reported to compose music for the film marking his first collaboration with Vetrimaaran. In January 2021, Bhavani Sre, sister of composer G. V. Prakash Kumar was announced playing the female lead, in her third feature film after '' Ka Pae Ranasingam'' and ''Paava Kadhaigal''. In April 2021, Gautham Vasudev Menon was reported to play the role of a cop in the film.

Filming

The team moved to Sathyamangalam forest to shoot major sequences featuring Soori during December 2020, and filming eventually began on 4 January 2021. Bharathiraja opted out of this schedule citing the climatic conditions, which led Vetrimaaran to replace him with Kishore. Few portions of the film has been shot in an iPhone, which is used to control production costs. The shooting of the film took place in Sathyamangalam for three months, and the team moved to Chengalpattu in April 2021, in which the team erected a huge police camp set, and shooting of the film happened for 20 days. The team later planned to shoot the last leg of the film at Sathyamangalam after the COVID-19 lockdown. Principal photography wrapped by 31 December 2022.

Music

The films soundtrack is composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

Ilaiyaraaja in his maiden collaboration with Vetrimaaran. Ilaiyaraaja composed the song of the film in his newly launched music studio in Kodambakkam, after his fallout with Prasad Studios where he recorded songs for nearly four decades; It marks his first work being recorded at his new studio where music composition of the film began in February 2021. As of May 2021, Ilaiyaraaja recorded three out of eight songs being planned for the film and are touted to be "situational numbers" as per sources. The music rights were purchased by Sony Music India. The first single titled "Onnoda Nadandhaa" released on 8 February 2023.

Release

The distribution rights for Tamil Nadu were acquired by Red Giant Movies, while the digital rights of the film were acquired by ZEE5. The satellite rights of the film were acquired by Kalaignar TV. The overseas distribution rights for UK and Europe were acquired by Ahimsa Entertainment. The film released theatrically on 31 March.

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Reception

Box office

''Viduthalai: Part 1'' collected crore on its release day worldwide and earned in total crores worldwide on the fourth day.

Critical response

''Viduthalai: Part 1'' received critical acclaim from critics with praise towards its characterization, performances, plot, technical aspects, background music and cinematography.

Logesh Balachandran of ''The Times of India'' gave the film 4 out of 5 and wrote "Viduthalai Part 1 maintains a consistent pace and keeps viewers engaged with moments of high tension. It stays true to Vetri Maaran's style and artistry, making audiences eager for the sequel." P Sangeetha of ''OTTplay'' gave the film 4 out of 5 and wrote "Viduthalai scores on all corners, be it the plot, narration, background score, acting performances, cinematography and not to forget, the filmmaking. A brilliant film from the Vetri Maaran stable!" Latha Srinivasan of ''India Today'' gave the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote "Viduthalai (Freedom) is a film that is a must-watch because it offers a new cinematic perspective of Vetrimaaran and especially because Soori is outstanding."

Haricharan Pudipeddi of ''Hindustan Times'' wrote "The film, which is definitely not for the faint-hearted, is an elaborate, detailed exploration of abuse of power."
Gopinath Rajendran of ''The Hindu'' wrote "Viduthalai Part 1 ends at a crucial juncture and the ending makes it evident that exponentially more incidents are bound to happen in the sequel; Vetri leaves us on the edge of our seats." Kirubhakar Purushothaman of ''The Indian Express'' gave the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote "Vetrimaaran is back with another film about police brutality that is heart-wrenching and might be a hard watch if you prefer your safety zone."

Bharathy Singaravel of ''The News Minute'' gave the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote "Soori is masterful in Vetrimaaran’s gritty political spectacle." ''IndiaGlitz'' gave the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote "Go for this vintage Vetrimaaran film with a powerful performance from Soori." ''Maalai Malar'' gave 3.75 out of 5 stars and wrote "Vetri Maaran has beautifully designed each character according to the script and captivated the audience." ''Hindu Tamil Thisai'' wrote "Casting in Vetri Maaran movies always works magic on screen. That way the magic has happened in this movie too."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title

Films based on Tamil novels
Films directed by Vetrimaaran
Films scored by Ilaiyaraaja
Indian crime thriller films
Indian police films
2020s Tamil-language films