''Vilangu'' () is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language

crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

streaming television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aer ...

series produced as an Original for

Zee5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Androi ...

, directed by Prasanth Pandiyaraj of ''

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

'' fame. Produced by

Escape Artists Escape Artists Productions, LLC, commonly known as Escape Artists, is an independently financed motion picture and television production company with a first look non-exclusive deal at Sony Pictures Entertainment, headed by partners Steve Ti ...

the series stars

Vemal Vimal (born 30 August 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Tamil films. Following credited appearances and a supporting role in the critically acclaimed movie ''Kanchivaram'', he played the lead role in Pandiraj's critically acclaimed ''Pasan ...

in the lead role along with

Ineya Shruti Sawant better known by her stage name Ineya, is an Indian actress and model from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala who predominantly appears in Malayalam and Tamil films. She won the Best Actress Award for her role in the Tamil film '' Vaagai S ...

Bala Saravanan Bala Saravanan (born 2 November 1987) is an Indian actor and comedian who has appeared in Tamil language films. Career Bala made his debut as an actor in Vijay TV's school drama serial "''Kallikattu Pallikoodam"'' and came to notice in the Vija ...

Munishkanth Ramdoss, better known as Munishkanth, is an Indian actor who appears in Tamil language films. He had notable roles in films, including ''Mundasupatti'' (2014), ''Maanagaram'' (2017), ''Maragadha Naanayam'' (2017) and ''Raatchasan'' (2018). Ca ...

and

R. N. R. Manohar R. N. R. Manohar (died 17 November 2021) was an Indian actor and director. He directed films like ''Maasilamani'' (2009) and ''Vellore Maavattam'' (2011). Career RNR Manohar started his career as a child artist, having played roles in films suc ...

. The series comprised seven episodes and was released on

on 18 February 2022.

Synopsis

IllamParidhi (

), a sub-inspector at the Vembur Police Station, in the outskirts of

Trichy Tiruchirappalli () ( formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with bein ...

, is unable to balance his personal and professional life and it is the latter that consumes most of his time. A jewellery theft in a house, a decomposed dead body without a head, a cold-blooded murder - all three crimes that happen back to back, fall under the Vembur Police jurisdiction and the crimes are being investigated by Paridhi and his team of Police officers including Karuppu (

), Uthaman (

), and others. As they set out to find the killer, they are welcomed by a series of unexpected events. Who is responsible for the murders that happened in the village and what was the final outcome of the police investigation?

Cast

as Ilamparithi *

as Revathi *

as Karuppu *

as SI Uthaman *

as Inspector Kodilingam *

S. S. Chakravarthy S. S. Chakravarthy (S.Shajahan Chakravarthy) is an Indian film producer in Tamil cinema. He has produced a number of Tamil films through his Production company is NIC Arts. Most of his films had actor Ajith Kumar & Silambarasan in the lead roles. ...

as DSP Vaidhyanathan *

Reshma Pasupuleti Reshma Pasupuleti (born 23 July 1983) is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Tamil language films and TV series. She started her career as an anchor and news reporter for a Telugu TV channel. She began her TV career in Tamil through Vams ...

as Selvi * Ravi as Kitchaan * Sai Umesh * Yogi

Reception

The series opened to extreme positive reviews. Vignesh Madhu of ''

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 ...

'' rated the series with 3/5 stars, stating that, "The word Vilangu is an apt title for a series which is about cops as well as a deceitful man, who hides a beast in him. Leaving aside the horrifying violence, the convenient plot points, and the insipid 'family' scenes, Vilangu makes for a compelling watch." ''Behindwoods'' gave a rating of 3 out on 5 and wrote, "Strong performances from Vemal and Bala Saravanan, Ajesh's music and Prasanth's clever writing together propel Vilangu to a must watch zone." ''

The News Minute ''The News Minute'' is an Indian digital news platform based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It was founded by Dhanya Rajendran, Chitra Subramaniam and Vignesh Vellore in 2014. Apart from Karnataka, it also has bureaus in the states of Telangana, And ...

'' wrote, "Vilangu makes for a gripping watch because it downplays its surprises intelligently, and doesn’t fall back on flashy, unrealistic reveals that revolve around a hero cop (the background score, too, is committed to the plot and not Paruthi). It’s a cat and mouse game where we aren’t sure until the end who is the cat and who is the mouse. Well played." ''OTTplay.com'' rated the series with 3.5/5 stars, called the series an edge-of-the-seat thriller. ''Binged.com'' gave a rating of 6.25 out on 10 and wrote the film as Slow Paced But Engaging Police Procedural Thriller. ''Galatta'' said "Vilangu is truly a comeback of sorts for Vemal and director Prasanth Pandiyaraj!" and rated the series 3/5 stars.

Episodes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt15716624 Tamil-language web series 2022 Tamil-language television series debuts Tamil-language crime television series Tamil-language thriller television series ZEE5 original programming 2022 Tamil-language television series endings