vetrimaran director all movies

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.

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)

Dhanush in Vetrimaaran's film - 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.

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.

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

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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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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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)

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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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 .

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.

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.

Vetrimaaran

Producer, Writer, Director, Actor

Born September 4, 1975 in Cuddalore, Tamilnadu, India

Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, who works in the Tamil film industry. Vetrimaaran made his directorial debut with the Polladhavan. His second feature film Aadukalam won six National Film Awards. He produces films under his production company, Grass Root Film Company. His movie Visaranai (2016) was selected as India's official entry to the Academy Awards.His film Asuran (2019) was named as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.

Filmography

Connections

Samuthirakani

Aadukalam Naren

Aishwarya Rajesh

Andrea Jeremiah

Kishore Kumar G.

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Vetrimaaran

Highest Rated: 100% Narappa (2021)

Lowest Rated: 100% Narappa (2021)

Birthday: Sep 4, 1975

Birthplace: Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India

Filmography

		Credit
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Screenwriter, Producer	-	2024
100%		Director, Screenwriter	-	2023
100%	No Score Yet	Writer	-	2021
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Producer	-	2021
No Score Yet		Director	$325.0K	2020
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Director, Producer	-	2020
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Producer	-	2019
No Score Yet		Director, Screenwriter, Producer	$379.1K	2018
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Producer	-	2018
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Producer	-	2016
100%		Director, Producer, Screenwriter	-	2016
No Score Yet	No Score Yet	Producer	-	2014
100%		Producer	-	2014
No Score Yet		Producer, Screenwriter	-	2013
No Score Yet		Director, Screenwriter	-	2007

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Published 2020-10-13T08:00:53.967Z Updated 2023-04-02T17:41:22.254Z

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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.

Vetrimaaran has directed four feature films and is a winner of four National Film Awards.(Photos: By special arrangement)

“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.”

A great working chemistry -- actor Dhanush with Vetrimaaran. (Photos: By special arrangement)

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.

Vetrimaaran's Visaaranai is based on a book called Lock Up by Coimbatore-based autorickshaw driver Chandra Kumar.

“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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From ‘Insidious’ Demons to ‘Ghostbusters,’ Universal Orlando’s Horror Nights 2024 Is Ready To Terrify and Thrill

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The Big Picture

Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights 2024 event features 10 new haunted houses and 5 scare zones, with a mix of familiar properties and original horror stories.
Lora Sauls, Director of Creative Development and Show Direction at the theme park, reveals event planning details, weather precautions, and their creature creation process.
HHN Orlando focuses on original content and aligns with the West Coast team on the story points for the featured properties.

Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 2024 is in full scare mode through November 3, with 10 all-new haunted houses, both inspired by well-known horror properties and created from original stories, and five scare zones. Between the demons from Insidious: The Further , the massive creatures of A Quiet Place , a frost threatening to freeze everyone to death in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire , and a group of female Universal Monsters getting their time to shine with Eternal Bloodlines , there will be plenty of screams to go around. And when you add six original twisted tales about goblins, killers jacked-up on candy, a folklore museum, monsters of Latin America, terrible triplets, and a B-movie horror marathon to the mix, no one will leave unscathed.

Before the 33rd annual HHN kicked into gear, Collider got the opportunity to chat with Lora Sauls, Director of Creative Development and Show Direction at Universal Orlando , about what it takes to pull off the hugely popular event. During the interview, she also discussed pushing creative boundaries, how things have grown over the years, the differences between the event in Orlando and the event in Hollywood, the fun in bringing creatures to life, taking the Orlando weather into account, that guests should be prepared for how terrifying the Insidious: The Further house is, the key to a successful HHN, and how far along they are with planning and development for the 2025 event.

Collider: Please give my regards to whoever is responsible for the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man S’mores because that person is absolutely a brilliant genius.

LORA SAULS: Yeah, when we saw it, we just loved it. Our food and beverage team knocked it out of the park with some of their awesome specialty items this year.

On top of that, you have Pumpkin Guts, which is actually butternut squash and zucchini noodles. When did you realize that you could really push creative boundaries with what you offer for HHN?

SAULS: It was just a few years back that the entertainment creative teams were working directly with our food teams. They are such amazing creatives, in and of themselves, and they come up with all these amazing specialty products for Halloween every year. There were the Cordyceps noodles (for The Last of Us ) last year.

Horror Nights Has Greatly Evolved in the 33 Years the Annual Event Has Taken Place

As one of the people behind putting this event together, when did you start working specifically on Halloween Horror Nights and what was the event at that time? How much has it grown since you started working on it?

SAULS: I started my long career with Halloween Horror Nights in 1998. I think we were still in single digits. It’s crazy that we’re 33 years young. We only had a few haunted houses. It was definitely less than 10. We had a few shows, and scare zones were a part of it. It really has evolved. I choreographed my first show in 1998. And then, in 2000, I got the awesome opportunity to choreograph Jacked Up , which was a show for an icon that we had created for that year, Jack the Clown. I never knew what I was a part of when I was able to choreograph that show. Still, 33 years later, Jack is such a huge part of the Halloween Horror Nights lore.

When did you start working on this year specifically and what was the first thing that you started working on?

SAULS: For this year, we started working on the event in August of last year. We typically start working on the event with our original content haunted houses because we get to curate original horror stories that we get to highlight at the Orlando event. And then, from there, we fold in our intellectual property haunted houses, and then scare zones and shows. We actually started 2025 development in April. Now, we’re about an 18-month creation cycle, which really allows us to spend time and hone in on all those original content stories for not only haunted houses, but also scares zones.

One of the things I love most about this event is that there’s so much work put into all the details of each house.

SAULS: One amazing thing we have here at Universal Orlando is our “Unmasking the Horror” lights on daytime tour, where you get a behind-the-scenes look at the amazing movie-quality sets that our scenic team builds and the decor that our decor team puts all their love behind. It’s a lights on tour, so you get to see all those incredible details.

Was that something that came about because you guys wanted to do it, or was it something that came about because of fan demand?

SAULS: It’s a little bit of both. We truly listen to our fans and hear what they want out of the event , as far as content and what they want to see. So, we were able to listen to both our fans and ourselves and said, “We really should do this.”

At Universal Orlando's Horror Nights, the Original Content Houses Play an Important Role in the Event

Even for the properties that are on both coasts, the houses are typically different experiences. Does that come out of there just being two different creative teams and you guys wanting to do your own take on stuff? Are you also keeping in mind the fact that there’s an ever-growing group of fans that attend on both coasts?

SAULS: Here in Orlando we have the great pleasure of typically doing a 5/5 split of original content and intellectual properties. But this year, we are doing a 6/4 split, with six original concepts and four intellectual properties for our haunted houses. We know our fans in Orlando absolutely love the original content stories that we get to tell and we wanna tell more of that. We are listening to our fan base, at all times. But honestly, we really try to create an overall story with our event in Orlando and really try to develop iconic characters. It is two creative teams, but we work very closely on the intellectual properties for both coasts.

I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the house for A Quiet Place at Universal Studios Hollywood. How did you approach that house in Orlando?

SAULS: For all our intellectual properties, we work very closely with our West Coast creative partners on really aligning on the story beats. With A Quiet Place , the creative teams from the West Coast and East Coast got together and really aligned on what we wanted those story beats to be, representing both A Quiet Place 1 and 2 , and how we wanted the creatures to be in each of the haunted houses. Now, on the West Coast and East Coast, the house layouts themselves vary, but that’s just because of the buildings we go in. Patrick Magee, who built all the creatures for Hollywood, also built all the creatures for the East Coast, so we were aligned on what those creatures look like and how they would move now. How we mechanically move them is uniquely different on each coast, but the fact that we were able to align so brilliantly on what they look like was incredible.

Universal Studios Hollywood had the first Monstruos house in 2023 and it was hugely popular. What made you want to do that in Orlando this year? What are you excited about, when it comes to bringing that particular house to your audiences this year?

SAULS: Several of us from the Orlando creative teams got to go out to the Hollywood event last year and all of us came back saying that was our favorite house. We immediately asked if we could bring it to the Orlando event because we thought it would just be perfect, and we’re so honored that our West Coast partners said yes and even shared some of their assets with us.

Which do you personally enjoy more, bringing creatures and monsters to life that previously only existed in a movie, or creating a creature or monster for an original house that didn’t exist prior to somebody imagining it?

SAULS: Oh, my gosh, it’s definitely both. We love taking our intellectual property stories and really diving in and seeing how we can make it into a haunted house. But also, we absolutely love creating original content characters, environments and stories that we can share with our guests, that are all new horror stories. I love both and our team absolutely loves doing both.

When Designing Horror Nights, Universal Orlando Must Keep the Tropical Weather in Mind

How challenging is it to build and run an event like this, knowing that some of it is outdoors and you’re likely going to have to deal with some severe weather at certain points? Is that something you’ve had to become more aware of during the planning stages?

SAULS: Of course. Our technical teams have all the skill and expertise to make sure that we have secured everything for the very severe weather we get here in Orlando , during this time of year. Because we wanna give this amazing content to our guests earlier than ever before, we know we’re gonna deal with those summer storms and with some possible tropical weather that comes our way, but the teams are well-prepared for that. We take into consideration everything when we’re building things that are outside and make sure they are engineered and properly held down, so that weather doesn’t impact them. We try to make every consideration when we are putting things out in the streets. We are very well aware of the weather that we have. There have been times in our history where we were squeegeeing out haunted houses and making sure that we weren’t underwater. We prepare every year because it will rain sometime during our opening time period.

How often do you find yourself standing around the exit of houses, so that you can hear what the immediate feedback is? What’s it like to be involved with something where you get that immediate feedback?

SAULS: It’s my favorite thing to do, and we find ourselves doing it a lot more than we probably realized because we love doing it so much. We were just reviewing the houses last week and we all said that we’ll stand outside Insidious: The Further and watch people scream because those last scenes are just intense.

Horror really has grown over the years, with such a variety of types of horror now. What most scares you? Is there a horror property or character that you find most terrifying?

SAULS: I will say going through the Insidious: The Further house is truly frightening. Those demons and creatures really do put me on edge. But for me, it’s just the love of everything. When our scareactors scare us, they get a bigger kick out of that. And it’s silly, but frogs scare me.

What is the key to a successful year of Horror Nights?

SAULS: Having a diverse slate of content and really having something for everyone. Not everyone loves a slasher, but there are some people that love slashers. We want to make sure we have something for everyone in the event that they can enjoy and find joy in.

What are you most proud of being able to pull off this year, that you maybe weren’t sure you’d actually be able to pull off?

SAULS: Our iconic characters for Orlando this year are SINIST3R and SURR3AL. Those characters have been in the brain of me and a couple of other people for the last decade, so we’re very excited that we were finally able to bring those characters to life and that they will reign over Halloween Horror Night 33 in Orlando.

How Far Are Universal Orlando's Creative and Design Teams in Preparing For Horror Nights 2025?

How far into HHN 2025 are you, at this point?

SAULS: We have developed six original content houses. Our design team is already into sketching those houses. Our creative team is already writing full treatments for those houses. We’ve already pitched those six creative ideas to our senior leadership here. So, we’re now in full development.

Halloween Horror Nights is being held on select nights at Universal Orlando Resort from August 30 through November 3.

Halloween Horror Nights

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In a Robbie Williams Biopic, the Star Is a C.G.I. Monkey. Take That.

The director Michael Gracey hopes Americans will finally get the British hitmaker, who’s depicted warts, fur and all in “Better Man,” debuting at the Telluride Film Festival.

On a film set, a man wearing a beanie directs a woman standing under an umbrella.

By Nicole Sperling

Dance, monkey, dance. Sing, monkey, sing. The British pop star Robbie Williams has always felt like a performing monkey. He has described himself that way when remembering eras of his life: his days as a young boy, trying to prove to his father that he had the “It factor” required to become a star; when he was a teenager and landed his dream job as the fifth member of the boy band Take That; and finally as an adult trying to start a solo career.

Recent biopics of the band Queen and Elton John have proved that audiences are willing to taking a fantastical ride through pop-stars’ common trajectories of rise and fall and rise again. But will they be so amenable when the protagonist is played by a computer-generated monkey?

Yes, you read that correctly. In the coming musical biopic “Better Man,” the character of Robbie Williams is a chimp, though everyone else around him is human. It’s a leap that the director Michael Gracey, best known for the smash “The Greatest Showman,” is betting moviegoers will take, even those in the United States where Williams is hardly a name despite his international stardom.

The monkey, said Gracey, “was the thing for me that clicked, and it was also the thing that made the film near impossible to finance.”

His plan was to rely on the magicians at Weta FX (“ Avatar: The Way of Water ”) in New Zealand to design a computer-generated monkey, something similar to the process that turned Andy Serkis into Caesar in the “Planet of the Apes” franchise. For “Better Man,” the stage actor Jonno Davies wore the gray motion-capture suit for the entire production and was then rendered into simian form. For the chimp’s face, the eyes of the actual pop star were used.

This approach not only doubled the budget of the movie, but also seemed just too far afield for most backers. Multiple times, Gracey said, “I would sit down with financiers. They would say, ‘Director of “The Greatest Showman,” Robbie Williams. I couldn’t be more excited about this. How much do you think?’ And I would say, ‘Well, there’s just one thing: Robbie in the film is being portrayed by a monkey.’ And they would say, ‘Oh, yes, in some dream sequence, or he looks at his reflection and he sees himself as a monkey.’ I said, ‘No, no, no, the entire film.’ Their faces would just drop and they would say, ‘OK, well, this is the end of the meeting.’”

Gracey spent six years and all his political capital from the massive success of “The Greatest Showman,” which earned $435 million worldwide, to cobble together the money to make this fantastical musical featuring Williams’s music catalog. The film premiered Friday night at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado to a standing ovation. It will next appear at the Toronto International Film Festival in September ahead of its nationwide release from Paramount Pictures on Christmas Day.

Williams, with his cheeky personality and self-described “punchable face,” was all aboard the monkey concept, Gracey said. “He grinned from ear to ear” when it was first presented to him. “He thought it was just so crazy that it was going to work,” he added.

And so from the first frame of the film to the last, Williams is portrayed by a monkey, first as a young childlike one with furry paws and outsized ears who doesn’t fit in at school and is desperate for the approval of his showman father; then as a rebellious boy-band monkey with dyed blond hair (just on his head) and a penchant for copious amounts of cocaine and alcohol; and finally as an adult monkey desperately trying to fight off his demons.

To Gracey, the gritty rendering of Williams’s life is made more heartbreaking with the monkey at the center, a helpless animal that he’s betting will elicit sympathy from the audience.

“I genuinely believe you actually feel more because he is a monkey,” he said. “When you watch a monkey doing drugs, it’s actually really hard to watch. We show it in a way that is messy — it makes you uncomfortable, and it’s meant to.”

Gracey explained that the character was self-medicating instead of dealing with anxiety and depression, trying to numb himself, and then fighting back. The film “doesn’t hold back the extreme condition that he was in mentally at that stage of his life,” the director added.

Paramount, which has been developing another original musical with Gracey since 2021, was given an early look at the film and took to it immediately.

“I had no idea what I was really going to watch,” said Brian Robbins, co-chief executive of Paramount Global, who watched an early, unfinished cut of the film last November with his film team, and ended up spending $25 million for the North American rights. “I think even before the lights came up you could feel this sort of energy,” he recalled. “When someone does the unimaginable, it’s the most exciting thing in this business. I think ultimately, that’s what audiences want to experience and we experienced that firsthand — which with a jaded group like ours, is kind of hard.”

Two years ago at the Cannes Film Festival, Gracey showed 20 minutes of the film to his loyal cadre of financiers, and he brought Williams with him for the introduction. Gracey spoke, but all eyes were locked on Williams. And it was in that moment that Gracey felt that he was onto something with this grand anthropoid experiment.

“That’s what the monkey does. It’s the truest depiction in a film of what it is to be a star, because we all just stare at the monkey,” he said, adding, “They walk into the room, they don’t open their mouth, and everyone is staring.”

As for Williams, he said at the premiere that the first time he watched the film, he was processing it. He continued, “The second time I felt sad for Nicole” Appleton, his ex-fiancée who was forced by a band manager to have an abortion. “And then I felt sad for me. I’ve been through a lot.”

The artist, now 50, has sold 77 million albums worldwide and won 18 Brit Awards, the English equivalent of the Grammys. Yet, in the United States he is virtually unknown. This movie may change that, at least when it comes to his music.

To Gracey, drawing moviegoers completely unfamiliar with Williams will be the clearest mark of success.

“The people I really want to see this film are the people who have no interest in Robbie Williams,” Gracey said. “That, to me, is the truest victory. That is where the monkey transcends the narrative.”

Nicole Sperling covers Hollywood and the streaming industry. She has been a reporter for more than two decades. More about Nicole Sperling

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Venice film festival 2024: all of deadline’s movie reviews, breaking news.

Claude Lelouch Recalls Collaboration With ‘A Man And A Woman’/‘Chabadabada’ Composer Francis Lai – Venice

By Melanie Goodfellow

Melanie Goodfellow

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The director is at the festival to receive the Cartier Glory To The Filmmaker Award as well as for the premiere of new work Finalement , starring an ensemble cast led by Kad Merad and also featuring Elsa Zylberstain, Michel Boujenah, Sandrine Bonnaire, Barbara Pravi and Françoise Gillard.

Lelouch first met Lai in 1965 having forged strong connections with the music world through his music videos for the likes of Sylvie Vartan, Françoise Hardy and Dionne Warwick, directing her singing ‘Walk On By’ against the Paris skyline in 1964.

“He spent two hours two hours playing me melodies on his accordion and these melodies spoke to me, to my heart, to the essential,” recounted Lelouch. “He was completely self-taught and there was great freedom in his way of playing, in his harmonies and tonalities.”

Lai’s compositions became part of Lelouch’s creative process as a director and he would get the musician-composer to write soundtracks for his films on the basis of his ideas as part of development.

“I recorded the music for all my films before shooting the films, because I really wanted the actors to listen to the soundtrack and I myself needed to listen to it,” he explained.

This even resulted in two separate films coming to fruition on the basis of Lai’s two musical interpretations of the same idea: Love Is A Funny Thing (1969) and One Plus One (2015).

“In the final scene Annie Girardot’s character is waiting for Belmondo’s character at the airport. She (Girardot) didn’t know whether he was going to descend from the plane or not… the camera is on Girardot, and in Girardot’s ear is the music of the film,” he explained.

“What is interesting is that she really didn’t know whether he was going to come down the steps or not. She wasn’t acting. If she had known, she would have still played the scene well… but in real-life we don’t act.”

Lelouch did not make all his films with Lai, collaborating with other composers such as Michel Legrand, and even bringing their talents together on Bolero , the 1981 saga tracking three generations of musicians and dancers from Russia, Germany, France and the U.S.

The director said this had kept their creative relationship fresh.

“It’s true I did cheat on him from time to time,” he joked. “Francis Lee was always delighted when I came home, like a wife who is happy to see her husband come back home.

“That allowed us not to get too used to one another and this liberty also allowed him to work with other directors too… then, when we re-found one another, we wanted to seduce each other once again.”

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My Hero Academia: You're Next

Izuku Midoriya, a U.A. High School student who aspires to be the best hero he can be, confronts the villain who imitates the hero he once admired. Izuku Midoriya, a U.A. High School student who aspires to be the best hero he can be, confronts the villain who imitates the hero he once admired. Izuku Midoriya, a U.A. High School student who aspires to be the best hero he can be, confronts the villain who imitates the hero he once admired.

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Shoto Todoroki

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Katsuki Bakugo

Ochaco Uraraka
Izuku Midoriya
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Trivia This is the final My Hero Academia movie, as the manga ended a few days after the film's release.
Connections Spin-off from My Hero Academia (2016)

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October 11, 2024 (United States)
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我的英雄學院劇場版：You're Next
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Vetrimaaran
Vetrimaaran (born 4 September 1975) is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who primarily works in Tamil cinema.He is known for his unique filmography with major commercial success and high critical acclaim works. He has won five National Film Awards, three Filmfare South Awards and one Tamil Nadu State Film Award.. Vetrimaaran made his directorial debut with Polladhavan (2007).
Ranking All Vetrimaran Movies
Ranking All Vetrimaran Movies. by zashon_j • Created 2 years ago • Modified 1 year ago. List activity. 2K views • 96 this week. Create a new list. List your movie, TV & celebrity picks. ... Director Vetrimaaran Stars Dinesh Samuthirakani Anandhi. 3. Aadukalam. 2011 2h 40m Not Rated. 8.1 (7.3K) Rate.
Vetrimaaran
Vetrimaaran. Writer: Asuran. Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, who works in the Tamil film industry. Vetrimaaran made his directorial debut with the Polladhavan. His second feature film Aadukalam won six National Film Awards. He produces films under his production company, Grass Root Film Company. His movie Visaranai (2016) was selected as India's official ...
Every Vetrimaaran Film Ranked and Where to Stream Them
Vetrimaaran with 5 films & 1 short film as a director, has earned his reputation as one of the most accessible filmmakers of the last decade ... 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 ...
Every Vetrimaaran Movie Ranked and Where to Watch Them
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 ...
Vetrimaaran
Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer working in the Tamil film industry. His works, predominantly social issue dramas and action crime films, have been acclaimed for their gritty realism and scope. He is the recipient of five National Film Awards, eight Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, two Filmfare South Awards and the Amnesty International Italia Award from 72nd ...
Top 10 best movies of Vetrimaaran
9)Borbaad. 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.
Ranking Vetrimaaran Films
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 ...
Vetrimaaran All Films Box-office Verdict
2007 2h 30m Not Rated. 7.7 (2.5K) Rate. A contemporary action drama revolving around a young man's love for his bike, including the trials and travails he is forced to undergo when it goes missing. Director Vetrimaaran Stars Dhanush Ramya Kishore Kumar G. VERDICT : SUPER HIT. 2. Aadukalam.
Vetrimaaran: Movies, TV, and Bio
Vetrimaaran. Writer, Producer, Director, Actor. Born September 4, 1975 in Cuddalore, Tamilnadu, India. Vetrimaaran is an Indian film director, screenwriter and film producer, who works in the Tamil film industry. Vetrimaaran made his directorial debut with the Polladhavan. His second feature film Aadukalam won six National Film Awards.
Vetrimaaran
Vetrimaaran. Highest Rated: 100% Viduthalai Part 1 (2023) Lowest Rated: 100% Viduthalai Part 1 (2023) Birthday: Sep 4, 1975. Birthplace: Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu, India.
‎Vetrimaaran Movies
A list of 6 films compiled on Letterboxd, including Visaranai (2015), Vada Chennai (2018), Asuran (2019), Aadukalam (2011) and Polladhavan (2007). About this list: List only includes movies that I have watched and ranking is based on my personal preference.
Vetri Maaran
The movie is based on an Youngster & his bike. The movie is based on the happy-go-lucky boy longing for a Pulsar bike & Bicycle thieves did well commercially at Box office. Polladhavan broke all ...
Vetri maaran hits and flops all movies list| Director vetrimaaran
Explore the comprehensive list of hit and flop movies directed by Vetrimaaran, a renowned Tamil film director.
Why Vetrimaaran is the most interesting director in Tamil films today
By Prathibha Parameswaran, Chennai. Nov 02, 2016 08:05 PM IST. Vetrimaaran is arguably among the most interesting filmmaker working in the Tamil film industry. Here's documenting his rise and ...
Viduthalai Part 1
Viduthalai (transl. Liberation; titled onscreen as Viduthalai Part 1) is a 2023 Indian Tamil-language period crime thriller film directed and co-produced by Vetrimaaran, who co-wrote the screenplay with B. Jeyamohan, under Grass Root Film Company and RS Infotainment.It is the first of a two-part adaptation of the short story Thunaivan (transl. Companion) by Jeyamohan.
Vetri Maaran Movies
Vetri Maaran Movies List: Find the latest updates and complete list of films of Vetri Maaran with their release date, movie ratings, and title only on Filmibeat.
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In remaking the 2022 Danish satirical thriller, 'Speak No Evil' director James Watkins changed one of the film's most poignant scenes. ... "I've made an incredibly bleak movie before, so I ...
Viduthalai: Part 1 (2023)
Viduthalai: Part 1: Directed by Vetrimaaran. With Soori, Vijay Sethupathi, Bhavani Sre, S. Chandan. A police officer is recruited to capture the leader of a separatist group.
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Fran Borgia of Singapore's Akanga Film Asia ("Tiger Stripes"), who's at the Venice Film Festival this week with Yeo Siew Hua's Golden Lion contender "Stranger Eyes," has unveiled two ...
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"Alien: Romulus" writer/director Fede Alvarez is set to deliver a keynote at View Conference. The 25th edition of the annual VFX and animation event is taking place Oct. 14-19 in Turin, Italy ...
Visaaranai (2015)
Visaaranai: Directed by Vetrimaaran. With Dinesh, Samuthirakani, Anandhi, Murugadass. Four labourers are tortured by the police to confess to a theft they have not committed.
Claude Lelouch Recalls 'Chabadabada' Composer Francis Lai
The director is at the festival to receive the Cartier Glory To The Filmmaker Award as well as for the premiere of new work Finalement, starring an ensemble cast led by Kad Merad and also ...
'Strange Darling' Ending and Twists Explained by Director J.T. Mollner
Seriously — there are some great twists in this movie. Go check it out first and then come back to read this! J.T. Mollner is earning raves for his new thriller "Strange Darling." However ...
Aadukalam (2011)
Aadukalam: Directed by Vetrimaaran. With Dhanush, Taapsee Pannu, Jayabalan, Kishore Kumar G.. Falling in love with Irene as well as refusing to obey his boss Pettaikaran in a rooster fight complicates Karuppu's life.
My Hero Academia: You're Next (2024)
My Hero Academia: You're Next: Directed by Tensai Okamura. With Kaito Ishikawa, Yûki Kaji, Kenta Miyake, Mamoru Miyano. Izuku Midoriya, a U.A. High School student who aspires to be the best hero he can be, confronts the villain who imitates the hero he once admired.
Indie Sales Boards Valerie Lemercier Romantic Comedy
Following "Marie's Story" and "Take a Chance on Me," French director Jean-Pierre Améris is reteaming with Paris-based Indie Sales on his next movie, "It Takes Two to Tango," a ...

Every Vetrimaaran Film Ranked and Where to Stream Them

6. Polladhavan (2007)

Also, Read: Every Sriram Raghavan Film Ranked

Where to Watch:

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

4. Viduthalai: Part I (2023)

3. Asuran (2019)

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

Read the Complete Review of Asuran (2019) Here

1. Vada Chennai (2018)

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

Read the Complete Review of Vada Chennai (2018) Here

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

Vetrimaaran Links: IMDb , Wikipedia

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Ranking Vetrimaaran Films — From Polladhavan to Viduthalai Part 1

6) Polladhavan (2007)

5) Aadukalam (2011)

4) Visaranai (2015)

3) Vada Chennai (2018)

2) Asuran (2019)

1) Viduthalai Part 1 (2023)

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