Kavan (film)

Kavan (transl. Catapult) is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language political thriller film (runs in the backdrop of journalism ethics) directed by K. V. Anand, written by Subha and Kabilan Vairamuthu and produced by AGS Entertainment. The film stars Vijay Sethupathi and Madonna Sebastian with T. Rajendar, Vikranth, Pandiarajan, Akashdeep Saighal, Bose Venkat, and Jagan in supporting roles. The film, which has a soundtrack and score composed by Hiphop Tamizha, began its production in July 2016. The film released on 31 March 2017, receiving positive reviews.

Not to be confused with Kaavan.

Kavan
Directed by	K. V. Anand
Produced by	Kalpathi S. Aghoram Kalpathi S. Ganesh Kalpathi S. Suresh
Written by	Subha Kabilan Vairamuthu (Dialogue)
Screenplay by	Subha K. V. Anand Kabilan Vairamuthu
Story by	Subha K. V. Anand Kabilan Vairamuthu
Starring	Vijay Sethupathi T. Rajendar Vikranth Madonna Sebastian Pandiarajan Akashdeep Saigal Bose Venkat Jagan
Music by	Hiphop Tamizha
Cinematography	Abinandhan Ramanujam
Edited by	Anthony
Production company	AGS Entertainment
Release date	31 March 2017
Running time	160 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Box office	₹ 54 crores

Plot

Thilak (Vijay Sethupathi) is a news anchor who works for Zen One TV, which is run by Kalyan (Akashdeep Saighal), a corrupt and unethical media baron who uses blatant sensationalism to gain TRP and is closely associated with Dheeran Maniarasu (Bose Venkat), a corrupt and powerful politician. Kalyan ensures that his channel does not report anything negatively about Dheeran and receives kickbacks in return. Also working for Zen One is Malar (Madonna Sebastian), Thilak's ex-girlfriend. Though Malar avoids Thilak initially, she soon realises her feelings for him, and they get back together.

One day, Malar gets the news that her friend Kalpana (Darshana Rajendran), who is a social activist, has been raped with the blame put on her boyfriend Abdul Kader (Vikranth). Thilak, creative head Ashok (Five Star Krishna), and Malar manage to smuggle out Kalpana from the hospital and convince her to tell her story. Kalpana had been raped by Dheeran's goons in retribution for protesting against Dheeran's pesticide factory, which had ruined a once-prosperous village due to the effluents coming out of the factory, and the blame was put on Abdul instead. This confession is telecasted live, and Kalpana gains massive support from the public. However, Kalyan telecasts another video which depicts Kalpana as "mentally ill" and had tried to malign Dheeran due to her "mental state". Enraged, Thilak attempts to expose Dheeran during a talk show, despite being bound by the Zen One management to ask questions framed by them to Dheeran. A brawl eventually ensues between Thilak and Dheeran, and Thilak brutally assaults Ashok, who is responsible for the video which had defamed Kalpana. Thilak then confronts Kalyan for his cronyism and lack of journalism ethics and is fired and blacklisted from all major media networks in response. Malar, executive producer Jagan (Jagan), and two other colleagues, Nisha and Aishwarya also walk out with Thilak in a show of solidarity, and they too are blacklisted.

With nowhere else to go, Thilak, Malar, Jagan, Nisha and Aishwarya take up jobs with Muthamizh TV, a struggling local news channel run by Mayilvaganan (T. Rajendar). Thilak goes to the village and reports on how the villagers are affected as a result of the pesticide factory and telecasts it on Muthamizh. He also makes Abdul and Kalpana reveal their side of the story and also gets that telecasted along with a video showing Dheeran assaulting him at the Zen One studio. With Zen One as well as Dheeran now exposed, Kalyan decides to take revenge on Thilak by orchestrating a bomb blast with the help of Dheeran at the district collector's office and putting the blame on Abdul, who was present at the Collector's Office minutes before the bomb exploded, thereby sensationalising it as a "terrorist attack". He also frames Thilak, Malar, and Muthamizh as co-conspirators, leading to Muthamizh being blacked out by the Central Government.

Undaunted, Thilak, who is on the run, manages to capture a video of Abdul revealing that he was not involved in any terrorist attack and was framed by Dheeran and Zen One. Thilak also records a video showing Ashok and the police orchestrating a fake encounter to kill Abdul. He manages to get both videos telecasted on Zen One itself with the help of Jagan, Aishwarya and Nisha, who have rejoined Zen One TV as part of Thilak's plan to expose Kalyan and Dheeran, as well as his former boss Pillai (Pandiarajan), the chief editor at Zen One who had suffered in silence against the atrocities committed by the Zen One management.

Having been exposed completely, Kalyan and Dheeran, who are at the Muthamizh studio, boldly admit their crimes to Thilak and defend themselves, but unfortunately for them, their confession is recorded by the Police Commissioner (Nassar), who was working incognito in Muthamizh. Kalyan and Dheeran are arrested. Thilak, Mayilvaganan, Malar, Jagan, Pillai, Nisha and Aishwarya celebrate their victory.

Cast

• Vijay Sethupathi as Thilak, newsreader and cameraman of ZenOne Channel and TV cameraman newsreader of Muthamizh TV
• T. Rajendar as Mayilvaganan, founder and owner of Muthamizh TV
• Vikranth as Abdul Kader, social activist
• Madonna Sebastian as Malar, Thilak's colleague since college days
• Pandiarajan as Pillai, senior editor of ZenOne Channel
• Akashdeep Saigal as Kalyan, managing director of ZenOne Channel
• Bose Venkat as Dheeran Maniarasu (Theechatti Mannaru), politician and Dragon Factory owner
• Jagan as Jagan, executive producer of ZenOne Channel
• R. N. R. Manohar as Thilak's father
• Five Star Krishna as Ashok, creative head of ZenOne Channel
• Priya Rajkumar as Bhavana, general manager of ZenOne Channel
• Darshana Rajendran as Kalpana, Abdul's lover
• Chandini Tamilarasan as Nimmi
• D. R. K. Kiran as Inspector Bala
• Vikram Chakkravarthy as Raghavan
• Bhawana Aneja as Lakshmi
• Aishwarya as Nisha
• Shwetha as Shwetha
• Nassar as Police Commissioner (guest appearance)
• Powerstar Srinivasan as himself (guest appearance)
• Anthony as a person in the bar (cameo appearance)
• K. V. Anand as K. V. Anand (voice acting) and additionally in a brief cameo as tea-seller.

Production

Development

After the release of Anegan director K. V. Anand expressed his desire to commence his next film, which is said to be on the lines of the directors own Ko. The project was confirmed on 22 March 2016, with Vijay Sethupathi joining hands with popular director K. V. Anand for a mega budget film. Also this marked the collaboration of K. V. Anand with AGS Entertainment for the third time after Maattrraan and Anegan.

Casting

The film stars filmmaker-actor T. Rajendar in an important role, who is making a comeback as an actor after a gap of ten years since he acted in a full-fledged role. Initially actress Tamannaah was reported to play female lead. But due to date issues, she was later replaced by Madonna Sebastian and Hiphop Tamizha have been roped in to compose music.[1] Also actor Akashdeep Saighal who was last seen in Ayan was signed on to play a key role in the film he joined the filming from August 2016.[2]

Filming

The first schedule commenced on 11 July 2016. It is also revealed that, the script is co-written by Kabilan Vairamuthu along with K. V. Anand's favorite duo, Suresh an Balakrishnan. As of 29 August 2016, it is said to be 40% complete from around 30 days of shoot. The second schedule has started recently in Chennai and the team has been canning a few scenes in T. Nagar, Chennai which involves Vijay Sethupathi and T. Rajendar. Madonna Sebastian will also be a part of this schedule and she's expected to join the sets very soon after these. This schedule is likely to go on for another 2 weeks and the makers are planning to complete the entire shoot portion by the month of October but since they need to complete over 50% of the film, the possibility of wrapping the shoot portion before October is less, adds source.[3][4] The title Kavan was revealed in late October 2016. Regarding the decision to choose this title, Anand said, "We chose 'Kavan', which means 'catapult', because it perfectly suits the story line, which involves a hero aiming for his target, and also sounded good."[5]

Soundtrack

Kavan
Soundtrack album by Hiphop Tamizha
Released	12 February 2017
Genre	Film soundtrack
Label	AGS Entertainment Divo
Producer	Hiphop Tamizha
Hiphop Tamizha chronology
Kaththi Sandai (2016) Kavan (2017) Meesaya Murukku (2017)

The soundtrack album was composed by Hiphop Tamizha, making their first collaboration with director K. V. Anand. One of the songs in the album, Happy New Year, was released on YouTube as a single song on New Year's Eve, which was well received by audience. The audio rights are also secured by the production house itself, alongside Divo.[6] The whole album was launched at Suryan FM 93.5 on 12 February 2017.[7] The album received positive reviews from critics. Behindwoods gave 3 out of 5 stating, 'An album that blends a number of genres that can satisfy mass and class'.[8] Indiaglitz gave a verdict, 'a full on innovative album' and rated 3/5.[9]

Song Title	Singers	Lyrics
Happy New Year	T. Rajendar, Hiphop Tamizha, Madonna Sebastian	Arunraja Kamaraj
Oxygen	Hiphop Tamizha, Sudarshan Ashok	Kabilan Vairamuthu
Mathuraangalam	Kaber Vasuki and Kids Chorus	Kabilan Vairamuthu
Theeratha Vilayattu Pillai	Hiphop Tamizha, Padmalatha, Anthony Daasan, Georgina Mathew	Mahakavi Subramania Bharati
Boomerang	Hiphop Tamizha, Nikhita Gandhi, Velmurugan	Kabilan Vairamuthu

Release

The movie released worldwide on 31 March 2017 alongside Nayanthara's Dora. It had its world premiere in Dubai, one day before the movie released. Kavan is releasing in a total of 624 screens, where 324 of the screens were in Tamil Nadu, 44 in Karnataka and 37 in Kerala. In the oversea's area, the movie released in more than 170 screens.[10] The official trailer of the film was released on 11 March 2017 on YouTube, reaching 1 million views within a day.[11] The satellite rights of the film were sold to Zee Tamil.[12]

The film was also dubbed in Hindi and released on YouTube by Goldmines Telefilms on 15 April 2019.[13]

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. Indiaglitz rated it 3.5/5 and said to "go for it to experience top class acting and message driven home effectively".[14] Behindwoods rated it 3.25/5 and called it "a bold, engrossing take on good and bad sides of Media.[15] India Today gave it a 3/5 and said that "Vijay Sethupathi shines in this media-bashing, media-glorifying film".[16] The Indian Express rated it 3/5 and said that it was "fun to watch".[17] Sreedhar Pillai of Firstpost rated it a 3/5 and called it a "commercial entertainer, which keeps you hooked".[18] Sify praised the film by calling it "a well-made commercial film that delivers a solid kick".[19] M. Suganth from The Times of India gave it a 3/5 and said that it "keeps us engaged with its crowd-pleasing quality".[20] Kaushik L. M. gave 3.25/5 stating 'Kavan is a good entertainer to pass your time this summer. It is largely gripping, topical and thought-provoking. Go watch'.[21]

In contrast, Gautaman Bhaskaran from Hindustan Times rated it 2/5 and called it "a film without focus, but Vijay Sethupathi shines, as usual".[22] Baradwaj Rangan from Film Companion rated it 1/5 and called it "a 'satire' on the television industry", which "is overlong and laughably overblown".[23]

Box office

The film had an excellent opening at the box office collecting ₹101 million (US$1.4 million) on its opening weekend in Tamil Nadu alone, where ₹31.0 million (US$430,000) was its opening day collection, increasing to a number of ₹42.0 million (US$590,000) on its second day, with the help of positive word of mouth.[24][25] In Chennai city alone, the film netted ₹11.4 million (US$160,000) on its 3 days opening weekend with a tremendous 95% occupancy.[26] In its second week, the film grossed ₹200 million (US$2.8 million) in Tamil Nadu alone within 10 days of its release, despite new movie, Kaatru Veliyidai releasing, it is still holding strong at the box office.[27] In Chennai city, it witnessed 90% occupancy and the collections in total was ₹27.9 million (US$390,000).[28]

References

1. "KV Anand-Vijay Sethupathi film to begin from next week". Sify.
2. "Ayan villain in KV Anand's next - Times of India". The Times of India.
3. "Details about Vijay Sethupathi and T Rajendar's roles in KV Anand's film". Behindwoods. 29 August 2016.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. "K V Anand titles his next as 'Kavan'". News Today. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
6. "Vijay Sethupathi T Rajendar Kavan Happy New Year single review". Behindwoods. 30 December 2016.
7. "Kavan Songs Audio Launch – Vijay Sethupathi, Madonna Sebastian | Hiphop Tamizha". 14 February 2017.
8. "KAVAN SONGS REVIEW". Behindwoods. 13 February 2017.
9. "Kavan Music review songs lyrics". IndiaGlitz.com.
10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 10 April 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. "Kavan trailer: Vijay Sethupathi starrer crosses one million views in a day- Entertainment News, Firstpost". Firstpost. 13 March 2017.
12. "Don't miss to catch #VijaySethupathy 's #Kavan on August 25, 3:30 PM. #KavanOnZeeTamil #VinayakaChathurthi @MadonnaSebast14". twitter.com/zeetamil. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
13. "Kavan (2019) New Hindi Dubbed Full Movie | Vijay Sethupathi, Madonna Sebastian, T. Rajendar" – via www.youtube.com.
14. "review. Tamil movie review, story, rating". IndiaGlitz.com.
15. "Kavan (aka) Khavan review". Behindwoods. 31 March 2017.
16. ChennaiApril 1, Srivatsan; April 8, 2017UPDATED; Ist, 2017 09:40. "Kavan movie review: Vijay Sethupathi shines in this media-bashing, media-glorifying film". India Today.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
17. "Kavan movie review: Vijay Sethupathi-starrer is fun to watch". 1 April 2017.
18. "Kavan movie review: Vijay Sethupathi's latest takes a dig at Arnab Goswami types, 'breaking news'- Entertainment News, Firstpost". Firstpost. 1 April 2017.
19. "Review : Kavan review-A well-made commercial film that delivers a (2017)". www.sify.com.
20. "Kavan Review {3/5}: The movie manages to keep us engaged with its crowd-pleasing quality" – via timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
21. "Kavan movie review".
22. "Kavan movie review: A film without focus, but Vijay Sethupathi shines, as usual". Hindustan Times. 31 March 2017.
23. Rangan, Baradwaj (1 April 2017). "Kavan Movie Review".
24. "'Kavan' and 'Dora' two days box office collections". Blasting News. 2 April 2017.
25. "Vijay Sethupathi's Kavan Tamil Nadu opening weekend collection report". Behindwoods. 3 April 2017.
26. "'Kavan' - Excellent Opening weekend collections - Tamil News". IndiaGlitz.com. 3 April 2017.
27. "With Kavan, Vijay Sethupathi strikes gold at the BO. The film grosses Rs 20 crore in 10 days". Hindustan Times. 10 April 2017.
28. "'Kavan' & 'Dora'- Second weekend performance - Tamil News". IndiaGlitz.com. 10 April 2017.

External links

• Kavan on IMDb