Vedalam

Vedalam (transl. Phantom) is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action film[2] written and directed by Siva, and produced by Aishwarya. the film features Ajith Kumar, Shruti Haasan and Lakshmi Menon in the lead roles, with Rahul Dev, Kabir Duhan Singh, and Soori in supporting roles.

Vedalam
Release poster
Directed bySiva
Produced byA. M. Rathnam (presenter)
S. Aishwarya
Written bySiva (Dialogues)
Screenplay bySiva
Story bySiva
Aadhi Narayana
Starring
Music byAnirudh Ravichander
CinematographyVetri
Edited byRuben
Production
company
Sri Sai Raam Creations
Distributed bySri Sai Raam Creations
Release date
  • 10 November 2015 (2015-11-10) (India)
[1]
Running time
154 minutes[2]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Box office₹150 crore[3]

Anirudh Ravichander composed the film's music and background score, while Vetri was the cinematographer, and Ruben was the editor. Production began in April 2015 and was released on 10 November 2015, coinciding with Diwali. It was remade in Bengali in 2018 as Sultan: The Saviour. The film focuses on a former gangster and mercenary named Ganesh, who reforms to protect his adoptive sister Thamizh from a ruthless international criminal syndicate.

Plot

A squad of soldiers sith their leader infiltrate the private jet of Rahul, the leader of international French Indo-Cartel criminal syndicate.Suddenly all the guns of the other soldiers point towards their leaders head.They reveal that Rahul's two younger brothers Abhinay and Aniket have kidnapped the families of all the other soldiers hostage earlier, leading to them betraying their leader and killing him on the spot Before he's killed, the leader declares that a good man will rise and take Rahul down, to which he responds that only someone as bad as him will stand a chance.

Elsewhere Ganesh has recently moved into the city of Kolkata with his sister Thamizh to enroll her in an art college. Ganesh is kind and soft-hearted, and his kindness proved effective to immediately reforming rowdy Kolkata Kaali.He escorts Ganesh and Tamizh to their new house where they acquaint with neighbors.

After enrolling Thamizh, Ganesh seeks work at a taxi company under his boss Laxmidas. Shortly after, he accidentally gets his first customer: the phony lawyer Swetha.Subseauent events,where swetha poses ganesh as a fake mute eyewitness to a case leads to her firing when ganesh messes up by talking infront of everyone.Swetha teams up with Laxmidas after he too is embarrassed by Ganesh.However,Swetha befriends Ganesh. Ganesh also gets to know Swetha's brother Arjun, who becomes attracted to Thamizh.

Ganesh and all the other taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers are called in by the police commissioner Yashpol and asked to report any activities by the syndicate members who have been causing trouble in the city. Ganesh reports a case of arms smuggling which leads to Aniket and his men capturing him.Aniket orders his men to kill Ganesh brutally but Ganesh surprisingly escapes.Eventually,Ganesh brutally kills all of the gang members and stabs Aniket multiple times

Abhinay reaches india and investigates the murder the next day and works on tracking the culprit down. Abhinay and his technical team track Ganesh's mobile signal to their own tower.However Ganesh overtakes their effort and brutally ambushes his entire squad and kills Abhinay.Swetha follows him and is horrified by his actions and wishes to stop the marriage between Arjun and Thamizh, but Ganesh reveals that Thamizh is not actually his sister.

A year ago, Vedhalam (Ganesh) was a terrifying rowdy and mercenary who was arrested but freed from custody in return for saving the police from a rival gang in exchange for money. Ganesh is stabbed by opponents but is saved by Thamizh, who admits him into the hospital, lying that she's his sister to get him through.

Thamizh and her blind parents are threatened to sell their house for a company site, so she and her friend Ester hire Ganesh. Ganesh betrays them for being paid earlier, and the family leaves since Ganesh saves Thamizh and 99 other girls from being trafficked by the syndicate. In return for Ganesh's deed, Thamizh's parents accept eviction. The syndicate's brothers find them vulnerable on the streets and kill Thamizh's parents and injure her. Ganesh rescues her, in which he demonstrates empathy for the first time. Thamizh gets amnesia, so Ganesh states that he's her brother and takes care of her.

Swetha chooses to accept Thamizh's marriage. Shortly after, Rahul uses an injured victim of Ganesh's assault to find his brother's kiler. He coincidentally hires Thamizh to draw a forensic sketch. Ganesh comes prepared and takes one of Rahul's henchman's son hostage to ensure Thamizh's freedom. Rahul later abducts Thamizh and Ganesh goes after him. Without revealing his violent side, Ganesh guns Rahul down and rescues Thamizh.

Cast
  • Ajith Kumar as Ganesh aka "Vedalam", who was formerly a don, but later, when he emptied Thamizh and her blind parents' house, they resided in his house. After their death, he lied to Thamizh (who had a memory loss) that he is her brother.
  • Shruti Haasan as Swetha, an advocate at Kolkata. She lost her job because of Ganesh and decides to take revenge, but later after discovering what he has done for Thamizh and her family, she falls for him.
  • Lakshmi Menon as Thamizh, a blind couple's daughter who is a memory loss patient and wants to enroll in an arts college.
  • Rahul Dev as Rahul, the main antagonist, who is the oldest of the three brothers and the leader of the crime syndicate
  • Kabir Duhan Singh as Abhinay, Rahul's first younger brother who wants to find out Aniket's death but is killed by Ganesh.
  • Aniket Chouhan as Aniket, Rahul's second younger brother whom Ganesh kills.
  • Soori as Laxmidas, a local taxicab owner at Kolkata, who becomes a cleaner due to marital complications
  • Ashwin Kakumanu as Arjun, Swetha's brother who marries Thamizh (guest appearance)
  • Rajendran as "Kolkata" Kaali, a rowdy
  • Thambi Ramaiah as Thamizh's father and a blind man
  • Mayilswamy as Ganesh's house owner who advises Ganesh to work under Laxmidas.
  • Sudha as Gomathi, Thamizh's mother
  • Appukutty as Kuzhandai, Ganesh's assistant
  • Avinash as Rahul's assistant
  • Mansoor Ali Khan as Inspector Manimaran
  • Raviraj as Swetha and Arjun's father
  • Sriranjini as Swetha and Arjun's mother
  • Kovai Sarala as Laxmidas's mother-in-law
  • Nagineedu as Doctor
  • Sreeja Ravi as Nurse
  • Bala Saravanan as Swetha's junior
  • Swaminathan as Swamy, Swetha's junior
  • Ramesh Thilak as Phony Witness
  • Yogi Babu as Chatterjee, Kaali's assistant
  • Vidyullekha Raman as Esther, Thamizh's friend
  • Rajkumar as Arjun's friend
  • Sharmila Thapa as Laxmidas's wife
  • Meera Krishnan as House Owner's wife
  • Jasper as Manimaran's brother
  • Kalairani as a victim's mother
  • R. N. R. Manohar as Corrupt Police Officer
  • D. R. K. Kiran as Bombay gangster
  • Sukran as Sub-Inspector
  • Aryan Ashik as Doctor
  • "Nandhini" Sriganesh as part of the doctors team
  • Mippu as Vedalam's henchman
  • Kannan Ponnaiya as Vedalam's henchman

Production

Development

After the success of their previous collaboration Veeram (2014), Siva announced that he would direct[Ajith Kumar again in May 2014, with the planned venture announced to begin after the completion of Ajith Kumar's prior commitments with his ongoing film, Yennai Arindhaal (2015).[4][5] Siva worked on the script in Bangalore and approached corporate companies, including PVP Cinemas, to produce the film, though eventually A. M. Rathnam announced that he would finance the production.[6]

Production was briefly delayed because Ajith Kumar wanted to spend time with his pregnant wife following the completion of his other film.[7]

Anirudh Ravichander was signed to compose the film's music and background score, while Vetri and Ruben were announced as cinematographer and editor respectively. The film was developed without a title, before it was confirmed that it would be titled as Vedalam in September 2015.[8]

In late 2014, Hansika Motwani denied reports that she had also signed on to appear in the film.[9] The producers entered discussions to finalise the cast and crew of the film during early 2015, with Shruti Haasan and Kabir Duhan Singh signed on in March to portray the leading actress and antagonist, respectively.[10] The role of Ajith's sister in the film took considerably longer to finalise, with several actresses approached to portray the character.

Actresses Sri Divya, Nithya Menen and Bindu Madhavi all turned down the opportunity, with the latter saying she was only interested in playing the lead actress opposite Ajith.[11][12] After further unsuccessful negotiations with Parvathy Nair, actress Lakshmi Menon was signed on to play the role of Ajith's sister in the film in April 2015.[13] Soori joined the cast soon after production began, after replacing Santhanam in the film who became busy with his own productions. Ashwin was also added to the cast to portray a supporting role in late May 2015.[14]

Filming

An official launch was held on 9 April 2015, with scenes intermittently shot for the rest of the month.[15] The first official schedule began shooting in Navalur, Chennai with scenes featuring Ajith and Lakshmi Menon entering a college.[16] Subsequent scenes were shot around sets in Chennai throughout June 2015, with Kabir Duhan Singh joining the shoot, while a song resembling a 'pooja bhajan' was shot featuring Ajith, Lakshmi and actor Mayilswamy.[17]

The team then moved to Kolkata and scenes were shot featuring Shruti Haasan as a lawyer and Ajith as a taxi driver, with images from the shoot being leaked on social networking sites.[18] The unit then moved to shoot a song sequence in Milan, Italy featuring Ajith and Shruti Haasan.[19]

The team returned to Chennai in August 2015 to film night scenes and action sequences, with actor Rahul Dev joining the team for the shoot, while scenes were also shot at Ramee Mall.[20][21] A final schedule was held at Mohan Studios in Chennai, with Ajith Kumar with cropped hair, resembling his look from his earlier film, Red (2002).[22]

The team finished production in mid-October 2015 after completing patch-up work on a song. Ajith was injured during the final day of the shoot, causing a minor delay.[23] Despite his injury, Ajith began dubbing for the film immediately, in order to ensure that it would release to coincide with the festival of Diwali in November 2015.[24]

Soundtrack

The music was composed by Anirudh Ravichander, collaborating for the first time with Ajith Kumar and Siva.

Vedalam
Soundtrack album by
Anirudh Ravichander
Released16 October 2015 (2015-10-16)
Recorded2015
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelSony Music India
ProducerShri Sai Raam Creations
Anirudh Ravichander chronology
Naanum Rowdy Dhaan
(2015)		 Vedalam
(2015)		 Thanga Magan
(2015)
Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Singer(s)Length
1."Veera Vinayaka"VivekaAnirudh Ravichander, Vishal Dadlani4:23
2."Don't You Mess With Me"Madhan KarkyShruti Haasan, Shakthisree Gopalan4:58
3."Uyir Nadhi Kalangudhey"VivekaRavi Shankar3:05
4."The Theri Theme"SivaAnirudh Ravichander1:52
5."Aaluma Doluma"RokeshAnirudh Ravichander, Badshah4:20

Marketing

The film's title and first look poster were reported to be revealed in September 2015, on Ganesh Chaturthi, which did not happen. On 23 September, Ajith's manager Suresh Chandraa officially confirmed via Twitter that the title and the first look would release that night. At 12:00 am, the film's first look and title were released, which confirmed the title Vedalam.

Behindwoods commented on the first look, "Ajith wears a super cool red kurta with short trimmed hair, a trim stubble, to go with a metal bracelet in one of the hands and a big stud in his left ear. A look that takes us back to his 'Red' days".[25]|url = http://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/news/2015/vedalam-teaser-creates-new-record-by-smashing-the-one-set-by-taylor-swift-s-bad-blood-200964.html%7Cwebsite = filmibeat.com|accessdate = 8 October 2015}}</ref>

Release

The film was released on 10 November, 2015 and completed more than 175 days of theatrical run. It became a big commercial success.[1] The film yielded a distributor share of ₹40 crore in Tamil Nadu.[26]

The satellite rights of the film were sold to Jaya TV.[27] Vedalam's Tamil Nadu rights were sold to Jazz Cinemas for 33 crore.[28] It was remade in Bengali in 2018 as Sultan: The Saviour by Raja Chanda starring Jeet.[29]

Critical reception

Sify described the film as average, noting, "Vedhalam is Ajith's one man show and it might enthrall his ardent fans for others..." also calling it "a formulaic film with lot of enjoyable moments."[30] Indiaglitz rated the film 3 out of 5, calling it an "enjoyable mass entertainer."[31] Avinash Gopinath of Filmibeat gave the film 3.5/5 stars and concluded, "Though this movie suffers from logical loopholes and melodramatic sequences, it gets saved by Ajith and director Siva's propaganda that puts human values before money, which makes Vedalam watchable."[32]

Behindwoods rated the film 2.5 out of 5, stating, "Vedalam – Sparks do fly but not frequently enough."[33] M. Suganth of The Times of India rated the film 3/5 and called it "a packaged mass entertainer for Ajith fans and family audiences".[34]

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References
  1. "'Vedalam' (Vedhalam) opening day box office collection: Ajith's film beats 'Dheena' on first day". 11 November 2015.
  2. "VEDALAM (12A) (!)". British Board of Film Classification. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  3. "Vivegam box-office collection: Ajith's film grosses Rs 150 crore worldwide". India Today. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  4. "Hot news on Ajith — Siruthai Siva's next". behindwoods.com. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  5. Janani Karthik (14 July 2014). "Siruthai Siva to direct Ajith's next". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  6. "Director Siva confirms Ajith project". Sify. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  7. "Ajith's 'Thala 56' Update: GV Prakash Bags Siruthai Siva's Movie". International Business Times, India Edition. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  8. "Ajith's new film titled 'Vedalam'". The Hindu. Indo-Asian News Service. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  9. "I am not doing Ajith-Siva film:Hansika". Sify. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  10. "Shruti Haasan in Ajith's next movie". The Hindu. Indo-Asian News Service. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  11. "Reason why Bindhu Madhavi Rejected 'Thala 56' offer". indiaglitz.com. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  12. "Ajith Okays 'Yennai Arindhaal' Girl for 'Thala 56'?". indiaglitz.com. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  13. "Meet Ajith's reel sister". The Hindu. Indo-Asian News Service. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  14. Kaushik L M. "Ashwin Kakumanu to share the screen space with Thala Ajith in director Siva's Thala 56". Behindwoods. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  15. "Ajith's upcoming 'Thala 56' with director Siva begins with a formal pooja on April 9th, 2015". behindwoods.com. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  16. "`Thala` Ajith spotted in Navalur". Sify. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  17. Kaushik L M. "Thala 56 intro song with Ajith's stunning dance moves shot recently". Behindwoods. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  18. "Shruti dons a lawyer role in Thala 56?". Sify. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  19. "Shruti is Ajith's 'photo subject'". The Hindu. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  20. "Thala 56 shoot at a popular mall in Chennai!". Sify. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  21. "One more villain in `Thala 56`!". Sify. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  22. "`Thala` Ajith goes back to `Red` days?". Sify. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  23. "Ajith injured in `Vedhalam` last day shoot!". Sify. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  24. "Ajith starts dubbing for 'Vedhalam'". Sify. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  25. Avinash Pandian. "Ajith Kumar's Thala 56 has been titled as Vedhalam". Behindwoods. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  26. Vedalam distributor share 40 crore
  27. "VEDALAM SOLD FOR A WHOPPING PRICE!". Behindwoods. 15 October 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  28. CB on Twitter: "#Vedalam TN rights bought by Jazz Cinemas for 3cr (excluding P&P). Highest for Ajith. Tax Free Sure". Twitter.com (5 November 2015). Retrieved on 2015-11-20.
  29. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/bengali/movie-reviews/sultan-the-saviour/movie-review/64683966.cms
  30. Review: Vedhalam. Sify.com. Retrieved on 20 November 2015.
  31. Vedalam (aka) Vedhalam Tamil movie review, story, rating – IndiaGlitz.com. Retrieved on 20 November 2015.
  32. Gopinath, Avinash (10 November 2015). "Vedalam Movie Review & Rating: The Triumph Of Human Values Over Money!". Filmibeat. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  33. Vedalam (aka) Vedhalam review. Behindwoods.com (10 November 2015). Retrieved on 2015-11-20.
  34. Suganth, M. (11 November 2015). "Vedalam Movie Review". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
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