Mersal (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Maheshspectra (talk | contribs) at 02:27, 26 December 2017 (→‎Cast). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Mersal
File:Mersal Theatrical Release Poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAtlee
Screenplay byAtlee
K. V. Vijayendra Prasad
S. Ramana Girivasan
Story byAtlee
Produced byN. Ramasamy
Hema Rukmani
R. Mahendran
H. Murali
StarringVijay
Samantha
Nithya Menon
S. J. Surya
Kajal Aggarwal
Vadivelu
Sathyaraj
CinematographyG. K. Vishnu
Edited byRuben
Music byA. R. Rahman
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • 18 October 2017 (2017-10-18) (Worldwide)[1]
Running time
169 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget₹120 crore[2]
Box officeest. ₹250 crore[3]

Mersal (English: Zapped) is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film[4]. Directed by Atlee and co-written by Atlee, K. V. Vijayendra Prasad and S. Ramana Girivasan (dialogues). The film stars Vijay in triple roles with Samantha, Nithya Menon, and Kajal Aggarwal playing the female-lead roles. The background score and soundtracks were composed by A. R. Rahman, while the cinematography was done by G. K. Vishnu and edited by Ruben.

The film began production in February 2017 with actors Sathyaraj, S. J. Surya and Vadivelu amongst others in supporting roles. It is also the 100th production of Thenandal Studios Limited. The film was released worldwide on 18 October 2017, coinciding with Diwali. The Telugu version Adirindhi (also Adirindi) was released on 9 November 2017.[5][6] The Hindi version will be released by Goldmines Telefilms.

The film opened to positive reviews with critics praising Vijay's performance, the cinematography, A.R. Rahman's soundtrack, social message and Atlee's direction, but criticized the cliché plot and excessive length (169 minutes). The film was a commercial success, grossing ₹250 crore (US$39 million) worldwide, becoming the fifth-highest grossing Tamil film and Vijay's highest-grossing film in his career.


Plot

An ambulance driver, a medical-broker, a hospital HR (Pasanga Sivakumar) and a surgeon, were mysteriously abducted at dawn. Alerted by the incidents, Ratnavel (Sathyaraj), a police officer with Tamil Nadu Police nabs the suspect. As the interrogation begins the suspect explains his motive, Maaran (Vijay), popularly known as ₹5 doctor, as he charges similar amount for treating patients from everyone, arrives for a medical seminar only to be mistaken at Paris Airport due to his cultural identity. After the seminar, Maaran displeases Arjun Zachariah (Hareesh Peradi), another doctor from Chennai, and his offer to team up with him, but develops mutual romantic feelings with his assistant, Anu Pallavi (Kajal Aggarwal). He invites Pallavi and her nagging boss to his magic show, where Arjun is killed deliberately in presumed magic-gone-wrong, shocking his friend Daniel Arockiyaraj (S. J. Surya).

After arriving back to Chennai, Maaran gets betrothed to Tara (Samantha), a media anchor. When an autodriver's school-going daughter met with accident, the treatment is delayed deliberately resulting in her death and suicide of her mother. With the help of Vadivu (Vadivelu), the people behind this incident were abducted, tortured and killed. Deducing the events, Daniel's henchmen traps Maaran, but gets thrashed by Vetri (brother of Maaran), who body swaps Maaran and thus gets caught to the police and reveals himself as a magician who killed Arjun in Paris, for his inhumanely approach in medical profession. Vetri then escapes and convinces Pallavi. As Daniel reaches out to Maaran, holding Tara and Sarala as hostage to find the whereabouts of Vetri, the latter traces Vadivu and confronts Vetri. At the same time, Ratnavel reaches blind magician Salim Ghosh (Sangili Murugan) to know the truth.

In 1970’s, Vetrimaaran, a village wrestler marries Aishwarya (Nithya Menen), a Punjabi and comes back to his native place, Manoor (Madurai district) with his newborn kid (Maaran). He successfully chases out people who wish to build industry, and decides for a temple only to be thwarted by a fire accident resulting in death of kids due to lack of hospital. When Vetrimaaran, Aishwarya and the villagers, finally decides to go for building a hospital Daniel and Arjun were made as the chief doctors of the hospital and ownership also transferred. The hospital soon becomes famous for its free medical treatment to all. However, it soon turns out that Daniel and Arjun were crooks who were after money, and they perform a Caesarean section on Aishwarya when she was in labour with her second child with the intention of extracting more money from Vetrimaaran, even though she could deliver the child normally. While she is fast losing a lot of blood during the operation, that, along with an overdose of anesthesia, leads to her death, and the child was declared stillborn, before she spills the beans on Daniel and Arjun. Determined, Vetrimaaran was beaten to death by Daniel and his henchmen, who also shatter a glass bottle on his son’s head, due to which Maaran is unable to recover what happened before he was hit on head; he was safely placed into a Chennai-bound lorry before Vetrimaaran's death.

Meanwhile, the second child (Vetri) of Vetrimaaran did not turn out to be stillborn. He was adopted, and taught all the magic tricks from Salim Ghosh. As Maaran reconciles with Vetri, the police arrive and presumably arrest Vetri. However, when Daniel confronts Vetri in prison, it's revealed that he's actually Maaran, as the brothers switched places before the police arrived. Panicked, Daniel calls his nephew, Sesha, who went to threaten Maaran, who is actually Vetri. Vetri slits Sesha's wrist, who runs off, trying to get help. Daniel goes to confront Vetri, who gets hit by Kasi, Daniel's henchman who killed Vetrimaaran. He shows up with an unconscious Maaran. The two brothers, though, spring back up to life, and kill Daniel and Kasi together. Vetri is then arrested for his role in the murders, and sentenced to prison. Before going to jail, he declares that he would continue with the “cleansing process” until all doctors and hospital staff indulging in corrupt practices are eliminated. In prison, Vetri contemplates a television news report in which a young girl had died due to negligent medical treatment, before vanishing off.

Cast

Production

Development

Following the release of Atlee's Theri, in which Vijay starred, the pair was signed by Sri Thenandal Films for another project together in September 2016.[7][8] Safwan Saleem, the chief executive officer of the production house, revealed that the film would be written by writer K. V. Vijayendra Prasad, who had earlier worked in films like the Baahubali series and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.[9] The action sequences of the film are directed by Anal Arasu. Atlee's usual cinematographer George C. Williams whom worked for Raja Rani and Theri was supposed to work in this film too but fails due to clash with his other project. G. K. Vishnu was signed later on making his debut in this film. [10] Vijay learnt a few magic tricks in preparation for his role as the magician. He learnt the magic tricks from three magicians, Gogo Requiem from the Republic of Macedonia, Raman Sharma from Canada, and Dani Belev from Bulgaria.[11]

Casting

The producers announced in January 2017 that three lead actresses – Kajal Aggarwal, Nithya Menon and Samantha Ruth Prabhu would portray the female lead-roles in the film. Actors S. J. Suryah and Sathyaraj also joined the cast as supporting actors, with comedians Vadivelu, Kovai Sarala, Sathyan and Rajendran.[12] S. J. Suryah is playing villainous role with two looks in the movie.[13] Composer A. R. Rahman, editor Ruben, costume designer Neeraja Kona and debutant cinematographer G. K. Vishnu, an erstwhile assistant of Richard M. Nathan were also a part to the technical team.[14][15] The production team later revealed that due to some unavoidable reasons actress Jyothika opted out of the film. The role went to Nithya Menon.

Filming

The city of Gdańsk, Poland, served as Paris for the film.[16]

A launch event for the film was held at Adityaram Studios in Chennai on 1 February 2017, with production beginning thereafter.[17][18] The team has decided to shoot a song in Jaisalmer during the summer despite the hot weather.[19] The steam engine named 7161WP AKBAR was used in this movie while shooting in Rajasthan.[20][21] Some of the filming was conducted in Poland (Gdańsk, Poznań[22] and Rzeszów's airport[23]), as well as in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia.[24] The shooting was held in Chennai, Jaisalmer, Rajasthan and Konaseema in Andhra Pradesh, while the songs were filmed overseas. It's reported that, due to indefinite strike announced by Film Employees Federation of South India, Mersal team were waiting to film few portions of the movie, which has now been completed.[25]

Soundtrack

Main Article: Mersal (soundtrack)

The musical score that accompanies the film is composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics penned by Vivek. The audio launch event was held on 20 August 2017 by Sony Music, with a live telecast aired on Sun TV and also on several social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.[26][27][28][29][30][31]

Release

The film was released on 18 October 2017, Diwali day.[32][33]

Distribution

North Star Entertainment along with SN Techs Film Distribution Company have secured the distribution rights for the film in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Global United Media has secured the distribution for the film in Kerala, MKS Talkies has secured the distribution rights for the film in Australia and New Zealand, ATMUS Entertainment has secured the distribution rights for the film in USA.[34] The first look poster was released on 21 June 2017, revealing the title as Mersal with Vijay in a Jallikattu attire.[35][36]

Marketing

The title Mersal has been trademarked. This means if any group or company would like to use the title Mersal for any commercial purposes would have to pay a royalty fee to Mersal team. This is also something new for a South Indian film. The teaser of this movie was released on 21 September 2017.[37] The film has become first South-Indian film to get a Twitter emoji of its first look. [38][39]

Reception

Box office

In its first week, the film collected ₹170 crore worldwide.[40] In 12 days, the film grossed ₹200 crore worldwide, including ₹130 crore domestically in India and ₹70 crore in overseas markets, including Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the United States, and United Kingdom. It has become the highest-grossing film of Vijay's career, becoming his first film to join the ₹200 crore club.[41] At the end of its third week the film has reportedly collected about ₹115.10 crore in Tamil Nadu alone, ₹15 crore in Kerala, ₹12.60 crore in Karnataka and ₹3 crore from the rest of India tallying ₹145.7 crore domestically apart from ₹74.4 crore from the overseas territories, consolidating upto ₹220.01 crore.[42]

Critical reception

The film opened to positive reviews from critics.[43] Hindustan Times rated the film 3 out of 5 stars.[44] The Times of India rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars.[45] Behindwoods.com stated there are triple Vijay in the movie and it had created triple positive impact and rated it 2.75 out of 5 stars.[46] Sify also rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars.[47] The Indian Express rated the film 3 out of 5 stars.[48]

Social reaction

Upon release, several notions expressed in the film were opposed by various organisations. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ruling political party of Government of India, had objected to scenes in which the protagonist, played by Vijay, criticises the recently introduced Goods and Services Tax,[49][50] and also a scene in which a character ridicules Digital India, an initiative promoted by the BJP.[51] The party demanded that those scenes be cut from the film for future viewership.[52] These acts were seen as an attack on freedom of expression by opposing political parties and various other celebrities working in Tamil cinema.[53][54]

Several medical associations such as the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors’ Association, condemned the film for the alleged cynical portrayal of doctors working in government-operated hospitals.[55] Doctors working with the Indian Medical Association, shared links of the film on pirated websites online, in the hope that it would cause monetary losses to the makers of the film.[56]

References

  1. ^ "Vijay's Mersal release date is here". 8 October 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Mersal box office collection: Vijays film crosses Rs 20 crore in Kerala". Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Ilayathalapathy Vijay's Mersal creates history; breaches Rs 250 crore mark".
  4. ^ "MERSAL - British Board of Film Classification". www.bbfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  5. ^ Ch Sushil, Rao (3 November 2017). "Adhirindhi' for cinema-lovers: Telugu version of `Mersal' gets censor nod". Times of India. Hyderabad. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Adirindi Movie Review: Go watch this film if you're thirsting for some good ol' entertainment injected with a massive dose of reality". The Times of India. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Sri Thenandal Films signs Ilayathalapathy Vijay?". Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  8. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash. "'Vijay 60': 'Bairavaa' star to collaborate with Atlee, Sri Thenandal Films". Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  9. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash. "Vijay 61: Sri Thenandal Films confirms producing Ilayathalapathy, Atlee's film". Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  10. ^ Kumar, Karthik (20 March 2017) No thalapathi title for Ilayathalapathy Vijay’s film with Sri Thenandal Films!. Hindustan Times. Retrieved on 4 October 2017.
  11. ^ "Vijay learns a few tricks for Mersal". www.deccanchronicle.com/. 6 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  12. ^ "Ilayathalapathy Vijay to romance Kajal, Samantha, nithya menon in his next". Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  13. ^ "Vijay 61 official news on firstk look and theatrical release". Top 10 Cinema. 22 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  14. ^ "Sri Thenandal Films officially announces the cast and crew details about Vijay 61". 31 January 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  15. ^ Vjiay: Vijay, Vadivelu team up for a cop act. Times of India (16 January 2017). Retrieved on 4 October 2017.
  16. ^ "Vijay's Mersal will not be releasing in Inox and PVR theatres chennai". 17 October 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  17. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash. "Vijay 61 aka Thalapathy 61 movie launched: The shooting of Ilayathalapathy-Atlee film begins". Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Nithya Menen replaces Jyothika in 'Thalapathy 61'". Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Vijay-Nithya Menen in hot backdrops of Jai Salmer". Top 10 Cinema. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  20. ^ "Vijay 61 brings back Rajasthani heritage". Top 10 Cinema. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  21. ^ "Vijay 61 New clean-shaven look goes viral on Online | Latest News". Latest News. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  22. ^ Template:Pl icon Zwiastun hinduskiego filmu, a tam... Stadion w Gdańsku, Poznań i lotnisko im. Wałęsy. Kultura.gazeta.pl (27 September 2017). Retrieved on 2017-10-04.
  23. ^ Obiekt G2A Arena planem indyjskiego filmu: Zobacz zwiastun [WIDEO] – rzeszow.eskainfo.pl. Rzeszow.eska.pl. Retrieved on 4 October 2017.
  24. ^ "Bollywood movie to be shot in Poland". Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  25. ^ "Inevitable FEFSI Strike – Delayed release of Mersal, Velaikkaran and Karuppan?". Top 10 Cinema. 7 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  26. ^ Vijay on Twitter: "#MersalMusic on 20th Aug https://t.co/qMhI9NAFIJ". Twitter.com (21 July 2017). Retrieved on 2017-10-04.
  27. ^ Vijay's Mersal audio launch to happen on August 20th 2017. Behindwoods.com. Retrieved on 4 October 2017.
  28. ^ Shreya Ghoshal and Kailash Kher recorded a melody song for Vijay's Mersal. Behindwoods.com (29 July 2017). Retrieved on 2017-10-04.
  29. ^ "GV Prakash Kumar To Sing For Vijay's 'Mersal' – Silverscreen.in". Silverscreen.in. 18 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
  30. ^ Sri Thenandal Films on Twitter: "#Mersal #FirstSingleAnnouncement @actorvijay @Atlee_dir @arrahman @SonyMusicSouth https://t.co/X6p09w9v7t". Twitter.com (8 August 2017). Retrieved on 2017-10-04.
  31. ^ Actor Vijay – ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠#MersalMelody #NEETHANAE !!. Facebook. Retrieved on 4 October 2017.
  32. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash. "Mersal box office collection: Vijay's film gets an earth-shattering opening, beats Baahubali 2 in Tamil Nadu". International Business Times, India Edition. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  33. ^ atlee. "#Mersal censored U/A". Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  34. ^ Pandian, Avinash (27 June 2017). "PAKKA MASS OPENING GUARANTEED FOR MERSAL IN THESE STATES!". International Business Times, India Edition.
  35. ^ Vijay on Twitter: "#Mersal https://t.co/WXC052cGY9". Twitter.com (21 June 2017). Retrieved on 2017-10-04.
  36. ^ "Mersal is the title of Vijay 61 aka Thalapathy 61 directed by Atlee". 21 June 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  37. ^ "Mersal makes another achievement after Emoji". Top 10 Cinema. 29 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  38. ^ "After Rajinikanth, Akshay Kumar's 2.0, Zee TV bags Vijay's Mersal for Rs 30 cr?". The Indian Express. 3 July 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  39. ^ "Vijay Samantha Mersal satellite rights purchased by Zee Tamil for Rs 30 crores – Tamil Movie News – IndiaGlitz". IndiaGlitz.com. 2 July 2017.
  40. ^ "Mersal box office: Vijay's film inching towards Rs 200 crore, set to beat Enthiran record in TN".
  41. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash. "Mersal box office collection: A crowning-moment for Vijay as his film joins Rs 200-crore club".
  42. ^ Prakash, Upadhyaya (7 November 2017). "Vijay's Mersal has kept the cash registers ringing at the worldwide box office". IB Times. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  43. ^ http://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/kollywood/241117/mersal-box-office-collection-vijays-film-to-enter-rs-250-crore-club.html
  44. ^ "Mersal movie review: For Vijay and his fans, Atlee has delivered a celebratory film". 18 October 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  45. ^ "Mersal Review {3.5/5}: When you have a mass hero in full form like Vijay is in the film, how can things go wrong?". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  46. ^ "Mersal (aka) Vijay's Mersal review". Behindwoods. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  47. ^ "Review : Mersal- A crowd-pleaser that knows exactly who its audience". www.sify.com. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  48. ^ "Mersal movie review: There is never a dull moment in this Ilayathalapathy Vijay starrer". 18 October 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  49. ^ "'Mersal' row has Tamil film industry worried: 'We don't know what to depict in our films now'".
  50. ^ "BJP objects to 'incorrect references' on GST in Vijay's 'Mersal'". The Hindu. 19 October 2017.
  51. ^ "P Chidambaram on Mersal row: Soon, only films 'praising' govt policies will be allowed". The Indian Express. 21 October 2017.
  52. ^ "Cut Scenes Mocking GST and Digital India in Vijay's Mersal, Demands BJP". News 18. 19 October 2017.
  53. ^ "Opposition stands with Mersal". The Hindu. 22 October 2017.
  54. ^ "Vijay vs BJP: Kollywood celebs take a stand against re-censoring Mersal". The Indian Express. 21 October 2017.
  55. ^ "Government doctors criticise 'Mersal'". The Hindu. 21 October 2017.
  56. ^ "TN doctors boycott Vijay-starrer Mersal, prescribe piracy". The Times of India. 20 October 2017.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mersal_(film)&oldid=817090022"