Asuran (2019 film)
| Asuran | |
|---|---|
| File:Asuran movie poster.jpg Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Vetrimaaran |
| Written by | SuKa Vetrimaaran (Dialogues) |
| Screenplay by | Manimaaran Vetrimaaran |
| Based on | Vekkai by Poomani |
| Produced by | Kalaippuli S. Thanu |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Velraj |
| Edited by | R. Ramar |
| Music by | G. V. Prakash Kumar |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 141 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Box office | est. ₹50 crore[2] |
Asuran (transl. Demon) is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Vetrimaaran and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu under his production banner V Creations.[3] It is based on the novel Vekkai by Poomani.[4]
The film stars Dhanush and Manju Warrier in lead roles, where the latter makes her Tamil debut. G. V. Prakash Kumar scored the music for the film, rejoining back his association with Vetrimaaran.[5] Cinematography was handled by Velraj, whereas editing was done by R. Ramar. Asuran was released on 4 October 2019.[1]
Plot
At the start, a man and a boy are trekking through a river in a rural village, carrying homemade bombs and hiding from the police. In another part of the village, a woman, man and a young child are also hiding from the police. The movie then moves into a flashback.
A narrator reveals in the flashback that the man is Sivasaami (Dhanush) and the boy is his son Chidambaram (Ken Karunas), while the woman, man and child are Sivasaami's wife Pachaiyamma (Manju Warrier), her brother Murugesan (Pasupathy) and young daughter Lakshmi. They also had an older son called Velmurugan (Teejay Arunasalam). They are a family of farmers living in Thekkoor (southern village). Sivasaami has a close, loving relationship with his older son but a distant, almost abusive relationship with Chidambaran.
Vadakooran Narasimhan (Aadukalam Naren) is the richest landlord from Vadakoor (northern village) and is seizing the farmlands in Thekkoor for a cement factory his brother Venkatesan (Pawan) will take control of. However, they need Sivasaami's land as well, to which the family are against, especially Velmurugan. One day, Pachaiyamma argues with her boss, one of Narasimhan's family members, and he hits her, to which Velmurugan retaliates by severely injuring him. The latter gets arrested for this, for which Sivasaami bows and touches every single member of the landlord's family in order to have him released after Narasimhan says so. Velmurugan comes back, bruised and battered, and finds out about what his father did. He finds Narasimhan and hits him multiple times, humiliating him. In revenge, Narasimhan's henchmen ambush Velmurugan in the night and hack him to death, taking him away. Chidambaran witnesses this and tells his father and Murugesan, and they file a missing person case with the police.
The next day, Velmurugan's mutilated, beheaded body is found in a nearby field, and his family become extremely saddened. The police refuse to help, as they can't confirm it's him as they can't find the head. Pachaiyamma suffers PTSD until one day when she suddenly recovers. Seeing the suffering caused to his family by his brother's death, Chidambaram hacks Narasimhan, killing him, and escapes from his henchman using homemade bombs. The family become shocked after they hear about this from Sivasaami, and when the son comes back that night, Murugesan tells the father and his son to hide in the forest. The film switches back to the present.
One of Narasimhan's family members assign Kariyan, a local hunter, and his men to find the two, to which they agree. Pachaiyamma, Murugesan and Lakshmi hide in a family friend's house, and they move from there after some time as well, and hide in various places. One day, Kariyan finally finds the two and tries to capture the son, but Sivasaami fights them all off, sparing their lives for unknown reasons. While the two recover near a river, Sivasaami narrates his past and explains why he no longer wants to kill anyone.
Contrary to what he told his sons, Sivasaami was actually a village-famous moonshine brewer, whose alcohol was well in demand. He worked under Viswanathan (A. Venkatesh), a rich landlord, and the latter always trusted Sivasaami. One day, he asks if his boss could employ Pandiyan (Nitish Veera), a distant relative of Viswanathan, as an accountant, to which the boss agrees. Sivasaami's brother Murugan and Venugopal Seshadri (Prakash Raj), a lawyer, is trying to obtain justice for the poor farmers by filing a case against the various landlords in their village who had seized their lands illegally, which includes Viswanathan. Sivasaami receives various wedding proposals but all are denied after they find out about his alcohol ventures, but his relative Maariyamma (Ammu Abirami) convinces him to marry her, to which he agrees and they fall in love. One day, Pandiyan humiliates her in front of the other villagers after he finds out her and Sivasaami are together, and Sivasaami retaliates by humiliating him in the same manner. However, Viswanathan intervenes and supports Pandiyan as they're related, and Sivasaami is saddened at the loss of trust. One night, before a meeting conducted by Seshadri and Murugan with the local farmers, news arrives that Seshadri was arrested at the train station and Sivasaami is made to go to his house to obtain the authorised documents which allowed the meeting to occur after the police come and intervene. When he comes back, many people were killed in the meeting, including Murugan, and it's revealed that Viswanathan's armed men were hiding in the crowd. Their village was also burned down by Pandiyan and his men and many people died, including Maariyamma. Enraged, Sivasaami enters his boss' home and hacks many of the men there to death, including Pandiyan and Viswanathan.
Sivasaami then reveals that he had left that village and stumbled across Murugesan, who took pity on him and taught him how to become a farmer. He's also introduced to Pachaiyamma. No one is willing to marry her as Sivasaami is staying there, and so he feels guilty and tells them that he's ready to leave if they're not fine with him staying there. He narrates his story to the two, and Pachaiyamma admires what he did to defend his family, and so she agrees to marry Sivasaami. He surrenders to the court and luckily is given a light sentence as the court stated he only killed in self-defence during a communal riot. Afterwards, he marries Pachaiyamma. Chidambaram is amazed at his father's past and starts to admire him. Sivasaami reconciles with his wife and daughter briefly, and he and his son go to Seshadri for help. Seshadri agrees to help them as long as they turn up to court the next day, to which they agree.
The next day, it's revealed that the police have been stationed outside the court to arrest the father and son when they come, and Narasimhan's men are in the court premises if they manage to get past the police. The two get into the premises but escape after the men find them. Seshadri becomes angry as they didn't turn up to court and Sivasaami tells him what happened, and also says he's ready to sell his land to them to stop anymore violence. Narasimhan's family members agree, and they reluctantly sell the land in presence of the village council. Chidambaram stays at a family friend's house. However, he gets abducted and taken to the village square by Narasimhan's brother and other relatives to kill, violating the village council orders. Sivasaami comes in, armed with a sickle, and single-handedly takes out many of the henchmen, including some prominent family members, but him and Chidambaram sustain injuries. Murugesan and their family men come and diffuse the situation.
In the end, it's revealed that the two villages agreed that the conflict should end. Sivasaami's family has gathered in the court and he has agreed to go to jail instead of Chidambaram if that's needed. He tells his son to study hard to become a powerful man, and that unlike farmland and money, the landlords can't seize their education. The film ends with Sivasaami smiling at his family as he enters court.
Cast
- Dhanush as Sivasaami
- Manju Warrier as Pachaiyammal, Sivasaami's wife
- Ken Karunas as Chidambaram, Sivasaami's younger son
- Teejay Arunasalam as Velmurugan "Murugan", Sivasaami's elder son
- Pasupathy as Murugesan, Pachaiyammal's brother
- Prakash Raj as Venugopal Seshadri
- Ammu Abirami as Maariyammal, Sivasaami's fiancé/niece
- Balaji Sakthivel as Inspector
- Subramaniam Siva as Murugan, Sivasaami's brother
- Aadukalam Naren as Vaddakuran Narasimhan
- Pawan as Venkatesan, Vaddakuran's brother
- Bala Hasan. R as Rajesh Narasimman Vaddakuran's son
- A. Venkatesh as Viswanathan, Sivasaami's boss
- Nitish Veera as Pandiyan
- Velraj as Panchayat Member
- Sendrayan as Pechimuthu
- Guru Somasundaram
Production
The film was announced by Vetrimaaran and Dhanush in December 2018, post the success of their Vada Chennai released in the same year.[6] The duo earlier revealed plans on making a sequel to Vada Chennai but agreed to do another film before that.[7] The film marks the fourth collaboration between the actor and director after Polladhavan (2007), Aadukalam (2011), and Vada Chennai (2018).[8]
Principal photography began on 26 January 2019.[9] Manju Warrier was selected as lead actress, which marked her acting debut in Tamil. The music is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar.[10]
Soundtrack
| Asuran | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 28 August 2019 | |||
| Recorded | 2019 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Language | Tamil | |||
| Label | Lahari Music T-Series | |||
| Producer | G. V. Prakash Kumar | |||
| G. V. Prakash Kumar chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Asuran | ||||
| ||||
The soundtrack is composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, collaborating with Dhanush and Vetrimaaran for the third time after Polladhavan and Aadukalam. The audio rights were secured by Lahari Music and Gaana was given exclusive rights to stream the album through their online music streaming platform. The soundtrack album consists of seven songs, with lyrics written by Ekadesi, Yugabharathi, Eknath and Arunraja Kamaraj, where the first two songs from the film "Kathari Poovazhagi" and "Polladha Bhoomi" were released as singles on 28 August 2019, at a launch event held at Chennai, where Dhanush, Manju Warrier, Ammu Abirami, director Vetrimaaran, composer G. V. Prakash Kumar, and producer S. Thanu were in attendance. The third single track "Yen Minukki" was released on 25 September 2019, and the fourth track "Blood Bath" was released on 3 October 2019. The fifth track titled, "Ellu Vaya Pookalaye", was released on 6 October 2019. The sixth track, the reprised version of "Yen Minukki" was released on 13 October 2019. The final track "Kannazhagu Raththinamey" was released on 15 October 2019. The video jukebox was released on YouTube two days later after the final track was released.[11]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer (s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Kathari Poovazhagi" | Ekadesi | Velmurugan, Rajalaskhmi, Napolia | 3:45 |
| 2. | "Polladha Bhoomi" | Yugabharathi | Dhanush, G. V. Prakash Kumar, Ken Karunas, Teejay | 3:58 |
| 3. | "Yen Minukki" | Eknath | Chinmayi, Teejay | 4:32 |
| 4. | "Blood Bath" | Arunraja Kamaraj | Arunraja Kamaraj | 4:02 |
| 5. | "Ellu Vaya Pookalaye" | Yugabharathi | Saindhavi | 5.58 |
| 6. | "Yen Minukki (Reprise)" | Eknath | Chinmayi, G. V. Prakash Kumar | 4:32 |
| 7. | "Kannazhagu Raththinamey" | Yugabharathi | Dhanush | 1:38 |
Release
The first look poster was unveiled by Dhanush through his Twitter account on 21 December 2018.[12] The second look poster of the film was released on 10 January 2019.[13][14] Another poster, was released on 1 May 2019. The official trailer of the film was unveiled on 8 September 2019.[15][16][17] The film released on 4 October 2019. The satellite rights were bagged by Star Vijay and Amazon Prime Video acquired the digital rights.[18]
Critical reception
The Times of India, rated 3.5 out of 5 stars, stating that "Vetri Maaran delivers yet another solid action drama that keeps us engrossed from start to finish."[19]
Behindwoods rated 3.25/5, stating that "Asuran is an engaging watch with strong performances, interesting plot and an amazing emotional connect with the audience throughout."[20]
S. Subhakeerthana from The Indian Express rated the film 4 out of 5, and reviewed it as "With this Dhanush starrer, Vetrimaaran proves he's one of the finest directors in Indian cinema, yet again. Only few filmmakers like him can pull off a mainstream cinema, balancing ‘realism’ and commercial elements."[21]
Sify rated the film 4.5 out of 5, summarising that "Asuran is a must-watch. Dhanush-Vetrimaaran combo who has once again delivered a raw, rustic and riveting revenge drama. Don't miss this one!"[22]
Janani K from India Today, rated the film 3.5 out of 5, and stated that "Director Vetri Maaran’s Asuran is a thrilling revenge drama of an oppressed family in a village. With solid writing backed by brilliant performances, Asuran is a classic film."[23]
Sreedhar Pillai from Firstpost rated the film 4 out of 5, and posted a verdict "Asuran is one of the best films of the year, and a must watch. Vetrimaran keeps the flag of good cinema flying high."[24]
Krupa Ge from Silverscreen said, "Asuran is a bloody revenge saga, that’s also weirdly enough about the futility of violence... Watching the film, after reading the book [Vekkai], feels like dipping in and out of the novel, to wander off to the sides of the pages, filled with detours and notes. It starts where the novel starts, but goes back and forth, imagining what could have been."[25]
Gauthaman Baskaran from News18, gave contrary reviews by rating the film 2 out of 5, stating that "Coming at a time when graphic and lurid on-screen violence are being questioned and even condemned, Asuran would appear needlessly falling back to the old formula."[26]
Box office
Asuran approximately grossed around ₹16 crore in Tamil Nadu in its first weekend.[27] It has grossed more than ₹50 crore worldwide.[2] The film has crossed ₹100 crore in worldwide collection which includes theatrical gross and non-theatrical revenue such as satellite, digital and music rights.[28][2]
References
- ^ a b "Dhanush starrer Asuran to release on October 4". The Indian Express. 8 August 2019.
- ^ a b c "Bigil, Kaithi, Asuran, Nerkonda Paarvai, Petta show Tamil cinema is heading towards a content-oriented approach". Firstpost. 6 November 2019.
- ^ RajKumar (16 September 2018). "Asuran Tamil Movie | Cast | Songs | Teaser | Trailer | Review". News Bugz. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ^ Kollywood, Only (23 December 2018). "Dhanush – Vetrimaaran's next titled Asuran". Only Kollywood. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "GV Prakash to compose music for Asuran Vetrimaaran Dhanush". Behindwoods. 24 December 2018.
- ^ "Dhanush's next is 'Asuran' with Vetrimaaran – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ^ "Dhanush Confirms Asuran With Vetrimaaran". www.thehansindia.com. 24 December 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ^ Penbugs (8 September 2019). "Asuran trailer: Dhanush-Vetrimaaran promises something big". Penbugs. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ "Dhanush starts shooting for Asuran". Cinema Express. 26 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
- ^ "Manju Warrier to make her Tamil debut in Dhanush's 'Asuran'". www.thenewsminute.com. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ Kalaippuli Audio (16 October 2019). "Asuran - Official Jukebox | Dhanush | Vetri Maaran | G. V. Prakash Kumar | Kalaippuli S Thanu". YouTube. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Dhanush releases first look of his upcoming film Asuran". The Indian Express. 22 December 2018. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
- ^ Manik, Rajeshwari; January 11, an On; 2019 (11 January 2019). "New Look From Dhanush's 'Asuran' Releases". Silverscreen.in. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
{{cite web}}:|last3=has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "அசுரன் வேடத்திற்கு மாறிய தனுஷ்". maalaimalar.com (in Tamil). 10 January 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "Asuran trailer: Dhanush looks fierce in Vetrimaaran film". The Indian Express. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
- ^ Chennai 8 September, India Today Web Desk. "Asuran trailer out: Dhanush and Vetri Maaran promise us a violent action drama". India Today. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Asuran – Official Trailer – Dhanush – Vetri Maaran – G. V. Prakash Kumar – Kalaippuli S Thanu". YouTube. Kalaippuli S Thanu. 8 September 2019.
- ^ Television, Vijay (17 October 2019). "#Asuran #AsuranWithVijayTV! #VijayTelevisionpic.twitter.com/G02Q0VNmxt". @vijaytelevision. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ Asuran Movie Review {3.5/5}: Dhanush and Manju Warrier starrer is a compelling action drama on caste and class, retrieved 5 October 2019
- ^ "Asuran (aka) Asuraan review". Behindwoods. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "Asuran movie review: Dhanush is terrific in this well-made revenge drama". The Indian Express. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "Review : Asuran review: Solid in both, its craft and storytelling! (2019)". www.sify.com. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ Janaki K. (4 October 2019). "Asuran Movie Review: Dhanush and Vetri Maaran gift another solid revenge drama". India Today. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "Asuran movie review: Dhanush, Manju Warrier deliver intense performances in Vetrimaran's riveting drama- Entertainment News, Firstpost". Firstpost. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "Asuran Movie Review: A Commentary On Caste And Violence Told As A Bloody Revenge Saga". Silverscreen. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
- ^ "Asuran Movie Review: Dhanush Shines in Vetri Maaran's Violent Film". News18. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
- ^ "Asuran box office collection: Dhanush starrer mints Rs 16 crore in Tamil Nadu in opening weekend". Hindustan Times. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
- ^ "Asuran: Dhanush's film enters Rs 100 crore club - Times of India". The Times of India. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.