Mersal (film)
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''Mersal'' () is a 2017 Indian
Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...
-language
action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by Atlee who co-wrote the film with
V. Vijayendra Prasad Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad is an Indian screenwriter and film director who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. He also worked in a few Hindi, Kannada, and Tamil films. His filmography consists of more than twenty five films as a screenwrite ...
and S. Ramana Girivasan. Produced by
Thenandal Studio Limited Thenandal Studios Limited (TSL), formerly known as Sri Thenandal Films and Sri Thenandal Pictures, is an Indian film production and distribution studio in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded by director Rama Narayanan. History Rama Narayanan se ...
in their 100th production, the film stars Vijay and
S. J. Suryah S. Justin Selvaraj, known by his stage name S. J. Suryah is an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, composer, producer and music director who has worked predominately in Tamil film industry. He sought to become an actor but started out d ...
while
Sathyaraj Rangaraj Subbiah (born 3 October 1954), professionally known as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, producer, director and a media personality who has predominantly appeares in Tamil cinema and Telugu Cinema. His 240 films also include works in Mal ...
,
Vadivelu Kumaravadivel Natarajan (born 12 September 1960), known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and playback singer, having acted in supporting and lead roles in Tamil cinema. He gained widespread acclaim in Kollywood in the ...
,
Nithya Menen Nithya Menen (born 8 April 1988) is an Indian actress and singer who has acted in more than 50 feature films and in six different languages: Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, English, and Telugu.In her acting career, Nithya has won three Film ...
,
Kajal Aggarwal Kajal Aggarwal (born 19 June 1985) is an Indian actress and model who mainly appears in Telugu and Tamil language films, in addition to a few Hindi films. Aggarwal has worked in more than 50 films and also received two South Indian Internatio ...
,
Samantha Ruth Prabhu Samantha Ruth Prabhu (formerly: Samantha Akkineni; born 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress who mainly works in Telugu and Tamil film industries. She is a recipient of several awards, including four South Filmfare Awards, six South Indian I ...
and
Hareesh Peradi Hareesh Peradi is an Indian actor who predominantly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. Career He is also a well-known theatre artist in Kerala, having made a mark in stage and also in TV and cinema. Even though he has acted in 36 films so far ...
appear in pivotal supporting roles. The story revolves around two brothers; one is a magician avenging his parents's deaths and medical crimes, and the other, a reputed doctor who charges meagre amounts from his patients. The film's principal photography commenced on 1 February 2017, at Chennai and was completed that September, within 130 working days. Filming took place on
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
, Poland and Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The background score and soundtrack album were composed by
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
, while the cinematography was done by G. K. Vishnu and edited by
Ruben Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portuguese ...
. ''Mersal'' was released worldwide on 18 October 2017, coinciding with
Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...
. The film received mostly positive response with critics praising the performance of Vijay and S. J. Suryah, A. R. Rahman's soundtrack, cinematography, social message and Atlee's direction, but criticised the cliched plot and excessive length. It is also a recipient of various accolades. The film was a commercial success, grossing worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing Tamil films. The film completed 100-day theatrical run on 25 January 2018. The film was released on 6 December 2018 in China by HGC Entertainment. Due to demand, the film was screened at the largest cinema theatre in Europe Grand Rex, France. The film was screened at the
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in
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, China and at the
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (), or BiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea. Prior to 2015, it was known as the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival or PiFan. Inaugurated ...
in
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.


Plot

An ambulance driver, medical broker, hospital worker and a surgeon are abducted at dawn, which is traced to Dr. Maaran, a doctor from
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, who is known for providing treatment to all at just . Maaran is arrested and interrogated by
Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...
Ratnavel "Randy", who is assigned the case. Maaran explains that the four were responsible for the death of an auto driver's daughter and subsequent suicide of his wife due to their greed for money and negligence in providing proper healthcare. He gives Randy the locations of his hostages, but asserts that they can be saved only if they are taken in time to hospital just like the auto driver's daughter. Maaran reveals that he is not Maaran but his
doppelgänger A doppelgänger (), a compound noun formed by combining the two nouns (double) and (walker or goer) (), doppelgaenger or doppelganger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person. In fiction and mythology, a doppelg ...
Vetri, a magician. Vetri was also responsible for the death of Arjun Zachariah, a corrupt doctor who was killed during a stage performance in Paris two years ago. Daniel Arokiaraj, another corrupt doctor and the head of the state's medical council, sees Maaran's inexpensive healthcare as a threat to his flourishing hospital business and decides to kill Maaran using his goons but is saved in the nick of time by Vetri, who knocks Maaran unconscious and swaps places with him, providing clues to the police which led to his arrest. Maaran is rescued, while Vetri, manages to escape from Randy. Later, Maaran confronts Vetri, believing him to be the cause of all his problems. Vadivu, Maaran's compounder, and also Vetri's assistant, intervenes and explains to Maaran why Vetri is targeting doctors indulging in corrupt medical practices. Past: Maaran and Vetri are the sons of Aishwarya "Aishu" and Vetrimaaran, an altrustic village wrestler and chieftain. Vetrimaaran decides to build a temple in his area and holds a large festive event. However, a fire breaks out, injuring many and killing two children due to lack of mobility. On the advice of Aishu, Vetrimaaran establishes a hospital in his village Manoor in
Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...
with Daniel and Arjun as chief doctors, while Vetrimaaran manages the hospital. However, it soon turned out that Daniel and Arjun are money-minded misanthropists and performs a
Caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or m ...
on Aishu, when she was in labour with her second child (Vetri) to extract more money from Vetrimaaran. With an overdose of
anaesthesia Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), a ...
and loss of blood, Aishu dies while the child was declared as
stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The ter ...
. When Vetrimaaran learns about this, he confronts Daniel, but is attacked. Vetrimaaran fights the henchmen, but gets stabbed to death by Daniel's assistant Kasi, where Daniel reveals that he was the mastermind behind the fire accident in the temple so that Vetrimaaran could build a hospital for their business profits. After having killed Vetrimaaran, Daniel and Arjun embezzled money in medical service to consolidate their dictatorship over the years, while creating a massive
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...
from beyond. However, Maaran is saved as Vetrimaaran has placed an unconscious Maaran (who had been struck on the head with a glass bottle) safely on a truck, but loses his memory and is unable to recollect anything that happened before passing out. Meanwhile, Vetri miraculously survives, and their paternal uncle (Vetrimaaran's younger brother) Vadivu takes care of him. Vetri and Vadivu are adopted by a famous magician Salim Ghosh, and Vetri soon learns all the magic tricks in order to exact vengeance. Present: Upon learning his past from Vadivu, Maaran reconciles with Vetri and decide to finish Daniel, where they swap places. With Vetri (who is actually Maaran) seemingly in custody, Daniel meets him in prison and contemplates on misusing the medical industry for his personal gains. Meanwhile, Daniel's nephew Sesha tries to make a deal with Maaran (who is actually Vetri) to shut down his practice. However, when they both learn the truth, Vetri slits Sesha's hand. Daniel rushes to Vetri's hideout. Vetri defeats all of Daniel's henchmen and injures Daniel with a glass bottle, but just then, Kasi crashes a bus into Vetri, making him faint. In the truck, Maaran also got involved in an accident orchestrated by Daniel, where he wakes Vetri up. As Vetri is injured, With Vetri's help, Maaran kills Kasi and also kills Daniel. Vetri is arrested for his role in the murders of all six people killed and is sentenced to life in prison. Before leaving, Vetri gives a
press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...
justifying his actions by exposing corrupt medical practices and embezzlement of money in the field; he adds that his endeavors will continue until the whole system is reformed. In prison, Vetri watches a news report in which, despite his efforts, another young girl in
Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
had died from negligent medical treatment. On hearing this, Vetri escapes using his magic tricks and continues his mission. In the end, Maaran has conferred a statewide recognised medical counselor post.


Cast


Production


Development

Following the release of Atlee's '' Theri'', with Vijay in the lead, the pair was signed by
Sri Thenandal Films Thenandal Studios Limited (TSL), formerly known as Sri Thenandal Films and Sri Thenandal Pictures, is an Indian film production and distribution studio in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded by director Rama Narayanan. History Rama Narayanan se ...
for another project together in September 2016. Initially, reports were surfaced that Atlee will be directing
Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor, producer, media personality, and philanthropist who works mainly in Telugu cinema. He has appeared in more than 25 films, and won several accolades including, eight Nandi Awar ...
after ''Theri'', and was developing the script for the past seven months which did not happen; Similarly, Vijay too being signed for '' Sangamithra'' produced by Thenandal Films, but as the film demanded 250 days of the schedule which he could not afford, he politely declined the offer. It was reported that the film will begin production only after the release of Vijay's ''
Bairavaa ''Bairavaa'' is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action masala film written and directed by Bharathan, and produced by B. Venkatarama Reddy. The film stars Vijay as the titular debt collector who takes on a criminal masquerading as an education ph ...
''. In October 2016, Safwan Saleem, the chief executive officer of the production house, confirmed the project; and further announced that writer
V. Vijayendra Prasad Koduri Viswa Vijayendra Prasad is an Indian screenwriter and film director who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. He also worked in a few Hindi, Kannada, and Tamil films. His filmography consists of more than twenty five films as a screenwrite ...
, who had earlier worked in films like the '' Baahubali'' series and ''
Bajrangi Bhaijaan ''Bajrangi Bhaijaan'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Kabir Khan, based on an original story by screenwriter V. Vijayendra Prasad, and produced by Salman Khan, Rockline Venkatesh and Kabir Kha ...
'' will be a part of the technical team. The film featured Vijay playing triple role for the first time in his career, as a doctor, magician and a head of
panchayat The Panchayat raj is a political system, originating from the Indian subcontinent, found mainly in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is the oldest system of local government in the Indian subcontinent, and historical men ...
in the film. A report from ''
Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ...
'' said that: "The actor’s comic timing will be brought on screen through the magician’s role. His portions are intended to evoke laughter and lighten up the mood." The report further denied claims that Vijay will play a Sikh in the film. 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 North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
, Raman Sharma from Canada, and Dani Belev from
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
. Hema Rukmani,
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
of
Sri Thenandal Films Thenandal Studios Limited (TSL), formerly known as Sri Thenandal Films and Sri Thenandal Pictures, is an Indian film production and distribution studio in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded by director Rama Narayanan. History Rama Narayanan se ...
announced that the film would be the 100th production of the company, instead of ''Sangamithra''; On 21 April 2017, the producers announced that the film would be launched under their newly renamed banner
Thenandal Studio Limited Thenandal Studios Limited (TSL), formerly known as Sri Thenandal Films and Sri Thenandal Pictures, is an Indian film production and distribution studio in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded by director Rama Narayanan. History Rama Narayanan se ...
and also announcing a release date of October 2017. At the first look launch of ''Sangamithra'' at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...
, Hema Rukmani said that "Most people look at Vijay as a ‘mass actor.’ But, I’ve seen him perform and he's an outstanding actor. I’ve noticed a lot of things during shooting. His sense of continuity is brilliant. Whether the assistant director remembers or not, he will know. I had the great joy of watching him improvise and it is a treat." The production of the film began without announcing a title; on 21 June 2017, the makers announced the title as ''Mersal'' and also released the first look poster of the film.


Casting

In December 2016, actresses
Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress, model and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films.
,
Kajal Aggarwal Kajal Aggarwal (born 19 June 1985) is an Indian actress and model who mainly appears in Telugu and Tamil language films, in addition to a few Hindi films. Aggarwal has worked in more than 50 films and also received two South Indian Internatio ...
and
Samantha Ruth Prabhu Samantha Ruth Prabhu (formerly: Samantha Akkineni; born 28 April 1987) is an Indian actress who mainly works in Telugu and Tamil film industries. She is a recipient of several awards, including four South Filmfare Awards, six South Indian I ...
were announced as the female leads for the film. However, the production team later revealed that Jyothika opted out of the film due to unavoidable reasons, and later Simran Deepak Bagga,
Anushka Shetty Sweety Shetty (born 7 November 1981), known by her stage name Anushka Shetty, is an Indian actress and model who predominantly works in Telugu and Tamil films. She is the recipient of Three Filmfare Awards South, Two Nandi Award, and One Ta ...
&
Asin Asin Thottumkal (born 26 October 1985), known mononymously as Asin, is a former Indian actress who appeared predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She is a trained Bharatanatyam dancer. She has received three Filmfare Awards. She ...
were approached later both declined the offer. and the role went to
Nithya Menen Nithya Menen (born 8 April 1988) is an Indian actress and singer who has acted in more than 50 feature films and in six different languages: Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, English, and Telugu.In her acting career, Nithya has won three Film ...
in her first association with Vijay. In January 2017,
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
was reported to compose the film's background score and soundtrack album, collaborating with Vijay after ten years since ''
Azhagiya Thamizh Magan ''Azhagiya Tamil Magan'' ( Adorable Tamil son) is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language psychological action thriller film written and directed by Bharathan, written by S. K. Jeeva and produced by Swargachitra Appachan. The film stars actor Vijay in a ...
'' (2007). Actors
S. J. Suryah S. Justin Selvaraj, known by his stage name S. J. Suryah is an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor, composer, producer and music director who has worked predominately in Tamil film industry. He sought to become an actor but started out d ...
and
Sathyaraj Rangaraj Subbiah (born 3 October 1954), professionally known as Sathyaraj, is an Indian actor, producer, director and a media personality who has predominantly appeares in Tamil cinema and Telugu Cinema. His 240 films also include works in Mal ...
also joined the cast as supporting actors, the former in a negative role with two looks in the film.
Vadivelu Kumaravadivel Natarajan (born 12 September 1960), known professionally as Vadivelu, is an Indian actor, comedian and playback singer, having acted in supporting and lead roles in Tamil cinema. He gained widespread acclaim in Kollywood in the ...
who eventually wanted to act with Vijay in '' Theri'', missed the role due to unavoidable reasons. He was later announced as a part of this project. Other comedians
Kovai Sarala Kovai Sarala is an Indian actress and comedian, who prominently plays supporting roles in Tamil and Telugu films. She has won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Comedian three times, for her performances in '' Sathi Leelavathi'' (1995), '' ...
, Sathyan and
Rajendran A. Rajendran,(born 1 June 1957) credited as Motta Rajendran or ''Naan Kadavul'' Rajendran, is an Indian stunt double and actor working mainly in Tamil cinema. He debuted in 2003 with the Tamil film ''Pithamagan'' and has worked as a stunt dou ...
also joined the film. Atlee's usual cinematographer George C. Williams whom worked for '' Raja Rani'' and '' Theri'', was supposed to work in this film too, but failed due to date clashes with his other project. Later, newcomer G. K. Vishnu, an erstwhile assistant of Richard M. Nathan was signed on this project. The official cast and crew members working in the film, were announced by Thenandal Films in January 2017, with
Anal Arasu Anal Arasu (born as C. M. A. Arasakumar) is an Indian fight master/action choreographer, who works in the Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi film industries. He started his career as an extra fighter and assistant to stunt masters including, K ...
as the action choreographer,
Ruben Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portuguese ...
who worked with Atlee in his previous projects were announced as the film's editor,
T. Muthuraj T. MuthuRaj (born 29 July 1969 in Coimbatore, India) is an Indian film production designer. He entered the film industry after completing his B.Sc. degree in fine arts as first assistant to Sabu Cyril after which he has served as production des ...
as the film's production designer,
Shobi Shobi ben Nahash was the son of King Nahash of Ammon and brother of his predecessor Hanun. When Hanun was deposed by the Israelites under King David, Shobi was made king of Ammon in Hanun's place and became a loyal vassal of David's. See 2 Samuel ...
and
Prem Rakshith Prem Rakshith is an Indian choreographer who was introduced to the movie industry by Actor Jithan Ramesh. He has won four Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi- ...
as dance choreographers,
Neeraja Kona Neeraja Kona is an Indian stylist and costume designer who works in Telugu and Tamil films. Career Kona began her career assisting styling for Jr NTR and Kajal Aggarwal for ''Baadshah'' (2013) directed by Srinu Vaitla. She was stylist on Nit ...
and Komal Shahani as the costume designers. During the film's production,
Hareesh Peradi Hareesh Peradi is an Indian actor who predominantly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. Career He is also a well-known theatre artist in Kerala, having made a mark in stage and also in TV and cinema. Even though he has acted in 36 films so far ...
,
Yogi Babu Yogi Babu (born 22 July 1985) is an Indian actor and comedian, who appears in Tamil films. A three time Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award winner, he performed in '' Aandavan Kattalai'' (2016), ''Kolamavu Kokila'' (2018) and '' Pariyerum Perumal'' (2 ...
and
Cheenu Mohan Cheenu Mohan (17 May 1956 – 27 December 2018) was an Indian actor who appeared in Tamil language films. He acted in films including ''Thalapathi'' (1991) and ''Iraivi'' (2016). Career Mohan began his career as a stage actor in the late 1970s ...
joined the film's cast.


Filming

A launch event for the film was held at Adityaram Studios in
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
on 1 February 2017 with production beginning thereafter. The shooting of the film took place at Panaiyur in
East Coast Road East Coast Road (ECR), combination of SH-49, NH-332A, NH-32, officially known as Mutthamizh Arignar Kalaignar Road, is a two-lane highway (now being partially upgraded to four-lane way from Chennai to Mamallapuram) in Tamil Nadu, India, bu ...
,
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
on the first day of the shoot, and went continuously for 20 days until 19 February. The team took a brief break after production and then started the second schedule in Chennai on 1 March 2017. On 15 March, one of the stills from the film unofficially released through the internet with Vijay in a twirled moustache and a
dhoti The dhoti, also known as veshti, vetti, dhuti, mardani, chaadra, dhotar, jaiñboh, panchey, is a type of sarong, tied in a manner that outwardly resembles "loose trousers". It is a lower garment forming part of the ethnic costume for men in the ...
, and went viral. Following the schedule's completion, the team headed to
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...
on 31 March, despite being reported that filming may take place in Europe, after the second schedule. The team has decided to shoot with Vijay and
Nithya Menen Nithya Menen (born 8 April 1988) is an Indian actress and singer who has acted in more than 50 feature films and in six different languages: Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, English, and Telugu.In her acting career, Nithya has won three Film ...
in
Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...
for a song (which was later titled as "Aalaporaan Thamizhan"), irrespective of the hot weather prevailing in the location. The steam engine named 7161WP AKBAR was used in this film while shooting in
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...
. An action sequence was also filmed at Rajasthan and within its completion, the team completed the Rajasthan schedule on 12 April 2017. Then, the team planned for a month-long schedule in Europe on 25 April, with Vijay, Kajal Aggarwal and other cast members being present. A song (titled "Maacho") and few action sequences were filmed at Poland (
Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
,
Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...
and
Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ; la, Resovia; yi, ריישא ''Raisha'')) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów has been the capital of the Subcarpathian ...
's
airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
), as well as filming being conducted in
Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
, Republic of Macedonia. Following the shooting in Europe, the team returned to Chennai in June 2017 and began the intermediate schedule on 5 June 2017, with Samantha being present and was filmed subsequently at the location. In mid-July 2017, sources had reported that the team had planned to complete the entire shooting within 130 working days, so that the team would have enough time to work on the film's
post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. Th ...
. However, the film's shooting was affected following the indefinite strike announced by the
Film Employees Federation of South India The Film Employees Federation of South India (FEFSI) is an Indian organisation consisting of technicians from the Tamil film industry in Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 23 unions belonging to different trades in the film and television industry a ...
(FEFSI) on 1 August, and another strike on 1 September. After FEFSI withdrew the strike on 13 September, work on the film's production been resumed, with few scenes being shot at the Kathipara Junction in
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, leading to
traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...
as the shoot went till 8:00 A.M. despite the officials gave permission to shoot till 6:00 A.M. Following a song shoot and patchwork sequences the principal photography was wrapped up.


Themes and influences

The character Maaran (or doctor), played by Vijay in the film, was inspired from Dr. Balasubramanian, a doctor who hails from
Bodinayakkanur Bodinayakanur (also shortened to Bodi) is a Town and a municipality in Theni district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Etymology In early days, it was called by the name Thenkasiyampathi (Tamil: தென்காசியம்பதி). ...
,
Theni Theni is a valley town situated in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu at the foothills of Western Ghats. It is the headquarters of the Theni district, located in a distance of 70km from Madurai. It is known for the large-scale trading of garlic, c ...
district, and charges from patients. It is also known that Vijay's character Jeevanantham in ''
Kaththi ''Kaththi'' (; ) is a 2014 Indian Tamil-language action social drama film written and directed by A. R. Murugadoss, and produced by Allirajah Subaskaran under the banner Lyca Productions, along with Ayngaran International, as the co-produce ...
'' (2014), is inspired by a real-life social activist. Critics noted that the film has similarities related to
MGR M. G. Ramachandran (1917–1987) was the Former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. MGR may also refer to: * ManaGeR (MGR), graphical window system * Merry-go-round train, British freight-train design Mgr. is an honorific or abbreviation for: * Manage ...
-starrers ''
Kudiyirundha Koyil ''Kudiyirundha Koyil'' () is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language spy film directed by K. Shankar. The film stars M. G. Ramachandran, Jayalalithaa and Rajasree, with L. Vijayalakshmi, Pandari Bai, M. N. Nambiar, Sundarrajan, V. K. Ramasamy, S. V. ...
'' (1968) and '' Neerum Neruppum'' (1971), where he played dual roles,
Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
-starrer ''
Moondru Mugam ''Moondru Mugam'' () is a 1982 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by A. Jagannathan. The film stars Rajinikanth in three distinct roles as Alex Pandian, Arun and John. The film was a blockbuster and ran for 175 days in theatres. Raji ...
'' (1982), and
Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...
's ''Apoorva Sagodharargal'' (1989; ''Appu Raja'' in
Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
), which had the actors playing triple roles. Shyam Gowtham in his review for the magazine The Week has stated about the references of M. G. Ramachandran in the film saying "Vijay is doing what
M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...
, did in the 1950s; the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; DMK) is a political party based in the state of Tamil Nadu where it is currently the ruling party having a comfortable majority without coalition support and the union territory of Puducherry where it is curre ...
in Tamil Nadu did what
Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the '' Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to ...
did in
Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
’s Germany—use cinema to propagate its ideology. Thus, it changed the way films were made. There are four instances in the film where Vijay is compared with MGR—in fact, his introduction scene starts with an MGR song."


Music

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
composed the soundtrack album and background score of ''Mersal'', teaming up with Vijay for the third time, after his films ''
Udhaya ''Udhaya'' is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language action drama film which was directed by Azhagam Perumal which released on 26 March 2004. The film stars Vijay and Simran, while Vivek, Nassar and Rajesh play supporting roles. The soundtrack for the ...
'' (2004), and '' Azhagiya Tamizh Magan'' (2007), and his first collaboration with Atlee. The lyrics for the film were written by
Vivek Vivek (or Bibek/Bivek in some regions) (विवेक in Devanagari script) is a masculine given name that is popular in South Asia, particularly in India and Nepal. It is of Sanskrit origin and means "wisdom" and/or "conscience". Vivek may refe ...
, who also teams up with Rahman for the first time. It marked the first release of Vijay and Rahman in the silver jubilee year. The audio rights of the film were acquired by
Sony Music India Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd. is the record label operated by Sony in Chennai, India. The company began operation in 1997, and it was the first record company in India to be 100% foreign-owned, with Sony being a Japanese corporati ...
, for a record price. The tracks "Aalaporaan Thamizhan" and "Neethanae" were released as singles on 10 and 17 August 2017. The audio launch event was held on 20 August 2017, at
Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (also known as the Marina Arena) is a multi-purpose stadium in Chennai, India. It has a capacity to seat 40,000 people. It hosts football matches and athletic competitions. The complex also houses a multipurpose indoor ...
in
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
, which was touted to be the "biggest Kollywood event of the year", and it saw the attendance of prominent celebrities from the Tamil film Industry being present at the event, which also featured a live music performance by Rahman and his team. The album crossed 100 million streams, within 10 days, setting a streaming record for a Tamil album.


Marketing

The first look posters released on 21 June 2017 became the highest retweeted first look in
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
, close to 50,000 people. As an innovative approach, Hema Rukmani teamed up with ICONICbot, an Indo-Austrian Venture, powered by actor
Vishakha Singh Vishakha Singh is an Indian actress, producer and entrepreneur who is best known for her role as Neetu Singh, Zafar's girlfriend, in Fukrey Series. She appeared in many South Indian language films before starring in Bollywood projects with ...
, to launch an artificial intelligence based chat-bot for the production house through
Facebook Messenger Messenger is a proprietary instant messaging app and platform developed by Meta Platforms. Originally developed as Facebook Chat in 2008, the company revamped its messaging service in 2010, released standalone iOS and Android apps in 2011, and ...
. This is a first-of-a-kind initiative in the South Indian film industry, in which an artificial intelligence technology is used to connect with all movie goers personally, where chat-bots are used in Hindi cinema by top stars for promoting their films. Hema Rukmani had stated that "though we share the information about the film through the official Twitter handle of the production house, there must be false news prevailing all around. So, we had planned for launching TSL chatbot where fans can share the relevant information with them exclusively." The film is the first South-Indian film to get a
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
emoji An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conv ...
of its first look and also to trademark its title. Few sources from the production house stated that "if one uses the term ''Mersal'' for commercial purposes, a part of their revenue should be paid to the team as royalty". The
teaser trailer A teaser (or more specifically teaser trailer) is a mini- trailer and a form of teaser campaign advertising that focuses on film and television programming. It is a videography pre-release move or television show advertisement. Short in length, te ...
of the film unveiled on 21 September 2017 (coinciding Atlee's birthday) and became the most-viewed Indian movie teaser with 34.6 million views, surpassing ''
Kabali ''Kabali'' is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu. The film stars Rajinikanth in the titular role, with Radhika Apte, Sai Dhanshika, Winston Chao, Kishore, Dines ...
'' (2016) and ''
Vivegam ''Vivegam'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Siva. The movie features Ajith Kumar as primary lead, with Vivek Oberoi (in his Tamil debut), Kajal Aggarwal, and Akshara Haasan playing the supportin ...
'' (2017), and became the first Indian movie teaser to get 1 million likes. Two
TV spot A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...
s were premiered during the television broadcast of '' Baahubali 2: The Conclusion'' (Tamil dubbed version) on 8 October 2017. Sources claimed that the innovative marketing strategies of the film contributed to the film's success. Exchange4Media, an advertising company commented that ''Mersal'' was one of the South Indian films that disrupted the digital marketing space.


Release


Theatrical

''Mersal'' was earlier scheduled for theatrical release on 29 September 2017, however as Shankar's '' 2.0'' which was scheduled for release on
Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...
(18 October 2017) got delayed due to extensive
visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
; the producers decided to release the film on that date. On 16 October 2017, the film received a U/A certificate from CBFC, with few cuts after getting NOC from AWBI. The film opened on more than 3,300 screens worldwide which is highest for a Tamil film. In
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...
, the film released on 800 screens, and more than 275 screens in
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
. In
Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
, the film was released in 100 screens, and in
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, it accounted 400 screens. The film was later screened in
PVR Cinemas PVR Ltd (formerly Priya Village Roadshow Ltd), doing business as PVR Cinemas, is an Indian multiplex chain based in Gurgaon. PVR pioneered the multiplex revolution in India by establishing the first multiplex cinema in 1997 at Saket, New Delh ...
and Inox Multiplex on 24 October 2017, following their strike against the double taxation row which held on 3 October. The film was re-released again in March 2018, following the producer council's strike against digital service providers over the increase of
Virtual Print Fee Virtual Print Fee (VPF) is a subsidy paid by a film distributor towards the purchase of digital cinema projection equipment for use by a film exhibitor in the presentation of first release motion pictures. The subsidy is paid in the form of a fee p ...
charges. ''Mersal'' was screened at Grand Rex, France, which is the largest cinema theatre in Europe, due to the high demand of the film. It was further released in Japan in four major cities
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
, Ebino,
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
and Nakayama, which is the highest for a Tamil film. The film was released in China by HGC Entertainment on 6 December 2018, through 10,000 screens, which ''Mersal'' becomes the first Tamil film to be released in this country. The film was screened at the
Hainan International Film Festival The Hainan International Film Festival () is a film festival held in Sanya, Hainan, China. The inaugural festival was held from December 9 to 16, and included forums, ceremonies, and competitions. Actor Jackie Chan is the promotional ambassador ...
in
Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...
, China in March 2019, and at the
Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (), or BiFan, is an international film festival held annually in July in Bucheon, South Korea. Prior to 2015, it was known as the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival or PiFan. Inaugurated ...
in
Bucheon Bucheon () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Bucheon is located away from Seoul, of which it is a satellite city. It is located between Incheon and Seoul. Bucheon is the second most densely populated city in South Korea after Seoul, ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
at 29 July 2018.


Distribution

North Star Entertainment along with SN Techs Film Distribution Company have secured the distribution rights for the film in
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
and
Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...
;
Global United Media Global United Media Company Private Limited is a corporate entity in the Indian film markets formed in March 2014. The company's core engagement is film production, acquisition and distribution across languages, genres and territories. Global Un ...
has secured the distribution for the film in
Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
; Horizon Studios acquired the Karnataka rights; 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 United States. The overall pre-release revenue of ''Mersal'' is reported to be in the region of , which includes the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights about , Karnataka distribution rights about , Kerala rights about , Andhra Pradesh and Nizam rights about , Rest of India, for , and Overseas rights about . The worldwide theatrical rights accounted to , whilst the satellite rights, sold to , music rights for , home video rights for , and Hindi dubbing rights for .


Home media

The television broadcast rights were sold to
Zee Tamil Zee Tamil is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. The channel started broadcasting on 2008 and is available internationally. The channel broadcasts from Guindy, Chennai ...
for 30 crore in July 2017. The film had its global television premiere on 14 January 2018 on occasion of the
Thai Pongal Pongal (, ), also referred to as Tai Pongal (), is a multi-day Hindu harvest festival celebrated by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka.Star Maa Star Maa (formerly Maa TV) is an Indian Telugu language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The channel telecasts Telugu language programmes such as serials, reali ...
and Asianet respectively. Later,
Udaya TV Udaya may refer to * Udaya Pictures, a movie company in Kerala. * Udaya TV, a Kannada-language television channel * Udaya Manikya, a 16th-century king of Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest st ...
acquired the rights for the Kannada dubbed version of the film titled ''Maayagara'' and premiered it through their channel on 13 September 2020. It is available in digital streaming platforms through
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...
and
ZEE5 ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, run by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Andro ...
(in Tamil),
Sun NXT Sun NXT is an Indian video on demand service run by Sun TV Network. It was launched in June 2017 and has content in six languages - Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi . Sun NXT app is available for Android and iOS devices, Sm ...
(in Kannada), and
Hotstar Disney+ Hotstar (also known as Hotstar) is an Indian brand of subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Novi Digital Entertainment of Disney Star and operated by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, both d ...
(in Malayalam). The film's Hindi dubbed version was directly premiered on Dhinchaak TV channel (now renamed to Goldmines) on 13 March 2022.


Reception


Box office

In the opening day of its release the film earned 31.3 crore in domestic region and 47.1 crore worldwide.


India

At the
Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
city box office, the film collected 1.50 crore and became the highest opening day grosser, beating
Ajith Kumar Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tami ...
's ''
Vivegam ''Vivegam'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Siva. The movie features Ajith Kumar as primary lead, with Vivek Oberoi (in his Tamil debut), Kajal Aggarwal, and Akshara Haasan playing the supportin ...
''. The film became the biggest opener in
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...
at that point, grossing 24.8 crore and yielded a share of 14.1 crore to its distributors. It eventually broke the record of
Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
's ''
Kabali ''Kabali'' is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Pa. Ranjith and produced by Kalaipuli S. Thanu. The film stars Rajinikanth in the titular role, with Radhika Apte, Sai Dhanshika, Winston Chao, Kishore, Dines ...
'' which earlier collected 21.5 crore.


Other territories

The film collected 1.7 crore from the premiere shows held at United States and 2.5 crore the following day, totalling up to 3.08 crore. The film earned A$133,057 (68.01 lakh) from 25 locations, upon its release in Australia and earned £94,311 (₹81.08 lakhs) upon its release in United Kingdom in 37 locations, according to trade analyst
Taran Adarsh Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media. Career Taran Adarsh started his journalism career at the age of 15 with ''Trade Gui ...
. The film collected ₹90.31 lakhs from its opening day in Malaysia around 800 theatres. In its five-day opening weekend, the film collected 140
crore A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is eq ...
(1.4 billion Indian rupees) worldwide and 170 crore its first week. In 12 days, the film grossed 200 crore worldwide, including 130 crore domestically in India. It has become the
highest-grossing film Films generate income from several revenue streams, including theatrical exhibition, home video, television broadcast rights, and merchandising. However, theatrical box-office earnings are the primary metric for trade publications in assess ...
of Vijay's career, and the first of his films to enter the 200 crore club. At the end of its fifth week, the film had reportedly collected 120 crore in Tamil Nadu, 16 crore in Kerala, 13 crore in Karnataka and 15 crore from the rest of India, tallying 164 crore (1.6 billion rupees) domestically and 260 crore (2.6 billion rupees) worldwide. According to
The Hans India ''The Hans India'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well as in New Delhi. The newspaper was started on 15 July 2011 and belongs to Hyderabad Media House Ltd., which also own ...
article published in January 2018, the movie has raked in 244.8 crores by the end of its run. However, according to the articles by ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'', ''Financial Express'' and ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new on ...
'', one of the leading distributors, Ramanathan, owner of the
Abhirami Mega mall Abirami Mega Mall was a shopping mall located in Purasawalkam, Chennai. It was constructed in 2003. Named after its owner Abirami Ramanathan, it was closed in 2019. Theaters * Abirami 7 Star Theatre * Shree Annai Abirami * Robot Bala Abirami * ...
, said that the numbers reported by Mersal are highly inflated and the movie has not raked in 200 crore as reports claim.


Critical response

''Mersal'' received positive reviews from critics. M. Suganth, editor-in-chief of ''
The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest s ...
'' rated the film three-and-a-half out of five and said, "With Mersal, we have got this year's most engaging mass masala movie. When you have a mass hero in full form like Vijay is in the film, how can things go wrong?". Manoj Kumar R. of ''
The Indian Express ''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...
'' also gave three-and-a-half out of five stars stating "Atlee has not just exploited Vijay's stardom to deliver a flamboyant crowd-pleaser (which he did in '' Theri'' already) but has fleshed out an interesting script that plays up the best onscreen traits of the actor." ''
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology company providing end-to-end ICT solutions including telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation in ...
'' rated the film three out of five stars and said the film as a "formulaic mass masala action film with a strong social message, whistle worthy moments, eye candy heroines and grand visuals". It further added that the film "relies squarely on the charm of its leading man (Vijay) to pull off its over-the-top tone". Priyanka Sundar of ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Ly ...
'' said that the film "is not about the story, but the way it is delivered; the emotions, sentiment and social message formed the crux of the story", but criticised the length of the second half and the manner in which Samantha's character's arc is resolved. ''Behindwoods'' stated there are triple Vijay in the movie and it had created triple positive impact and rated it 2.75 out of five stars.
Baradwaj Rangan Baradwaj Rangan is an Indian film critic, writer, and formerly the deputy editor of ''The Hindu''. He later became a senior editor of Film Companion. Rangan won the National Film Award for Best Film Critic in 2006. Before joining ''The Hindu' ...
of ''
Film Companion South Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
'' called the film as "gigantic, but deflavoured take of '' Apoorva Sagotharargal''". He added that "the lack of newness is compensated for by rich production values", but praised Vijay's performance saying "Vijay is one actor who seems to be getting younger on screen. He moves beautifully in the dance sequences. He even manages an effective dramatic bit. But he’s let down by the writing". Anupama Subramanian of ''
Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ...
'' gave two-and-a-half out of five stars and added "Though the storyline is not new, Atlee cleverly uses the terrific screen presence of Vijay and presents it in an engaging way". Vishal Menon of ''
The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the sec ...
'' had opined that the film had "references to yesteryear blockbusters; but that could not be determined as dislikeable; it is quite enjoyable". Sreedhar Pillai of ''Firstpost'' called that "the perfect film for the larger-than-life image of its superstar Vijay, has something in it to satiate viewers with varied tastes", giving a rating of three out of five stars. ''Indiaglitz'' gave three out of five stars saying "With his winning formula of old wine in a new bottle, Atlee has proved beyond doubt his caliber as a commercial director and has delivered a sure shot winner". ''
The New Indian Express ''The New Indian Express'' is an Indian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper published by the Chennai-based Express Publications. It was founded in 1932 as ''The Indian Express'', under the ownership of Chennai-based P. Varadarajulu Naid ...
''-based critic Daniel Thimmayya called the film as "ultimate commercial entertainer that rides on Vijay's solid performance and Atlee's slick storytelling". Srivatsan S of ''
India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new on ...
'' gave three out of five saying "one could say that ''Mersal'' is nothing but the rise of a matinee idol". Poornima Murali of ''
News18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...
'' called the film "as good in parts: during the evocative flashbacks"; but pointed out a few lame dialogues, logical contradictions and frequent song sequences. Vikram Venkateshwaran of ''
The Quint ''The Quint'' is an English and Hindi language Indian general news and opinion website founded by Raghav Bahl and Ritu Kapur after their exit from Network18. The publication's journalists have won three Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism A ...
'' wrote "It’s got three whole Vijays, with intersecting plot lines, great fight scenes and twelve murders, that will either squeeze your heart, or make you cheer along, all in the name of entertainment". Writing for ''
Manorama Online ''Malayala Manorama'' is a morning newspaper in Malayalam published from Kottayam, Kerala, India by the Malayala Manorama Company Limited. Currently headed by Mammen Mathew; it was first published as a weekly on 22 March 1888, and currently has ...
'', Prem Udhayabhanu gave the film three out of five stars saying "The film charms the fans with an elaborate canvas spun for the hero and a social message weaved into it". Shyam Goutham, in his review for the magazine ''
The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...
'' wrote "through the film which is packaged with heavy drama and action sequences, Atlee tries to convey a message. For a Vijay fan, there are enough wow moments—slow-motion scenes, 'Ilayathalapathy' saving people and punch dialogues. In fact, a scene showing Vijay talking to the media about the problems in the country has become mandatory". ''
Ananda Vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. History and profile ''Ananda Vikatan'' was started by Late Pudhoor Vaidyanadhaiyar in February 1926 as a monthly publication. The issue for December 1927 wa ...
'' rated the film 43 out of 100.


Controversies

The film was subjected to several criticisms with the first being, the interim ban issued against the film producers by
Madras High Court The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...
, for using the title ''Mersal'' for promotions. In a lawsuit filed by Rajendran of AR Film Factory, he registered the title ''Mersalayitten'' at the Tamil Film Producers Council in 2014, and claimed that the use of the title will affect the business of his film. The high court later dismissed the plea on 6 October 2017. The Tamil Film Producers Council strike from 6–13 October over double taxation row, and the denial of
NOC A network on a chip or network-on-chip (NoC or )This article uses the convention that "NoC" is pronounced . Therefore, it uses the convention "a" for the indefinite article corresponding to NoC ("a NoC"). Other sources may pronounce it as an ...
from
Animal Welfare Board of India The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI), headquartered at Ballabhgarh in Haryana state, is a statutory advisory body advising the Government of India's Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying(Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy ...
(AWBI) were rumoured to affect the plans release; however, it was resolved later. Upon release, several notions expressed in the film were opposed by various organisations. The
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the List of ruling p ...
(BJP), the ruling political party of
Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
, and the then ruling
AIADMK The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (; AIADMK) is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the  state of Tamil Nadu and the  union territory of  Puducherry. It is a Dravidian party founded by the former chief m ...
had objected to scenes in which the protagonist, played by Vijay, criticises the recently introduced Goods and Services Tax, and also a scene in which a character ridicules Digital India, an initiative promoted by the Government of India. The ruling BJP demanded that those scenes be cut from the film for future viewership. 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. Doctors working with the
Indian Medical Association The Indian Medical Association (IMA) is a national voluntary organisation of physicians in India. It was established in 1928 as the All India Medical Association, and was renamed the Indian Medical Association in 1930. It is a society registered ...
planned to boycott the film and shared links of the film on pirated websites online, in the hope that it would cause monetary losses to the makers of the film. These acts were seen as an attack on
freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...
by opposing political parties and various other celebrities working in
Tamil cinema Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...
.
Shashi Tharoor Shashi Tharoor (; ; born 9 March 1956 in London, England ) is an Indian former international civil servant, diplomat, bureaucrat and politician, writer and public intellectual who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, ...
condemned BJP's acts against ''Mersal'', similar to infringement of democratic rights. Though the film was touted to have an approximate collection of 250 crore, the production house
Thenandal Studio Limited Thenandal Studios Limited (TSL), formerly known as Sri Thenandal Films and Sri Thenandal Pictures, is an Indian film production and distribution studio in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded by director Rama Narayanan. History Rama Narayanan se ...
had to file for bankruptcy due to the high production costs involved. The social media propaganda loss of this film amounts to an approximate 60 crore, with references citing Atlee exceeding the production budget. However, G. Dhananjayan opined that the film was considered profitable to all distributors across Tamil Nadu region, as was, the film's producer Murali Ramaswamy. In November 2018, the Canada-based magician Raman Sharma, who worked in the project accused Thenandal Studios of non-payment of dues and slammed the company for their unprofessional behaviour. In August, Sharma's team sent a legal notice to the makers, demanding the rest of his payment under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The financial tussles surrounding over the production house led the makers shelve all of their upcoming projects: notably the company's big-budget film Sangamithra,
Dhanush Venkatesh Prabhu Kasthuri Raja (born 28 July 1983), known professionally as Dhanush, is an Indian actor, producer, director, lyricist and playback singer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Starring in 46 films over his career, among hi ...
's untitled project with
Karthik Subbaraj Karthik Subbaraj is an Indian film director, writer and producer working mainly in Tamil cinema. Life and career Karthik did his schooling in SBOA Matriculation and Higher Secondary School, Madurai after which he went on to study Mechatron ...
and his directorial film,
A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...
's virtual reality film '' Le Musk'', and other productions; furthermore, their completed projects '' Vallavanukkum Vallavan'' and '' Iravaakaalam'' remained unreleased.


Accolades

At the
65th Filmfare Awards South The 65th Filmfare Awards South ceremony honoring the winners and nominees of the best of South Indian cinema in 2017 was an event that was held on 16 June 2018 at Novotel anHICCComplex in Hyderabad. The nominations for all the main awards were ...
, ''Mersal'' received eleven nominations including those for Best Director (Atlee),
Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...
(Vijay) and Best Supporting Actor (S. J. Surya). It won in two categories – Best Supporting Actress (Menen) and Best Music Director (Rahman). At the
10th Vijay Awards The final 10th Vijay Awards ceremony honouring the best of the Tamil film industry in 2017 was held on 26 May 2018 at Chennai. The event was hosted by Gopinath and Divyadharshini. Jury K. Bhagyaraj, Radha, Yugi Sethu, Anurag Kashyap and K. ...
, the film received eight nominations and won three awards: Favourite Film, Best Director and Favourite Song. ''Mersal'' received twelve nominations at the
7th South Indian International Movie Awards The 7th South Indian International Movie Awards is an awards event held at Dubai on September 14 and 15, 2018. It aims to recognize notable films and performances from the past year in Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada films along with speci ...
ceremony and won five awards, including Best Director for Atlee, Best Actor in a Negative Role for Surya and Best Music Director for Rahman. Among other wins, the film received ten
Techofes Awards Techofes is an annual intercollegiate culture festival at the College of Engineering, Guindy in Chennai, India. The tradition began in 1948. It is a three-day event usually held in mid-February. Past editions *Techofes '06 took place starting ...
, seven
Edison Awards Edison Awards is an American company that runs an annual competition honoring excellence in innovation in a broad range of categories. Company The Edison Awards were established by the American Marketing Association in 1987 and has been an in ...
, five
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards is an annual awards ceremony for people in the Tamil film industry. It is presented by the Tamil language weekly magazine ''ananda vikatan ''Ananda Vikatan'' is a Tamil-language weekly magazine published fr ...
and two
Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards is the annual film festival conducted in Oslo to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Tamil film industry. NTFF was arranged for the first time in 2010 by VN Music Dreams. NTFF i ...
. At the international ceremonies, the film won one award for Best Foreign Film at the
National Film Awards UK The National Film Awards UK are presented in an annual award show hosted by the National Film Academy (NFA). As of 2015, it has taken place in Central London at the Porchester Hall. The 5th National Film Awards UK was held on 27 March 2019. ...
. and Best International actor award for Vijay at International Achievement Recognition Award UK.


Impact

Prior to the film's release, Hollywood stuntman Serge Crozon Cazin, who starred in
Ajith Kumar Ajith Kumar (born 1 May 1971) is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Tamil films. To date, he has starred in over 60 films. His awards include four Vijay Awards, three Cinema Express Awards, three Filmfare Awards South and three Tami ...
's ''
Vivegam ''Vivegam'' () is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Siva. The movie features Ajith Kumar as primary lead, with Vivek Oberoi (in his Tamil debut), Kajal Aggarwal, and Akshara Haasan playing the supportin ...
'', and
S. S. Rajamouli Koduri Srisaila Sri Rajamouli ( ; born 10 October 1973) is an Indian film director and screenwriter who primarily works in Telugu cinema. He is the highest paid director in India, and is known for his action, fantasy, and epic genre films. T ...
expressed their anticipations on the film, with the latter calling it as "a fantastic film to look forward to". Following the criticism towards the
GST GST may refer to: Taxes * General sales tax * Goods and Services Tax, the name for the value-added tax in several jurisdictions: ** Goods and services tax (Australia) ** Goods and Services Tax (Canada) ** Goods and Services Tax (Hong Kong) **Go ...
and Digital India-scenes levied by
BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mo ...
,
Rajinikanth Shivaji Rao Gaikwad (born 12 December 1950), known professionally as Rajinikanth, is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has done 160 films that includes films in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannad ...
,
Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali f ...
, Vishal,
Vijay Sethupathi Vijaya Gurunatha Sethupathi (born 16 January 1978), known professionally as Vijay Sethupathi, is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Tamil films. He is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award. Fo ...
,
Arvind Swamy Arvind Swamy (born 18 June 1970) is an Indian actor, model, entrepreneur and television presenter known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuster ...
and
Khushbu Sundar Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian actress, politician, film producer and television presenter. She is known for her works predominantly in Tamil, besides Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. She is a rec ...
, extended his support towards ''Mersal'' and praised Vijay and the team for "bravely addressing social issues in the film". As H. Raja criticised the
Censor Board The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...
officials over the film's certification after watching the film online, demanding that they should be removed from posts,
Gautami Tadimalla Gautami Tadimalla (born 2 July 1969), known mononymously as Gautami, is an Indian actress and politician who has worked mainly in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films in addition to Hindi, and Kannada films. She was one of the leading South Ind ...
, the member of CBFC who watched a screening of the film on 22 October, claimed that "Mersal has been given a fair censor certificate. There was no foul in the film’s dialogues with reference to GST, and asking the scenes to be lifted off the film is a direct threat to freedom of speech." The South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce wrote a letter to
Smriti Irani Smriti Zubin Irani (''née'' Malhotra; born 23 March 1976) is an Indian politician and a former television actress and producer. She is a Minister in Union Cabinet of India since May 2019 currently administrating the Ministries of Women and ...
, the Information and Broadcasting minister, seeking action against H. Raja for watching the pirated version of the film online. In a positive note, ''Mersal'' emerged as the most tweeted hashtag of 2017 in the entertainment section, according to a survey report by Twitter.


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{Atlee (director) 2017 films Films set in hospitals Films scored by A. R. Rahman 2017 masala films Films shot in Rajasthan Films shot in Poland Films shot in Chennai Films shot in Andhra Pradesh 2010s vigilante films 2017 action thriller films Films about magic and magicians Films shot in North Macedonia Films set in Chennai Films set in Punjab, India Films set in Madurai Films set in Tamil Nadu Indian nonlinear narrative films Films set in 1970 Films about surgeons Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police Films set in Paris Films shot in Paris Films about twin brothers Fictional identical twins Body swapping in films Indian action thriller films Indian vigilante films Twins in Indian films Indian pregnancy films Indian films about revenge 2010s Tamil-language films Films directed by Atlee (director)