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''Vettai'' () is a 2012 Indian
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
-language
action comedy film The action comedy is a film genre that applies to action films where humor plays a much more central role. While early films feature stuntwork and humor, academic Cynthia King wrote that the genre only came into its own as a mainstay of the Americ ...
co-produced, written and directed by
N. Linguswamy Nammalvar Lingusamy, (born 14 November 1967), is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with ''Aanandham'' (2001). He went on to direct ''Run'' (2002), ''S ...
. The film stars
Arya ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''),Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood i ...
and R. Madhavan in the lead roles, while
Sameera Reddy Sameera Reddy (born 14 December 1978) is a former Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi, Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, Telugu language films. She made her film debut with the 2002 film ''Maine Dil Tujhko Diya''. Reddy is bes ...
,
Amala Paul Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress and producer who is primarily working in Tamil and Malayalam films, in addition to some Telugu and Hindi films. She is a recipient of a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, a Filmfare Award Sou ...
,
Ashutosh Rana Ashutosh Ramnarayan Neekhra (born 10 November 1967), known professionally as Ashutosh Rana, is an Indian actor, producer, author and television personality. He has worked in predominantly Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil films along with working in var ...
,
Nassar Nassar (), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer, or Nacer. People with the surname include: People with th ...
and
Thambi Ramaiah Thambi Ramaiah is an Indian actor, director and comedian who works in the Tamil film industry. He has also worked occasionally as a lyricist. He directed three films, '' Manu Needhi'' (2000), '' Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan'' (2008) and '' Mani ...
appear in supporting roles. The music was composed by
Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja (born 31 August 1979), is an Indian composer and playback singer. He mainly scores music for Tamil films along with few Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use o ...
, and cinematography and editing handled by
Nirav Shah Nirav Shah (born 16 November 1974) is an Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of major box office hits in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam since his debut with the 2004 Hindi film '' Paisa Vasool''. Career After having worked as an a ...
and
Anthony Anthony, also spelled Antony, is a masculine given name derived from the '' Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descenda ...
. The film was announced shortly after the release of Lingusamy's ''
Paiyaa ''Paiyaa'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action-adventure film directed by N. Lingusamy and produced by N. Subash Chandra Bose under the banner Thirrupathi Brothers. The film stars Karthi and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead roles, while M ...
'', with Dhayanidhi Alagiri's
Cloud Nine Movies Cloud Nine Movies was an Indian film production and distribution company, based in Chennai. It is owned by Dayanidhi Azhagiri and Vivek Rathinavel and was founded in 2008 until 2014. He founded another new production company in 2013, Meeka E ...
agreeing to produce the film, following a successful collaboration during the director's previous film. During a lengthy pre-production phase, the film underwent changes in its main cast and Cloud Nine Movies pulled out of the project. Linguswamy's own banner
Thirupathi Brothers Thirrupathi Brothers is an Indian Tamil film production company owned by brothers N. Subash Chandrabose and N. Lingusamy and was founded in 2006. History The first venture of Thirrupathi Brothers was ''Deepavali'', directed by Ezhil with Jaya ...
takes up the film. Filming was initially planned to begin by mid-2010, but was delayed until March 2011. ''Vettai'' was released on 14 January 2012, coinciding with Pongal festival, and became a commercial success at the box office. The film was remade in
Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of South India ** Telugu literature, is the body of works written in the Telugu language. * Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Tel ...
as ''
Tadakha ''Tadakha'' () is a 2013 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language action film directed by Kishore Kumar Pardasani. A remake of the 2012 Tamil film ''Vettai'', the film stars Naga Chaitanya, Tamannaah Bhatia, Sunil (actor), Sunil and Andrea Jere ...
'' (2013), in Bangladeshi as ''Hitman'' (2014), in Odia as ''
Happy Lucky ''Happy Lucky'' is a 2018 Indian Odia-language romantic action comedy film directed by Sundhanshu Sahu. The film stars Sambit Acharya and Jyoti Ranjan Nayak opposite Sasmita and Elina Samantray respectively in lead roles. The film is an offici ...
'' (2018) and in
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
as '' Baaghi 3'' (2020).


Plot

Thirumurthy and Gurumurthy are two brothers in
Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...
, with Thirumurthy, being sensitive to violence, in contrast to Gurumurthy, who is brave and clever. Whenever Thirumurthy is thrashed by anyone, he sends Gurumurthy to finish them. However, Gurumurthy is frequently berated by his father Lingamurthy, a police officer for beating local people, while Thirumurthy only feels for him. After the death of Lingamurthy, Thirumurthy takes on the same police job by the request of Gurumurthy, who remains an unemployed youngster. Thirumurthy is posted as SI in Thoothukudi. Meanwhile, Thirumurthy and Gurumurthy meets two sisters Vasanthi and Jayanthi. Vasanthi had an issue at Gurumurthy at first but later they broke the ice. Afterwards, Thirumurthy marries Vasanthi, and both the brothers shift to Vasanthi's and Jayanthi's house. A number of humorous incidents follow, such as Jayanthi's to-be husband is actually revealed to be a clumsy NRI named Gautham, whom she disapproves. She openly expresses her love for Gurumurthy, who accepts. Thirumurthy rises to fame in his job by having Gurumurthy secretly punish suspects and save victims for him. Everyone believes that Thirumurthy actually fought the criminals himself, but in reality, he took credit for Gurumurthy's doings, unknown to them. One of the village's biggest mob bosses, Annachi, discovers the truth via a
CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...
showing Gurumurthy. Enraged, he has his men severely beat up Thirumurthy, making the latter confident that his brother will continue his job. Gurumurthy proclaims that he made Thirumurthy as a policeman to overcome his fears and become stronger. Following his recovery, Thirumurthy begins training under Gurumurthy and subsequently overcomes his fear and manages to defeat a few of Annachi's men and tactically, with Gurumurthy's help, kill Maari, the goon responsible for beating him up. Eventually, Annachi and his men break into the brothers's house and cause havoc. Thirumurthy and Gurumurthy arrive and defeat all of Annachi's men; however, they are unable to beat Annachi. Gurumurthy wants to kill Annachi but Thirumurthy wants to arrest him. The two brothers quarrel on whether to kill or arrest him. Gurumurthy declares that they will roll the gun; if the stops at Annachi, he will be killed. The gun stops rolling at Annachi and when he tries to grab the gun, Gurumurthy stops him by kicking him, and Thirumurthy shoots him dead. Thirumurthy is again congratulated by the local police, but gives equal credit to Gurumurthy as well. Through this praise, Gurumurthy also gets to join the police force.


Cast

As per the film's opening credits: *
Arya ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''),Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood i ...
as Gurumurthy, Thirumurthy's brother * R. Madhavan as
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 The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...
K. Thirumurthy, Gurumurthy's brother *
Sameera Reddy Sameera Reddy (born 14 December 1978) is a former Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi, Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, Telugu language films. She made her film debut with the 2002 film ''Maine Dil Tujhko Diya''. Reddy is bes ...
as Vasanthi, Thirumurthy's wife (Voice dubbed by Chinmayi) *
Amala Paul Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress and producer who is primarily working in Tamil and Malayalam films, in addition to some Telugu and Hindi films. She is a recipient of a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, a Filmfare Award Sou ...
as Jayanthi, Gurumurthy's wife (Voice dubbed by
Savitha Reddy Savitha Radhakrishnan is an Indian voice actor. Career Radhakrishnan made her debut as a child voice actor in a film for Sujitha and continued for many movies as a voice actor in both Tamil and Telugu movies. She later as a teen dubbed for ...
) *
Ashutosh Rana Ashutosh Ramnarayan Neekhra (born 10 November 1967), known professionally as Ashutosh Rana, is an Indian actor, producer, author and television personality. He has worked in predominantly Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil films along with working in var ...
as Annachi (Voice dubbed by
Thalaivaasal Vijay Thalaivaasal Vijay (born A. R. Vijayakumar) is an Indian actor and dubbing artiste. He has acted predominantly in Tamil and Malayalam films. Career Vijay's debut film was '' Thalaivaasal'' (1992), which became part of his stage name in Tamil ...
) *
Nassar Nassar (), is a given name and surname, commonly found in the Arabic language. Alternative spellings of this name, possibly due to transliteration include Naser, Nasser, Nasir, Naseer, or Nacer. People with the surname include: People with th ...
as SP Veerapandiyan Thevar IPS *
Thambi Ramaiah Thambi Ramaiah is an Indian actor, director and comedian who works in the Tamil film industry. He has also worked occasionally as a lyricist. He directed three films, '' Manu Needhi'' (2000), '' Indiralohathil Na Azhagappan'' (2008) and '' Mani ...
as
Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...
B. Azhagu *
Soundararaja Soundararaja is an Indian actor and producer who appears in Tamil films, mainly playing supporting and antagonistic roles. His notable performances include '' Sundarapandian'' (2012), '' Jigarthanda'' (2014), and '' Dharma Durai'' (2016). He ma ...
as Madura *
Shanmugarajan Shanmugarajan is an Indian actor who appears in Tamil films. Shanmugarajan was born on 24th October, 1974, to father S. Muniyasamy and mother M. Rajeswari, in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, India. Career Shanmugarajan is an alumnus of The Amer ...
as
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 The rank of Inspector is present in all Australian police forces excep ...
Kulasekara Pandian *
Sreejith Ravi Sreejith Ravi (born 19 May 1976) is an Indian actor who appears predominantly in Malayalam films and also in Tamil films. He is the son of actor T. G. Ravi. Early life Sreejith is the son of actor and industrialist T. G. Ravi and V. K. Sub ...
as Surulai *
Nagendra Babu Konidela Nagendra Rao (born 29 October 1961), popularly known as Nagendra Babu and Naga Babu, is an Indian actor, producer, and politician who works in Telugu cinema. He has received one National Film Award and two Nandi Awards for his work as ...
as Lingamurthy, Gurumurthy's and Thirumurthy's late father *
Rajeev Ravindranathan Rajeev Ravindranathan (also known as Rajeev Ravindranath) is an Indian actor and comedian who works in Hindi and Tamil-language films. He is known for his roles in ''3 Idiots'' (2009), '' English Vinglish'' (2012), and '' Rocketry: The Nambi Ef ...
as Gautham *
Naadodigal Gopal Naadodigal Gopal was an Indian character actor who worked over 30 films Tamil cinema. Career Originally a farmer and businessman made his debut ''Naadodigal'' (2009) directed by his friend Samuthirakani and the success of the film meant ...
as Police officer * Muthukumar as Maari *
N. Linguswamy Nammalvar Lingusamy, (born 14 November 1967), is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with ''Aanandham'' (2001). He went on to direct ''Run'' (2002), ''S ...
as a man smoking cigarette (cameo appearance)


Production


Development

In April 2010, following the success of ''
Paiyaa ''Paiyaa'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action-adventure film directed by N. Lingusamy and produced by N. Subash Chandra Bose under the banner Thirrupathi Brothers. The film stars Karthi and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead roles, while M ...
'',
Cloud Nine Movies Cloud Nine Movies was an Indian film production and distribution company, based in Chennai. It is owned by Dayanidhi Azhagiri and Vivek Rathinavel and was founded in 2008 until 2014. He founded another new production company in 2013, Meeka E ...
, who had distributed the film, announced a successive collaboration with the film's director
N. Linguswamy Nammalvar Lingusamy, (born 14 November 1967), is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with ''Aanandham'' (2001). He went on to direct ''Run'' (2002), ''S ...
, who would make a romantic action film with
Silambarasan Silambarasan Thesingu Rajendar (born 3 February 1984), popularly known as Simbu or by his initials as STR, is an Indian actor, producer, and playback singer who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He is the eldest son of director T. Rajendar. ...
in the lead role. For pre-production works, the crew of the team subsequently headed to
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
to work out the script, following which Lingusamy moved to the Orange County resort in
Coorg Kodagu district () (also known by its former name Coorg) is an administrative district in the Karnataka state of India. Before 1956, it was an administratively separate Coorg State at which point it was merged into an enlarged Mysore State ...
, Karnataka to finalise the script. Later that month a photo shoot was completed, with Silambarsan sporting the get up of an NCC cadet, However, in July 2010, reports suggested that Silambarasan was dropped from the project, since he suddenly, without informing Lingusamy and Dhayanidhi, signed himself up and began working in ''
Vaanam ''Vaanam'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Krish. A remake of his Telugu film, '' Vedam'' (2010), it has an ensemble cast of Silambarasan TR, Bharath, Prakash Raj, Anushka Shetty, Santhanam, Soni ...
'' (2011). Silambarasan, in return, revealed that he had not officially signed Cloud Nine Pictures' film, and only decided to work on ''Vaanam'', since Lingusamy was not able to narrate the complete script, despite making him wait for over 100 days. Controversially, Silambarasan later signed another film in September 2010, which was similarly titled as ''
Vettai Mannan Nelson Dilipkumar ( born 21 June 1984) is an Indian director and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Known for directing action films which incorporate dark humor, he is one of the highest-paid directors in India. Nelson sta ...
''. Eventually in September 2010, the film was official announced at a press meet with the title ''Vettai'' with
Arya ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''),Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood i ...
replacing Silambarasan. At the press meet, he revealed that he worked for over three months on the script, keeping his editor Anthony Gonsalvez and cinematographer
Nirav Shah Nirav Shah (born 16 November 1974) is an Indian cinematographer. He has worked on a number of major box office hits in Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam since his debut with the 2004 Hindi film '' Paisa Vasool''. Career After having worked as an a ...
updated about the developments. The film's principal photography was initially supposed to commence in June 2010, but due to pre-production works, it got delayed further and was postponed to December. The film was announced as a bilingual project, to be shot separately in Tamil and Telugu. The Telugu version was supposed to be produced by Tirupati Prasad of Mega Supergood Films and feature
Mahesh Babu Ghattamaneni Mahesh Babu (born 9 August 1975) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu cinema. He is one of the highest-paid actors in Indian cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India''s Celebrity 100 list since 2012. He has appeared in more tha ...
in the lead role, with Madhavan reprising his role. In March 2011, Cloud Nine Movies stepped out of the project, which prompted Linguswamy to produce ''Vettai'', too, under his home banner
Thirupathi Brothers Thirrupathi Brothers is an Indian Tamil film production company owned by brothers N. Subash Chandrabose and N. Lingusamy and was founded in 2006. History The first venture of Thirrupathi Brothers was ''Deepavali'', directed by Ezhil with Jaya ...
along with his brother
Subash Chandra Bose Subhas Chandra Bose (23 January 1897 – 18 August 1945) was an Indian independence movement, Indian nationalist whose defiance of British raj, British authority in India made him a hero among many Indians, but his wartime alliances with ...
.


Casting

After Silambarasan's exit, Vijay was expected to enact the lead role, who had earlier agreed to star in a Lingusamy film in future, and was subsequently approached by the team. He, however, declined the offer, not willing to play a role that was "originally written keeping in mind the image of another actor". Only in September 2010, during the official announcement, it became apparent that
Arya ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''),Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood i ...
was signed on to reprise the lead role. Furthermore, Linguswamy was trying to sign Madhavan for another leading role, while, several days later, sources reported that Madhavan definitely had rejected the offer. The next month, however, it was confirmed that Madhavan was roped in to enact the role as a police officer and brother of Arya's character. Madhavan accepted the film as he was 'blown' away by the story. The lead female role was reported to be played by
Tamannaah Bhatia Tamanna Bhatia (born 21 December 1989), known professionally as Tamannaah Bhatia, is an Indian actress who predominantly works in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Having appeared in 88 films, she has received several awards, including two Sa ...
, who had been part of Linguswamy's ''
Paiyaa ''Paiyaa'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action-adventure film directed by N. Lingusamy and produced by N. Subash Chandra Bose under the banner Thirrupathi Brothers. The film stars Karthi and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead roles, while M ...
'' as well. In an interview later, she disclosed that she was not approached earlier and though she liked the script, she could not take the offer due to her prior commitments.
Anushka Shetty Sweety Shetty (born 7 November 1981), known by her stage name Anushka Shetty, is an Indian actress known for her works in Telugu and Tamil cinema. She is the recipient of three Filmfare Awards South, two Nandi Awards, two SIIMA Awards and o ...
then accepted the offer, while
Sameera Reddy Sameera Reddy (born 14 December 1978) is a former Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi, Tamil language, Tamil and Telugu language, Telugu language films. She made her film debut with the 2002 film ''Maine Dil Tujhko Diya''. Reddy is bes ...
was signed to play Madhavan's pair in the film, as a village girl. In late November 2010, Anushka pulled out and
Amala Paul Amala Paul (born 26 October 1991) is an Indian actress and producer who is primarily working in Tamil and Malayalam films, in addition to some Telugu and Hindi films. She is a recipient of a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, a Filmfare Award Sou ...
, following her critically acclaimed performance in ''
Mynaa ''Mynaa'' is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film directed and written by Prabhu Solomon. Jointly distributed by Udhayanidhi Stalin and Kalpathi S. Aghoram, it stars Vidharth, Amala Paul and Thambi Ramaiah. The soundtrack by D. ...
'', was roped in to play a leading character, as the love interest of Arya's character.


Filming

Originally planned to commence in September 2010, the filming was postponed several times either due to pending pre-production works and unavailability of the artists. After Arya had finished shooting and dubbing for ''
Avan Ivan ''Avan Ivan'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language comedy drama film written and directed by Bala, who with this project attains his fifth feature film. The film stars Vishal, Arya, while G. M. Kumar, R. K., Madhu Shalini, Janani Iyer, and A ...
'', the first schedule was planned to begin on 2 March, which however, was also cancelled as Dhayanidhi wanted the filming to be pushed by another two months, which supposedly was the reason for Linguswamy's decision to produce the film himself. Shooting eventually started on 16 March 2011 in
Karaikudi Karaikudi is the largest city of Sivaganga district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the centre of the Karaikudi Metropolitan Area, the 21st largest urban Agglomeration of Tamil Nadu based on 2011 census data. It is part of the area ...
, with Madhavan, Arya, Sameera Reddy and Amala Paul participating. A song "Dumma Dumma Dummaa", choreographed by Brindha, was shot first, with nearly 2000 people being part of the shoot along with the four lead actors. A fight sequence, involving Arya and Madhavan, was shot in the
Pondicherry University Pondicherry University, also known as PU, is a central research university located in Kalapet, Pondicherry in Union Territory of Puducherry, India. It was established by an Act of Parliament in 1985 by the Department of Higher Education, Min ...
sports complex on 24 April. In June 2011, other key action sequences were filmed at
Madurai Madurai ( , , ), formerly known as Madura, is a major city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District, which is ...
,
Thoothukudi Thoothukudi (formerly called Tuticorin) is a port city, port industrial city in Thoothukudi district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It lies on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. The city is capital and headquarters of the di ...
,
Thanjavur Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...
and
Aruppukottai Aruppukottai is a town and a municipality in Virudhunagar district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Aruppukottai's classical name is "Sengattu irukkai idathuvali". Aruppukottai is about 50 km from Madurai. It is in the middle of Vellore-T ...
. The introduction song of the film was also shot in Thanjavur. Some action sequences were shot in
Madanapalle Madanapalle is a city in Annamayya district and Rajampet Lok Sabha constituency of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a Selection Grade Municipality and largest City in Annamayya District. Madanapalle is headquarters of Madanapalle Man ...
, a town located in the Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh, while the climax was shot at Binny Mills in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
under the supervision of stunt director Silva. Principal Photography was "Wrap (filmmaking) on October 2011.


Soundtrack

Following successful collaborations with director Linguswamy in ''
Sandakozhi ''Sandakozhi'' () is a 2005 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by N. Linguswamy and produced by Vikram Krishna under G K Film Corporation. The film stars Vishal, Meera Jasmine, Rajkiran, and Lal, while Raja, Suman Setty and ...
'' (2005) and ''
Paiyaa ''Paiyaa'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action-adventure film directed by N. Lingusamy and produced by N. Subash Chandra Bose under the banner Thirrupathi Brothers. The film stars Karthi and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead roles, while M ...
'' (2010),
Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja (born 31 August 1979), is an Indian composer and playback singer. He mainly scores music for Tamil films along with few Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use o ...
was signed up to produce the film score and soundtrack for ''Vettai'' as well. The album featured five songs with lyrics written by
Na. Muthukumar Nagarajan Muthukumar (12 July 1975 – 14 August 2016) was an Indian poet, lyricist, and author who predominantly worked in Tamil language film songs. He was known for his frequent collaborations with composers Yuvan Shankar Raja and G. V. Pra ...
. The soundtrack album was launched on 16 December 2011 at the Anna Centenary Auditorium in
Kotturpuram Kotturpuram, also known as Kottur, is a neighbourhood in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India and is situated in the Southern banks of the Adyar River. It is surrounded by Nandanam in the North and North-West, Adyar, Chennai, Adyar in the South- ...
,
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, with several lead actors and directors from the Tamil film industry attending the event. Four days prior to the soundtrack release, on 12 December 2011, the song "Pappappa" was launched as a
single track Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...
.


Release

Produced on a budget of 25 crore, The satellite rights of the film were bought by
STAR Vijay Star Vijay is an Indian Tamil language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. The channel telecasts programmes such as serials, reality shows & Tamil films. History T ...
for and audio/DVD rights were sold for . The filmmakers wanted to release the film on 13 January 2012, due to post production delays, the release date was postponed by a day. The movie released on the Pongal weekend on 14 January 2012. ''Vettai'' was released in 650 screens worldwide on 14 January 2012 including 300 screens in
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
, 250 screens in the rest of India, and about a 100 screens overseas. ''Vettai'' sold 4.3 million tickets worldwide.


Reception


Critical reception

''Vettai'' received positive reviews. ''Behindwoods'' rated the film 3.5/5 and called it a "light hearted film for the holiday season". ''
Sify Sify Technologies Limited (formerly Satyam Infoway) is an Indian information and communications technology (ICT) company providing telecom services, data center services, cloud & managed services, transformation integration services, and ...
s critic wrote: "Lingusamy's ''Vettai'' is a racy mass entertainer with all the ingredients mixed in the right proposition. No doubt that the director understands the pulse of the common man and has beautifully packaged it with all the essential commercial elements to suit the taste of the masses". Pavithra Srinivasan of ''
Rediff Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...
'' gave 2.5/5 and noted: "''Vettai'' is no classic, but it is good fun." The ''
Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' wrote: "Though there is nothing new in terms of the story or screenplay, the movie is a fun ride as long as it lasts". Rohit Ramachandran of ''Nowrunning.com'' rated it 3/5 stating that "''Vettai'' is regular Kollywood stuff superiorly packaged with insurmountable energy.". Deccan chronicle wrote:"The first half moves fast with unlimited entertainment, while the post-interval portions falls along predicted lines and pace suffers". Hindu wrote:"The story isn't out of the ordinary, but Lingusamy knows where to place twists and how. From Run to Sandakkozhi and now to Vettai, his action ventures, with the exception of Bheema and Ji, have screenplays that sustain the interest of the viewer". Rachel Saltz of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote: "''Vettai'' partakes of the something-for-everyone formula, mixing the serious — corruption, evil gangs and limb-threatening fights — with the less so: songs, romance and comedy. It entertains without breaking any new ground, though it can also surprise".


Awards and nominations


Remakes

The film's remake rights were sold for 3 crore, to Bellamkonda Suresh. The Telugu version, titled ''
Tadakha ''Tadakha'' () is a 2013 Indian Telugu language, Telugu-language action film directed by Kishore Kumar Pardasani. A remake of the 2012 Tamil film ''Vettai'', the film stars Naga Chaitanya, Tamannaah Bhatia, Sunil (actor), Sunil and Andrea Jere ...
'', was released in 2013. and in Hindi as '' Baaghi 3'' (2020). It was also remade in Bangladeshi as ''Hitman'' (2014).


References


External links

* * {{UTV Movies 2010s Indian films 2010s Tamil-language films 2012 action films 2012 films Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police Films about brothers Films about contract killing in India Films about security and surveillance Films directed by N. Lingusamy Films scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja Films set in Tamil Nadu Films shot in Andhra Pradesh Films shot in Karaikudi Films shot in Madurai Films shot in Tamil Nadu Films shot in Thoothukudi Indian action films Indian crossover films Tamil films remade in other languages Tamil-language Indian films UTV Motion Pictures films