''Virudhagiri'' () is a 2010 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 film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...

written and directed by

Vijayakanth Vijayaraj Alagarswami (25 August 1952 – 28 December 2023), known by his stage name Vijayakanth, was an Indian actor, filmmaker, philanthropist and politician. He worked in Tamil cinema in a career spanning four decades. He ventured into politi ...

, making his directorial debut, besides playing the title character as well. This was also his final film in his cinematic career before his full-fledged career into politics. The film, co-starring

Madhuri Itagi Madhuri Itagi (born 7 October 1988) is an Indian actress who works in predominantly Kannada-language films. She made her debut in ''Tenali Rama'' (2006). She has acted in Kannada films like ''Rambo'' (2012) and ''Ouija'' (2015). She is also well ...

Arun Pandian Arun Pandian is an Indian actor, film director, film producer and politician who predominately works in Tamil films. He began his career as an actor as part of the critically acclaimed film '' Oomai Vizhigal'' (1986). After retiring from acting ...

and Mansoor Ali Khan among others, released on 10 December 2010 It is a remake of the English-language French film '' Taken''. Although this movie is supposed to occur in Albania and Australia, it was actually shot in Malaysia.

Plot

Virudhagiri (

), a sincere police officer endeavors in safeguarding the societal peace. Gaining international recognition for accomplishing a security task in foreign countries, he returns to Chennai handling a serious case of transgenders being scourged to death for organ racketing. On an unexpected turn, when his niece Priya (

) was undertaking a trip to Australia, she gets kidnapped by a group of strangers. Using his high-skilled intelligence activities, Virudhagiri flies down to the foreign land of Albania for the rescue.

Cast

as Virudhagiri IPS *

as Franklin Williams, Australian police officer *

as Priya * K. C. Shankar as Mike Anderson * Mansoor Ali Khan as Police inspector *

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 ...

Santhana Bharathi Santhana Bharathi is an Indian film director and actor who has primarily worked in Tamil cinema. He directed '' Gunaa'' (1991), which won third prize for the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film. He also directed '' Mahanadhi'' (1994), ...

as Police commissioner *

Chaams Chaams (born as Swaminathan: 30 November 1972) is an Indian actor and comedian who has appeared in Tamil language films. He has predominantly appeared in supporting roles, notably in Crazy Mohan dramas and playing one of the several leads in ' ...

as Saamy *

Russell Geoffrey Banks Russell Geoffrey Banks is a British actor and screenwriter. Early life Banks took up acting at a young age, after dealing with dyslexia and leaving school at age 15. Career In 2017, he co-wrote and starred as the titular character in '' Who's W ...

as Chief of police *

Peeli Sivam P.L. Sivanappan known by his stage name credited as Peeli Sivam (5 July 1938 – 25 September 2017) was an Indian actor who featured around 400 Tamil-language films and plays from 1958 to 2017. He has featured in several films such as ''Muhamm ...

as Virudhagiri's father *

Kalairani Kalairani is an Indian actress who has worked in many Tamil films and as a performer with the Koothu-P-Pattarai theatre group. Filmography Tamil films Telugu films Serials * ''Panchavan Kaadu'' (2014) * ''Unarchigal'' (2014) * '' ...

as Virudhagiri's mother *

Uma Uma may refer to: Religion * Uma (goddess), a Hindu goddess also known as Parvati or Gauri People * Uma (given name), including a list of people with the name * Uma (actress) (Uma Shankari, fl from 2000), Indian actress Nature * ''Uma'' (liza ...

as Priya's mother * Aman Deep Singh * Meesai Rajendranath

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by

Sundar C. Babu Sundar C. Babu is an Indian musician who composes music for Tamil, Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ...

Reception

''Rediff'' wrote "It might not be a great movie, or even a good one, but Virudhagiri was made for only one purpose: To be a political vehicle for Vijaykanth. And it serves that purpose admirably". ''The'' ''Indian Express'' wrote " Vijayakant has bounced back with a vengeance. With the script racy and fast paced, and going full throttle on an unabashed image-boosting exercise, he has projected himself in the most flattering way possible. It should be an ideal treat for the Captain fans!".

References

External links

* {{IMDb title Taken (franchise) 2010 films 2010s Tamil-language films Films scored by Sundar C. Babu Indian remakes of French films 2010 directorial debut films Indian action thriller films Films about child abduction in India Films about human trafficking Films about organised crime in India Films about prostitution in India Works about sex trafficking Films set in France Films set in Albania Films shot in Malaysia Indian police films Films about father–daughter relationships Fictional portrayals of the Tamil Nadu Police Films based on works by Luc Besson