director vetrimaran vada chennai

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OTT Watch: Vetrimaaran on Vada Chennai, it's not a gangster film

For acclaimed director vetrimaran is busy writing the script of the 'prequel' to his 2018 cult movie, vada chennai, rather than the sequel or part 2 of this film. since this socio-political thriller became a box office hit collecting nearly ₹50 crores worldwide, there has been a lot of speculation around the fate of its sequel since vada chennai was meant to be the first of a trilogy..

What happens next to the young carrom-player turned criminal, who emerges as a prominent gangster after toppling two feared mobsters in the critically-acclaimed Vada Chennai ? Well, we may have to wait for a longer time to know the answer, it seems.

For celebrated director Vetrimaaran is busy writing the script of the ‘prequel’ to his 2018 cult movie, Vada Chennai, rather than the sequel or part 2 of this film. Since this socio-political thriller became a box office hit collecting nearly ₹50 crores worldwide, there has been a lot of speculation around the fate of its sequel since Vada Chennai was meant to be the first of a trilogy.

In an interview to The Federal, Vetrimaaran opened up to admit that Vada Chennai will have a prequel for now and he is currently writing the script. “I am working on a prequel now. The sequel will take some time,” he revealed. He added that the prequel will focus on the life of gangster Rajan, a key character in Vada Chennai , betrayed by his most trusted lieutenants who savagely attack and murder him.

Also read: JLF book launch: TM Krishna on dissent, fear as a constant in our culture

That one incident in fact triggers a chain of events which eventually impact a young, earnest carrom player Anbu (Dhanush) in the area, who is caught up in his dreams of escaping his crime-infested neighbourhood. He wants to become a national level carrom player and bag a safe government job.

Vetrimaaran had stumbled upon the material for Vada Chennai way back in 2003 itself, when he was researching his directorial debut, Polladhavan. But, the director felt Tamil cinema was not ready for this film at that time and finally waited for 15 years to translate the screenplay into a film. According to the award-winning director, Vada Chennai “is by far the most complex film he’s made in terms of writing”. It is not his “personal best” either, Vetrimaaran instead prefers his 2015 award-winning film on cop brutality, Visaranai .

“I like Visaranai as a film better,” he shared. Vada Chennai may have been set in north Chennai ridden by bloody gang wars, but the film has a vast canvas. It does not just trail the life of Anbu, who unintentionally gets drawn into the fight for supremacy between two gang leaders. The lives of different characters, (there are many sub-plots and narratives that boggle the mind sometimes) get entangled and the events, sometimes seemingly inconsequential go on to shape their lives.

This 2 hour 44 minute epic film, which moves between the past and present narrates the stories of other protagonists, including the hapless Rajan (essayed by director Ameer) and Chandra (Andrea Jeremiah), and how their lives and decisions get interwoven to make up this classic sordid tale of betrayal, greed and hubris. There are twists and turns in this mobster saga, which makes it a gripping watch. But for Vetrimaaran, this is not a gangster film at all but rather that the characters are all pawns in a larger political game.

“I don’t look at Vada Chennai as a gangster film at all. It’s about how the decisions made by policy makers influences the common man and how we are all part of a larger political narrative. And, when that goes on for many years, we get to see the impact of wrong and good policy making,” said the director, who is known to regard cinema as “a tool of political proclamation and liberation”.

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According to Vetrimaaran, the film has “strong political undertones”, which incidentally is very overt in the film. “It questions all the ruling parties of the time portrayed in the film (which is set in a time-period spanning 1987 to 2003). Their policies and the image projected are opposites,” he said. On the one hand, the ruling Dravidian parties dole out sops portraying themselves as champion of the poor but will have no qualms displacing communities, stripping them of their livelihood for political and material gains.

In Vada Chennai , the smuggler/gangster Rajan, despite his criminal activities, is someone who cares for his people and refuses to allow a politician to uproot the settlements. Similarly, many years later, Anbu stands up to the local politician and the gang leaders, one of whom he owes his life to, because he knows the project they are backing will displace the fishermen’s livelihoods and homes.

The film also taps into the dramatic political events of the time like the death of TN leader, MGR and the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Clearly, Vada Chennai streaming on Disney+Hotstar now, is not meant to be another entertaining gangster saga film. However, like his other films, this one too is politically charged and throws light on social issues such as corruption as well.

The prison scenes, which make up the first chapter of the film, show the rampant smuggling, bribery and muscle power present inside these state-owned spaces. And, how the system itself is corrupt from the inside and the officers, constables, doctors, etc., are all hand-in-glove.

What sets this film apart is that it provides an immersive experience, as it deep-dives into this reportedly notorious part of Chennai city. It is realistic and Vetrimaaran attributes the realism to the fact that most of the characters in the film were from “real-life.” The names and places are just changed, he added. Vetrimaaran also can never watch any of his films after he locks the edit, he pointed out.

The real Vada Chennai

There were some rumblings in certain quarters against the portrayal of north Chennai-ites as violent and crime-driven. In an article, Vignettes of the real Vada Chennai , M S Santhanam objecting to this image often fostered by Tamil cinema quoted Dr John Fryer, an East India Company surgeon, who had spent some time in Madras in 1673. He had described north Madras as “a spacious suburb of the town proper… strewn with shady gardens of the English merchants who liked to spend their leisure hours in them.”

Later, in 1747,  The European Magazine published from London reported that the “streets are wide and many of them well planted with trees, so that having the sea on one side, and a river on the other, it may be said that few cities stand so pleasantly…”. Three centuries later, Santhanam bemoans that north Chennai had become the “grimy and forsaken backyard of a teeming metropolis”.

However, it is north Chennai, which houses the Royapuram railway station built in 1856. It happens to the city’s oldest railway station. While the crowded Robinson Park in north Chennai is where the current ruling party, the DMK, was born in 1949. However, Vetrimaaran did not focus on just showing the ugly, dark side of this part of Chennai, instead, his film is about how the people of north Chennai is battling an unresponsive system even as they aspire for upward mobility and a better life.

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Vada chennai.

Directed by Vetrimaaran

A young carrom player in North Chennai becomes a reluctant participant in a war between two feuding gangsters.

Dhanush Andrea Jeremiah Samuthirakani Daniel Balaji Kishore Pawan Ameer Aishwarya Rajesh Subramaniam Siva Pavel Navageethan Boxer Dheena Joy Badlani Vincent Asokan Radha Ravi Hari Krishnan Cheenu Mohan Sentrayan Rajesh Sharma Munnar Ramesh Ragavendar Saran Shakthi Subathra Robert

Director Director

Vetrimaaran

Producers Producers

Dhanush Vetrimaaran

Writer Writer

Editors editors.

G. B. Venkatesh R. Ramar

Cinematography Cinematography

Executive producer exec. producer.

S Vinodkumar

Art Direction Art Direction

Stunts stunts.

Dhilip Subbarayan

Composer Composer

Santhosh Narayanan

Songs Songs

Gaana Bala Vivek Arivu Rokesh Sindhai Rev Ravi Dholak Jegan

Costume Design Costume Design

Amritha Ram

Wunderbar Films Grassroot Film Company Lyca Productions

Alternative Titles

Vadachennai, Chennai Central, 钦奈风云

Crime Drama Action

Crime, drugs and gangsters Bollywood emotional dramas Show All…

Releases by Date

11 oct 2018, 17 oct 2018, releases by country.

• Premiere Pingyao International Film Festival (October 11 to 20, 2018)
• Theatrical A
• Theatrical 18SG

166 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Michael James ★★★★½ 10

An epic gangster drama that deals with themes of power-destiny-loyalty-deceit-revenge and stands out for its brilliant writing, engaging multiple character narrative, well researched detailing, excellent performances, fantastic music and masterful execution from Vetrimaran. The multiple sub plots helps it sustain the dramatic intensity all through, holding your attention right from start to end with solid twists and turns. Dhanush puts on a remarkable show with his restrained performance. It’s got a huge supporting ensemble in Ameer, Andrea, Samuthirakani, Kishore, Daniel Balaji and Aishwarya Rajesh. Each character get a well written role with equally impressive performance. On the whole, it’s a must watch realistically raw hard hitting gangster saga which leaves you wanting for more.

Review by Ananth ★★★★½ 3

Tamil films really need to stop relying entirely on ADR. I know Vetrimaaran talks about his special dubbing process and how he discovers new things in the dub. But I don't think he realizes how awful the lip sync and sound distance issues are. Andrea's dubbing was especially terrible.

This major gripe aside the movie is pretty fucking awesome. Tamil people have always known how to make gangster films.

Review by NesarajK ★★★★ 4

3rd time and I still love, love it. Wanting to see more of a 3-hour film is a compliment, but picking up on details that were small as lingering background information that adds a ton to the film.

Everyone in the film is incredibly strong and real in their performances, Dhanush as the reluctant Anbu might be one of his most incredible subtle performances on screen, even in the latter portion, Dhanush does so much with just facial expression to build more to his character, its sad to watch a character (you understand) being pulled into darkness. " Win or lose, we must fight," but the darkness sees the light; life becomes a positive one, for the people, like Rajan,…

Review by jack ★★★★★ 4

official confirmation of vada chennai 2 would surely restore my will to live.

Review by Yadhu Krishnan ★★★★★ 2

Watchparty with the Bois.

Vada Chennai is a perfect commerical movie that doesn't have any mass masala moments or hero elevation scenes unnecessarily. It has layered writing with well fleshed out characters. The non-linear screenplay flows smoothly with lot of parallel scenes. I was completely immersed in the northern Chennai world. The time period accuracy is David Fincher tier.

This is one of the best Tamil movies ever made and I have my doubts about the sequel living up to this. Even on a rewatch I'm not fully sure about the entire plot as there's humongous amount of detailing by Vetrimaaran. The portion where they kill Rajan has to be the rawest scene I have seen in a Tamil movie.…

Review by prtk j ★★★★★

Goddamn it, release the 5 1/2 hour cut ASAP.

Review by Harish_vardhan ★★★★★

Just now came to my mind . The main reason behind the death of MGR is M.r Radha's gun shot it affected MGR a lot . In vadachennai radha Ravi who is son of Mr Radha playing as a antagonist in one scene vetrimaaran himself said Rajan is a MGR for vadachennai so vetri re-creates mr radha MGR conflict. Mr.radha shoted mgr with 4 bullets in the gun something Radha Ravi murdered Rajan with senthil, guna,pazhani,velu . 🙂 Keka loosu thanmma iruntha vitrunga...

Review by ☆ shriya 🎧🎸☆🍉 ★★★★★ 2

i did not think i would find a movie that would top fight club in my favorites but here i am

THIS MOVIE IS INCREDIBLE i mean wow just wow everything looped together SO nicely at the end, and the story, the plot, its like literal perfection. Nobody is making gangster movies like this anymore.

PERFECTION.

Review by Varun Menon ★★★★ 5

Vetrimaaran needs a new editor (me)

Review by nrh ★★★★½ 4

like getting just one verse from desperados waiting for a train; one side of a great, seething world of a neighborhood. fate turns over and there will be a justice even if it leaves lives ruined behind it.

Review by ananya 🍉 ★★★★★ 2

i’m not jealous of aishwarya rajesh at ALL hahaha why would i be hahahahah 😐

Review by jack ★★★★★

Might add this on the favorites by replacing with Mayakkam Enna but....... Can't we have 5th one in the section?

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Ranking All Vetrimaran Movies

1. Vada Chennai

2. Visaaranai

3. Aadukalam

5. Viduthalai: Part 1

6. Polladhavan

More to explore, recently viewed.

Vada Chennai prequel series in works, confirms Vetri Maaran

Vetri Maaran, whose Asuran recently bagged the National Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil, revealed his upcoming slate of projects in a recent interview. One of these will be a prequel series to his 2018 film, Vada Chennai. The National Award-winning filmmaker shared that he will be developing a prequel to Vada Chennai as a web series in between his current projects.

“The series will focus on what happened before the events of Vada Chennai,” he added. The news comes as an exciting update to fans of the film. About his existing commitments, Vetri Maaran said, “I’m currently working on a film starring Soori as the protagonist and featuring Vijay Sethupathi in an important role. After this, I’ll be directing a film for Elred Kumar’s production house, RS Infotainment. Once I’m done with that, I’ll start working on Suriya’s Vaadivaasal, produced by Kalaipuli S Thanu.” In the interview, the filmmaker added that he will be collaborating with actor Vijay after he completes his current projects.

“I was supposed to work with Vijay right after Asuran, but the project didn’t materialise due to my commitments. After I finish my in-progress films, I’ll wait for Vijay.” It is notable that, while promoting Vada Chennai, Vetri Maaran had spoken about chopping a substantial chunk of footage at the editing table. Vada Chennai, starring Dhanush, Ameer, Andrea Jeremiah, Kishore, Aishwarya Rajesh, and Samuthirakani, was released in 2018 to critical acclaim.

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Why Vetrimaaran is the most interesting director in Tamil films today

Vetrimaaran is arguably among the most interesting filmmaker working in the tamil film industry. here’s documenting his rise and what it takes to be a talent like him..

His production house’s name, Grass Root Film Company, is a clear pointer to Vetrimaaran’s worldview. This Deepavali’s biggest release in Tamil Nadu is, arguably, Kodi (Flag), a political thriller he has produced that stars Dhanush in his first double role, as twin brothers. The twins may be identical but their natures are mutually exclusive. Refreshingly, Kodi casts Trisha as a feisty woman politico, giving Dhanush’s eponymous hero a run for his money.

“For a hero movie, it’s pretty decently written,” pronounces Baradwaj Rangan, film critic and associate editor at The Hindu. “There’s a conflict, there are surprises and even within a commercial film, it’s properly written and directed. It’s not some random moments strung together to get people whistling.”

The film’s premise is how politics and political interests shape communities and the quality of their life. In this case, it involves skullduggery surrounding a factory emitting toxic effluents. It could be happening not too far away from our backyards.

At the Oscars

Vetrimaaran himself, however, was conspicuous by his absence during Kodi’s promos. He has a bigger task on hand. Visaaranai (Interrogation), the part-docudrama, part-crime thriller he directed, is India’s official entry to the 89th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category. So he is in the US persuading jurors take note of his film, which has some truly hairy torture scenes. The last Tamil film that made it to the Oscars was 16 years back: Hey Ram starring Kamal Haasan.

Usually, the choice of any film to represent the country at the Oscars polarises critics, but Visaaranai remains largely unchallenged. Rangan agrees. “Visaaranai was a fantastic film.”

It tells the story of innocent migrant labourers picked up and tortured by the police to extract a false confession for a fatal robbery at an influential man’s house. How the film, shot in 42 days on a Rs 2-crore budget and eventually wining three National Film Awards, got made is interesting. After his Aadukalam in 2011, Vetrimaaran had busied himself with his production ventures, Udhayam NH4, Poriyaalan and Kaaka Muttai. When he was prepared to shoot his next, the script he picked was Soodhadi, a story on gambling, proposing Dhanush in the lead role. However, the actor had to take time off to work in Balki’s Shamitabh, being shot in Mumbai.

Vetrimaaran was mooting a book adaptation when director Balu Mahendra’s assistant serendipitously presented him with Lock Up, a riveting, partly autobiographical book written by M Chandrakumar, a former autorickshaw driver. The book, which took five years to write and another four to publish, narrates his harrowing experience while in jail in (then) Andhra Pradesh.

“When I pitched the story to Dhanush, who later produced the film, I said I can only guarantee you a three-day weekend run at the box office. But it’s a low-budget venture; you’ll get your investment back,” Vetrimaaran laughs. “Dhanush was amused, but agreed to fund the project. [I thought] it’s the kind of film that would not bring in repeat audiences. I was proved wrong and it got a good three-week run.”

The author, Chandrakumar, was incarcerated for a fortnight way back in 1983. “Yet his experiences are relevant even today,” points out Vetrimaaran. “Visaaranai reflects a stark reality from which you cannot shut yourself out: that is its success. It was challenging to find the right kind of actors and locations. We employed real stuntmen who could exercise restraint while beating up the actors.”

“What was unique was that there were a lot of first-time actors in the film; that added rawness to it,” says K Hariharan, filmmaker and critic. “Actors like Samuthirakkani and Kishore were entirely on the sidelines. That made it an interesting watch.”

Astutely, the team decided to send it to international film fests right away, confident it would work with foreign audiences. Visaaranai premiered at the Orrizonti section of the 72nd Venice Film Festival, a first for a Tamil film, and won the Amnesty International Italia Award. Crucially, the European audience was exposed to a hitherto unexplored form of Tamil cinema that dealt with grim reality in a non-dramatic but powerful way.

“Europeans have a different policing system. They found my narrative a bit harsh, though they were moved,” explains Vetrimaaran.

A rooted voice

It is Vetrimaaran’s preoccupation with sometimes gritty, sometimes heartwarming reality that makes this 41-year-old one of the best filmmakers of our times.

“The best thing about the regional filmmakers is that they bring in a very ‘native’ feel,” says Rangan. “Like if I watch Nagraj Manjule’s Sairat for instance, I find [elements] that remind me of Vetrimaaran. But that’s more because these filmmakers do these ‘rooted’ things very well. They give you the sense of the atmosphere, the rhythms of life in that particular environment, they take care to bring them alive.”

His critically acclaimed debut venture, Polladhavan (Ruthless Man) in 2007, followed a lower middle-class young man’s search for his stolen bike, an exercise that takes him through the seamy underworld. Four years later came Aadukalam (Arena), a Pongal release that raked in six National Film Awards. The cockfight arena was where love, ego, honour, friendship and betrayal were played out in the rustic backdrop of Madurai.

Says Manimaran, long-time friend and assistant, “Vetri used to like watching cockfights in the neighbourhood in our hometown. So he thought we could develop a story around them.”

There was no doubt about who would play the lead. “I wrote Aadukalam keeping Dhanush in mind,” says Vetrimaaran. “As an actor, he delivers exactly what I need and sometimes more. As a producer, he offers me complete freedom and does not interfere at all. He trusts me completely.”

Rangan explains the Vetrimaaran touch, “There is a world of difference in the way he uses the song and dance elements in Polladhavan and Aadukalam. They have become more organic and rooted; they’re not fantasy elements.”

“I personally prefer Aadukalam to Visaaranai, but it’s like comparing apples and oranges,” says Hariharan. “Aadukalam had a certain kind of warmth and spontaneity. Visaaranai, to me, looked rather staged.”

He explains, “Visaaranai’s [appeal across the world] is that for the first time in Tamil cinema, you see this kind of brute reality without the director taking recourse to a love story or family drama. It’s also interesting that a country like India allowed such a strongly critical film on the system. There’s no doubt that Vetrimaaran is a bold filmmaker.”

Vetrimaaran’s productive chemistry with Dhanush has paid rich dividends. The two went on to produce Kaaka Muttai (Crow’s Egg) in 2015, a subversive film poking fun at what is regarded as cool - pizzas, in this case. This little gem, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, tracks two brothers from a Chennai slum dying to taste a pizza. Directed by M Manikandan with wit, not once is the children’s dignity compromised. Their family struggles in a heartless and corrupt city and soon we find ourselves cheering for our little heroes. Kaaka Muttai pocketed two National Film Awards.

“There is a stamp of quality that people have begun to associate with Vetrimaaran, because even the films he produces are pretty decent,” says Rangan, adding that he looks for, and gets, that certain quality.

Vetrimaaran’s genius lies in shining a light on people we would not even glance at in our rat race. His films show us that ordinary people often lead extraordinary lives if only we stop to talk to them.

Smitten by cinema

Born in Cuddalore near Puducherry and raised in Ranipet, a suburban town in Vellore district, two and a half hours from Chennai, Vetrimaaran was smitten by cinema even as a child. His mother, a writer, ran a school in the area, while his father was a veterinarian. Friends remember him as a film buff who watched every movie that came to town.

“He would bunk classes and watch them, each three or four times. Then he would come to the school ground where we used to hang out until 7:30 in the evening and would retell the whole story to us. My friends and I have actually walked out of the theatre at times because the film was nowhere as good as his narration. He still has that quality,” says Manimaran, his assistant.

Vetrimaaran was in his second year of Masters in English Literature in 1999 when the now-deceased filmmaker Balu Mahendra was invited to judge a short film contest at the Loyola College, Chennai. Shortly afterwards, he attended a seminar conducted by the director and was inspired enough to assist him in Julie Ganapathy, Athu Oru Kanaa Kaalam and the television series Kadhai Neram.

Athu Oru Kanaa Kaalam cemented his friendship with the lead actor, Dhanush, whom he describes as his best friend. While still assisting Balu Mahendra, Vetrimaaran pitched the story of Desiya Nedunchalai, and the actor readily agreed to play the lead.

Recalls Manimaran, “Producers were not hard to come by because we had Dhanush. But a few had misgivings about how Vetri would handle the project as a newcomer. So we tossed aside that script, which I later made into Udhayam NH4.”

The initial years proved to be rough. “I was pitching different scripts to different people for three years and it was the sixth producer who okayed Polladhavan,” says Vetrimaaran on his directorial debut.

Adds Manimaran, who assisted him in the project, “After the film was edited, we were really scared to show it to the producer. We kept stalling the screening telling him it may not have come out as he expected. Finally, when he saw it, he was satisfied. We were relieved and gradually grew confident.”

Pushing for excellence

When Manimaran himself forayed into direction with Udhayam NH4 in 2013, Vetrimaaran returned the favour by stepping in as producer under his banner, Grass Root Film Company. As he puts it, “I want my production house to be a platform for good, interesting ideas. I can find a producer for my films, but others, who may be first-time filmmakers, might have innovative scripts that mainstream producers might not understand. Like Kaaka Muttai for instance.

“I produce films in partnership as I may not be able to afford the entire budget. Dhanush ends up co-producing some of them as our tastes are similar. None of my producers ever ask me for the budget. I always make sure it is within their means and I can give the desired returns.”

For someone who has been successful both commercially as critically, Vetrimaaran has directed only three films in nine years. “For me, every film is a learning process. After each, I take time to unlearn. Then I find new content, learn it completely and then execute it.”

Manimaran describes his working process thus, “Many directors make changes to the script on the spot. But Vetrimaaran is different because he pays attention to detail. He puts in a lot of effort, so there may be last-minute adjustments with lighting and locations. Unlike working with other directors, you need to be available 24 hours.”

Outside of work, the father of two, who met his wife Aarthi while at college, likes to race pigeons, pretty much like the characters he portrays. His rootedness has also led him to voice the germ of an idea: setting up an organic farm eventually.

Rangan describes grit as the definitive quality of Vetrimaaran’s films, and praises his skill in animating the atmosphere in terms of the integrity of the characters, the plot, and the texture. “The way he shapes the characters and writes them, you feel that these are not [just] individual people; you get a sense of where they come from, where they belong. [They’re] not just some random characters floating around.”

His fans are already talking about his fourth film, Vada Chennai (North Chennai), an ambitious gangster trilogy he has been planning since 2003. After undergoing several changes of scripts and stars, Dhanush, Vijay Sethupathi, Amala Paul and Samuthirakkani are among those confirmed on the project that is currently under way. Slated for release next year, Vada Chennai is also bound to have the by-now classic Vetrimaaran stamp.

(Published in arrangement with GRIST Media.)

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• Vada Chennai not shelved ' Vetrimaran

Vada Chennai not shelved ' Vetrimaran

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