Anegan

Development

In May 2013, K. V. Anand was announced to be collaborating with Dhanush for his next film.^[1] AGS Entertainment, which produced Anand's previous directorial Maattrraan (2012) was confirmed to be producing this too.^[2] Though it was rumoured to be titled as Thaara Thappatta Ready, based on words that Anand used on social media, Anand clarified that he meant a song from that film and the film was yet to be titled.^[3] The title was eventually announced as Anegan, derived from a word appearing in Thiruvasagam by the Tamil poet Manikkavacakar.^[4][5]

it was revealed that the story comprises multiple period set-ups.^[6] In an interaction with trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai, Anand described the film as a romantic thriller unlike his previous films which were based on issues.^[7] The technical crew consisted of cinematographer Om Prakash, editor Anthony, art director D. R. K. Kiran, action choreographer Kanal Kannan and writer duo Subha. As with most K. V. Anand films, Harris Jayaraj was once again signed to compose the music.^[8] Though a cinematographer himself, Anand refused to do the same for the film, citing the difficulty of simultaneously doing both direction and cinematography.^[9]

Casting

Initially, K. V. Anand, narrated the story to Vijay, but he could not commit the project, due to date issues, and suggested Dhanush's name.^[10] Dhanush would sport four different looks,^[11] with one of his hairstyles paying homage to Kamal Haasan's look in Tik Tik Tik (1981).^[12][13]

In August 2013, Amyra Dastur, who made her film debut in Issaq (2013) was announced as the lead actress, making her Tamil debut.^[14][15] Initially, Alia Bhatt was considered for the female lead role but her unavailability due to commitments in Hindi films, led the team to choose Dastur instead.^[7] Speaking of Dastur's involvement, Anand needed a young heroine who can play a school girl and a working professional and felt Dastur had fit the bill perfectly.^[7] In preparation for her role, she was asked to see Tamil films,^[16] and also took Tamil lessons from Dhanush to get her dialogues right.^[17] She was further reported to be performing stunts for the film.^[18] In an interview with IANS, she said that she would portray three different roles in the film.^[19]

For the role of the antagonist, Anand initially thought of Arvind Swamy and R. Madhavan but Swamy was committed to Thani Oruvan (2015) and Madhavan was considered too young.^[7][20] Hence, Anand chose Karthik, whom he had been a longtime fan of, and hoped the film would mark a successful comeback for the actor who had been largely inactive in Tamil films for the past few years.^[21] Though mainly known for heroic roles, Karthik agreed, recalling an earlier suggestion by Mani Ratnam to try a negative role.^[22] Aishwarya Devan described her role as "the second lead role".^[23] Malayalam actress Lenaa was also selected to play a supporting role, making her Tamil debut.^[24]

Filming

Principal photography began on 2 September 2013.^[25] It was reported that the film would be shot across locations such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Burma among many other countries.^[9] As of early November, Dhanush was simultaneously working on Velaiilla Pattadhari (2014).^[26] Later that month, filming moved to Arakkonam.^[27] While shooting at the Arakkonam Junction railway station, more than 2000 people gathered at the location to witness the shooting. Anand stated that they cooperated with the crew members patiently and filming went ahead without any disruption.^[28]

As of mid-January 2014, filming was taking place in Hyderabad,^[29] including a scene set in a marketplace with 200 extras.^[30] The team then moved to Malaysia in late March 2014. There, the film was shot at locations including the Penang Free School, Stewart Lane, York Road and Chew Jetty.^[31] Initially, Om Prakash was hired as one of the three cinematographers to film separate sequences, but after being impressed by his filmography, Anand had signed him as the main cinematographer.^[32][33]

By 29 May 2014, 90% of the film was shot, including three song sequences. Another song sequence and part of the climax were shot on a farmland, spread over 100 acres, near Pondicherry.^[34] During the process of shooting the climax, which was reported to be a stunt sequence, Dhanush injured his leg severely. Filming was halted for three weeks, after which Dhanush recovered and shooting proceeded as scheduled.^[35] According to unit members, Dastur stunned the unit with her perfect lip sync for Tamil dialogues and that she overshadowed Dhanush in some places as well.^[36] On 26 August 2014, Dhanush stated that he had started dubbing for the film.^[37] Filming wrapped in mid-September.^[38][39] The film was mixed at A. R. Rahman's AM Studios with the conversion of 5.1 surround sound to Auro 11.1 layout.^[40]

Theatrical

The makers of Anegan initially refused schedule the film's release date due to uncertainty over the release of Lingaa and I.^[47] It was later reported that the film would release after Pongal, which falls on 15 January 2015.^[48] In December 2014, the film was cleared by the censor board.^[49] The film was eventually released on 13 February 2015.^[50] It opened in nearly 1000 screens worldwide, making it the biggest release in Dhanush film to that point.^[51] The film got exemption from entertainment tax levied by the state government.^[52] Ahead of the film's release, S. Mariselvam, the president of the Thirukurippu Thonda Nayanar Maha Sabhai (transl. Association for the Washerman Community), alleged that the Vannar community women were being portrayed in poor light, based on what he saw in the trailer, and filed a petition seeking to stop the film's release unless the objected scenes were deleted. However, the petition was dismissed.^[53] The film was dubbed in Telugu as Anekudu, and released on 5 March 2015.^[54] The Kerala distribution rights were bought by E4 Entertainment.^[55]

Television broadcast

The television premiere of Anegan was announced to take place via Sun TV on 14 April 2015, coinciding with Puthandu. This announcement drew backlash from Dhanush's fans who felt it was too early for the film to have its television premiere, and they called for its postponement. Despite that, Sun TV went ahead with the premiere.^[56][57]

Box office

Critical response

M. Suganth of The Times of India rated the film 4 stars out of 5 and stated, "Anegan is pure camp but also a hugely entertaining one".^[41] Udhav Naig of The Hindu wrote, "With most commercial films recycling the usual plot and its many tropes, full credit to K.V. Anand for striving to narrate a banal plot – full of déjà vu and clichés – in an enterprising manner."^[58] Another Hindu reviewer Sudhir Srinivasan wrote "Anegan...is a complex story told simplistically. Had the complexity been retained, and had the masala spoon been of lesser size, it would have made for a great film. For now, though, it will have to satisfy itself with being a hit film."^[59] S Saraswathi of Rediff.com stated, "The narrative technique and interesting screenplay keep things moving at a brisk pace. But on the downside, there are far too many songs and several unanswered questions".^[60]

Sify wrote, "Gorgeously shot, crisply edited, and handsomely mounted, KV Anand's Anegan is a fast-paced rollicking adventure ride that is gripping till the very end".^[61] Anupama Subramanian of Deccan Chronicle wrote "Anegan is a decent flick, but a few shortcomings hold it back and the film can be enjoyed only in parts."^[62] Arathi Kannan of Onmanorama wrote "Anegan's sure bet is Dhanush and his many characters. And it seems like he's poised to score on the favourable pitch, even if they are textbook shots."^[63] Gautaman Bhaskaran of Hindustan Times rated it 2 stars out of 5 and stated "If Anegan is a mishmash of many films that one has seen over the years, the performances are passé. Yes, a new look Karthik may be a novelty, but Dhanush appears to be disinterested in changing his style or his roles."^[64]

Accolades