Vedalam

Development

Following the success of their previous collaboration Veeram (2014), Siva was reported to direct Ajith Kumar again in July 2014, with the planned venture announced to begin after the completion of Ajith's prior commitments with Yennai Arindhaal.^[7] Siva worked on the script in Bangalore and approached leading production companies, including PVP Cinema, to produce the film,^[8] though A. M. Rathnam announced that he would finance the project in October 2014.^{[citation needed]} The makers announced that the film would begin production in the first week of February 2015,^[9] but production was delayed because Ajith took a two-month break to spend time with his wife Shalini.^{[citation needed]} In mid-February 2015, Siva reported to the media stating that Ajith would have a new look in the film.^[10] Siva scouted locations in March 2015, with Kolkata being served as the primary location.^{[citation needed]} The film was developed with the tentative title Thala 56, before it was confirmed that it would be titled as Vedalam in September 2015.^[11]

Casting

During October 2014, Hansika Motwani, Samantha Akkineni, and Shruti Haasan were reported to play female leads.^{[citation needed]} Motwani denied reports that she had signed on to appear in the film in the same month.^[12] On 11 March 2015, Anirudh Ravichander was announced to compose the music,^[13] and it was officially confirmed on 19 March 2015.^{[citation needed]} The same day, Shruti Haasan was signed on to the project.^[14] Vetri, who worked previously with Siva in Veeram, and Ruben were hired. On 1 April 2015, Kabir Duhan Singh was cast as the antagonist.^[15]

The role of Ganesh's sister in the film took considerably longer to finalise, with several actresses having been approached to portray the character. On 6 April 2015, Bindu Madhavi was rumoured to play the second leading role, but she denied the allegations.^{[citation needed]} Sri Divya and Nithya Menen were considered to play Ganesh's sister,^{[citation needed]} with the latter saying she was only interested in playing the lead actress opposite Kumar.^{[citation needed]} After further unsuccessful negotiations with Parvathy Nair,^{[citation needed]} Lakshmi Menon was announced to play the role of Ganesh's sister in April 2015.^[16] Santhanam, who initially signed a comic role in the film,^[17] was replaced by Soori after he became busy with his own productions.^[18] Ashwin was also added to the cast as a supporting role on 1 June 2015.^{[citation needed]}

Filming

Principal photography began on 9 April 2015.^[19] The first official schedule began shooting in Navalur, Chennai, with scenes featuring Kumar and Menon entering a college.^[20] Subsequent scenes were shot around sets at Binny Mills in Chennai on 7 May 2015, and on 18 May, a song resembling Vinayagar Chathurthi celebration, featuring Kumar, Menon, Mayilswamy, and 150 dancers, was also shot at the same location.^{[citation needed]} Sources reported that the song is similar to "Pillayarpatti Hero" from Vaanmathi (1996) and "Maha Ganapathi" from Amarkkalam (1999).^[21]

The team moved to Kolkata and scenes were shot featuring Haasan as a lawyer and Kumar as a taxi driver,^[22] with images from the shoot leaked on social networking sites.^[23] The makers announced that the producers went on location scouting at Dubai with 30% of the shoot being completed.^{[citation needed]} However, the government had denied permission to shoot in Dubai, citing the month-long Ramzan celebrations from mid-June 2015.^[24] The unit then moved to shoot few scenes and a song sequence in Milan, Italy featuring Kumar and Haasan.^[25][26] The team moved to Kolkata in July 2015.^{[citation needed]}

The unit returned to Chennai in August 2015 to film in Chennai, and Rahul Dev joined the project.^[27] Scenes were shot at Ramee Mall and a special set was erected at AVM Studios in Vadapalani, Guindy Race Course, and Fortis Malar Hospital, featuring Kumar and Haasan.^[28] The team also filmed night shots and few climax scenes.^{[citation needed]} The team finished production in mid-October 2015 after making finishing touches on a song. Kumar was injured on the final day of the shoot, causing a minor delay.^[29] Despite his injury, Kumar immediately dubbed for the film to ensure that it would release to coincide with Diwali in November 2015.^[30]

Theatrical

In May 2015, Rathnam confirmed that the film would be released on Diwali, 10 November 2015.^{[citation needed]} The film's title was expected to be announced on Independence Day, 15 August 2015.^{[citation needed]} In September 2015, Kumar's manager Suresh Chandraa officially confirmed via Twitter that the title and the first screening would release on midnight, which confirmed the title to be Vedalam.^[31]

Prior to the official release, the introductory scenes and songs were leaked onto the Internet.^[32] The film opened in 62 screens in the UK, being the widest release in the country,^{[citation needed]} and 80 screens in the United States, on 9 November 2015, a day before release in India.^{[citation needed]} The film released on 10 November 2015, clashing with Thoongaavanam.^[33]

Distribution

The film was sold across India and abroad in September 2015.^{[citation needed]} In India, Jazz Cinemas and Sushma Cine Arts acquired the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights.^{[citation needed]} The Karnataka rights of the film was bought by Gokulraj of Sri Gokul Films. K.G. Nair of Shenoy films has bought the distribution rights of Kerala.^{[citation needed]} For overseas rights, MM Media acquired the distribution rights for the film in the USA.^{[citation needed]} Ayngaran International has bought the distribution rights in UK & France.^{[citation needed]}

Marketing

The teaser trailer of the film was released on the midnight of 7 October 2015.^{[citation needed]} The producers planned to release the trailer of the film on 22 October 2015 to coincide with Dusshera,^{[citation needed]} but there was no trailer release; instead, audio teasers of the songs "Aaluma Doluma" and "Veera Vinayaka" were released on 25 and 30 October, respectively.^[34][35]

Home media

The film's television premiere took place via Jaya TV on 5 September 2016, coinciding with Ganesh Chathurthi.^[36]

Critical response

M. Suganth of The Times of India rated the film 3 out of 5 and called it "A packaged mass entertainer for Ajith fans and family audiences".^[37] Sify gave a rating of 3 out of 5 and stated, "Vedhalam is Ajith's one man show and it might enthrall his ardent fans for others, it's a formulaic film with few enjoyable moments."^[38] Gauthaman Bhaskaran of the Hindustan Times gave 1.5 out of 5 stars and stated "Vedalam is but an Ajith Kumar show (all the way where Menon and Haasan are wasted). The man arrives with a big bang and never tires of bashing up baddies -- but now and then taking a break to cleanse society of minor evils like fooling law courts or cheating on wives. Certainly not for children, who might wonder how Phantom sprung out of their favourite comic books in such a horrifically mutated form."^[39] India Today gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated "Siruthai Siva has worked the "mass" image of Ajith in Vedalam and the family sentiments to his advantage. In the process, he has not cared much about logic, which goes right out of the window."^[40]

News18 gave the film 2 out of 5 and stated, "Vedalam is another star vehicle that rides with expectations and mutilations."^[41] Sudhir Srinivasan of The Hindu said that "Vedalam needed more inventive storytelling, and seems too forced, too easy, too mawkish".^[42] Anupama Subramanian of Deccan Chronicle gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and stated, "This Ajith starrer largely depends on the mass appeal and star power of the actor with a script sans solid content and logic and just tailor-made by for him. Though the story travels in predictable lines, it has high-octane stunt sequences, bro-sis sentiment, and loads of punch lines, hit songs to satisfy the mass audiences."^[43] Latha Srinivasan of Daily News and Analysis stated, "Director Siruthai Siva has ensured that there is plenty for Ajith fans and the family audience. Ajith has punch dialogues, high octane action sequences and all the right dance moves. He plays the good and the bad with ease and is a treat to watch on screen. The sister sentiment (the story revolves around Tamizh) and the fact that men need to respect women is a major highlight in the film. The storyline may not be new for Tamil cinema, but the director has tailor-made it for Ajith and the mass audience."^[44]

Box office

Vedalam opened opened across 750 screens worldwide, with 500 screens belongs to Tamil Nadu, and set a highest opening of ₹15.3 crore (US$1.6 million).^[45] On the second day, the film had collected ₹12 crore (US$1.3 million).^[46] Within 11 days of its release, the film had collected ₹103 crore worldwide.^[47] On 18 November 2015, trade analyst Ramesh Bala stated that the film had earned a major revenue of 60% from Tamil Nadu, with 12% from Karnataka, Kerala and rest of India, 10% from Malaysia, and 18% from rest of the overseas.^[48] At the Chennai box office, the film's performance had been affected due to the 2015 South India floods.^[49]