Vellai Pookal
| Vellai Pookal | |
|---|---|
| File:Poster of Vellai Pookal.jpg Poster | |
| Directed by | Vivek Elangovan |
| Written by | Shanmuga Bharathi Vivek Elangovan |
| Produced by | Dhigha Sekaran Varun Kumar Ajay Sampath |
| Starring | Vivek Charle Dev Pooja Devariya Paige Henderson |
| Cinematography | Jerald Peter |
| Edited by | Praveen K. L. |
| Music by | Ramgopal Krishnaraju |
Production company | Indus Creations |
| Distributed by | Trident Arts Tentkotta |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 122 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Vellai Pookal (transl. Dandelions) is a 2019 Indian Tamil language crime-thriller film directed by Vivek Elangovan. The film stars Vivek, Charle, Dev, Pooja Devariya and Paige Henderson, and is produced by Indus Creations, an arts group based in Seattle.[1] The film was released on 19 April 2019, a day after the start of the 2019 Indian general election.[2]
Plot
Rudhran Ganesan (Vivek) is a 57-year-old cop in the Chennai Crime branch. He is a successful crime detective but lives alone. After his last case in service, he is sent by his superior to Seattle to patch up with his estranged son Ajay (Dev), who works for Microsoft. Rudhran and Ajay have not spoken much in three years because Ajay had suddenly refused a marriage set up by Rudhran, causing Rudhran a great deal of embarrassment.
Rudhran also does not talk much to Ajay’s American wife Alice (Paige Henderson). We also see a teen girl abused by her own father. Rudhran befriends Bharatidasan (Charle), who is the father of Ajay's friend Ramya (Pooja Devariya). When Rudhran's neighbour Mona was found to be missing, he thinks that a teen boy would have kidnapped her. By that way, Rudhran follows him, only to find him missing. Rudhran begins to find any similarities between these two cases. After a heavy battle of brains and fists, he finds the surprising identity of the serial killer. The serial killer have also kidnapped Ajay and finally Rudhran finds that it is Alice. Her original name was Nicole and she was the teen girl who was abused by her father.
Cast
- Vivek as DCP Rudhran Ganesan
- Charle as Bharatidasan "Bharati"
- Dev[Dev_(Tamil Actor)|Dev]] as Ajay Rudhran
- Pooja Devariya as Ramya Bharatidasan
- Paige Henderson as Alice Harlin
- Gabrielle Castronover as Nicole Burke
- Tyler Roy Roberts as Jeff
- Peyton-Justine as Mary
- Sudha Rajasekaran as Meena Bharatidasan
- Gajaraj as Police Commissioner
Production
Vellaipookal was filmed in multiple locations in the Seattle metropolitan area, including WNP-3 and WNP-5 (more commonly known as the Satsop Nuclear Plant), as well as in Chennai.[3]
Soundtrack
| Vellaipookal | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Ramgopal Krishnaraju | |
| Released | 2019 |
| Recorded | 2019 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Producer | Ramgopal Krishnaraju |
The soundtrack of the film was composed by Ramgopal Krishnaraju, with all lyrics written by Madhan Karky. The music rights were acquired by Muzik 247.
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Yaarin Mel Pizhai" | Sathyaprakash, TS Ayyappan | |
| 2. | "Innum Sila Naatkalil" | Sarath Santosh, Ariv Adiaman, Pratap, Kiran Sravan, Deepika Parthasarathy, Jothi Lingam | |
| 3. | "Potraamarai" | S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Ravi Gopinath, Priyanka NK |
Release
Actor Suriya revealed the first look of the film on March 22, 2019. The film released on April 12, during the weekend of Tamil New Year, in Bellevue and on April 19, 2019 in India.[4]
The trailer was released on March 26, 2019.
The film released on 19 April 2019. The movie was well received by critics and audience alike upon its release. Anantha Vikatan rated the film 93 out of 100, saying that it was on par with its contemporary hits Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru and Ratsasan.[5] All the departments including writing, acting, cinematography, background music, set design, production, and direction were praised by the media outlets and reviewers. The film was however criticised for a casteist remark made by Vivek's character in the movie. In a scene, the police officer character played by Vivek makes a remark that black people in the US use their race identity to escape from crime allegations the same way lower caste people do in India.
In spite of competition, the film prevailed in its box office run well into its second week in India and around the world.[6]
References
- ^ Seattle Times (11 April 2019). "A group of Seattle tech expats from India have created a film, to be shown in the U.S. and India, that takes place in the PNW".
- ^ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/tamil/movie-reviews/vellai-pookal/movie-review/68913051.cms
- ^ "Vivekh's next as lead, Vellai Pookal". Retrieved 20 March 2019.
- ^ "Suriya unveils Vellai Pookal first look poster". Retrieved 26 March 2019.
- ^ "Vikatan rates Vellaipookkal on par with Ratchasan and Dhuruvangal Pathinaaru". Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- ^ "Vellai Pookal ruling the box office even with Avengers, Kanchana 3, IPL to compete with". Retrieved 26 April 2019.
- Vellaipookal (aka) Vellai Pookal Movie review. Behindwoods. 19 April 2019