vetrimaran visaranai

• International
• Today’s Paper
• Join WhatsApp Channel
• Movie Reviews
• Tamil Cinema
• Telugu Cinema

Visaranai is India’s official Oscar entry: 10 facts you must know

Tamil film visaranai is india's official entry to oscars 2017. as dhanush and producer vetrimaran express happiness, we bring you 10 lesser-known facts about visaranai..

It was a proud moment for Tamil film industry as hard-hitting and thought provoking film Visaranai was on Thursday announced as India’s official entry to the 2017 Academy Awards. It was selected by the jury at the Film Federation of India from the 29 other films, which were in the race to represent India at the Oscars.

The film is based on real-life incidents involving four young immigrants who fall prey to corruption, custodial violence and their unspeakable sufferings at the hands of the police officers.

“We selected ‘Visaranai’ on the basis of concept, treatment and technique. There were other good films like ‘Sairat’, ‘Bajirao Mastani’, ‘Sultan’, ‘Fan’, ‘Airlift’ and ‘Udta Punjab’. There was a Bengali film also in the race. The decision was unanimous,” filmmaker Ketan Mehta, chairman of the selection committee of Film Federation of India, said. “Proud moment for Wunderbar Films and Vetrimaran. #Dreambig,” he wrote on Twitter.

Read:  Dhanush overjoyed at Visaranai becoming India’s Oscar entry

The National award-winning actor said it was a “glorious day” for him since his latest film “Thodari”, which released today, was receiving ‘super positive initial reports.’ “My sincere thanks to all those who believed in me and my production house. I would like to thank the fantastic cast of the film– Dinesh, Samuthrakani and Kishore.”

He also thanked the Executive Producer of Wunderbar Films, S Vinod, the crew, press, media, well-wishers and cinema lovers and all those who “watch movies in theatres. It is a joyous moment for all of us,” he added.

Here are the facts that you must know about Visaranai:

1. Visaranai is the based on the novel written by an auto-rickshaw driver, M Chandrakumar, popularly known as Auto Chandran. He wrote the book based on the police brutality and corruption that he suffered in his early life.

2. In 1983, Chandran was locked up along with his three friends in Guntur in Andhra Pradesh , where they were subjected to brutal police treatment to accept a crime that they never even committed.

3. However, Chandran survived to tell the tale. Decades later, based on the advice of his friend, he wrote the novel, which was adopted for the big screen by National Award-winning filmmaker Vetrimaran.

4. Actor Dhanush may have played the lead character in the film, if he wasn’t busy with his Bollywood project at that point in time. However, Dhanush still decided to be part of the film. He gave his consent to Vetrimaran to produce the film under his home banner Wunderbar Productions even before fully hearing the story.

Also read:  India’s official entry to Oscars is Tamil film Visaranai

5. Sending Visaranai to international circuits had been the main aim of its makers, even though they knew that it ran the risk of film getting pirated and affecting its prospects at the box office when it would release in theatres back home.

6. Some changes were made to the theatrical version of Visaranai, including a few dialogues were muted to suit the sensibilities of Indian audience. The theatrical version also has music, while its international version didn’t.

7. Vetrimaaran and team wanted to screen the film at one of the four major festivals including Venice, Cannes, Toronto and Berlin. And they accomplished so much more than they aimed at.

8. In the 72 year history of the Venice International Film Festival, Visaranai became the first Tamil movie to premiere in the competition segment. Besides receiving a standing ovation, the film also bagged ‘Cinema for Human Rights’ award at the event.

9. Back home, Visaranai released to rave reviews from the critics, celebrities and fans alike and also saw a moderate success at the box office. Its investors also made money through selling its satellite rights.

10. The film also won three prestigious National Awards, including best Tamil feature film and the award for best editing went to Kishore Te, while the best supporting actor went to Samuthirakani. It has also won the Amnesty International Italia Award 2015.

Voters are not mendicants with begging bowls, elected representatives not Subscriber Only

Amidst voters in Uttar Pradesh, murmurs of a desire for Subscriber Only

UPSC Key | Equity options, Bishkek violence, chir pine, and Subscriber Only

The armchair activism of #blackout2024 Subscriber Only

From 115 in 2019 to 78, Muslim candidates fall across Subscriber Only

From the Opinions Editor: 3 leaders, 3 narrowing images Subscriber Only

From 800 km away, dark horse Engineer Rashid unsettles the

Sena battle for Mumbai last up as LS poll race

Ebrahim Alkazi's biography: A look at the father of modern Subscriber Only

Rescuers see the helicopter that was carrying Iran's president and other officials, an official told Iranian state television on Monday.

More Entertainment

Best of Express

May 20: Latest News

• 01 Rescuers in Nepal retrieve the bodies of an American climber and her guide
• 02 Bud Anderson, last of world war II’s ‘triple ace’ pilots, dies at 102
• 03 Yellow warning issued as Mumbai set to vote amid hot, humid conditions
• 04 Real estate agent, wife found dead in their Kandivali house
• 05 Deputy Commissioner of Police suspended over Anjali murder case in Karnataka
• Elections 2024
• Political Pulse
• Entertainment
• Movie Review
• Newsletters
• Web Stories
• Premium Stories
• ⏪ Election Rewind
• Express Shorts
• Health & Wellness
• Brand Solutions

Visaranai [2016]: A Riveting and Meaningful Cinema

“visaranai” was awarded amnesty international italy’s “cinema for human rights”.

Director Vetrimaran in his interview to ‘Hindu’ says “A film should enrich me as well as the audience. It should allow me to grow as a person”. It is a rare quality for an Indian or Tamil film-maker, where cinema in the name of entertainment doesn’t allow to portray the truthfulness of human emotions. With his Chennai-based bike-theft story “Polladhavan” (2007) and Madurai-based rooster fighting story “Aadukalam” (2011), Vetrimaran entertained the audience as well as allowed them to identify with the characters. In that limited commercial format, he provided great emotional catharsis for the viewers. Now, with “Visaranai” (aka ‘Interrogation’) he masters the balance between the so-called ‘mainstream’ and ‘highbrow’ to offer a stupendous, thrilling examination about the pawns of the ‘system’. “Visaranai” offers the kind of experience that keeps our senses sharp and elegantly passes on the emotional bruises of the characters to us. The film is partly based on Mr. Chandrakumar’s novel ‘Lockup’, which chronicles the author’s real life experience with police brutality.

As little children, we might have been taught that police & courts are instilled by the ‘system’ to be guardians for common citizen from the greed, lust, paranoia and prejudices of few menacing people. As adults, we hear and experience things that may even make us believe in fairy tales, but not in that instructed statement. Yeah, we might be said that it is this ‘democratic system’ or a full-blown totalitarian arrangement. So, is it the individuals with borderline-psycho compulsions, enjoying the powers of the ‘system’ corrupting it? Or is the other way around? Why are there dragnet political ideals that insist on vigorous take-down of the innocents rather than the capture of criminals? Why do media, at times become a lip service for the ‘system’ than use up its prerogative suit? In the end, we also console ourselves, showing pity at the innocent victims, instead of getting infuriated at this putrefied ‘system’. “Visaranai” seamlessly instill these questions and also imbues that righteous fury within us, but it does so by avoiding blatant emotional outbursts and by staying away from the path most Tamil/Indian film-makers take: to preach.

In the first-half of film, the narrative revolves around four young homeless, downtrodden Tamil laborers working at Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. The foremost of the four characters is Pandi (Dhinesh), who works at a small provision store. All the four men get arrested by Andhra Police and undergo brutal torture to accept crimes they don’t even know about. As a higher police official says to the local inspector “I asked you to finish the case. Did I ask you catch the accused?” After experiencing days of torture, the four men agree to confess in the courts. On a parallel track, an honest cop Muthuvel (Samuthirakani) from Tamil Nadu arrives at Guntur to apprehend a corrupt auditor (Kishore), who if gets surrendered in Andhra court, may bring troubles to TN police and political VIPs. In an interesting turn of events, the lives of three men interconnect at a point, where they all gaze into the devilish eyes of a corrupted system.

Of the three works by Vetrimaran, “Visaranai” boasts the robust script. There’s an indication of a redundant romance sub-plot at the start, but this kept to bare minimum and he even writes a brief touching scene that doesn’t feel contrived. Ample shades of grey are added to the characters of Muthuvel and KK, whose troubles and decisions channel our anger & anguish towards the system that uses them as pawns. If with Pandi, Vetrimaran is showcasing the voice of the downtrodden; with Muthvel and KK, he marvelously establishes the voicelessness of those in power. Notes of irony could be felt in the dialogues (for eg, when Muthuvel asks Pandi & co to clean the police station). Even when words get provocative, they remain meaningful without evoking conspicuous emotions.

As a Director, Vetrimaran seamlessly integrates his dialogues and character traits to the visuals. A public park, a roadside barber-shop gracefully establishes the kind of life Pandi leads. The director handles the police interrogation scenes with an anticipated raw realism and there is enough emotional sensitivity in those scenes, which otherwise might have numbed our senses. The final sequences are astoundingly staged, especially when the ‘dirty’ cops search through the filthy swamps, located at the middle of a neighborhood. Brilliant performances are extracted from all the actors on-screen [special mention must go to the actor Ajay Ghosh, who plays the role of Guntur inspector]. Dhinesh, Samuthrakani and Kishore impeccably bring out their characters’ vulnerabilities when facing abrasive situations (the shock KK shows when he is mistreated by the police is one of the unforgettable sequences). It does get a little melodramatic and the embroilment aspect of Pandi & co into the problems of KK seems a bit inorganic, but these little blemishes could be definitely overlooked.

The total lack of accountability and apathy are the troubling realities of the law & justice system, which has ingrained to a point that the line between good and bad is totally erased. The film enthrallingly states how the corruption of few at the top could play the role of a dragnet, chucking out the lowly victims of socioeconomic ladder and soils the honest attitudes of those in higher order. The system, including our media rewards or pressures police for locking up ‘criminals’, although we never understand certain dubious investigative procedures exercised to catch the ‘accused’. “Visaranai ” sheds light into those dingier areas of our system. Of course, all systems are flawed because we humans who made those are flawed. Nevertheless, this film isn’t about the eradicable flaws; it is about the emotional numbness of the top citizens of our society, who joyously takes up the role of a prey. As the movies ends up on a blank screen with a conversation in the background, feelings of fear, anger and helplessness twists inside us.

“Visaranai” (118 minutes) works both as a gritty thriller and a thoughtful character study. The film gives us a feeling of having experienced something real, which is something we don’t often experience in Tamil cinema.

Trending Right Now

Arun Kumar is an ardent cinebuff, who likes to analyze movie to its minute detail. He believes in the transformative power and shared-dream experience of cinema.

Similar Posts

A Death in the Gunj [2017] – The Kafkaesque Tale Of A Young Boy Trying To Be A Man

Heavenly Creatures Review [1994]: Friendship. Love. Imagination. Obsession. Murder.

The Lost Souls of Syria (2022) ‘IDFA’ Review: An Unflinching Account of Syrian Regime’s War Crimes

The Killing Vote (Season 1), Episode 8: Recap & Ending, Explained – Are There Multiple Gaetals?

Turbo Cola [2022] Review – A Cool Drink Kinda 90s-Style Coming-of-Age Film

The Friends of Eddie Coyle [1973] Review – A Seminal Crime Drama of the New Hollywood Era

• Firstpost Defence Summit
• Entertainment
• Web Stories
• Health Supplement
• First Sports
• Fast and Factual
• Between The Lines
• Firstpost America

Visaranai review: Rajinikanth, Kamal Hassan are right; this film on police brutality is brilliant

Hats off to Vetrimaran who has preferred to take the road less traveled and taken Tamil cinema to a new level with Visaranai.

Take a bow Vetrimaran, Visaranai, in one word, is just brilliant.

The film is hard hitting, dark, gritty and riveting. It is a realistic take on police brutalities inside a cop house and how the enforcers of law torture innocent people to extract confessional statements. The director throws light on how police investigation and charge sheets are made and how the system works.

Visaaranai is an adaptation of a real life incident based on autorikshaw driver turned writer Chandrakumar’s book Lock Up . The writer had spent 13 days in police custody and was tortured to admit to a crime he had not committed. The director along with Chandran has come out with a very provocative film which is meaningful, at a time when courts are exposing a lot of cooked up police evidences.

The director Vetrimaran has set the story revolving around three principal characters. The first half of the film is set in Guntur in Andhra, where a lot of Tamilians work. Pandi (Dinesh) works in a provision stores and is falsely implicated along with his friends in a robbery case by the local Andhra Police. The cops are under pressure from their higher up’s as the robbery took place in a politically influential person’s house.

Enter Muthuvel (Samuthirakani) a Tamil Nadu policeman in search of an accountant KK (Kishore) of corrupt politicians and businessman who specialises in black money laundering. Fate intervenes as the life of three characters entangles leading to a nail biting climax with its twists and turns. The ending is a stunning reminder that the corrupt system prevails above everything else and there are no winners or losers.

The film succeeds due to razor sharp writing and linear screenplay aided by terrific performances by its lead actors. One of the major highlights is that actors have been aptly cast. Dinesh’s normal mannerisms fit in with the character. Samuthirakani as the reluctant cop is fantastic especially in the police station scene with his higher –up’s . Kishore has come out with a stunning performance as the corrupt auditor, who gets the biggest surprise of his life when the tables turn. Anandi the only female in the film as a domestic help is good in her scenes with Dinesh.

Technically the film is slick. The cameraman Ramalingam using only natural light and his colour tone makes the film visually stunning. Editor Kishore’s (he passed away recently), cuts make the film under two hours racy. GV Prakash’s background score lifts the film to a new height. Another major plus is the production design of the film, especially the Andhra police station and the row of toilets for prisoners and the marshland inside a housing colony in Chennai where the climax is set.

Vetrimaran has made it as realistic as possible with police torture scenes looking disturbing. But the director himself has made it clear that the film is not for the weak hearted and carries a UA certificate for violence and profanities (muted in India theatrical version).

Hats off to Vetrimaran who has preferred to take the road less traveled and taken Tamil cinema to a new level with  Visaranai.

Find us on YouTube

Related Stories

Netflix’s The Indrani Mukerjea Story – Buried Truth Review: A very mature approach to the Sheena Bora case

Superstar Rajinikanth ditches first-class flight to travel in economy, fans can’t keep calm

Laapataa Ladies Movie Review: Kiran Rao’s film talks about female bonding

Rajinikanth's Annaatthe costar Kushboo Sundar reacts to Ranbir Kapoor's Animal box office success: 'If a misogynistic film like this continues to...'

Every Vetrimaaran Movie Ranked and Where to Watch Them

Published on.

Shaurya Singh Thapa

Official JustWatch writer

Known for his gritty crime dramas, underdog heroes, and numerous collaborations with actor Dhanush , Vetrimaaran has established himself as one of Tamil film industry’s leading directors.

If you wish to know more about the Asuran and Vidhuthalai director’s filmography, we have got you covered with a complete streaming guide that leads you to all of Vetrimaaran’s movies and information you need on where to stream them online.

Which Vetrimaaran movies should I watch first? 

The best way to watch Vetrimaaran’s movies is in the same order as their release date, as this sequence would show how the director has only improved in his craft with every passing movie. Vetrimaaran made his directorial debut in 2007 with the action thriller Polladhavan . Dhanush played the lead character, a man whose fate changes after he buys a bike and later gets it stolen. Opening to rave reviews for Dhanush’s acting and Vetrimaaran’s directing, the movie spawned numerous remakes in other languages and popularised the Bajaj Pulsar (the bike featured in the movie) among Tamil youths.

The director and actor joined forces again for the drama Aadukalam . The 2011 hit found Dhanush’s protagonist embroiled in an unattainable romance and a rooster-fighting business. The movie earned Vetrimaaran a National Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay.

While Vetrimaaran’s first two movies addressed social themes like an economic class divide, his political themes got more evident in his third film: a police thriller titled Visaranai (also released as Interrogation). The gruelling social drama revolves around the fates of two men who are forced to confess to a crime after they are locked up by the cops. The film won a National Award for Best Tamil Film and also opened much debate and discourse over the ethics of the police force in Tamil Nadu.

Visaranai’s success opened the avenues for more ambitious projects like the period gangster epic Vada Chennai , yet again starring regular collaborator Dhanush. The movie charts an underdog’s journey between rival criminal factions in a fishing community in ‘70s-era South Chennai. Vada Chennai ended on a nail biting cliffhanger, teasing the possibility of a sequel that fans still await.

With Dhanush already starring in several anti-caste dramas, Vetrimaaran cast him again in Asuran. Addressing the oppression faced by marginalised castes, Asuran starred Dhanush as a hot-headed lower-caste youth who kills an oppressive upper-caste landlord. The ensuing chaos made for a violent, powerful, and relevant watch. As is the case with many Vetrimaaran films, Asuran also earned the National Award for Best Tamil Film. 

Why is Vidhuthalai Part 1 Vetrimaaran’s best movie to watch? 

Intending to direct a two-part saga next, Vetrimaaran directed Vidhuthalai Part 1 . Set in the 1980s and inspired by real-life politics of the era, Viduthalai explores the conflict between the police and a separatist group. However, neither side is good or bad as Vetrimaaran’s story explores the morally grey areas of the policemen and their atrocities as well. Boasting impressive performances by Vijay Sethupathi and Soori, Vidhuthalai is a gripping political thriller.

Where can I watch the best Vetrimaaran movies online? 

Below you can find the latest streaming information for every Vetrimaaran movie. This includes every offer for viewers in India today.

Viduthalai: Part I

Kumaresan, a police constable, gets recruited for an operation implanted to capture Perumal Vaathiyar, who leads a separatist group dedicated to fighting against the authorities for committing atrocities against innocent village women in the name of police interrogations.

Vada Chennai

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

The teenage son of a farmer from an underprivileged caste kills a rich, upper caste landlord. How the pacifist farmer saves his hot-blooded son is the rest of the story.

Pandi and his friends, immigrant workers in Andhra Pradesh, are picked up by cops for a crime they never committed. And thus begins their nightmare, where they become pawns in a vicious game where the voiceless are strangled by those with power.

Pettaikaaran is famous in his town for an impeccable track record of successes in rooster fights. When one of his aides, Karuppu, goes against his word in a fight, it leads to an enmity between them.

Polladhavan

Prabhu is dejected when he learns that his bike has been stolen. He decides to find the people who stole the bike, but lands in trouble when he realises that his bike has been used to transport drugs.

• entertainment
• Vetrimaran 'Visaaranai' Trailer

Vetrimaran 'Visaaranai' Trailer

Visual Stories

Featured In Movies

Where to watch

Directed by Vetrimaaran

Pandi and his friends, immigrant workers in Andhra Pradesh, are picked up by cops for a crime they never committed. And thus begins their nightmare, where they become pawns in a vicious game where the voiceless are strangled by those with power.

Dinesh Ravi Samuthirakani Kishore Anandhi Aadukalam Murugadoss Alva Vasu Ajay Ghosh E. Ramadoss Munnar Ramesh Misha Ghoshal Saravana Subbiah Dhaya Senthil Muthukumar Cheran Raj Pradheesh Raj Silambarasan Rathnasamy Adukalam Naren Supergood Subramani

Director Director

Vetrimaaran

Producers Producers

Vetrimaaran Dhanush

Writer Writer

Original writer original writer.

M. Chandrakumar

Editor Editor

Kishore Te.

Cinematography Cinematography

S Rama Lingam

Assistant Director Asst. Director

Executive producer exec. producer.

S Vinodkumar

Art Direction Art Direction

Composer composer.

G. V. Prakash Kumar

Sound Sound

Udhaya Kumar

Grassroot Film Company

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

English Tamil Telugu

Alternative Titles

Interrogation, Visaaranai, 審問, 취조, Interogatoriu, ปิดปากสารภาพ, 审判

Thriller Drama

Crime, drugs and gangsters Violent crime and drugs Show All…

Releases by Date

12 sep 2015, 09 jan 2017, 04 feb 2016, 05 feb 2016, releases by country.

• Theatrical UA
• Premiere Premiered at 72nd Venice Film Festival
• Premiere Palm Springs International Film Festival

United Arab Emirates

118 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Michael James ★★★★½ 6

Vetrimaran adapts a real life incident, based on the book Lock Up, to deliver a hard hitting provocative drama on police brutality, power abuse and the corrupt system. The brilliant writing, realistic execution along with the terrific performances, solid visuals and musical score, makes it a top notch piece of work. The helplessness of the characters and the torture scenes are so disturbing, that it sends chills through your spine. The climax is another stunner, with unexpected twists and turns. It’s definitely not for the faint hearted, but for others, this suspenseful thriller is a must watch masterpiece.

Review by Larry ★★★★

There's a scene where a man is suspended in the air by a rope that's tied tightly against his forearms. In a few seconds, the man moans with pain as his entire body weight is on his shoulders and before you know it, both his arms are broken.

There are numerous scenes in Visaranai that gleam a realism not seen much on film, making the message all the more straightforward and urgent. A brutal socially-charged exploration of a deplorable justice system and the unfortunate that bears it's brunt, Visaranai or Interrogation is a visceral, violent and eye-opening look on a system gone haywire. With no holds barred, Vetrimaaran subjects a trio of migrant labourers to stomach-churning torture sequences, sinister policemen…

Review by MK ★★★★★

This will keep you in thoughts for a while.. Outstanding movie with an apt cast and deadly acting!! There is love, emotion and betrayal and what not.. A masterpiece that must be watched by every movie lover..DONT MISS THIS!!

Review by Yogesh Chhikara ★★★★★

- it made me speechless , you ought to watch this to have the full experience. -so raw , felt like , I was watching some real life scenario shot by somebody. - Everything was perfect especially the acting and direction.

Review by Arsaib Gilbert ★★★★ 2

[ Favorites—2010s ]

The first Tamil-language film to ever compete at the Venice International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere in 2015 in the Orizzonti sidebar, Interrogation ( Visaranai ) is the most visceral and multilayered portrait of police corruption and brutality I’ve seen since Pablo Trapero’s El bonaerense (2002).

Directed with blunt conviction by Vetrimaaran, a relative newcomer who made his feature debut in 2007, this true-life story deals primarily with the nightmarish predicament of four young migrant workers from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Although at times excessively violent, the otherwise admirably single-minded first half meticulously depicts the savagery the quartet suffer at the hands of an indifferent and racist group of cops hell-bent on extracting a false confession…

Review by PUNQ ★★★½

Visaaranai [Interrogation] (2015) confirms that India is one of the best movie nations at making thrillers right now. They've definitely got the source of a very corrupt system to build their intricate stories from. And as long as quality film makers like this takes care of business making movies with an international appeal, we can hope they restore the reputation of country with a rich cinematic history which Bollywood continually want to ruin with their dumbed down song & dance films. This one is quality.

Review by nrh ★★★★½

the state as amoral apparatus of power in which nobody is spared, and all are expendable as it moves forward. like writer/director/producer vetri maran's last film, the madurai-set cockfighting epic aadukalam , the gets deeper and stranger just at the moment you think you've understood what kind of film this is; all the strengths of that film (the exacting local detail, love of speech and procedure, the clear-eyed understanding of human failure, the heart of night finale) with none of that film's missteps.

Review by ash ★★★★½ 2

Raw , brutal and hard hitting.

This movie just shows how inconsequential you are in the grand scheme of things and there will always be something above you that may take decisions for you , this is what happens when you're a part of a system.

The cinematography and scoring of this movie along with the amazing performances by each and every cast member will glue your eyes onto the screen . Vetrimaaran truly hit it outside of the park as he succeeded in shooting all of the scenes as real as it gets.

The hanging and the state of the body afterwards was just too real and that's how a body will be once life leaves it , that was just tooooo real.

Review by Nabamita (Mrs. Mastroianni Mifune Dolan Leung Weerasethakul Blanchett Isaac Dhanush AVS) ★★★★★

Based loosely upon a semi-autobiographical novel called Lock-Up by M. Chandrakumar , Visaranai isn't a fiction feature. Visaranai should always be praised (unofficially) as a documentary feature on police brutality, corruption of politicians and justice, and the imbalanced social structure of India.

Review by Mihir Nanda ★★★★½

In the very first scene of the film, we see a man taking a bath early in the morning even before dawn. He was shivering and was very cold from that bath. That's how this film made me feel throughout it's runtime. COLD! And NUMB. I haven't ever seen a film as brutal and heartbreaking as this.

Review by Nafees Ahmed ★★★★

There is a scene in the film, where one of the police officers hit on the elbow of a dead body to straighten his stiffed hand. It is shown in the background & it is a trivial scene to say. But, that is the kind of realistic detailing film has. It raises the bar of realistic cinema to a new height, that will certainly be unattainable by anyone, but Vetrimaran himself. Visaranai seems like a distant cousin of brilliant film 'Court'. Such films redefine cinema and reassures why we love cinema so much in the first place. Can't recall when was the last time I was so moved by any Police procedural film. It is shocking, brutal, and a very honest…

Review by Moresbi ★★★★½

"Visaranai", based on a novel and real life events, was quite well crafted.

I thought the plot/narrative/script were pretty great all around. The theme is very real (and relevant) and also quite relatable. I thought the movie felt quite realistic, while somewhat avoiding overdramatizing and with a very sharp pace. It also quite twisty, somewhat ironic and bending around some grey areas, without ever faultering.

I thought the acting, while maybe not spectacular, was great. There's characters and roles for all tastes.

The movie achieves to raise a lot of (concerning) issues, for sure. Production values seemed good/great, again with a more less spectacular but quite effective approach. The black and white felt like a great decision too.

The ending…

Similar Films

Mentioned by

Select your preferred poster

Upgrade to remove ads.

Letterboxd is an independent service created by a small team, and we rely mostly on the support of our members to maintain our site and apps. Please consider upgrading to a Pro account —for less than a couple bucks a month, you’ll get cool additional features like all-time and annual stats pages ( example ), the ability to select (and filter by) your favorite streaming services, and no ads!

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Viduthalai: Part 1

A police officer is recruited to capture the leader of a separatist group. A police officer is recruited to capture the leader of a separatist group. A police officer is recruited to capture the leader of a separatist group.

• Vetrimaaran
• Vijay Sethupathi
• Bhavani Sre
• 72 User reviews
• 11 Critic reviews

• Constable Kumaresan

• Perumal 'Vaathiyaar'

• Tamilarasi alias Paapa
• Head Constable Chandran
• V. Ragavendar

• Ila. Ilavarasu
• Tamilarasi's Paternal Grandmother

• Sunil Menon

• A. Subramaniyan
• (as Rajeev Menon)
• Photojournalist

• Sub-Inspector 'Chow Chow' Ramasamy
• Sub-Inspector Velmurugan
• Collector of Arumapuri District
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia It's inspired from a poem of Lyrist Na.Muthukumar.
• Goofs The film is set in the late 1980s. However, when Kumaresan is introduced by Head Constable Chandran to a tea-selling undercover militant, the SBI bank's new board design---introduced after 2017, is shown. Also, near the bank, an Activa (introduced in India in the 2000s) is parked.
• Connections Features Maithili Ennai Kathali (1986)

User reviews 72

• Apr 2, 2023
• How long is Viduthalai: Part 1? Powered by Alexa
• March 31, 2023 (United States)
• Official Zee 5
• Viduthalai Part 1
• Grass Root Film Company
• RS Infotainment
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 30 minutes
• Dolby Atmos
• Dolby Digital

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed