Vithagan (transl. Trickster/Master) is a 2011 Tamil-language action film directed by R. Parthiban that features himself in the lead along with Poorna. The film, which has been in making since 2008, released on 18 November 2011. The film was the 50th film of Parthipan, has him in the role of a police officer, who is brainy as well as brawny. With an innovative tagline 'With the gun', 'Vithagan' has Poorna as heroine and music has been composed by Joshua Sridhar of 'Kadhal' fame. The film opened to extremely negative reviews and bombed at the box office.[2]
| Vithagan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tamil | வித்தகன் |
| Directed by | R. Parthiban |
| Written by | R. Parthiban |
| Produced by | Manickam Narayanan |
| Starring | R. Parthiban Poorna |
| Cinematography | M. S. Prabhu |
| Edited by | Anthony |
| Music by | Joshua Sridhar |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
editRowdran (R. Parthiban) is an upright cop who is fighting not only the scums of the society but also his seniors who are hand-in-glove with the goondas. For this, he takes law into his hands and goes on an unstoppable killing spree wiping out the wanted criminals in police files, one by one in carefully planned operations.
But soon, the film goes from a legitimate thriller to a typical revenge drama without much warning. In a flashback, we are told that our orphan cop had a picture-perfect family which was wiped out by Badri (Milind Soman). And now to bring the don back from a foreign destination and take revenge, Rowdran who is put behind bars turns a goonda and joins Sena (another don) and takes on Badri.
Cast
edit- R. Parthiban as ACP Rowdhran
- Poorna as Mercy
- Milind Soman as Badri
- Ravishankar as Sena
- Vincent Asokan
- L. Raja
- Lakshmi Ramakrishnan
- Mohan Natarajan
- M. J. Shriram
- Singamuthu
- Mahanadhi Shankar
- Sampath Ram
- Krishnamoorthy
- Raaki Parthiban (Special appearance)
Production
editTwo years after his last venture Pachchak Kuthira bombed at the box office, Parthiban commenced his next directorial titled as Vithagan in 2008, while also playing the lead role in the film - that of an intelligent assistant commissioner who is "crooked and cunning at the same time".[3][4] He added that he would have two different looks in the film.[5] Poorna was selected to portray the female lead as a Christian girl named Mercy.[3] Hindi character actor Milind Soman, who was last seen in Paiyaa was finalized for the main antagonist role.[6] In October 2010, reports claimed that director-producer Gautham Vasudev Menon would provide his voice for Milind Soman.[7] Parthiban's son Radhakrishnan (Raaki) would appear in a one-minute cameo role during a song sequence.[8][9] Vadivelu was supposedly considered for a comedy role in the film,[10] which did not materialize eventually. While Joshua Sridhar was roped in to compose the film's score, M. S. Prabhu was signed as the cinematographer and Nalini Sriram as the costume designer. A bungalow set was constructed in an 18-storey building in Chennai as well as a helipad where the climax fight sequence was to be filmed.[11] Parts of the film were shot in Vienna, Austria and the Czech Republic.[12]
Soundtrack
editSoundtrack was composed by Joshua Sridhar and lyrics for all songs written by Parthiban.[13]
- Gappu Aappu - Benny Dayal
- Ikkuthe - Hariharan, Shreya Ghoshal
- Thanana - Swetha Mohan
- Un Zone La - Sayanora Philips, Suchitra
- Kadalirandu - Chinmayi
- Vegamaai - Benny Dayal, Sunitha Sarathy
Critical reception
editRohit Ramachandran of Nowrunning rated it 1.5/5 stating that "The experience feels like chewing on coarse, indigestible cud."[14] Pavithra Srinivasan of rediff rated it 1.5/5 stating that "Vithgan is a silly movie."[15]
References
edit- ^ "Vithagan - Movie Reviews, Videos, Wallpapers, Photos, Cast & Crew, Story & Synopsis on". Popcorn.oneindia.in. 18 August 2010. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
- ^ "Vithagan Review - Vithagan Movie Review".
- ^ a b "Parthiban's one man show". The Times of India. 2 May 2009. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ "Cinema Plus / Columns : Grillmill - R. PARTHEPAN". The Hindu. 25 July 2008. Archived from the original on 28 July 2008. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ "Parthiban talks about Viththagan - Tamil Movie News - Parthiban | Viththagan | Poorna | Aayirathil Oruvan". Behindwoods.com. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ Super Admin (7 May 2009). "Milind Soman, the baddie is back". Oneindia.in. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ "Gautham Menon's role in Vithagan - Gautham Menon - Vithagan - Parthiban - Tamil Movie News". Behindwoods.com. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ S. R. Ashok Kuma (29 October 2011). "Arts / Cinema : Audio Beat - Medley of emotions". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ "Parthiban's son turns photographer - Bollywood Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ "Getting even?". The Times of India. 21 December 2008. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ "What's happening at Parthiban's bungalow? - Behindwoods.com - Tamil Movie News - Vithagan Parthiban Seventh Channel Manicam Narayanan". Behindwoods.com. 20 July 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ "'Vithagan' in Vienna - Bollywood Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Archived from the original on 1 June 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ "Vithagan Tamil Movie - Music".
- ^ ${FullName} (18 November 2011). "Vithagan Review - Tamil Movie Review by Rohit Ramachandran". Nowrunning.com. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Review: Vithagan is silly - Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2012.