Vel (film)
Vel (transl. Spear) is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Hari and produced by Mohan Natarajan. It stars Suriya, Asin and Kalabhavan Mani. Suriya plays a dual role as identical twins. The film also features Vadivelu, Lakshmi, Saranya Ponvannan, Charan Raj, Ambika, and Nassar in supporting roles.[1] The film's score and soundtrack was composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja.[2] Priyan handled the cinematography, while V. T. Vijayan handled the editing. The film released on 8 November 2007, coinciding with Diwali. Upon release the film received mixed reviews from the critics.
| Vel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Hari |
| Produced by | M. Chinthamani |
| Written by | Hari |
| Starring | Suriya Asin Vadivelu Kalabhavan Mani |
| Music by | Yuvan Shankar Raja |
| Cinematography | Priyan |
| Edited by | V. T. Vijayan |
Production company | Sree Rajakaalaiamman Medias |
| Distributed by | Kalasangham Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 161 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
Plot
Thiyagarajan (Charan Raj) and Sharadha (Saranya Ponvannan), a couple who have twins, lose one of them while traveling between Tirunelveli and Chennai. The child stolen by a beggar for its gold chain is abandoned at the door of a rich feudal landlord. He is brought up in the family as Vel (Suriya) and becomes the darling of everybody including Appatha (Lakshmi), the family head. Meanwhile the other twin grows up and becomes a private detective Vasu (Suriya), who falls in love with a television hostess, Swathi (Asin). At the same time Vel is given a tough time by Sakkara Pandi (Kalabhavan Mani), a former minister and local strongman who has his own axe to grind. The twins meet, swap their roles and unite to fight the villain, forms the rest of this predictable yarn.
Cast
- Suriya as Vetrivel & Vasudevan (dual role)
- Asin as Swathi
- Kalabhavan Mani as Sakkara Pandi
- Vadivelu as Kuzhandaisami, Muthupandi's son
- Lakshmi as Arivumangai, Vetrivel's adoptive grandmother
- Saranya Ponvannan as Sharadha, Vetrivel & Vasudevan's mother
- Charan Raj as Thiyagarajan, Vetrivel & Vasudevan's father
- Nassar as Rajapandi, Vetrivel's adoptive father
- Ambika as Sivagami, Vetrivel's adoptive mother
- Raj Kapoor as Muthupandi, Rajapandi's 1st younger brother
- O. A. K. Sundar as Veerapandi, Rajapandi's 2nd younger brother
- Elavarasan as Doraipandi, Rajapandi's 3rd younger brother
- Aishwarya as Manimeghalai, Sakkara Pandi's wife
- Charle as Moorthy, Vasudevan's friend
- Devadarshini as Sarala, Swathi's elder sister
- Chaams as Gopal, Swathi's brother-in-law
- Vaiyapuri as Mokkasami, Sakkara Pandi's sidekick
- Singamuthu as Shamugam, Sakkara Pandi's accountant
- Crane Manohar as Ayyakannu, Kuzhandhaisami's sidekick
- Madhan Bob as Lawyer Sundaram
- Imman Annachi as Karadimuthu
- Halwa Vasu as Arivu
Soundtrack
Director Hari once again teamed up with composer Yuvan Shankar Raja for the musical score of Vel after having worked together in Thaamirabharani. The soundtrack of Vel was released on 13 October 2007 and features 6 songs. Lyrics were written by Na. Muthukumar and Hari. Comedian Vadivelu had lent his voice for one of the songs.
The album received mixed reviews.[3]
| Vel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | 13 October 2007 (India) | |||
| Recorded | 2007 | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Label | Sony Music India Think Music Ayngaran Music An Ak Audio AVM Muzik | |||
| Producer | Yuvan Shankar Raja | |||
| Yuvan Shankar Raja chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Track | Song | Singers | Length (m:ss) | Lyrics |
| 1 | "Indha Ooril" | Shankar Mahadevan | 4:30 | Na. Muthukumar |
| 2 | "Kovakkara Kiliye" | Sujatha and Tippu | 4:15 | Na. Muthukumar |
| 3 | "Aayiram Jannal" | Rahul Nambiar, Premji Amaran, Malaysia Vasudevan and Vadivelu | 5:13 | Na. Muthukumar |
| 4 | "Thoppul Kodi" | Sriram Parthasarathy | 2:11 | Hari |
| 5 | "Onnapola" | Shankar Mahadevan and Srilekha Parthasarathy | 4:03 | Na. Muthukumar |
| 6 | "Ottraikannale" | Haricharan and Suchitra | 4:08 | Hari |
Release
The film was later dubbed and released in Telugu as Deva and in Hindi as Main Faisla Karunga in 2014.[4][5]
Critical reception
Sify rated 3 out of 5 stars stating "Above Average".[6]Behindwoods rated 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "A masala sale!"[7]Rediff rated 2.5 out of 5 stars stating "The saving graces of Vel include the fact that it is slick, neat, moves at a brisk pace to keep everyone interested, displays no cleavage and has very little blood and gore in spite of the violent storyline".[8]
Box office
This film's theaterical run was 50 days in 17 centers and 100 days in 13 centers making it a commercially successful venture.[9]
References
- "Vel". The Times of India. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
- http://creative.sulekha.com/vel-movie-review-diwalicontest_313676_blog
- "Yuvan's great escape". Sify. Retrieved 6 August 2009.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H0ywl3484I
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ0z3YToHYU
- "Vel". Sify. 11 November 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- "Vel – Movie Review". Behindwoods. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- "Vel is slick and neat". Rediff. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- "Suriya's Vel 100 days it collected 520millionCelebration". Sify. Retrieved 6 August 2009.