Adanga Maru

Adanga Maru
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKarthik Thangavel
Written byKarthik Thangavel
Produced bySujatha Vijaykumar
Starring
CinematographySathyan Sooryan
Edited byRuben
Music bySam C. S.
Production
company
Home Movie Makers
Distributed byClap Board Production
Release date
  • 21 December 2018 (2018-12-21)
Running time
145 minutes[1]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil

Adanga Maru (transl. Refuse to concede) is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language action drama thriller film[1] written and directed by Karthik Thangavel. The film stars Jayam Ravi and Raashii Khanna, with Ponvannan, Babu Antony, Sampath Raj, Azhagam Perumal, Bharath Raj, Shabeer Kallarakkal, Munishkanth, Mime Gopi and Subbu Panchu in supporting roles. The music was composed by Sam C. S., with cinematography by Sathyan Sooryan and editing by Ruben. The film tells the story of Subhash, an egoistic cop, who resigns from his job and becomes a ruthless vigilante, after his family is murdered by four privileged people.

The film began production in December 2017 and was released on 21  December 2018. It received positive reviews from critics and audiences and became a commercial success at the box office.[2]

Plot

Subhash is an egoistic, but honest newly appointed SI in Chennai. He is sympathetic to the public's suffering and tries to improve their lives, but he hates dishonest, corrupt and arrogant people. These efforts sometimes conflict with the law and cause Subhash trouble with his superior Inspector Muthukaruppan. One day, during a night patrol, Subhash argues with the Chief Minister's son, when he refuses to park his car at the checking place, and the Chief Minister's son shows his arrogance before trying to attack Subash. SI Chandran, Subash's supporter, intervenes in the argument and apologises to Chief Minister's son on Subash's behalf, which enrages Subhash. As a consequence, Subash assaults the Chief Minister's son and his friends at a bar, without leaving any evidence.

Called to investigate a girl's suspected suicide, Subhash deduces that she was murdered and gathers evidence. He confronts Abhijith, a boy whose mobile phone was active near the crime scene, and the boy's friends Christy, Bhuvan, and Deepak. The boys reveal that they are spoilt brats from affluent families and they had committed the murder of several other girls, avoiding the consequences due to their parents' privilege. Abhijith is the son of a prominent media mogul Sanjay, while Bhuvan is the son of District Collector of Chennai city. Christy is the son of a gold merchant, and a Deepak is the son of a scientist. The boys show Subhash a video of them assaulting the girl, and he becomes enraged and arrests them.

Corrupt JCP Saarangan asks Subhash for proof of the crimes but the videos have been deleted and the boys are released while Subhash is suspended from duty. The boys vow revenge, and Subhash returns home to discover his extended family has been murdered, except for one niece. Saarangan, who has been bribed with a Porsche Cayenne Car, declares that the deaths resulted from an accidental fire. Subhash resigns, defiantly telling Saarangan that he will avenge his family by ensuring that the four boys die at the hands of their fathers. Bhuvan is kidnapped by Subhash and locked in a car booby trapped with inflammable silane gas. His father opens the car door and witnesses Bhuvan burn alive in front of him.

Subhash then kidnaps Deepak and Christy and hides them. The corrupt police try to secretly detain Subash, but he triggers Muthukaruppan's pistol which attracts public attention and forces them to officially arrest him. While in custody, Subhash reveals to Christy's father that Christy is in a van at the airport. The father finds Christy and tells him to run to the police for help, but Subhash had placed an illegal firearm in Christy's bag along with a beeping device. The National Security Guards mistake Christy for a terrorist and fatally shoot him to death. With technical help from Subhash's friend, Deepak's crimes are exposed on the Internet and a live video feed shows him inside a glass tank.

The public is allowed to remotely release chemicals which will result in Deepak's death. Deepak's father hires hackers to stop this. Deepak is located and when his father breaks open the glass to release him, the chemicals are combined and Deepak is killed. In the meantime, Subhash warns Saarangan to check on his teenage daughter's safety. Saarangan panics but is relieved when she is found to be safe. Saarangan realises his hypocrisy and changes his corrupt mind and decides to support Subhash to fight for justice for the victims of the boys. Abhijit's father Sanjay has Subhash released from custody, intending to make a deal.

Subhash kidnaps Abhijit and dangles him from a rope at a great height; he threatens to publicise the recovered video evidence of the boys' crimes, thereby ruining Sanjay and his reputation. Sanjay is given a chance to prevent this by shutting down a computer, but would have to let go of the rope. Sanjay does so, letting his son fall to his death to preserve his reputation. One year later, Subhash has now cleared the Civil Services Exam and has become an IPS officer, and continues to murder unconvictable lawbreakers to serve justice.

Cast

  • Jayam Ravi as DIG S. Subash IPS
  • Raashii Khanna as Anitha, Subash's fiance (Voice dubbed by Raveena Ravi)
  • Sampath Raj as J. C. P. Sarangan
  • Ramdoss as Constable Ramadass
  • Ponvannan as Subash's father
  • Azhagam Perumal as Sub-inspector Chandran
  • Mime Gopi as Inspector Muthukarappan
  • Bharath Raj as Abhijit
  • Vijay Victor as Deepak
  • Raja Rudrakodi as Christy
  • Shabeer Kallarakkal as Bhuvanesh (Bhuvan)
  • Babu Antony as Sanjay, Abhijit's father
  • Sriranjani as Subash's mother
  • Subbu Panchu as Subash's brother
  • Meera Vasudevan as Subash's sister-in-law
  • Gajaraj as Bhuvan's father, district collector
  • Mathew Varghese as Francis, Christy's father
  • Nithin Mehta as Deepak's father, a scientist
  • Karthik Thangavel as Chief Minister's son
  • Delhi as Anusha
  • Dishi as Vinusha
  • Muthukumar as Parvathi's father
  • Chaams as Drunkard
  • Gopi Gpr as Cybercrime Officer
  • Aparajitha as Sarangan's daughter
  • Sai Tamil as Henchman
  • Aathma Patrick as Henchman
  • Poorna as Subash's lawyer (guest appearance)[3]
  • RJ Sindhu (special appearance in the song "Anangu Vaangu")
  • VJ Syed (special appearance in the song "Anangu Vaangu")

Production

In December 2017, Jayam Ravi announced on social media that his 23rd film would be an action-thriller titled Adanga Maru by first-time director Karthik Thangavel.[4] Raashi Khanna was announced as the female lead, this being her second Tamil film after Imaikkaa Nodigal (2018). Stunt choreographer Stun Siva's son, Kevin Kumar, made his debut as a stunt choreographer in this film.[5] Filming was completed in October 2018.[6]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack was composed by Sam C. S.[7] The audio rights were acquired by Sony Music in August 2018.

Adanga Maru
Soundtrack album by
Released2018
GenreTamil
Length17:34
LanguageTamil
LabelSony Music
ProducerSam C. S.
Sam C. S. chronology
NOTA
(2018)
Adanga Maru
(2018)
Ispade Rajavum Idhaya Raniyum
(2019)
Track listing
No.TitleSingersLength
1."Aangu Vaangu"Sam C. S., Mukesh Mohamed, M. L. R. Karthikeyan4:26
2."Saayaali"Sathyaprakash Dharmar, Chinmayi5:15
3."Pachai Dhrogangal"Haricharan3:46
4."Kaar Irul"Sivam3:07
Total length:17:34

Release and reception

Adanga Maru was released on 21 December 2018.[8] Thinkal Menon of The Times of India rated it 3 out of 5, saying, "Adanga Maru has a routine plot, but the treatment makes it fast-paced and interesting."[9] Srinivasan Ramanujam of The Hindu wrote, "thanks to its speedy screenplay, Adanga Maru finishes as a fairly engaging watch."[10] Janani K of India Today wrote, "Debutant director Karthik Thangavel's Adanga Maru starring Jayam Ravi could have been a flawless cop thriller, but it misses the mark by a few inches."[11] Antara Chakraborthy of The Indian Express wrote, "A more nuanced, well thought-out storyline with better CGI could have definitely elevated the revenge saga. Adanga Maru is strictly a one-time watch".[12]

References

  1. ^ a b "Adanga Maru". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Adanga Maru's success proves that presentation matters more than the story: Jayam Ravi". Cinema Express. 3 January 2019. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  3. ^ CR, Sharanya (8 August 2018). "Poorna is a lawyer in Adanga Maru". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Adanga Maru: Jayam Ravi announces title of his next film, will go on floors on 14 December". Firstpost. 14 December 2017. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  5. ^ Lakshmi, V (28 July 2018). "Stun Siva's son gets his own fight sequence". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Jayam Ravi's 'Adanga Maru' is almost complete". The Times of India. 17 October 2018. Archived from the original on 10 January 2020. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Adanga Maru". JioSaavn. 6 October 2018. Archived from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
  8. ^ "'Adanga Maru is a film born out of the necessity of the hour': Actor 'Jayam' Ravi". The News Minute. 17 December 2018. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  9. ^ Menon, Thinkal (21 December 2018). "Adanga Maru Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  10. ^ Ramanujam, Srinivasa (21 December 2018). "'Adanga Maru' review: An engaging revenge drama". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  11. ^ K, Janani (21 December 2018). "Adanga Maru Movie Review: Jayam Ravi has a message in this intense thriller". India Today. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  12. ^ Chakraborthy, Antara (21 December 2018). "Adanga Maru movie review: Jayam Ravi is convincing in the engaging cop drama". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.