Mersal

For other uses, see Mersal (disambiguation).

Mersal
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAtlee
Screenplay byV. Vijayendra Prasad
S. Ramana Girivasan
Produced byN. Ramasamy
Hema Rukmani
N. Murali
Starring
CinematographyG. K. Vishnu
Edited byRuben
Music byA. R. Rahman
Production
company
Distributed bySri Thenandal Films
Release date
  • 18 October 2017 (2017-10-18) (India)[1]
Running time
163 minutes[2]
CountryIndia
LanguageTamil
Budget₹120 crore[3][4]
Box officeest. ₹200–260 crore[5][6](see below)

Mersal (transl. Zapped) is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film[7] directed by Atlee and produced by Thenandal Studio Limited, in the studio's hundredth film production. The film stars Vijay in triple roles, alongside S. J. Suryah, Kajal Aggarwal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Nithya Menen. Sathyaraj, Vadivelu, Hareesh Peradi, Kovai Sarala and Sathyan play supporting roles. It is the second out of the three collaboration between Vijay and Atlee, before they began working with others. The film follows two brothers who were separated after the younger one's birth; Vetri, a vigilante magician who is against the medical crimes and Maaran, a reputed doctor who charges meagre amounts from his patients.

The film's principal photography commenced on 1 February 2017, at Chennai and was completed in September 2017, within 130 working days. Filming took place on Gdańsk, Poland and Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The background score and soundtrack album were composed by A. R. Rahman, while the cinematography was done by G. K. Vishnu and edited by Ruben.

Mersal was released worldwide on 18 October 2017, coinciding with Diwali. The film received mostly positive reviews with critics praising the performances of Vijay, Menen and S. J. Suryah, A. R. Rahman's soundtrack, cinematography, social message and Atlee's direction, but criticised the cliched plot and excessive length. It is also a recipient of various accolades. The film was a commercial success, grossing ₹200 crore (US$24 million)–₹260 crore (US$31 million) worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing film in Vijay's career at that time as well as one of the highest-grossing Tamil films.[8] The film completed 100-day theatrical run on 25 January 2018.[6][9][10] The film was released on 6 December 2018 in China by HGC Entertainment.[11] Due to demand, the film was screened at the largest cinema theatre in Europe Grand Rex, France.[12] The film was screened at the Hainan International Film Festival in Hainan, China[13] and at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea.[14]

  1. ^ "Vijay's Mersal release date is here". 8 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  2. ^ "Mersal". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Mersal box office collection: Vijay's film crosses Rs 20 crore in Kerala". India Today. 6 November 2017. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  4. ^ "Bigil's budget crosses the 140-crore-mark; making it the most expensive Vijay film till date!". in.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  5. ^ "'Vivegam' - 'Mersal'". The Times of India. 26 June 2020. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b "அடேங்கப்பா, பாக்ஸ் ஆபிஸ் வசூல் இவ்வளவா? மெர்சல் சாதனையை முறியடித்த 'சர்கார்'!". Samayam Tamil (in Tamil). 24 November 2018. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  7. ^ "MERSAL — British Board of Film Classification". www.bbfc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 August 2021. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Mersal Box Office collection: Vijay's film to enter Rs. 250 crore club". Deccan Chronicle. 24 November 2017. Archived from the original on 5 June 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
  9. ^ Upadhyaya, Prakash. "Mersal box office collection: Vijay, Samantha's film completes 100 days". International Business Times, India Edition. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Sarkar box office collection: Vijay-starrer collects Rs 214 crore in first 10 days". Business Today. 16 November 2018. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Thalapathy Vijay's Mersal to release in China". Behindwoods. 10 August 2018. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Mersal fever in France". Behindwoods. 13 October 2017. Archived from the original on 3 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Headlines from China: Live Streaming Platform Panda TV Rumored to File for Bankruptcy". China Film Insider. 7 March 2019. Archived from the original on 8 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Vijay's Mersal screened at BIFAN Film Festival". Behindwoods. 30 July 2018. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.