Mission: Chapter 1

Mission: Chapter 1 (also marketed as Mission: Chapter 1 – Achcham Enbadhu Illaiye) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by A. L. Vijay, written by A. Mahadev and produced by Lyca Productions, Shri Shirdi Sai Movies, New March Fast Pictures and Aspen Film Productions (P) Ltd. The film stars Arun Vijay, Amy Jackson and Nimisha Sajayan alongside Abi Hassan, Bharat Bopana and Iyal in the supporting roles. This marks Jackson's comeback Tamil film after a five-year hiatus.

The film was officially announced in October 2022 under the title Achcham Enbadhu Illaiye, but the title was later announced as Mission: Chapter 1 – Achcham Enbadhu Illaiye in April 2023 after a production change. Principal photography commenced in October 2022 and wrapped in February 2023. The music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, cinematography was handled by Sandeep K. Vijay and editing by Anthony.

Mission: Chapter 1 – Achcham Enbadhu Illaiye was released on 12 January 2024, during Pongal weekend, to mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and became a box office success.

Premise
V. Gunasekharan "Guna", a retired IPS officer from Coimbatore, travels to the UK for a major brain surgery needed for his daughter Sana, but Guna lands in trouble and gets imprisoned at Wandsworth prison, where Sandra James is the jailer. Guna learns that three prisoners, working for a notorious terrorist Omar Quadri, are planning to escape the prison to disrupt the G20 conference in India. Guna ruins the escape plan, where he sets out to stop Omar Quadri from disrupting the conference and reunite with Sana.

Development
In July 2022, it was reported that Arun Vijay was to join hands for the first time with director A. L. Vijay for his next film after Yaanai (2022), with most the filming for the venture done in London and England. In September, Amy Jackson was reported to play the lead actress role, in her first pairing opposite Arun as well as in her third collaboration with the director after Madrasapattinam (2010) and Thaandavam (2012). On 5 October, Sri Shridri Sai Movies, the production house funding the venture, officially announced the film. Lyca Productions later took over producing, and announced a new title in April 2023: Mission: Chapter 1 – Achcham Enbadhu Illaiye.

Filming
Principal photography commenced with the first schedule on 4 October 2022 in London. Principal photography wrapped in February 2023.

Music
The film's music was composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar. The audio rights were acquired by Sony Music India. The first single "Kannae Chella Kannae" was released on 3 January 2024. The second single "Achamae Achamae" was released on 9 January 2024.

Release
The film was released in theatres on 12 January 2024, during the week of Pongal.

Home media
The digital streaming rights were acquired by Amazon Prime Video and the satellite rights were acquired by Sun TV. The film had its digital premiere on the streaming platform from 15 March 2024.

Critical response
Roopa Radhakrishnan of The Times of India gave 2.5/5 and stated that "Mission Chapter 1 is an actioner that has a generic template and an effective cast, excluding a somewhat out-of-place Amy Jackson". Srinivasa Ramanujan of The Hindu said, "Director Vijay's Pongal release packs a lot of action but the storyline throws little surprises". Raisa Nasreen of Times Now gave 3/5 stars, stated that "Arun Vijay's action-packed thriller blends emotions And excitement. The makers believe that it will tick all the boxes for being a perfect entertainer".