Veeramae Vaagai Soodum

Veeramae Vaagai Soodum is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Thu Pa Saravanan and produced by Vishal and Dato Abdul Malik under the banner of Vishal Film Factory and Malik Streams Corporation. It stars Vishal and Dimple Hayathi, while Raveena Ravi, Baburaj, and Yogi Babu play supporting roles. The soundtrack and background score were composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, while the cinematography and editing were handled by Kavin Raj and N. B. Srikanth. The film marks the posthumous appearance of noted actor-director R. N. R. Manohar, who died on 17 November 2021 from COVID-19 complications.

Veerame Vaagai Soodum was released in theatres on 4 February 2022, where it received mixed reviews from critics and became an average venture at the box office.

Plot
In Chennai, Purusothaman "Porus", an aspiring police trainee, aims to become an IPS officer. He hails from a middle-class family consisting of his father Constable Ponnuswamy, mother Kanchana, and sister Dwaraka.

Meanwhile, Parisudham, a social activist, organizes a protest against a factory in Karaikudi District owned by an influential business magnate named Nedunchezhiyan. The factory waste was responsible for destroying a prosperous village. Guna is the brother of a local don named Selvam, who eve-teases Dwaraka. Guna threatens Dwaraka again, and Porus takes him to Selvam's house. Selvam slaps Guna and reprimands him. Faizal, Dwaraka's friend, confesses his love for Dwaraka to Porus.

In a parallel story, Elanchezhiyan alias Ela, a classmate of Dwaraka and Nedunchezhiyan's younger brother, threatens a girl named Divya. Divya and Dwaraka both try to commit suicide at their respective houses. Selvam tries to compromise with Porus's family, while Nedunchezhiyan also talks with Parisutham and attempts to bribe him with money. Ela's father also talks to Divya and her father. Simultaneously, Parisutham insults Nedunchezhiyan, Dwaraka humiliates Guna, and Divya humiliates Ela. Ela plans to kidnap Divya, while Guna plans to abduct Dwaraka. Nedunchezhiyan plans to kidnap Parisutham. Ela accidentally kidnaps Dwaraka while she is visiting the medical store. Ravi and his gang kidnap Parisutham and take him to Nedunchezhiyan's factory.

Meanwhile, Dwaraka escapes from Ela, where she witnesses Nedunchezhiyan and his gang beheading Parisutham. Nedunchezhiyan and his associates try to capture Dwaraka. While hiding, Dwaraka tries to call her father, but to no avail. She cleverly records and sends a voice message to Faizal, detailing Nedunchezhiyan's involvement in Parisutham's death. Nedunchezhiyan captures Dwaraka and kills her. After searching for Dwaraka with Porus, Faizal arrives home and listens to the voice message, but Nedunchezhiyan's men kill him.

Porus learns about his sister's death, which devastates him and his family. Guna surrenders in court, alleging that he killed her. Porus later discovers that Faizal's and Dwaraka's deaths are not chronological, so he investigates in his way. Porus goes after each gang member involved in Nedunchezhiyan's crime network to find the conspirators behind Dwaraka's and Faizal's deaths, but Nedunchezhiyan kills each gang member, involving Ravi. Porus requests a hacker to check Faizal's phone, where he uncovers some brutal murders orchestrated by Nedunchezhiyan (including Guna's death).

After analysing the day when Dwaraka got kidnapped, Porus finds out that Divya was to be abducted by Ela. Nedunchezhiyan and his men discover this through Ela's friends and kill Divya despite Porus's intervention. At the hospital, Porus's hacker retrieves the recording from Faizal's phone, where Porus learns about facts leading to Dwaraka's death. Nedunchezhiyan hears the recording through his henchman Mike and kidnaps Ponnuswamy, where he tells Porus to hand over the recording in exchange for his father. Porus brings the recording where he gets thrashed by the gang.

However, Porus retaliates by thrashing Nedunchezhiyan's gang and killing Ela. Porus brings Selvam to Nedunchezhiyan and tells him to avenge Guna's death. Selvam kills Nedunchezhiyan and his men with a chainsaw, while Porus leaves the factory with Ponnuswamy. With the help of Divya's devastated father Raghupathi, Porus stuffs a dead Nedunchezhiyan and Ela into a meat grinder and feeds their flesh to crocodiles in a zoo where Raghupathi works, thus leaving no evidence about their deaths. After this, Porus gets appointed as an IPS officer and secretly gives money to Parisudham's son for hospital treatment.

Development
The film was tentatively titled as Vishal 31. On 29 August 2021, the film's title was announced as Veerame Vaagai Soodum, which is a reference of a lyric of the title track of 1986 film Vikram, composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja's father Ilaiyaraaja.

Casting
Vishal was cast as an aspiring police officer named Porus. Dimple Hayathi was cast in as the female lead opposite Vishal which was her second Tamil film after Devi 2, while Malayalam actor Baburaj was cast in as the main antagonist.

Filming
Principal photography began on 6 May 2021  and was wrapped up on 3 January 2022.

Music
Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the soundtrack and background score of the film while collaborating with Vishal for the 11th time after Sandakozhi, Thimiru, Thaamirabharani, Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai, Avan Ivan, Samar, Poojai, Irumbu Thirai, Sandakozhi 2 and Chakra. The first single "Rise Of A Common Man" was released on 22 December 2021, while the second single was released on January 14, 2022.

Theatrical
The film was dubbed in Hindi under the same title, in Telugu as Saamanyudu, and in Kannada as Obba. It was released on 4 February 2022.

Home media
The satellite and digital rights of the film were sold to ZEE5 and Zee Tamil.

Reception
Veerame Vaagai Soodum received mixed reviews from critics with praise towards the action sequences, cast performances (particularly Vishal) and background score, but was criticised for its predictability and characterisation.

Critical response
M. Suganth of The Times of India gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "VVS is definitely engaging as long as it sticks to this core plot. There is suspense and thrills and we are also emotionally invested because Saravanan has managed to set-up the family of Porus in convincing fashion. This is why we feel like we are watching a robust action drama." Pinkvilla Desk of Pinkvilla gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Vishal is known for playing such intense roles now. As usual, he got into the skin of his character and he has outdone his performance this time as well."

Thinkal Menon of OTTplay gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film is a treat for those who love revenge thrillers with superbly choreographed action sequences and intriguing cat-and-mouse games. " Haricharan Pudipeddi of Cinestaan gwve 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Veeramae Vaagai Soodum makes for a decent watch. It does feel long-drawn at 2 hours 46 minutes, but the action will keep you pinned till the last minute."

Movicrow gave 2.25 out of 5 stars and wrote "What might have been a simple and relatable actioner, turns into a lengthy boring fair as the movie takes itself so seriously by trying to touch and bring together too many needless topics." 123Telugu gave 2.75 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film is a slow-paced action drama with a decent concept. Vishal’s power-packed performance, Yogibabu’s comedy, and the suspense in the second half are basic assets. If you bear a few over-the-top scenes and the slow narration, you can give this action drama a shot this weekend."

Ashameera Aiyappan of Firstpost gave 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film argues that bravery is enough to win. But it is not enough to be bold; one also needs to be smart. Unfortunately, the film fails on that front." Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute gave 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Thu Pa Saravanan’s film is so full of cliches and convenient coincidences that I wondered if the title Kaadhil Poo Soodavum would have been more suitable since that's what it demands from the audience."

Box office
The film had an average opening weekend, grossing only inr 180000000.