Initially, Vignesh Shivan was confirmed as the director of Ajith's 62nd film. However, he was subsequently replaced by Magizh. The film was announced in May 2023 along with the official title. Principal photography began in October 2023. Shot for the most part in Azerbaijan, filming wrapped by late December 2024 after a short schedule was conducted in Thailand. The film has music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography handled by Om Prakash[a] and editing by N. B. Srikanth.
Vidaamuyarchi was initially scheduled to be released in January 2025, coinciding the Pongal season, but was postponed due to unfinished post-production works. It is now scheduled to release worldwide on 6 February 2025 in theaters.
Premise
A devoted husband shares a deep connection with his wife, Kayal. However, their relationship begins to fall apart when challenges within it arrives. Kayal gets captured by a notorious group in Azerbaijan, which leads to the husband going on a mission to rescue her.[8]
After the success of Valimai in early 2022, it was reported that Ajith Kumar would collaborate with Vignesh Shivan for the actor's 62nd film as a leading actor. Nayanthara would reportedly reunite with Ajith after she was previously paired opposite the latter in Viswasam (2019).[9] Tentatively titled AK62, the production was reported to begin after the actor completed Thunivu (2023).[10] That March, Vignesh confirmed the project, also revealing the inclusion of Anirudh Ravichander.[11] The project was funded by Subaskaran Allirajah's Lyca Productions, which distributed Vignesh's Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (2015).[12] The company made a public announcement on 19 March 2022, confirming the project.[13] However, the following January, Vignesh was reported to be replaced.[14] Reports claimed it was due to Ajith not being impressed with the script after the director had developed it during the pre-production for six months.[15]
Numerous directors, including AR Murugadoss, Atlee and Magizh Thirumeni, were reported to be in consideration for replacing Vignesh, with Magizh being the front-runner.[16] In February 2023, it was reported that Magizh had flown to London, where Ajith was at the time, and narrated a script which impressed the actor.[16] On 1 May, coinciding with Ajith's 52nd birthday and May Day, the production house officially announced Magizh as the director.[17] Anirudh was chosen to score the music, in his first film with the director, while editor N. B. Srikanth and cinematographer Nirav Shah were retained by the director.[17][18] The film's official title Vidaamuyarchi was revealed the same day.[17] In July 2024, the film was reported to be an adaptation of 1997 American film Breakdown, directed by Jonathan Mostow, as there were previous reports of the film being so and many similarities in the promotional posters.[19] The film's status as a remake was not confirmed until December 2024.[20] Magizh later credited Ajith with providing the story idea, making Vidaamuyarchi his first directorial based on another person's story.[21]
Casting
Ajith would sport a full-black hairstyle for his character in flashback portions.[22][23]Sanjay Dutt was initially reported to play the main antagonist in his second Tamil film after Leo (2023).[24][25] However, Arjun Sarja was instead confirmed, marking his reunion with Ajith after Mankatha (2011).[26][27]Arjun Das was initially reported to be considered for the secondary antagonist,[28] but as he was allegedly unable to allocate dates for the film, he was reportedly replaced by Arav, who previously collaborated with Magizh on Kalaga Thalaivan (2022).[25][29]
Tamannaah Bhatia was initially reported to play the female lead; however, Trisha, who would pair opposite Ajith for the fifth time following Ji (2005), Kireedam (2007), Mankatha and Yennai Arindhaal (2015), was instead announced.[30][31][32][33]Huma Qureshi, who earlier acted with Ajith in Valimai (2022), was reportedly considered for an important role.[29] However, Regina Cassandra was eventually cast in that role.[34] In August 2024, the production house announced the involvement of actors Nikhil Nair, Ganesh Saravanan and Dasarathi in prominent roles.[35] Later, that December, Ramya Subramanian confirmed her presence in the film.[36]
Filming
Principal photography began with the first schedule on 4 October 2023 in Azerbaijan.[37] Initially, filming was intended to begin in the first week of September 2023 but was delayed due to Ajith's commitments to his world tour.[38] The makers' decision to shoot in Azerbaijan received negative responses from netizens as the country was then under civil unrest, particularly regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh).[39] Furthermore, it was also reported that the production would be put on hold due to the ongoing Israel–Hamas war,[40] but despite such reports, production continued.[41] Art director Milan died during the film's preliminary shooting due to a heart attack.[42] Later that month Ajith urged to set up a medical camp in case of any similar emergencies.[43] In early November, it was reported that the schedule had been completed.[44]
A sequence reportedly featured Ajith in a racy car action sequence, for which he did not use any stunt double.[44] In early December, the team returned to Chennai due to the ongoing war and border issues in Azerbaijan,[45] but later went back to Azerbaijan on 11 December to resume the production.[46] Nirav Shah was replaced with Om Prakash due to the former not being able to allocate dates to travel to Azerbaijan.[47] Arjun joined the film's sets in mid-December.[48] Trisha completed filming her portions for the film schedule by 19 December, returning to Chennai on that day.[49] The schedule concluded by 29 January 2024 with over 60 percent of the production being completed.[50] The concurrent schedule was set to be held in London by February,[51] but was delayed due to budget overruns and plans to complete 40 percent of the film's shooting within a single schedule were initiated for cost control.[52]
Production was expected to resume in the last week of May,[52] but was delayed as Ajith had started filming for Adhik Ravichandran-directorial Good Bad Ugly (2025) in Hyderabad.[53] The team along with Ajith returned to Azerbaijan on 20 June for the final schedule.[54] This schedule was held around 35–45 days, with the climax portions being shot in Baku.[54] Ajith, along with Trisha and Arjun, joined the concurrent schedule for some important sequences.[55] According to the head of Lyca Productions, GKM Tamil Kumaran, principal photography was scheduled to be wrapped by mid-August.[56] However, as of September 2024, it was only expected to be complete after Ajith finished shooting the October schedule for Good Bad Ugly.[57] In December 2024, the team left to Bangkok for filming the final schedule, which would be held for ten days.[58][59] Principal photography wrapped on 22 December 2024.[60]
Post-production
The production house on 28 October 2024 announced that the film has entered the dubbing stage.[61] On 7 December 2024, Ajith completed dubbing for his portions in Baku.[62]
The soundtrack is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, in his first collaboration with Magizh; third with Ajith after Vedalam (2015) and Vivegam (2017).[63] The audio rights were acquired by Sony Music India.[64] The first single, "Sawadeeka" released on 27 December 2024.[65] The second single "Pathikichu" was released on 19 January 2025.[66]
The first look poster of Vidaamuyarchi was released on 30 June 2024, and was poorly received by fans for its minimalist details. The second look poster, released a week later, was better received and seen as an improvement.[67]
Release
Theatrical
Vidaamuyarchi was initially scheduled to be released in January 2025, coinciding the Pongal season, but was postponed due to unfinished post-production works. It is now scheduled to release theatrically on 6 February 2025.[68][69][70] The film was certified U/A by the Central Board of Film Certification with a runtime of 150 minutes and 46 seconds.[71] Initially, Ajith's Good Bad Ugly was scheduled to release on the same occasion; however, it was postponed after the makers of Vidaamuyarchi announced in November 2024 that their film would release during that occasion. The postponement of this film in December, led to both the films not releasing.[72]
The post-theatrical streaming rights were acquired by Netflix for ₹100 crore, while the satellite rights were acquired by Sun TV.[74][75]
Controversies
In April 2024, Ajith's manager Suresh Chandra released a video from the Azerbaijan schedule in November 2023, where Ajith and Arav faced a major accident, when a car driven by the former lost control as he intended to make a side stop.[76] While Suresh insisted on the video being released four months later, was to dismiss rumours of the film being shelved,[77] it was met with backlash from fans who dismissed it as an attempt to seek sympathy.[76]
A few days after the teaser's release, Paramount Pictures reportedly filed a notice against the film's makers, alleging that the film shared similarities with Breakdown and sought damages of ₹150 crore (US$17 million) for intellectual property infringement.[78][79] However, Chitra Lakshmanan, who was in contact with the makers, claimed they had brought the remake rights three months prior upon noticing the similarities between both films.[1]
The film's postponement from January 2025 was met with criticism from fans of Ajith towards the production house as Good Bad Ugly was already pushed back to accommodate Vidaamuyarchi, and this film's postponement left no Ajith release in January.[80][81]Suresh Kamatchi, co-producer of the Pongal release Vanangaan, also criticised the producers for their sudden, uninformed decision as he felt it affected Pongal, an ideally lucrative box office season, making it less competitive and potentially minimising audience expectations.[82]
Notes
^ abAlthough Nirav Shah shot significant portions before the preliminary shooting, he was not credited in the promotional materials.[2]
^Marketed as விடாமுயற்சி: திருவினையாக்கும் (transl. Persistence: Transformative) in Tamil and Vidaamuyarchi: Perseverance Triumphs in English; along with the tagline Efforts Never Fail.
