Bairavaa

Sources say that almost 10 directors have approached Vijay for his 60th film.[4] Giving his time and thoughts to the directors and their stories, Vijay would soon make a decision, and it was also quoted that Vijay wants his every third film to bring him out of the comfort zone and experiment with diverse roles and genres. Adding to that list, the following are the storytellers were lined up: S. J. Suryah, Samuthirakani, Hari, Bharathan, Karthik Subbaraj, Mohan Raja, Prabhu Deva, and M. Sasikumar. It was earlier reported that S. J. Suryah had given his one-liner to Vijay, who has given his nod. It is also said that Suryah has signed A. R. Rahman to compose the music and the film was going to be produced by Chandraprakash Jain.[5] More to the speculation, Bharathan has narrated his script, and Hari might direct the story funded by Vijaya Productions, who were also the producers of Ajith Kumar's Veeram, finally Bharathan was confirmed by the producers to direct the film.[6]

In September 2015, Vijaya Productions signed on to finance a project directed by Bharathan, which would feature Vijay and Keerthy Suresh in the lead role. This is the first time Vijay and Keerthy Suresh act together.[7] Aparna Vinod, who debuted in the Malayalam film Kohinoor, also plays a pivotal role in the film. Bharathan continued to write the script through late 2015, while it was announced that Vijay would join the team to start filming after the completion of his other venture, Theri (2016).[8][9] The technical crew of the film includes Santhosh Narayanan as the music director, Praveen K. L. as the editor, M. Prabhaharan as the art director, Anal Arasu as the fight master, and lyrics taken care of by Vairamuthu.[10]

Names of Miya George, Kajal Agarwal and Aishwarya Rajesh where making rounds for the female lead in the movie, with the former having clear dominance.After that, Keerthy Suresh and Aparna Vinod where finalised . Alongside the lead actor, it was revealed that Sathish, Y. G. Mahendra, Sriman, Aparna Vinod, and Harish Uthaman would be a part of the film.[11] Papri Ghosh has been signed as the third female lead after Keerthi Suresh and Aparna Vinod.[12] It is also reported that Vijay would be donning dual roles in the film with one of the characters speaking Nellai Tamil dialect and the other character appearing with a tonsured head. The film would also have one more heroine for Vijay, who is kept under wraps.[13] Malayali actress Aparna Vinod is the latest addition to the cast of this movie. The actress has signed on the dotted lines recently to play the second female lead in the flick. Speaking to the Times of India, Aparna has claimed that she never expected to bag such a big film project, and she is happy to be working with Vijay in the film. Talking about the role, she said, "She plays a village belle, a vital character that will carry the story forward." Meanwhile, it is said that the first look of "Bairavaa" along with the title will be out on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi, 5 September 2016.[14][15] Producer and actor R. K. Suresh was rumored to be the third villain in this movie, joining the likes of Jagapati Babu and Daniel Balaji.[16]

The film began production in Chennai in early April 2016, and an introductory song for Vijay was shot in the city. In the first schedule, Vijay, comedian Sathish and heroine Keerthi Suresh were shot for their roles. The shooting for two song sequences has been completed in the first schedule. The first song was the colourful opening song which was choreographed by Dinesh master.[17]

The first schedule of the movie took place at EVP, Poonamallee in a court set up on 11 April 2016, and the scene reportedly features Vijay, Jagapati Babu and others.[18][19]

The temple set was erected in Binny Mills as a festival and the scene featured Vijay, Keerthi Suresh, Harish Uthaman, Sathish, Sija Rose, Thambi Ramaiah, and others. The choreographer of the songs was Dinesh.[20]

Bairavaa released theatrically worldwide on 12 January 2017 coinciding Pongal week.

The Tamil Nadu theatrical rights were sold to Sri Green Productions.[27] The Kerala theatrical rights were sold to Ifar International.[28]

The satellite and digital rights of the film were sold to Sun TV and Sun NXT.[29][1][30]

Bairavaa received mixed reviews from critics who praised Vijay's performance, action sequences, soundtrack and score, but criticised its screenwriting.[31]

M Suganth of The Times of India gave 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "There are some elements that work… like the robust action blocks, which keep reminding us of how the film could have been so much more than what it is now, the references to Vijay (the one that appears just before the interval, during an action scene, is one of the few highlights) and the star himself. By now, the actor can play these roles in his sleep, and he tries his best to keep things entertaining. He even makes us take a poorly written and staged courtroom scene with all seriousness."[32] Sify gave 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "The movie keeps the audience entertained, thanks to the two intelligently choreographed action sequences (cricket stunt and the interval block) along with a touching flashback. As usual, Vijay once again proves his capability of carrying a film on his strong shoulders. Keerthy Suresh as a homely girl from Nellai, played her portions well. Bharathan's catchy punchlines that every mass dialogue of Ilayathalapathy receives the thundering response and makes the movie an engaging entertainer".[33] Behindwoods rated 2.25 out of 5 stars with its verdict stating that "even Vijay's screen presence could not save a middling script".[34] The Hindu rated 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "Compare Bairavaa with Chiranjeevi's new film, which looks like every scene has been polished with Brasso."[35] Ananda Vikatan rated the film 41 out of 100.[36]