Etharkkum Thunindhavan

During May 2019, Suriya was reported to work on a project backed by Sun Pictures, in his third collaboration with them after Ayan (2009) and Singam (2010).[4] The film was speculated to be directed by Hari, who had previously worked with Suriya in Aaru (2005), Vel (2007) and the Singam franchise, but he eventually exited the project without revealing the actual reasons.[4] They later collaborated on another film titled Aruvaa, which was produced by Studio Green.[5] But this project was also shelved and Suriya chose to do a film with Pandiraj instead of a project with either Adanga Maru director Karthik Thangavel or an unnamed Telugu director.[6] Pandiraj earlier worked with Suriya, whose production company 2D Entertainment had backed his projects Pasanga 2, which had the latter playing a supporting character and Karthi's Kadaikutty Singam.[7][8]

On the occasion of Dusshera (25 October 2020), Sun Pictures confirmed the project under the title Suriya 40,[9] which deciphers to Suriya's 40th film as a lead actor;[10][11] it also marked Pandiraj's second film with the production house after their collaboration with Namma Veettu Pillai.[12][13] Unlike Pandiraj's earlier films, which were based on family emotions and sentiments, such as Kadaikutty Singam and Namma Veettu Pillai, this film was an action film, with space for commercial elements.[14] This is known to be Pandiraj's second action-based film, after Kathakali. Pandiraj reportedly wrote the story, which is based on the 2019 Pollachi sexual assault case.[15][16][17] The film's title Etharkkum Thunindhavan was officially announced on the eve of Suriya's birthday (22 July 2021), which refers to the 1976 film of the same name, that starred his father Sivakumar in the lead role.[18]

In November 2020, Rashmika Mandanna was reported to play the female lead,[19] but Pandiraj refuted the rumours about the casting process.[20][21] In January 2021, the production house announced that D. Imman would compose music for the film, following successive collaborations with Pandiraj in Kadaikkutty Singam and Namma Veettu Pillai.[22] The film marks Imman's maiden collaboration with Suriya.[23] The same month, Priyanka Arul Mohan was announced as the female lead, bagging her second Tamil film, following Doctor (2021).[24] Her character is revealed to be Aadhini, and she would essay Suriya's love interest in the film.[25] Sathyaraj too joined the film in a supporting role.[26] Rajkiran was also announced a part of the film, working with Suriya after two decades; they were last seen in Nandha (2001), but did not form a part of the cast in this film.[27] In February 2021, Soori was announced as a part of the cast.[28] He plays the heroine's uncle.[29] In March 2021, Vinay Rai was announced to play the antagonist.[30] Saran Shakthi essayed a character with negative shades in the film.[31] It was reported that the film has 40 significant characters being present in the film, including Jayaprakash, Saranya Ponvannan, and Devadarshini, amongst others.[32] Director-actor K. P. Jagan announced being a part of the film and also joined the second schedule in early-September 2021.[33]

The final and brief schedule of the film was filmed in Courtallam

The film was launched on 15 February 2021,[34] with the attendance of the principal cast and crew members, excluding Suriya as he was diagnosed with COVID-19.[35][36] The makers filmed few scenes with the ensemble cast without Suriya.[37] After recovering from COVID-19, Suriya joined the film's shooting on 18 March 2021.[38] He shared the shooting still from the film at Binny Mills in Chennai on social media handles, confirming his presence.[39][40] Following a brief schedule for 21 days, the team headed to Madurai for filming major sequences during April 2021.[41][42] An action sequence with a huge crowd was planned to be filmed, but due to the restrictions imposed by the Tamil Nadu government due to the second wave of COVID-19, the plan was dropped considering the safety of the crew members working on the film.[43] By late April 2021, 35% of the film's shooting had been completed before the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed.[44]

Shooting of the film resumed on 12 July 2021, following the relaxations of COVID-19 lockdown.[45] The team filmed few scenes in Chennai instead of Karaikudi.[46] During the shooting schedule, Victor, who worked as an assistant to Pandiraj, was detained by the police in Koyambedu and seized the rifles and pistols used in the film, which were later found out to be dummies. He was detained as he did not have proper documents for licensing.[47] In mid-July 2021, the team headed to Karaikkudi for shooting a 51-day long schedule with crucial sequences, and that was completed within September 2021.[48] The team then headed to Courtallam for the final and brief schedule of the film in mid-September 2021.[49]

At the end of the month, it was reported that two of the songs will be shot in Chennai and Goa, by October 2021, and upon completion of that, the team may wrap up filming.[50][51] However, one song which was directed by Jani Master was delayed, as the track had to be shot in a grand manner, with a huge star cast and also included extensive dance steps. As a result, the cast needed more time to prepare.[52][53] With the completion of patchwork scenes, the makers wrapped the shooting of the film on 10 November 2021, and Pandiraj shared the news through Twitter.[54] Post wrap-up, Suriya had gifted gold coins worth ₹1 crore (US$130,000) to the actors and technicians who worked in the film to make it a memorable experience for the team.[55]

Suriya at the dubbing session of the Telugu version of ET

Post-production works began during mid-November 2021, after completion of the film's production. Suriya began dubbing for the film on 17 November.[56] Vinay Rai completed dubbing for his role on 24 December 2021.[57] Post-production works were completed within late-December 2021, and the final copy was ready by January 2022. The film was submitted to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) where the film received U/A certificate. Several scenes featuring excessive violence were edited from the film, with the exception of a few action sequences.[58][59] In February 2022, Sun Pictures released a still featuring Suriya who gave his voice-over for the film's dubbed-Telugu version.[60]

Etharkkum Thunindhavan released in theatres on 10 March 2022.[1] The film was released in Tamil along with dubbed versions in Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, and Kannada languages.[87][88] This was Suriya's first theatrical release in three years as his previous films Soorarai Pottru and Jai Bhim were assigned direct-to-streaming releases via Amazon Prime Video.[89]

The film was initially scheduled for theatrical release on 24 December 2021, coinciding with the Christmas weekend.[90] However, in mid-October, reports surfaced that the film will be released a week prior to the originally slated date (17 December).[91][92] As Sun Pictures' other production, Beast (2022), which was originally scheduled to release on Pongal (14 January 2022), was postponed to April 2022 citing production delays, the makers planned for a release on that festival, since the difficulties in post-production meant that the film would not be released within Christmas.[93] However, on 19 November 2021, it was announced that the film would be theatrically released on 4 February 2022.[94][95] Etharkkum Thunindhavan was postponed from that date due to increase in COVID-19 cases.[1]

The film's distribution rights in Tamil Nadu were acquired by Udhayanidhi Stalin of Red Giant Movies.[96] Asian Multiplexes acquired the distribution rights for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states.[97] UFO Moviez acquired the distribution rights for North India.[82]

The satellite rights of the film were acquired by Sun TV Network,[98] while the digital rights were acquired jointly by Sun NXT and Netflix. The film was released on both platforms on 7 April 2022.[99]

The film entered the 100 Crore Club on its fifth day[100] and grossed ₹175–200 crore worldwide becoming one of the highest grossing Tamil films of the year.[101][102][103][104]

There were reports which suggested that the film fetched about ₹3.8 crore (US$480,000) in the state of Tamil Nadu and ₹5.50 lakh (US$6,900) from North India in its advance bookings for the opening day prior to release.[105]

Etharkkum Thunindhavan received positive reviews from critics.[106]

M Suganth of The Times of India, after reviewing the film gave 3 out of 5 stars stating that "The film is also aware about the greyness of vigilantism and extra-judicial killings. It shows us Kannabiran using the judicial route to get justice and only when all doors are closed does he take up the law in his own hands. We even get a line with Kannabiran stating that he knows the value of a life."[107] Ashameera Aiyappan of Firstpost after reviewing the film gave a rating of 3 out of 5 stating that "The film is also careful to not paint an idealistic, utopian dream. It acknowledges the deep personal trauma women face in such situations, the cruel judgements they are subjected to, and also how legal justice is almost inaccessible to most victims."[108] Manoj Kumar R. of The Indian Express gave a rating of 2.5 out of 5 stars stating that "At best, Etharkkum Thunindhavan feels like a rush job that whittles down a terrible real-life crime to the lowest common denominator."[109] Bhavana Sharma of Pinkvilla who gave a rating 2.5 out of 5 stars stated that "Surya's acting, action scenes and mass elevations, D.Imman's music are the assets of the film as a whole. So, only the audience who enjoys the peak with Surya fans & sentiments will like this movie. On the whole, for Surya Sivakumar , who always wins hearts, this film is worth a watch this weekend."[110]

Srinivasan Ramanujam of The Hindu after reviewing the film, stated that "The combination of Sathyaraj and Suriya, for the first time on the big screen, is charming no doubt, but there's little that comes out of those sequences. While Saranya breezes through the mother's role, Priyanka Mohan gets just one solid sequence. Vinay, who impressed in Sivakarthikeyan's Doctor, gets another similar role but doesn't have much to do beyond appearing on screen with villanous laughs. The final face-off has little sparkle. The comedy has little flavour. And the edit seems to have been done in a tearing hurry."[111] Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times praised the film, saying that "Suriya holds the film together with a very strong performance. If Jai Bhim saw Suriya deliver a restrained performance, he goes all out to in Etharkkum Thunindhavan to pander to the masses."[112] Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute gave 2 out of 5 stars stating that "Etharkkum Thunindhavan means the daredevil who is ready for anything. Is Suriya ready to lend a ear to this criticism and perhaps change his approach to cinema? Less preaching, more craft? Less saving, more listening?"[113]

Soundarya Athimuthu of The Quint wrote, "The dialogues of Etharkum Thuninthavan are a plus and a minus to the film. It is a mixed bag of cliche and noteworthy dialogues in almost equal proportions" She felt the antagonist was not fleshed out well and concluded, "While Etharkkum Thunindhavan is not perfect and has its own flaws, it is a decent attempt as a commercial entertainer with a social cause".[114] Shubham Kulkarni of Koimoi gave the film's rating 2.5 out of 5 and wrote that "People have a lot of expectations from Suriya who was almost in the race for the Oscars this year. But this is definitely not even close to the least expected things. Etharkkum Thunindhavan looks like a wannabe half baked movie that got lucky with the casting."[115] Ranjani Krishnakumar of Film Companion stated that "It doesn't help that Suriya feels miscast as Kannabiran. The speech, body language, mannerisms, and naughtiness feel more like Karthi's zone. Suriya is too stiff to be goofy, too upright to be shady, too clear-headed to be vulnerable. He is at his best when he's being the morally unambiguous vigilante, but can barely be convincing as the horny young man rushing to a song-and-dance show. This makes it appear like Suriya is walking in and out of character, making Etharkkum Thunindhavan an overall tough watch."[116]