The Legend (2022 film)

The Legend New Saravana Stores Productions[2] company announced a project with J. D.–Jerry as the directors which marks their comeback to directing and with Legend Saravanan in the lead role which would mark his debut as an actor in this film after he previously appeared in ad films of his store with multiple heroines of the film industry present in the ad.[3][4] It would also marks the first production venture of the businessman-turned actor's production. On 3 March 2022, the title of the film was announced to be The Legend along with the first look and motion poster of the film being released.[4] It was reported that the first look of the film would be released at Cannes Film Festival.[5][6]

Pattukkottai Prabakar was announced to be writing the dialogues and Harris Jayaraj was announced to compose the music which marks his comeback to composing after Kaappaan while R. Velraj and Ruben were announced to be handling cinematography and editing respectively. It was also reported that SS Moorthy was bought in as the art director, while Raju Sundaram, Brindha, and Dinesh have been roped in as choreographers of the film.[7] Initially, it was reported that the film would be a bilingual film made in Tamil and Hindi languages, however these reports proved to be false.[8]

Legend Saravanan was reported to play the role of a scientist,[10] while Urvashi Rautela who appeared predominantly in Hindi films, was cast as the female lead, marking her debut in Tamil cinema. She will be seen playing the role of a microbiologist — an IITian in the film. Actress Geethika Tiwari was also announced to play another female lead in this film.[9] Suman is also playing a negative role in this film called VJ a filthy medical mafia who is very evil and cruel.[11] The film also has an ensemble cast of actors including Nassar, Vivek, Vijayakumar, Prabhu, Livingston, Yogi Babu, Robo Shankar, Sachu, Vamsi Krishna, Latha, Deepa Shankar, Hareesh Peradi, Singampuli, Mayilswamy, Besant Ravi and Mansoor Ali Khan in other pivotal roles. Actresses Raai Laxmi and Yashika Aannand were signed on to make special appearances in the songs "Vaadi Vaasal" and "Mosalo Mosalu" respectively.[12]

The film has been shot at various locations abroad, apart from Chennai, Pollachi, and the Himalayas. The team shot a song at a set made on a cost of ₹30 crore.[13]

The Legend was released theatrically on 28 July 2022.[26] It was initially slated that the film would be released theatrically on 1 July 2022.[27] However, there were reports suggesting that the film would release on 15 July 2022.[28] However the release date was postponed.[29]

The theatrical rights of the film in Tamil Nadu was brought by Gopuram Cinemas.[30] The distribution rights of the film in Kerala was brought by Magic Frames,[31] while the worldwide distribution rights were acquired by AP International.[32]

The satellite rights of the film sold to Star Vijay and the digital rights are acquired by Disney+ Hotstar.[32] The film was premiered on Disney+ Hotstar from 3 March 2023 in Tamil and dubbed versions of Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi languages.

On day 4, of its release the film collected ₹6 crore.[33] The film started streaming in the Disney+ Hotstar on 3 March 2023, where it went on to collect more than ₹65 crores in total revenue with its theatrical and OTT releases combined.[34][35][36]

The Legend received negative reviews from critics.

Avinash Ramachandran of Cinema Express gave the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote "For the uninitiated, the film might be just one big joke, but honestly, Saravanan and team clearly know what they wanted to do with The Legend. They are all in on the joke, and so are we."[37] Pinkvilla gave the film’s rating 2 out of 5 and stated "Harris Jayaraj's music is pretty decent. R Velraj's cinematography is another plus. SS Moorthy's art direction is respectable. The dance choreographers (Raju Sundaram, Brinda, Dinesh) is better than the stock stunts by Anl Arasu."[38]

M Suganth of The Times of India gave the film 1.5 out of 5 and stated that "The one thing that JD-Jery get right is in glossing their product to hide its two major shortcomings - writing and lead performances. The film is mounted on a scale that reminds us of big-star movies from the 2000s, and even the plastic visual tone (R Velraj is the cinematographer), and grand but empty score (by Harris Jayaraj) are from that time. Alas, if only had they spent some of the money that they have splashed on the needless songs and stunts for the writing! Forget a wannabe star like Saravanan, even a bona fide superstar like Rajinikanth wouldn't have managed to save this vanity project."[39] Bharathy Singaravel of The News Minute rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Such as putting on display every possible stunt sequence Kollywood has conceived of over the years. To keep pace, Harris Jayraj’s music desperately tries to inflate all the mass moments Saravanan desires. At a run-time of 2 hours 40 minutes, The Legend starts off laughable and quickly becomes unendurably grating. Opinions may differ, but even as a film so awful it could become iconically bad, it fails. It has its utterly charmless hero to thank for that."[40]

Bhuvaneshvar Chander of The Hindu wrote "Sadly, The Legend also fails to consistently be hilarious in its long 160-minute runtime. On top of it all, this is also a film that ridiculously uses Vivekh, even making one feel guilty for disliking the role of the late legendary actor."[41] Kirubhakar Prabhakaran of The Indian Express gave the film 1 out of 5 stars and wrote "The innate problem of The Legend is that it’s not a movie but a set piece to propel Saravanan into stardom. Even the well-intended story about taking on the medical mafia is exploited to serve the hero. All the scenes are carefully crafted to exalt the hero, and it is saddening and excruciating to see these renowned actors reduced to auxiliary templates with only one objective – to hype up the hero. JD and Jerry have made much better ad films, and The Legend ends up as an elaborate and expensive addition to their stable. The pseudo movie aims to sell Saravanan Arul as a star. Unfortunately, the attempt is in vain since stars – both cinematic and celestial – cannot be designed."[42]

Jayadeep Jayesh of Deccan Herald rated the film 1 out of 5 and wrote "Haris Jayaraj’s music does not reflect his best work. Sloppy VFX and over-saturated cinematography are also minuses of the film. A few self-aware jokes would have made ‘The Legend’ a moderately enjoyable spoof of the vintage ‘masala film’. But the film takes itself way too seriously."[43].