Mankatha

Mankatha
Overview
Directed by :    Venkat Prabhu
Produced by :   Dhayanidhi Alagiri,Vivek Rathnavel
Screenplay by:  Venkat Prabhu
Story by:          Venkat Prabhu
Starring:         Ajith Kumar
                       Arjun
                       Trisha Krishnan
                       Vaibhav Reddy
                       Premji Amaren
                       Mahat Raghavendra
                       Ashwin Kakumanu
                       Lakshmi Rai
                      Andrea Jeremiah
                      Anjali
Music by:               Yuvan Shankar Raja
Cinematography:     Sakthi Saravanan
Editing by:              Praveen K. L.,N. B. Srikanth
Studio:                   Cloud Nine Movies
Distributed by:       Sun Pictures,Radaan Mediaworks,Ayngaran International
Release date(s):     August 31, 2011 (2011-08-31) (Worldwide)
Running time:        149 minutes
Country:               India
Language:            Tamil
Box office:           INR35 crore(3 day collection)
Mankatha

Mankatha (Tamil: மங்காத்தா) is a 2011 Tamil action thriller film written and directed by Venkat Prabhu.It features Ajith Kumar in the lead role, starring in his 50th film,along with an ensemble cast including Arjun, Trisha Krishnan, Vaibhav Reddy, Lakshmi Rai, Andrea Jeremiah, Premji Amaren and Anjali. It was produced by Dhayanidhi Alagiri's Cloud Nine Movies while Yuvan Shankar Raja composed the musical score and soundtrack, with Sakthi Saravanan working as the cinematographer and the duo Praveen K. L. and N. B. Srikanth as editors.

The film was formally launched in August 2010,with its principal photography beginning on October 25, 2010. Filming was held for more than eight months and took place primarily across Chennai, the Dharavi slum in Mumbai and Bangkok, Thailand. The film released on August 31, 2011 worldwide to generally positive reviews,while marking the second highest-grossing opening for a Tamil film
Cast

    * Ajith Kumar as Vinayak Mahadevan
    * Arjun as Prithviraj
    * Trisha Krishnan as Sanjana Arumugam
    * Vaibhav as Sumanth
    * Mahat Raghavendra as Mahat
    * Premji Amaren as Prem
    * Ashwin Kakumanu as Ganesh
    * Jayaprakash as Arumuga Chettiyar
    * Lakshmi Rai as Sona
    * Aravind Akash as Faizal
    * Subbu Panchu as Kamal Ekambaram/Praveen Kumar
    * Anjali as Suchitra Sumanth
    * Andrea Jeremiah as Sabitha Prithviraj
    * Vijay Vasanth in a special appearance
    * Kainaat Arora in a special appearance
    * Debi Dutta in a special appearance
Production
Development

Following the release of his film Aasal in February 2010, Ajith Kumar was signed by Dhayanidhi Alagiri's Cloud Nine Movies for a project touted to be directed by Gautham Menon.However, as Ajith Kumar participated in the 2010 season of the FIA Formula Two Championship, Gautham Menon, unwilling to wait, decided to shelve the film and opted to focus on another project,which prompted Venkat Prabhu, who was keen on making a multi-starrer film featuring top stars, to sign the actor in his next film, after the director saw moderate success with his previous film, Goa.Prabhu had written three scripts, out of which the actor chose Mankatha, in which he would portray a character "with grey shades".Venkat Prabhu later disclosed that Ajith Kumar was never considered for the role when he wrote the first draft of the script but that he kept his "usual gang of boys in mind" while creating the characters.Vaibhav Reddy suggested that a "big hero" should play the protagonist, with Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi and Sathyaraj being considered first for the role.Ajith Kumar had called Prabhu at that time and expressed interest in performing a role similar to The Joker character played by Heath Ledger in the 2008 English film The Dark Knight. With the protagonist role in Mankatha incidentally being such a character, Ajith immediately accepted the role, turning the film into a high-profile production.

The film officially commenced on 2 August 2010 with the formal launch and a simple pooja held at the AVM Studios, Chennai, coinciding with Ajith Kumar's 18th anniversary of his entry into the film industry.The film's title, initially being Mangaatha, derived from a popular Indian traditional card game, underwent a minor change in its spelling, due to numerological reasons.During the pre-production stage, while Prabhu was still working on the scriptment, sources claimed the film to be on the lines of Steven Soderbergh's crime thriller Ocean Eleven (2001).The story was later revealed to revolve around a Mafia gang gambling during the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket season.In June 2011, reports emerged that the film was a remake of the 2008 Hindi film Jannat that was based on match fixing.However, both Dhayanidhi and Venkat Prabhu quickly denied the news and assured that Mankatha was original.Upon completion of filming, Prabhu named it "his favourite film so far" and "close to my heart".
Casting

The film is supposed to be a "multi-starrer", with several leading South Indian actors expected to appear in this film, which is a rare occurrence and would be the first of its kind in the Tamil film industry.Telugu actor Nagarjuna was first approached to essay a powerful character as a CBI officer,being initially confirmed by the director during the launch of the film.He had also conveyed interest in remaking the film into Telugu and playing Ajith Kumar's role in return, but since he couldn't adjust his call sheet, he was forced to pull out,with Arjun replacing him in November 2010.Nandha later stated that he was offered the role as well, but had to reject it since he was busy shooting for Vellore Maavattam.In an interview from August 2010, Venkat Prabhu had affirmed that Mohan Babu's son, Manoj Manchu, Ganesh Venkatraman, Venkat Prabhu's younger brother, Premji Amaren, who had been part of all his brothers' films, and a newcomer Mahat Raghavendra, a childhood friend of producer Dhayanidhi Alagiri,were signed to portray Ajith Kumar's sidekicks in the film.However, Manoj Manchu couldn't accept the offer due to a shoulder injury and was eventually replaced by Vaibhav Reddy, appearing in the third consecutive Venkat Prabhu film,while in December 2010, sources revealed that newcomer Ashwin Kakumanu, who previously was seen in Nadunisi Naaygal, was roped in for the fourth role, replacing Ganesh Venkatraman.

Prabhu termed the film as "male-oriented", attaching less importance and significance to the female characters in the film.Early reports suggested that Samantha Ruth Prabhu,and Anushka Shetty were initially approached for the lead female roles,while in July 2010, reports surfaced that Neetu Chandra,and Lakshmi Rai were supposedly signed for the roles.However, the following month Neetu Chandra opted out of the film,refusing the project due to unavailability of dates.She was replaced by Trisha Krishnan, pairing with Ajith Kumar for the third time,with Lakshmi Rai being confirmed later, who was signed to play an important and "lengthy role".Earlier, reports had claimed that Sri Lankan model and actress Jacqueline Fernandez was also roped in for a guest role.In November 2010, Sneha was reported to be added to the cast to be paired opposite Arjun,however the role was later finalized with Andrea Jeremiah portraying that character, who had declined the role first, but accepted later after being paid INR 20 lakhs as remuneration for shooting six days.She was also expected to perform a song for the soundtrack album as well.

Other additions to the cast in the following months included Subbu Panchu, who rose to fame with his appearance in Boss Engira Bhaskaran and would essay a police officer character,Jayaprakash, enacting also a character with negative shades as the father of Trisha's character,and Anjali, playing Vaibhav's pair.Sources claimed that Venkat Prabhu himself would also enact a pivotal role in the film,while reports suggesting that Vijay would appear in a cameo role were dismissed by the producer, who clarified that Vijay Vasanth would appear in a pivotal role.Concerning the film crew, Venkat Prabhu renewed his previous associations with his cousin Yuvan Shankar Raja, for the background score and soundtrack of Mankatha,Sakthi Saravanan, who would handle the cinematography, and Praveen K. L., who along with N. B. Srikanth, would take care of the editing.Vasuki Bhaskar and Kalyan remained the costume designer and the main choreographer, respectively, with Shoby joining the latter for a couple of songs, while Selva was assigned as the stunt coordinator.
Filming

The film was launched on 2 August 2010 at AVM Studios in Vadapalani, Chennai in a simple manner,following which the film's shooting commenced with the principal photography.The first schedule of filming was supposed to begin by early September,but due to pre-production works and since the principal cast was not decided yet, the shooting got delayed further,finally commencing on 25 October in Chennai.Several days earlier, a test shoot was conducted with Premji Amaren, Mahat Raghavendra and Vaibhav Reddy taking part in it.Following shoots, involving Ajith Kumar, Trisha and Premji, along the Rajiv Gandhi Salai (OMR),and at Ajith's home,a duet song, picturized on Ajith Kumar and Trisha, featuring CGI special effects, was filmed in early November,in a Chennai studio nearby the East Coast Road.From 10 November onwards, the "introduction" song was shot for five days in Bangkok, Thailand, with Ajith Kumar, Lakshmi Rai and some foreigners participating.

The film's second schedule was planned to begin on 6 December 2010 in a studio in Chennai,which was slightly delayed due to heavy rain,and started couple of days later.This led to speculation that the film had been shelved due to financial constraints, which was quickly denied by Venkat Prabhu.During the schedule, all important stunt sequences were canned at Binny Mills in Perambur,while simultaneously a grand set, resembling the Dharavi slum in Mumbai was errected in a Chennai studio.Ajith Kumar also performed one of the action choreographies with the use of a body mounted camera, weighing around 30 kgs.In late December, the third song, a "high-spirited peppy number", was shot for five days, with Shobi choreographing the steps.An item number, titled "Machi, Open The Bottle", it featured actresses Debi Dutta and Kainaat Arora dancing to the song along with Ajith Kumar and the rest of the gang.The schedule was wrapped up by early February,with which approximately fifty per cent of the film was reportedly completed.

The remaining part of the film was supposedly to be shot during the third and last schedule to be held in Mumbai, which was to start in late February.However, sourced clarified that the subsequent schedule, too, would be held in Chennai only,with filming being carried on at the Padmanabha Theatre in North Chennai.In late March, the crew eventually moved to Mumbai, where the filming was held for nearly two weeks,mostly at the Dharavi slum.The climax portion was planned to be filmed at Madurai, which was considered as "apt" for the "action-oriented" sequence, but was eventually filmed in Chennai as well, while the remaining scenes were to be canned in Hyderabad.During the first week of June, Ajith had reportedly completed his portion, with his last day shoot being held in Hyderabad,while sources confirmed that filming was still being carried on later that month in Hyderabad.Shooting was further extended,with the crew leaving for Bangkok again in late June for a ten-day schedule to shoot the pending scenes, including a lenghty fight sequence and a song, involving Premji and Lakshmi Rai.Despite earlier announcement that Ajith had finished his portions, a "special scene" featuring Ajith in a different look was filmed on one day during the first week of July.By June 10, 2011, the crew returned to Chennai and announced the completion of the entire filming.
Mankatha's post-production works commenced by mid-June 2011,and were carried on for over one month. Earlier, an animation sequence lasting about 4 minutes was being created by specialized technicians,while CGI special effects were included in a song and action scenes, which was cited as the reason for the delay.By early August, all actors but Ajith Kumar had finished dubbing for their characters,including Trisha who on Venkat Prabhu insistence spoke dubbing for herself in the film,becoming only the third film to feature her original voice.Rekhs, who had previously subtitled films including Enthiran and Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, subtitled Mankatha during the first week of August,while Yuvan Shankar Raja worked on the re-recording,being assisted by Premji.
Marketing

Even before beginning the principal photography, a short teaser trailer was shot on the day of the launch itself, since it coincided with Aadi Perukku and was considered an auspicious day.The teaser was screened during the intermission of Naan Mahaan Alla, another Cloud Nine Movies distribution that released on 20 August 2010.During Diwali 2010, the first official posters of Mankatha were published in newspapers.A teaser featuring the song "Vilaiyaadu Mankatha" was released on Ajith Kumar's birthday, on May 1, 2011 on YouTube,after plans of releasing the film or the soundtrack on that day had failed.As the teaser garnered high response, the song was released as a single track on 20 May 2011, creating positive media response
Music
The film score and soundtrack of Mankatha were composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja,becoming his fourth collaboration with Venkat Prabhu and Ajith Kumar as well.The soundtrack, consists of eight tracks, including one Theme music track and one club mix, with lyrics penned by Vaali, and Gangai Amaran and renowned poet Subramanya Bharathi's grandson, Niranjan Bharathi.As earlier done in Saroja and Goa, a promotional track was composed for Mankatha too,which was not included in the soundtrack album. Titled "Vilaiyaadu Mankatha", the promotional track was released in mid-May 2011.The music rights were bagged by Sony Music who had reportedly offered INR 1 crores.The soundtrack album, following several postponements,was released on August 10, 2011 at Radio Mirchi's Chennai station,while two days later the team arranged a press meet, showcasing two songs and the trailer of the film.The album was reported to have achieved record breaking sales.
Tracklist
No.     Title     Length
1.     "Vilaiyaadu Mankatha"       6:02
2.     "Nee Naan"                       4:07
3.     "Vaada Bin Lada"               4:29
4.     "Machi Open The Bottle"       4:46
5.     "Nanbane"                       5:02
6.     "Balle Lakka"               5:15
7.     "Vilaiyaadu Mankatha-mix"       6:05
8.     "Theme Music"               3:04
Release
During the late production stage, reports indicated that Mankatha faced "political pressure" following the change in government after the 2011 Tamil Nadu legislative assembly election,with sources claiming that the film did not find any buyers in Tamil Nadu, since it was produced by the grandson of DMK president M. Karunanidhi.Cloud Nine Movies began negotiations with other production houses to sell the domestical theatrical rights, however talks with UTV Motion Pictures and Gemini Film Circuit resulted in failure.On August 22, 2011, Gnanavelraja confirmed that his production house Studio Green, had purchased the Indian domestic theatrical and the television rights of the film at an undisclosed record amount.

However in a turn of events, Studio Green cancelled the deal the very next day due to "various reasons" which Gnanavel Raja did not want to elaborate, in spite of posters in newspapers featuring Studio Green's logo.Times of India reported that Azhagiri bought back the rights, since Gnanavel Raja had planned to sell the satellite rights to Jaya TV, a channel run by the opposition party, AIADMK.On August 24, Azhagiri announced that Kalanidhi Maran's Sun Pictures had bought the theatrical and satellite rights of the film and would distribute it along with Cloud Nine Movies.Udhayanidhi Stalin was said to have negotiated the deal and united the production houses to release the film jointly.Mankatha thus became the first Ajith Kumar film under Sun Pictures' banner as well as their first release after the assembly election.Actress Raadhika Sarathkumar's Radaan Mediaworks distributed the film to Tamil Nadu theatres.

Dhayanidhi Azhagiri announced that the film would be a worldwide release with subtitles in English, simultaneously opening across Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada and many other parts of Middle East and Europe.The film became scheduled for a release on September 1, 2011 in order to cash in on the Vinayaka Chaturthi-Ramadan weekend,before Ayngaran International eventually finalized August 31, 2011 as the release date in overseas theatres few days later.In the United States, the film was released at 34 theatres.

The film was given a U/A (Parental guide) certificate by the Indian censor board on August 23, 2011, and passed without any cuts,while few words were bleeped.One week later, the British Board of Film Classification issued a 15 certificate with an advice that it "contains strong threat and violence".
Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews, with critics unanimously lauding Ajith Kumar's performance. MovieCrow aggregate rating for Mankatha is 64% based on critic and audience reviews.IndiaGlitz wrote: "In Mankatha, Ajith pulls it off with his impeccable style and excellent performance, which is aptly supported by a racy script and brilliant execution by director Venkat Prabhu and his team" and termed the film as "'Attagasam' of a 'Villain'".Behindwoods gave it 3 out of 5, while citing: "Ajith's 'Golden' gamble with Venkat that has paid off.The Hindu critic Malathi Rangarajan called it a "gutsy" and "engaging game of cat and mouse that springs several surprises", adding that Venkat Prabhu had "laid out a filling spread this time".Anupama Subramanian of Deccan Chronicle rated it 3 out of 5 as well, claiming that Ajith "sparkles in his 50th film".Rediff's reviewer Pavithra Srinivasan gave the film 2.5 out of 5 and noted that the film worked "only because of Ajith", praising his performance, writing that he had "carried practically the whole film on his capable shoulders".Sify's critic highlighted that Ajith "steals the thunder and plays the emotionless bad man, to perfection", further adding that he looked "smashing and his scorching screen presence is unmatchable", while the reviewer criticized the script as being "dull".Nowrunning.com gave the film a 2 out of 5, stating that "Mankatha doesn't stand on independent merit. It rests on the fanboy's identity crisis".