Beast (2022 Indian film)

2022 Indian film by NelsonTemplate:SHORTDESC:2022 Indian film by Nelson
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Theatrical release poster

***Beast*** is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by Nelson and produced by Sun Pictures. The film stars Vijay and Pooja Hegde, leading an ensemble cast including Selvaraghavan, Shine Tom Chacko, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley, VTV Ganesh, Shaji Chen, Aparna Das, Sathish Krishnan, Lilliput and Ankur Ajit Vikal. It revolves around an ex-RAW agent's crusade to rescue people held hostage in a shopping mall by terrorists.

The production rights of Vijay's 65th film as lead actor, which was tentatively titled *Thalapathy 65*, were acquired by Sun Pictures in early January 2020, and the film was set to be written and directed by AR Murugadoss. However, the producers ousted Murugadoss from the film in October 2020, after he refused to cut his remuneration. Nelson was later hired, and wrote a new script for the film.

With an official announcement during December 2020, the film began principal photography in April 2021, and wrapped that December. It was shot across various locations in Chennai, including a specially designed set resembling that of a shopping mall where most of the film was shot, whilst sporadic schedules took place in Delhi and Georgia. The music was composed by Anirudh, cinematography was handled by Manoj Paramahamsa, editing by R. Nirmal and production design supervised by D. R. K. Kiran, respectively.

*Beast* was released in theatres on 13 April 2022. The film received mixed reviews from critics with praise towards the cast performances, action sequences, cinematography, production design, music, background score and Nelson's direction while the pacing, predictability and uneven screenplay received criticism. Despite this, it grossed over Template:INRConvert.

## Plot

Veera Raghavan, an Indian RAW agent is assigned to capture the terrorist Umar Farooq in Kashmir. While he successfully manages to do so, a missile shot by him to prevent Farooq's escape kills a child whom he knew. The event traumatizes Veera, who quits RAW.

11 months later, Veera is still reeling from the after-effects of the child's death and has developed PTSD. He meets Preethi at a wedding, who convinces him to join her security company *Dominic & Soldiers* headed by Dominic Irudhayaraj. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government receives information about a major terrorist attack planned in Chennai.

Along with Preethi and Irudhayaraj, Veera visits the East Coast mall, which is the last client of their agency where he observes suspicious activities in the mall and deduces that someone else has taken over it. The terrorists dressed as Santa Claus hijack the mall. Veera, Preethi, and a few others hide unharmed inside an unopened restaurant.

The government, led by Veera's ex-associate Althaf Hussain, tries to negotiate with the terrorists, who demand the release of Farooq. Althaf learns that Veera is also trapped inside the mall, and manages to establish contact with him. Althaf tries to convince Veera to help them. Veera, initially hesitant, is convinced when he realizes that the terrorists are here for Farooq. He kills one of the terrorists, captures another one alive, and brings him to their hideout.

Veera manages to infiltrate the terrorists and eliminates a few of them. The Home Minister, who is in league with the terrorists, gets them to stage the execution of his wife and daughter Aparna, who are also in the mall, on live TV. The government yields and agrees to release Farooq, but Veera retaliates and kidnaps Aparna and her mother by pretending to be a Bangladeshi militant to confuse the terrorists and he threatens to kill them if Farooq is released.

Umar Saif, who is the leader of the terrorists and Umar Farooq's brother, senses his impending defeat and seemingly gives up, only to slip among the crowd pretending to be a hostage. Saif soon figures out Veera's real identity, forcing him and his aides to give up and capture all of them. With the help of Aparna, Veera manages to escape and executes Saif and the terrorists while making sure the hostages escape to safety.

The Home Minister is arrested for his involvement with the terrorists. Meanwhile, amidst all the negotiation, Farooq was released. A month later, Veera finds and captures him in PoK and after surviving a long air chase against the Pakistan Air Force, manages to bring him back to India to have him arrested. Weeks later, Veera, Preethi, and the rest of his crew celebrate their escapades in Goa.

## Cast

* Vijay as Agent "Veera" Veeraraghavan, a former RAW field operative.
* Pooja Hegde as Preethi, Veera's love interest and Ramachandran's ex-fiancée.
* Selvaraghavan as Althaf Hussain, Veera's former colleague and the Deputy National Security Advisor.
* Shine Tom Chacko as a terrorist who sides with Veera.
* Yogi Babu as Jill
* Redin Kingsley as Jack
* VTV Ganesh as Dominic Irudhayaraj, Veera's and Preethi's boss and the chairman of *Dominic and Soldiers*, a security company.
* Shaji Chen as the Home Minister
* Aparna Das as Aparna, the Home Minister's daughter and an IPS trainee.
* Sathish Krishnan as Ramachandran, Preethi's ex-fiancée.
* Lilliput as Umar Farooq, the head of a terrorist organization.
* Ankur Ajit Vikal as Umar Saif, the leader of the mall hijack group and Umar Farooq's brother.
* Pawan Chopra as Madhav Singh, the National Security Advisor of India.
* Prudhvi Raj as Veera's psychiatrist
* Sunil Reddy as Mahaali, a local gangster whom Ramachandran hires to intimidate Veera.
* Shiva Arvind as Killi, Mahaali's sidekick and a rather shrewd gangster.
* Sujatha Babu as Aparna's mother
* Subbalakshmi as a hostage
* Cell Murugan as the Home Minister's assistant

Additionally, director Nelson, music composer Anirudh, cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa, choreographer Jani, and Bjorn Surrao appear in cameo appearances as themselves in the song "Jolly O Gymkhana".

## Production

### Pre-production

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TBA

## Release

*Beast* was released in theatres on 13 April 2022, in the week of Puthandu. Apart from Tamil, the film had dubbed versions in Hindi (titled *Raw*), Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. The distribution rights for Tamil Nadu are held by Red Giant Movies. The Telugu version is distributed by Sri Venkateswara Creations, Suresh Productions and Asian Cinemas, the Malayalam version by Magic Frames, the Kannada version by Dheeraj Enterprises, and the Hindi version by UFO Moviez. Ayngaran International holds the overseas distribution rights, except for Singapore and Gulf where the rights are with Home Screen Entertainment. The film was banned in Kuwait and Qatar, though an official explanation was not provided. *Beast* did not release in Karur district of Tamil Nadu due to a dispute between Karur theatre owners and distributors over the quoted price for the film.

The first look poster of *Beast* which released on 21 June 2021, shared through Vijay's official Twitter account, was the most liked and retweeted tweet in the entertainment section, according to a survey report by Twitter.

### Home media

*Beast* was made available for streaming from 11 May 2022 on Sun NXT and on Netflix in Tamil and dubbed versions of Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada languages.

## References

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1. ↑ [TBA Fans crash the CBFC website for Vijay's 'Beast' censor details] (22 March 2022).
2. ↑ Srinivasan, Latha (2 April 2022). [TBA Thalapathy Vijay: A superstar's journey, from child actor to action hero].
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 [TBA 'Beast' box office collection: Vijay scores fifth consecutive Rs 250 crores] (7 May 2022).
4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Pokkiri`
5. ↑ [TBA Pooja Hegde speaks about her character in 'Beast'] (11 April 2022).
6. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>[TBA "Vijay's 'Beast' to release on April 13"] Check `|url=` value (help). *The Hindu*. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022. Check `|archive-url=` value (help)
7. ↑ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters **url** and **title** must be specified.
8. ↑ [TBA Beast movie : பீஸ்ட் மோடில் உதயநிதி ஸ்டாலின்... ரஜினி, சூர்யாவை தொடர்ந்து விஜய் படத்தையும் தட்டித்தூக்கினார்] (ta) (23 March 2022).
9. ↑ Prapul (24 March 2022). [TBA Thalapathy Vijay's Beast run time is locked]. NTV.
10. ↑ Error on call to Template:cite web: Parameters **url** and **title** must be specified.
11. ↑ Sushmetha (24 March 2022). [TBA Beast Karnataka rights acquired by Dheeraj Enterprises].
12. ↑ [TBA BREAKING: Hindi version of Vijay's Beast expected to release in around 600-700 screens, despite CLASHING with KGF 2 and Jersey] (4 April 2022).
13. ↑ Sushmetha (30 March 2022). [TBA Beast UAE & GCC Rights Bagged by Valimai Distributor].
14. ↑ [TBA Vijay-Starrer Beast Banned in Kuwait. Will Malaysia Follow Suit?] (5 April 2022).
15. ↑ [TBA After Kuwait, Vijay's 'Beast' gets banned in Qatar] (10 April 2022).
16. ↑ [TBA No theatrical release for 'Beast' in Karur district; fans disappointed] (13 April 2022).
17. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>[TBA "Vijay's 'Beast' first look update is top Indian Entertainment tweet of 2021"] Check `|url=` value (help). *The Hindu*. 9 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021. Check `|archive-url=` value (help)
18. ↑ [TBA Vijay's Beast now streaming, set to end box office run in profits] (11 May 2022).

## External links

* Template:IMDb

Template:Nelson (director)