This movie has been in the making for a decade or more and its totally worth it and understandable! Every character, scene, dialogue means something and its so well etched that you have to accept it sets a benchmark for regional cinema. It is comparable to all the great gangster dramas that world has produced like the untouchables, godfather, and our own nayagan, satya and gangs of wasseypur. Amusing that directors find their best work in describing crime from its origin to effect.

Yes, this movie describes a reluctant young man's journey through the slums surrounded by crooks eventually into a leader and ganglord and is inspired by all those movies listed above. What stood out were few things among many, how the director has given attention to detail right from cinematography to dialogue to time period it feels as if the tale is unscripted, the superb acting from all the cast led by Dhanush, the editing which deserves multiple awards for carrying out non linear story telling with aplomb, the music which is not jarring and giea with the flow and above all the direction which is a cut above the rest taking the best out if his crew Vetri maaran gives his best work here.

Enjoy the intensity, political satire (for eg when a character asks if rajiv gandhi succeeded mgr as prime minister) the lawlessness, the dilemma of who or what is right and wrong, is it all by design or free will and many other uncomfortable questions.

You will definitely root for the lead character and have many moments with tears in your eyes and lump in your throat!

Vetrimaaran And Dhanush Are best Combo. saNa BGM osm same fire as Kaala. Everyone has done their acting well. My Fav Us Anbu The Anchor

Please don't wounder if this movie becomes a cult classic in next 10 years. The story has been crafted with attention to detail. Movies like this keeps the young generation directors motivated. Actors appearing in each and every frame has done their job with perfection. The craftsmanship of vettri maran has taken the movie to the next level. Please do watch the movie in theaters.

movie is very interesting and very detailed

I'm really sleepy now but could not imagine going to sleep without writing a very brief review about "Vada Chennai" (North Chennai). The fourth film directed by Vetrimaaran. This year has been great for Tamil Cinema. Kolamaavu kokila, Chekka chivandha vaanam (okay type), '96, pariyerum perumaal, raatchasan and Vada Chennai.

When I watched Prem Kumar's debut film '96 two weeks ago, I felt that it would definitely play the role of a "reference film" for future directors planning on making a romantic film. For future/budding directors planning to make a gangster film this MUST be your reference. We've seen various gangster films in Tamil, but Vada Chennai is a class apart. This is a pure EPIC. Such a complex script and screenplay but at the same time understandable. If you're planning to watch this film (which I highly recommend), I suggest that you first watch the previous works of Vetrimaaran. This movie has the essence of "POLLADHAVAN" - an innocent lower-middle class young adult fighting gangsters who stole his bike, "AADUKALAM" - politics/war with a game as the base (carrom board in this one and cock-fight in the former), "VISAARANAI" - prison scenes. The film has such strong female characters who are not the typical female leads you see in a South Indian cinema. (Sorry feminists)

Songs were so apt and perfectly placed. Although Dhanush is an amazing dancer I was surprised that he did not dance in this film which he did in both the previous films of Vetrimaran. Dhanush really deserves appreciation for not wanting to add so much weight to the story (but of course that's what the script demanded). This movie's making has demanded a detailed research on the lives of people living in Northern Madras. Their culture, dialect ("Fowder" for powder, "flayer" for player, "ports" for sports, "tation" for station etc) etc captured on-screen so perfectly. Incidents such as the death of Rajiv Gandhi, death of MGR etc simply flows with the story. The last North Madras based film I enjoyed was "MADRAS" which was a great attempt as well. Don't think even a film maker with a North Madras Origin could make a movie as good as "Vada Chennai".

A particular scene reminded me of "Pudhupettai" as well which is one of my favorite Tamil gangster films. Some vintage scenes reminded me of "Kammattipaadam" with people in funny hairstyles and bell bottoms riding Yezdis. In this film Dhanush plays only ONE OF THE major parts. Samuthrakani, Ameer, Kishore, Andrea, Aishwarya Rajesh and Dhanush help Vetrimaaran hold this 2.45 hrs long film so brilliantly.

The reason I was looking forward to this one is the Vetrimaaran-Dhanush combo. I wouldn't be surprised if Dhanush or for that matter any of the actors win a National award once again for a Vetrimaaran's film (the previous one being Dhanush winning National award for the best actor for Aadukalam).

The film is rated "A" and of course I noticed that the families (husband, wife and teenage kids) dint enjoy as much as the bachelors. Who knows!!!

Eagerly waiting for the sequel which should be out in 2019. In the end I kept wondering "how daring Vetrimaaran is to even think of making a film as massive as Vada Chennai. Another Vetrimaaran brilliance!!!! Dude only gets better and better every time.

Dhanush acting is awesome, everyone is done superb, fight scene, Mass bgm each and every seconds. Waiting for #vadachennai2

The story starts with a murder without revealing the victim.The huge plus of the movie was it's screenplay.Top notch performance by every character in the film.Dhanush had lived the character of Anbu.All the changes in Anbu were so real.This story makes you a part of it in which you have to decide your side.All actors in the movie had given their best of their career.This movie gives you a feel like "why did it end".

This is the first Raw and Hard Story Gansgter movie in Kollywood

The movie is high in reality. each and every character has it own importance. Left theater in heavy heart. Vetrimaaran has a writer and director rocks at every scene and background voice. No body could done Dhanush role better than him.

As the title reads, the characters in the movie also are complicated because of love. Love for the power, love for the people, love for status and love for money. And as the lead character name itself is Anbu(meaning love) how can his life be simpler. Part 1 is mainly focused on how 'Anbu' is dragged into the world of darkness. The Staging of scenes are done very realistically, which even more boost up the intensity of the film. Director does his best job by portraying the actual rawness of the place.Talking about the camera work for the first few minutes, the camera movement was very visible but later as film goes on, the camera movement becomes static which gives a essence of looking through the eye of the characters in the movie. The Beauty of the film is the action sequence, it is precisely choreographed. And talking about the background music, it just blends with visual. On whole the film is engaging with all the aspects of life, the love sequences of the film doesn't disturb the engaging narration, instead it makes it even more better, this is the best part of the film. More than a film about gangster, it is film about life. The cast of the film did their best work. The one reason which holds the film back is the 'A rated' certificate which keeps away many people from going to the theatre.

One and only best gangster Film of the Indian cinema.... Character specialisation is extraordinary.... Actor Dhanush performance is main part of the success...

Dhanush not a acting he living in vadachennai movie vettri Maran story and screen play is awesome in movie every single actor selection is great they are very good acting

Real vada chennai DHANUSH vera level Andrea and iswarya supr acting Ameer mass character Worth to watch sana25 music theme vera level

Vada Chennai is fantastic movie ever I have seen this movie is fabulous vada Chennai vada Chennai vada Chennai vada Chennai

A perfect film is the one that can involve the audiences into the story.Vada chennai is one such blended masterpiece.Every scene will have reality in it.Every scene teaches something to the audience, eg:the lives of prisoners .With non linear screenplay,we try to connect the scenes to have clarity which makes us not to get bored and suspense remains throughout the film.Since i am a non tamilians,i couldn't get the feel of dialogues.No need of review the performance of actors.They did as if they were made for that.The director didn't even try to elevate the hero as in normal movies but the story itself elevated the hero.I got stunned by watching Andrea in that role.Music and bgm by Santhosh Narayan makes the movie more emotional.

After Gangs of wasseypur I have watched such a gangster movie with Well executed characters and interwoven plot.One can not get all of it by watching for the first time if you want to dive deep into the characters it requires a multiple watching and here lies the brilliance of directors. Want to see some kore known actors in the sequel.

Being a sucker for gangster flicks I couldn't contain my excitement to watch this film but I was afraid I wouldn't enjoy it because of my high expectations due to all the hype and the extremely positive reviews (one of the reasons why I didn't enjoy films like Kammatipadam and Angamaly Diaries the way everyone did) but fortunately, Vada Chennai was everything I wanted it to be.

Right from the "Tarantinoesque" opening scene to the non-linear storytelling and the crisp screenplay and camerawork, one could easily say that this has every possibility to be India's answer to Goodfellas and a cult classic in the years to come if the upcoming sequels are just as good as this one or even better, which I'm pretty affirmative they would be. Vetrimaaran has successfully been able to engage the viewers right from the start with the classic story of the rise of a young prodigy into the vicious life of a mobster. The layered and intricate writing boosted by the incredible cinematography, especially the long takes make it a visual treat for the genre lovers. The casting was perfect. Even the supporting actors did a great job. Dhanush, as always, stole the show with his brutally realistic portrayal of his character "Anbu". Certain scenes, which I won't reveal here were phenomenal and made me gaze at the screen with awe.

Unfortunately, the only other film of Vetrimaaran that I've seen is Visaranai, which is a modern masterpiece and from the looks of this first installment to a trilogy, Vada Chennai is right up there along with it. A film not to be missed if you enjoy Gangster-Crime films. A powerful start to what is going to be a triumphant trilogy.

There has been several movies about fishermen community, the slum area and the people whose lives dwell within them, the ganster and the associated politics. But what makes this movie so special is the writing - the grey shades of each and every character is highlighted at the right moment, their low and high points, intertwining plots which affects each other's lives, especially the lead character - Anbu. This qualifies the basic requirement to be an epic. VadaChennai is no less than an epic in making. While each and every person played their part well, it is quiet hard to single out one. But, to have a conclusion, the script is the king, the queen, the everything. No one outplayed their role and this gave the other characters the much needed space, in order to let their character root well into the plot. The screenplay make you feel like a salad stuffed inside a sandwich, but has enough spices that makes the outcome urging us to get one more. Santhosh Narayanan's background score, kept the mood of the film throughout the runtime. The long take shots, aerial view glide and the flight sequences were choreographed well and was captured excellently by Velraj. This epic will surely turn out to be a cult classic, just like Pudupettai and Thevar Magan. Vetrimaaran - Black pearl of Thamizh Cinema!

Cleary told about vadachennai people. movie is interesting and all characters are well placed .

Well crafted movie with experienced cast. Best direction, acting, cameraman. Amazing jail scenes

A realistic approach towards the genre and characterization of cast. Wonderful script. The scenes and characters represents a very close resemblance to the people who live in vada Chennai. Lots of applause to the entire team and hats off to Vetrimaaran.

Best Gangster movie with speaks about politics.. waiting for part 2

Tamil best gangster film, real story of vadachennai people, pain,love, and rowdeysum :-)

One of the best gangster films ever to come from India. Even though it is essentially about the rise of a gangster it is not like anything seen before because it is not about a gangster but about the people who are betrayed by the system. I had started watching this before but couldn't actually watch it properly while it was playing on TV and I was confused with a lot of scenes and dialogues since the story spanning around 20 years moves so fast that too in a non-linear structure. Since I remember some scenes from the first time, I noticed a lot of small details this time that could be missed if you are not focusing. Even with all of this, the director decided to make this first part of a trilogy because of its length and there are also rumours about how much even this part has been cut. Praising any single section of people involved is pointless since each department has done such an amazing job. I really can't wait for the next part to come and I would love to watch this again before watching the next part in theatres. This was truly epic.

After a longtime, i felt like i have watched a good movie,seriously i didn't expect this movie will be this much of good.asusual,dhanush acting was great.only flaw in this movie was bgm music director didn't compose a right bgm at the right time.i think replacing a music director for vadachennai 2 instead of sandhosh narayanan ,must be a good.