One of Kollywood's most awaited flicks Vaadivasal is all set to go on floors soon. Suriya and director Vetrimaaran took part in a test shoot at Eastcoast Road in Chennai on Sunday. The film is a big-screen adaptation of CS Chellappa's novel of the same name. Here we bring you some inside scoops from the novel:

Though jallikattu is an integral part of the Tamil culture, this novel is the first full-fledged work on the sport in Tamil literature. The story revolves around a son who wants to tame a bull that took his father's life. Suriya will play the role of Picchi while Ameer is likely to play his brother Marudan.

In an article written on The Wire, author CS Chellapa writes, "Vaadivaasal is a classic story of power play in the Tamil Nadu countryside, a tale in which the feudal social relations that underpin the local economy and 'tame' the subaltern castes figure implicitly even as the narrative is driven by the latter's attempts to compete with each other and with animals in the ritual taming of bulls."

The gripping story on bull taming is known for its edge-of-the-seat action scenes. It also beautifully captures the daily village life of Tamil Nadu which also includes feudalism, caste hierarchies, masculinity and patriarchy. The book is also translated and published in English as Arena.

The article further says "In Chellappa's telling, the Arena produces uncertain and even fatal outcomes for its human participants but not for the bulls –though the fate that awaits them after can be unpredictable." It also publishes an extract from the bull-taming scene of Picchi.

"Anyone looking to understand the place of jallikattu in the Tamil imagination – and the passion that the ban on the sport has aroused across the state – can do no better than to read Vaadivaasal," the article adds.

Vaadivaasal
Suriya's Vaadivaasal first lookTwitter

There are reports that the OTT rights have been sold for a whopping 50 crores and the team is also considering a direct OTT release.

The film will be a Pongal 2023 release.

Also Read