South Indian cinema is giving hit movies like a rocket in the post-COVID pandemic times. Movies like K.G.F: Chapter 2, RRR, and 777 Charlie, etc. are gaining worldwide attention and are becoming blockbuster movies with time. Vijay and Pooja Hegde’s starrer film, Beast, is yet another addition to this success chain. It was released this year on April 13. Although the review for the film Beast was mixed, it became the highest-grossing Tamil film of all time. Beast is also one of the highest-grossing post-COVID-19 pandemic Indian films.
If you did not vibe on the song “Arabic Kuthu” this year, what else did you do? Well, this song, directed by Nelson, was released on February 14, 2022, coinciding with Valentine’s Day. This particular song set the record for the most-viewed and liked South Indian song within 24 hours. The film, however, is different from this party vibe and is set on a serious theme revolving around the struggles of a spy with the terrorists, with a comic touch. So without wasting any more time, let’s take a sneak peek through this article and review the movie Beast.
About the movie Beast
As an Indian Tamil-language action comedy film, Beast is written and directed by Nelson Dilipkumar. Sun Pictures are its producers. It is Vijay’s 65th film and is based on an ex-RAW agent’s quest to rescue people held hostage in a shopping mall. However, despite the review being mixed, Beast managed to become the highest-grossing Tamil film of all time, grossing 236.90 crores worldwide.
The Star Cast
Beast movie stars Vijay, Pooja Hegde, Selvaraghavan, and Ankur Vikal in the major roles. Vijay as Agent “Veera” Veeraraghavan, is a former RAW agent whose love interest is Preethi (Pooja). Selvaraghavan, as Althaf Hussain, plays Veera’s former colleague. And Ankur Vikal plays the leader of the mall hijack group, Umar Saif.
The Plot
Veera is assigned a mission to capture terrorist Umar Farooq in Kashmir. While catching Farooq, Veera’s attack kills a known child. Shook by this accident, Veera quits RAW. While dealing with his Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Veera meets Preethi and joins her security company, Dominic & Soldiers. He visits the East Coast mall with Preethi and Irudhayaraj (the company’s head). But few terrorists hijack the Mall. The struggle begins involving Veera, his ex-associate Althaf Hussain, the Tamil Nadu government, and the terrorists.
Towards the end, the government agrees to release Farooq, but Veera isn’t ready to give up on him this time. He kidnaps Home Minister’s wife and daughter, Aparna, pretending to be a Bangladeshi militant. He insists on not releasing Farooq for their safety. After much of the hustle and bustle, the hostages escape to safety, and the police arrest Home Minister for his involvement in the crime, along with the terrorists. However, Farooq escapes. But a month later, Veera finds and captures him in PoK and gets him arrested back in India.
The movie thus ends with a celebration involving Veera, Preethi, and the rest of his crew in Goa.
Beast Movie Review
The review for the movie Beast has been average. Critics praise the cast performances, action sequences, cinematography, production design, music, and background score, in addition to Nelson’s direction. However, the pace of the movie, plus the predictable nature of the script with the uneven screenplay, is criticized.
According to Soundarya Athimuthu of The Quint, the movie became ‘khichdi’ as both Nelson and Vijay tried to fit in each other’s frame. It wasn’t a full Nelson or a full Vijay movie. For Divya Nair of Rediff.com, it was a movie to enjoy for Vijay doing the impossible and leaving the logic behind. Also, Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times criticizes the weak writing, while Vivek M V of Deccan Herald says that one-man show film is inevitable.
The film received a rating of 5.2 on IMDb. Although the film follows the same one-man show formula, other characters like Selva Raghavan, VTV Ganesh, Yogi Babu, etc. did an impressive job. However, the performances can’t undermine the need for a powerful script. The comedy done in the first half seems unnecessarily used in intense scenes.
Despite the criticism, the film grossed enough. This shows the power of Vijay and Pooja’s fans. The music in the film was composed by Anirudh Ravichander, and its songs are already popular. Especially the “Arabic Kuthu” song is a super hit song from the album.
Overall, the movie beast is worth getting a positive review in this article. It’s a movie, just like other Vijay movies available on Netflix, and is worth watching for a dose of action and entertainment.
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