Vanangaan is a 2025 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written, directed and co-produced by Bala under B Studios, along with Suresh Kamatchi under V House Productions. The film stars Arun Vijay, Ridha and Roshni Prakash, with P. Samuthirakani and Mysskin in supporting roles. It revolves around the deaf-mute security guard of an orphanage who pursues vengeance after girls in the orphanage are sexually abused.
The film was officially announced in March 2022, with Suriya starring and producing under his banner 2D Entertainment, under the tentative title Suriya 41, while the official title Vanangaan was announced that July. Despite some filming progress, Suriya and 2D Entertainment withdrew from the project that December due to storyline changes. Arun replaced him while Bala took over producing alongside Suresh Kamatchi. Principal photography with Arun commenced in March 2023 and wrapped in April 2024. The film has music composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, cinematography handled by R. B. Gurudev and editing by Sathish Suriya.
Vanangaan was released worldwide on 10 January 2025 in theatres. The film received mixed-to-negative negative reviews from critics.
Plot
Koti, a deaf-mute man, resides in Kanyakumari with his sister Devi, relying on odd jobs for sustenance. Orphaned by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, they were rescued and sheltered by a compassionate local church priest. Despite his disability, Koti possesses a strong sense of justice, particularly regarding violence against women. He uses his physical strength to punish offenders, often landing himself in trouble.
Tina, a local guide, has harboured a childhood crush on Koti, but he remains indifferent. Undeterred, Tina frequently teases Koti, who responds with physical aggression, yet she persists in her pursuit. Tina’s parents disapprove of her feelings, but she disregards their concerns. Tina assists Koti in shutting down a wine shop near the church, and soon, Koti falls in love with Tina. With Tina and Devi’s help, Koti secures a security guard and helper job at Mira Orphanage, run by Saradha Devi. Koti forms strong bonds with the children, particularly the teenage visually impaired girls.
One day, Koti discovers three workers exploiting the girls’ disability to voyeur them while they are bathing. Enraged, Koti murders two of the perpetrators and voluntarily surrenders to the police. This act shocks Devi, who abhors her brother’s resort to violence. At the court, Koti declines to disclose the reason behind the murders, infuriating the judge, who orders his immediate imprisonment and a probe by DSP Kathiravan. Kathiravan struggles to uncover the motive behind the murders and resorts to a narco-analysis test. However, even under sedation, Koti remains resolute and refuses to reveal the motive. The psychiatrist refuses to co-operate with Kathiravan, citing concerns that increasing the sedative dosage could prove fatal for Koti.
Due to lack of evidence, the judge releases Koti on bail. Upon release, he becomes fixated on finding the third perpetrator, who had escaped, to exact revenge. Devi grows frustrated with Koti’s relentless pursuit of violence. Kathiravan, determined to uncover the motive, delves into Koti’s past and discovers that Devi is not his biological sister. He uses this information to manipulate Devi emotionally, hoping she can extract the truth from Koti. However, Koti remains tight-lipped, fearing that revealing the truth could compromise the modesty of the visually impaired girls at the orphanage. Koti eventually tracks down the third perpetrator and kills him after castrating him. This crime sends shockwaves as the killer, who was out on bail for the previous two murders, struck again.
As Kathiravan reviews the narco-analysis recordings, he discovers that the three victims killed by Koti had indeed misbehaved with the visually impaired girls. He shares this information with the judge and secretly arranges for the girls to testify at the court. As a result, the judge, now aware of the circumstances, releases Koti, citing that circumstantial evidence alone is insufficient for conviction. The orphanage inmates and local community rejoice at Koti’s release. Devi, unaware of the truth, takes her own life, fearing that Koti would receive the death penalty, leaving Koti shattered
Production
Suriya announced officially on 28 March 2022 that his next film, tentatively titled Suriya 41, would be directed by Bala and produced by himself and Jyothika under 2D Entertainment. On Bala’s birthday, 11 July 2022, Suriya released the first look poster and the title Vanangaan in Tamil and Achaludu in Telugu. This would have been the third collaboration of Suriya and Bala after Nandhaa and Pithamagan. Suriya was reportedly playing dual roles, one of them deaf and mute. Krithi Shetty and Mamitha Baiju were signed on to play the female leads.
Filming was initially planned to be completed entirely in three months; however, work on the film stopped in June due to a reported tiff between the lead actor and director. Following this, Vanangaan was rumoured to have been dropped, which Suriya debunked with a social media post in which he stated that he was “waiting to be back on sets”.However, on 4 December 2022, Bala announced that Suriya and 2D Entertainment were no longer part of the project due to changes in the film’s story. By March 2023, Arun Vijay was confirmed as Suriya’s replacement and had begun filming, while Roshni Prakash replaced Shetty, and Ridha joined as the other lead actress. The final filming schedule took place in Tiruvannamalai. Filming wrapped in April 2024.
Controversies
In 28 February 2024, Mamitha Baiju allegedly accused Bala of physically and mentally assaulting her during the shooting of the film, which eventually made her opt out of it. Later, she clarified that it was misinterpreted by the media and she did not experience any such incidents, but she opted out of the film due to other professional commitments.Later, film producer S. Saravanan of Orange Productions attempted to restrain the film’s release via the Madras High Court due to its title, claiming he registered the title Vanangaan first in 2020. However, the court rejected his request.