Mercury | |
---|---|
Directed by | Karthik Subbaraj |
Written by | Karthik Subbaraj |
Produced by |
|
Starring |
|
Cinematography | S. Tirru |
Edited by | Vivek Harshan |
Music by | Mithoon Santhosh Narayanan |
Production companies | |
Distributed by |
|
Release dates |
|
Running time | 109 minutes |
Country | India |
Mercury is a 2018 Indian horror thriller film written and directed by Karthik Subbaraj. The film, which has no dialogue, stars an ensemble cast including Prabhu Deva, Sananth, Remya Nambeesan, Indhuja Ravichandran, Deepak Paramesh, Shashank Purushotham, and Anish Padmanabhan, amongst others. Subbaraj presented the film under his own production banner Stone Bench Creations, whilst Jayantilal Gada of Pen Studios co-produced the film. It is about five friends who are terrorised by the ghost of a victim, maimed from mercury poisoning.
Mercury is a fictional story, but inspired by the 2001 Kodaikanal mercury poisoning. It was shot in secrecy, and was officially announced only in June 2017, after filming had ended. Filmed across Chennai, Pondicherry and Kumbakonam, the background music is composed by Santhosh Narayanan, with cinematography handled by Tirru and edited by Vivek Harshan.
Mercury was released on 13 April 2018 worldwide except Tamil Nadu, due to the Tamil Film Producers Council strike, and was released in the state on 20 April 2018, becoming the first Tamil cinema release after the strike. Since the film has no dialogue, the makers found it easier to distribute and release the film under major territories across India. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Maimed from mercury poisoning, five longtime friends come together for a high school reunion on a farm. Then, Michael plans to propose to Meera and calls her and his friends, and they go on a night drive at a place Michael proposes to Meera; she accepts. Afterwards, while driving the other four friends home, Meera nearly runs over a dog after the other four were messing with the headlights. Because of this, she was temporarily blinded. Somehow, the friends accidentally end up dragging a blind man to death when they swerved to avoid his dog. After dumping his body, the friends are terrorised by the man's ghost in mysterious ways. When the ghost had killed the guys in the group and tries to kill Meera as well, then she reveals that she is deaf and did not recognise the hitting of the car. The ghost, having realised he killed a bunch of innocents thinking they were the corporate factory owners who were responsible for the occurring mercury poisoning, shares his story of being blinded due to mercury poisoning and one night was walking his dog when the leash accidentally got stuck to the friends' car and got dragged until he hit a headstone and succumbs to his injury. Despite the mishaps that happened, the ghost forgives and spares her, not before possessing her to see his wife one last time and gives his hearing capacity to the Meera upon leaving her body as he burns down the factory.
Karthik Subbaraj wanted to develop a full-length dialogue-less feature film after his earlier short film Black and White, which was largely devoid of dialogue. Even before the release of his feature directorial debut Pizza (2012), Karthik, an admirer of the silent films of Charlie Chaplin and the dialogue-less 1987 film Pushpaka Vimana , had this desire, but struggled to conceive a story concept. After completing two feature films, Karthik eventually developed a fictional story idea set against the backdrop of the 2001 Kodaikanal mercury poisoning. The title Mercury was derived from the element of the same name. [1] He said the absence of dialogue gave him more freedom to emphasise the film's other aspects, such as music, to amp up the film's "thrill factor". [2] The film was produced by Kaarthekeyen Santhanam of Stone Bench Creations and Jayantilal Gada of Pen Studios. [3] Cinematography was handled by Tirru, [4] editing by Vivek Harshan, and stunt choreography by twin brothers Anbariv.[ citation needed ]
Prabhu Deva called his role "unique" and "unusual" compared with his previous films, where the script demanded a dance or comedy sequences. [5] The other cast members Sananth, Deepak Paramesh, Indhuja Ravichandran, Anish Padmanabhan had appeared in Karthik's earlier films. Shashank Purushotham, a Bengaluru-based theatre actor, made his Tamil cinema debut. The team began rehearsals for their roles 20–25 days before production began . [6] Remya Nambeesan joined the cast near the end of filming. [7]
By early June 2017, the makers had completed shooting 60% of the film, with Chennai, Pondicherry and Kumbakonam serving as the primary filming locations. [8] The film, which was being shot secretly, was only officially announced later that month, after filming had ended. [9] As most of the film was shot indoors, Tirru chose not to keep the camera steady as not to trigger visual fatigue, where the camera is placed, either from the point of view of the character or as a third person. The team also filmed a long take as doing otherwise would require them to keep moving the cameras. Tirru explained, "The situation too warranted it as cutting it into different shots wouldn't convey the intensity of the scene. The idea was to make the audience understand the characters' stand and make them feel claustrophobic". [10]
The film is based on the 2001 Kodaikanal mercury poisoning, where hundreds of workers were allegedly exposed to toxic mercury vapours at the now-defunct Hindustan Lever factory in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. Karthik stated that the film explores exploitation by corporates of small towns, further adding that the incident in a way inspired him to make the film. [1]
Santhosh Narayanan, Subbaraj's norm composer joined the technical team, by composing music for the film's background. Though the film does not feature any songs, a promotional song titled "The Mercury Song" composed by Mithoon, lyrics penned by Sayeed Quadri and sung by Haricharan and Gajendra Verma was released on 15 March 2018. [11] Santhosh also composed a song "Oru Mara Nizhalil", recorded by Sathyaprakash Dharmar and lyrics written by Vivek. [12] Released on 1 May 2018, it is a montage song picturised on the romance between the characters Michael (Sananth) and Meera (Indhuja). Though the instrumental version of this song had appeared in the film, as the background score, the song was used only for promotional purposes. [13]
Karthik initially tweeted that the film will be scheduled for theatrical release on 13 April 2018, [14] coinciding with the eve of Tamil New Year's Day and also the date matched with that of Friday the 13th. [15] [a] The theatrical trailer of the film was launched on 7 March 2018 to positive response from viewers and audiences alike. [16] [17] Since the film has no dialogues, the team found it easier to distribute and release the film in different regions under the same title. [18] Rakshit Shetty's Paramvah Studios and Pushkar Films distributed the film in Karnataka, [19] with KFC Entertainment acquired the rights to release the film in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana territories. Pen India Limited acquired the global rights of the film. [3] The trailer of the film was scheduled to release on 5 April, but in order to show solidarity towards the statewide bandh due to Kaveri River water dispute, the makers postponed the trailer launch, [20] although it was launched on 10 April by prominent celebrities. [21]
The film released worldwide on 13 April 2018, excluding Tamil Nadu, [18] due to the strike organised by Tamil Film Producers Council against the digital service providers owing to the hike in Virtual Print Fee. [22] [23] A day before the official release date in India, the film was screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles on 12 April 2018. [24] [25] The same day, the makers hosted a special screening in Mumbai, with the presence of actors Tamannaah and Anant Mahadevan among other celebrities joining the event. [26] [27] The film was leaked online through pirated sites, despite not having a scheduled release in Tamil Nadu, with Prabhu Deva and the film's cast urging fans not to watch pirated versions. [28] Mercury became the first Tamil cinema release after the 48-day strike held by Producer's Council. [29] [30] The film opened to a wide release in Tamil Nadu on 20 April 2018. [31] Celebrities such as Venkat Prabhu and Rajinikanth praised the film's team and the crew. [32] [33]
The film received to mixed reviews. [34] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 67%, based on 12 reviews, and an average rating of 6/10. [35]
The Times of India , chief critic Reza Noorani gave three out of five stars saying "There are no big scares that 'Mercury' delivers. Instead, it unravels at its own pace which is not perfect at all times." [36] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV, stated that the film is no more than "a disjointed drama that uses conventions of the slasher flick and the horror film in order to spin a none-too-scary yarn that oftentimes borders on the unintentionally funny"; rather stated that "the film ventures into the territory that A Quiet Place occupies – the destructive force in Mercury turns out to be a figure that waits for the stimuli of sound to line up and pounce on its targets". [37] Y. Sunita Chowdary of The Hindu stated that the film has its fair share of "chills" and "thrills". [38] Udita Jhunjhunwala of Firstpost pointed the story as one of the major flaws of the film, stating that "the story just does not stitch together". [39]
Anisha Javeri of IndieWire stated "Though the historical backdrop could have made for a compelling metaphor, the clichés and heavy-handedness of “Mercury” ultimately outweigh the novelty of its premise, while its sloppy social relevance angle does more to confound than clarify the disaster in question", further adding that "Mercury may be remembered as the first silent thriller in Indian cinema, but it’s far from the heart-stopper we’re looking for." [40] Manoj Kumar R. of The Indian Express gave three-and-a-half out of five stars "Karthik Subbaraj's plot has a few gaps and he also uses the regular narrative techniques of the horror genre to create the moments of shock. However, the overall impact of Mercury on a viewer is very effective, encouraging us to brush aside the shortcomings." [41] Sajin Srijith of The New Indian Express gave a rating of 4 out of 5 and added "Karthik Subbaraj's Mercury is audacious, technically-impressive, and an experiment filled with delightful surprises". [42]
Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in had reviewed "Subbaraj tries to dress up a routine horror film with a social theme, but fortunately, the director has enough tricks up his sleeve to make the scary portions work." [43] Arnab Bannerjee of Deccan Chronicle gave one-and-a-half five stars and stated "Karthik Subbaraj tries to juggle a thriller horror story with a not-so-original twist." [44] Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion opined that Karthik ended up making not just a "thriller", but an "emotional horror-drama with a touch of eco-activism". [45] Sowmya Rajendran of The News Minute stated "The film breaks out of the formula horror film and attempts something new although the characters don't stand out." [46]
Venkat Kumar Gangai Amaren, better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu, is an Indian film director, actor and playback singer in Tamil cinema. In addition, he also worked in Telugu Cinema. After completing his education, he began pursuing an acting career, with his first three ventures featuring him in a starring role, failing to release, following which he began appearing in character roles.
Prabhu Deva is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language films. In a career spanning 32 years, he has performed and designed dancing styles and has garnered two National Film Awards for Best Choreography. In 2019, he was awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to dance.
Raghava Lawrence is an Indian actor, choreographer, film director, composer, playback singer, lyricist, film producer and philanthropist known for his works primarily in Tamil cinema. After making his debut as a dance choreographer in 1993, he began looking for acting opportunities. He began his career as an actor in 1998, in a Telugu film. He adopted the name "Raghava" in 2001, and worked for many prominent actors and directors in Tamil cinema throughout his career. He got his breakthrough with Telugu film Style and then Muni. Lawrence is also known for his intricate hip-hop and westernised dance moves and has won four Filmfare Awards, three Nandi Awards and two Tamil Nadu State Film Award for best choreography.
S. Thirunavukarasu, better known mononymously as Tirru, is an Indian cinematographer and screenwriter who has worked in multiple languages across India. Born in Mullukuruchi village, Tirru became interested in photography when he was in college.
Jaikanth Sampath also known as Jai is an Indian actor and musician working in Tamil films. The nephew of noted composer Deva & the cousin of Srikanth Deva, Jai had made his acting debut in a supporting role in Bagavathi (2002). In 2007, he successfully auditioned for a leading role in Venkat Prabhu's sports film Chennai 600028. His movie Subramaniapuram (2008) was also a big success, and marked Jai as an lead actor in Tamil Cinema.
Karthik Subbaraj is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter working mainly in Tamil cinema.
Jayasimha, better known as Bobby Simha, is an Indian actor who predominantly appears in Tamil and Telugu films. After making brief appearances in the films Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi and Pizza (2012), he portrayed a kidnapper in Nalan Kumarasamy's Soodhu Kavvum and a comic villain in Alphonse Putharen's Neram. Simha's subsequent performance as the Madurai gangster Sethu in Karthik Subbaraj's Jigarthanda (2014) won him critical acclaim and the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Manjima Mohan is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She started her career as a child artist in Malayalam films. she made her debut as a lead actress with Oru Vadakkan Selfie (2015) in Malayalam and Achcham Enbadhu Madamaiyada (2016) in Tamil. She won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut – South in 2017.
Sananth is an Indian actor who has worked in Tamil cinema. After initially appearing in several short films, Sananth made his feature film debut in Ajay Gnanamuthu's horror film Demonte Colony (2015).
Devi (transl. Goddess) is a 2016 Indian trilingual comedy horror film co-written and directed by A. L. Vijay. It features Tamannaah Bhatia in the title role with Prabhu Deva and Sonu Sood in the lead roles and RJ Balaji, Saptagiri, Rajiv Thakur and Murali Sharma in supporting roles. In addition to Tamil, the film was also simultaneously shot in Telugu and Hindi titled Abhinetri (transl. Actress) and Tutak Tutak Tutiya, respectively.
Gulaebaghavali is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language heist action comedy film written and directed by Kalyaan and produced by KJR Studios. The film stars Prabhu Deva and Hansika Motwani, with Revathi, Ramdoss, Anandaraj, Rajendran, and Yogi Babu in supporting roles. Revathi reprises her role as Maasha from Arangetra Velai (1990). The music was composed by Vivek–Mervin with cinematography by R. S. Anandakumar and editing by Vijay Velukutty. The film released on 12 January 2018.
Meyaadha Maan is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Rathna Kumar in his feature directorial debut and produced by Karthik Subbaraj's Stone Bench Creations. The film stars Vaibhav and Priya Bhavani Shankar in the leads, with Vivek Prasanna, Indhuja Ravichandran, Arun Prasath, and Amrutha Srinivasan in supporting roles. It is an adaptation of Kumar's own short film Madhu, which he had directed for the Stone Bench Creation's anthology film Bench Talkies. This is the screen debut of both Priya and Indhuja.
The 2018 Kaveri River water sharing protests are a series of ongoing protests on the issue of water sharing problems from the River Kaveri between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka which are two states in India. The Kaveri water dispute has been a major controversial issue between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the years and the issue has been raised further with protests have been conducted across the state of Tamil Nadu by several groups including from the large pile of actors and directors who have temporarily stopped working on their projects, films over the Karnataka's sharing the Kaveri water to Tamil Nadu. The delay in establishing a Cauvery Management Board in order to share equal river share award has sparked off protests in Tamil Nadu against the Karnataka state government.
Petta ( transl. Hood) is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures. The film stars Rajinikanth, alongside Vijay Sethupathi, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, M. Sasikumar, Simran, Trisha, Megha Akash, Malavika Mohanan, Mahendran, Bobby Simha, Guru Somasundaram, Aadukalam Naren, Munishkanth and Sananth. The film follows Kaali, a newly-hired hostel warden, who gets dragged into war after his old nemesis Singaaram resurfaces to exact revenge.
Charlie Chaplin 2 is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film directed by Shakthi Chidambaram. The film stars Prabhu Deva, Nikki Galrani and Prabhu. The film is a sequel to 2002 film Charlie Chaplin. The music for the film is scored by Amresh Ganesh. The film is produced by T. Siva under the production banner Amma Creations. The film was released on 25 January 2019 to negative reviews.
Deepak Paramesh is an Indian actor, who has appeared in Tamil language films.
Jagame Thandhiram is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by YNOT Studios together with Reliance Entertainment. The film stars Dhanush, James Cosmo, Joju George, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Kalaiyarasan. It marks the Indian film debut of Cosmo and the Tamil debut of Joju George. The film follows Suruli, a gangster from Madurai, who is recruited to help Peter Sprott, a British crime lord, to take down a rival, but later gets caught off guard by the moral dilemmas that follow.
Prabhu Deva is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor, who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. In a career spanning 30 years, he has performed and designed a wide range of dancing styles and has predominantly acted in Tamil films. He made his debut as a boy playing a flute in the song "Panivizhum Iravu", from the Tamil film Mouna Ragam (1986). After several appearances as a dancer, he made his debut as a lead actor in Pavithran's Indhu. He made his career breakthrough in his second film Kadhalan (1994) directed by S. Shankar. Prabhu Deva acted as a college student who loves the daughter of state governor, who has ties with a terrorist. The film was a commercial success and critics lauded Prabhu Deva's choreography and his dance sequences in the songs "Mukkabla" and "Urvasi Urvasi", became very popular.
Mahaan is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Karthik Subbaraj and produced by S. S. Lalit Kumar under Seven Screen Studio. It stars Vikram and Dhruv Vikram, alongside Simran, Bobby Simha, Sananth, Vettai Muthukumar, Deepak Paramesh and Aadukalam Naren. The film revolves around Gandhi Mahaan's journey from a commerce teacher to a liquor baron, but his journey takes a twist when his son Dadabhai Naoroiji, an extremist Gandhian, vows revenge on Gandhi Mahaan for violating the Gandhian principles and abandoning his family.
Stone Bench Creations is an Indian film production company based in Chennai, India. It was established in 2016 by Indian director Karthik Subbaraj. As of 2023, the company has produced 16 feature films, including productions made in the Tamil and Malayalam film industries. It has collaborated and been produced with filmmakers including Rathna Kumar, Karthik Subbaraj, Ponram, Ashok Veerappan and Malayalam film director Jithin Issac Thomas. The production company made its debut with the film Bench Talkies. Stone Bench also produced more than five original content for the streaming services Netflix, Amazon Prime, ZEE5, Disney+ Hotstar and SonyLIV. Stone Bench also presents other language films in Tamil Nadu, including 777 Charlie.