Mr. Local is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by M. Rajesh.[1] The film stars Sivakarthikeyan and Nayanthara,[2][3] while Radhika Sarathkumar, Sathish, Yogi Babu, and Robo Shankar play supporting roles. The music was composed by Hiphop Tamizha.
| Mr. Local | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | M. Rajesh |
| Written by | M. Rajesh |
| Produced by | K. E. Gnanavel Raja |
| Starring | Sivakarthikeyan Nayanthara |
| Cinematography | Dinesh B. Krishnan Arthur A. Wilson (1 song) |
| Edited by | Vivek Harshan |
| Music by | Hiphop Tamizha |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Tanvee Films Sakthi Film Factory |
Release date |
|
Running time | 154 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
The principal photography of the film commenced around May 2018 and post-production was progressing as of February 2019.[4] The film was released on 17 May 2019 to mostly negative reviews, with many critics panning the outdated plot.
Plot
editThe film begins in a jail in Paris, where Manohar, who is from Chennai, has just been released on bail provided by the Indian Embassy. Before his release, he tells the jail warden about how he ended up in jail.
Mano is a middle-class youth who works as a salesperson in KUN Hyundai managed by Kuthala Sithambaram. One day, he meets with a minor accident involving Keerthana Vasudevan, an arrogant TV producer. Keerthana soon develops a hatred for Mano, who constantly irritates her with his antics. Keerthana's hatred for Mano is such that she buys the KUN Hyundai showroom only to fire him, and she even goes to the extent of firing Sithambaram and Mano's friend Raja just because they oppose her decision of terminating Mano.
Mano soon develops romantic feelings for Keerthana, but this only increases the friction between the two. Later, Keerthana meets with an accident and is admitted to the hospital by Mano, who donates blood to her to save her life. Keerthana, who appears grateful to Mano for his gesture, invites him to Paris to meet her aunt and uncle and spend a few days with them, but this turns out to be a trap hatched by Keerthana to get rid of him once and for all. Keerthana speaks ill of Mano's family, which causes him to slap her in a rage. For this reason, he is arrested.
In the present day, following his release, Mano borrows the warden's motorbike to meet Keerthana before leaving for India. He sees Keerthana being chased by goons led by her fiancé Ashwin. She had called off the engagement after finding out that Ashwin is a transgender man and a misogynist as well. Mano saves Keerthana from Ashwin and his goons, after which he leaves for India. It is at this juncture that Keerthana realises that she too loves Mano. She returns to Chennai a few days later and accepts Mano's love.
Cast
edit- Sivakarthikeyan as Manohar, an employee at Hyundai car showroom in Chennai
- Nayanthara as Keerthana Vasudevan, CEO of KV Entertainments
- Radhika Sarathkumar as Easwari, Mano's mother
- Sathish as P. Raja, Mano's friend who also works at the showroom but gets fired by Keerthana
- Yogi Babu as Auto Sekar, Mano's area friend
- Robo Shankar as Kuthala Sithambaram, manager of the Hyundai showroom
- Narayan Lucky as Ashwin, a businessman and Keerthana's fiancé
- Thambi Ramaiah as Lakshman, Keerthana's uncle and KV Entertainments manager
- John Vijay as Arjun Reddy, Raja's personal lawyer
- Anil Murali as Inspector Prasanna Kumar, a corrupt policeman
- Eruma Saani Harija as Divya, Mano's sister
- G. Marimuthu as Mayilvaganam
- Shalu Shamu as Asha Jasmine, an employee at the car showroom
- Thaadi Balaji as Serial Director
- Nakshatra Nagesh as Sowmiya, a serial artist
- Lizzie Antony as Keerthana's advocate
- Subhashini Kannan as Kavitha's Mother, Mano's relative
- Krithika Laddu as Kavitha, Mano's relative
Production
editFilming began in May 2018, marking Sivakarthikeyan's 13th film as lead actor.[5] Portions of the film were shot in Chennai. The first look poster of the film was unveiled by actor Sivakarthikeyan himself through his Twitter account on 2 February 2019. Nayanthara was selected as the heroine, collaborating with Sivakarthikeyan for the second time after Velaikkaran. The filmmakers confirmed that the film is not a remake of the 2017 Telugu hit film Nenu Local.[6] The film was shot extensively in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Music
editThe score and soundtrack were composed by Hiphop Tamizha. The lyrics were written by Hiphop Tamizha, Mirchi Vijay, K. R. Dharan, Rokesh, Paul B. Sailus and SanGan. Anirudh Ravichander, Benny Dayal, Sid Sriram and Sivakarthikeyan, sung one song each for the film. All songs were released as singles.
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Takkunu Takkunu" | Mirchi Vijay | Anirudh Ravichander | 3:32 |
| 2. | "Kalakkalu Mr. Localu" | K. R. Dharan | Sivakarthikeyan | 3:45 |
| 3. | "Menaminiki" | Rokesh | Benny Dayal, Snigdha Chandra | 3:52 |
| 4. | "Mr. Local Theme" | Hiphop Tamizha, Paul B Sailus, SanGan, K.R. Dharan | Hiphop Tamizha, Paul B Sailus, SanGan, Palaniammal | 2:40 |
| 5. | "Nee Nenacha" | Hiphop Tamizha | Sid Sriram | 4:28 |
| Total length: | 18:07 | |||
Release and reception
editMr. Local was released on 17 May 2019 and received mixed reviews from critics.[7] Aditya Shrikrishna of Silverscreen India called it Rajesh's "worst film" and criticised its lack of originality.[8] The Times of India critic Thinkal Menon gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying "Sivakarthikeyan and Nayantara look good on screen, and that's the only positive factor in the film, which otherwise is full of ineffective one-liners, illogical scenes and exhausting dialogues and songs".[9] Behindwoods gave it 2.0 out of 5, stating that "Mr. Local misses out on entertainment".[10]
References
edit- ^ "Sivakarthikeyan's film with director Rajesh titled "Mr Local"". The Times of India. 2 February 2019. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "SK13 titled Mr. Local". The News Minute. 4 February 2019. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "Sivakarthikeyan and Nayanthara to share screen space in Mr Local". The Indian Express. 3 February 2019. Archived from the original on 14 May 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "Mr Local in its final stage of shooting". Cinema Express. 4 February 2019. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019. .
- ^ Subramanian, Anupama (2 February 2019). "Sivakarthikeyan becomes Mr Local". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ "Sivakarthikeyan's 'Mr. Local' is not a Telugu remake". The Times of India. 4 February 2019. Archived from the original on 6 February 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
- ^ K., Janani (23 May 2019). "Why Sivakarthikeyan and Nayanthara's Mr Local is a mighty problematic film". India Today. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- ^ Shrikrishna, Aditya (17 May 2019). "Mr Local Review: Tamil Cinema's Worst Filmmaker Makes His Worst Film". Silverscreen India. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
- ^ Menon, Thinkal (17 May 2019). "Mr. Local Movie Review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
- ^ "Mr. Local Movie Review". Behindwoods. 17 May 2019. Archived from the original on 17 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
