Mankatha re-release: Why Ajith Kumar’s 15-year-old film is still resonating with audience?

Mankatha re-release: Ajith’s film proves its timeless appeal, with packed theatres and record pre-sales. Its bold anti-hero turn, strong ensemble, sharp craft and Yuvan’s music keep it iconic

Mankatha

Mankatha (available as Gambler on OTTplay Premium), the 2011 film, which stars Ajith in the lead role, witnessed a massive welcome with fans rejoicing, this week, after it was re-released on Friday. The film is running in packed theatres, pretty much like its initial release. While it has been 15 years since Mankatha first released, the Ajith-starrer actioner is still holding audience’s interest, making it one of the prime examples of how when a right screenplay, acting choices, and use of multi-character arc, come together, it can make a film that stands the test of time.

Mankatha re-release: Why Ajith’s film is standing test of time even after 15 years?

In 2011, when scores of fans caught the FDFS of Mankatha, the enthusiasm was much, given it marks the 50th outing of actor Ajith Kumar. 15 years later, the film made its way to theatres once again on January 23, and the fans fervour never saw a dip. From cutout celebration, to anointments, Mankatha re-release surpassed the fresh releases of the week, and went on to make a pre-sales collection of over Rs 2 crore. It even surpassed Vijay’s Ghilli re-release collection, making it the highest collection for a re-release in Tamil.

Also read: Ajith’s Mankatha pre-sales makes Rs 2.20 crore, racing past Vijay’s Ghilli re-release advance collection

Mankatha re-release was not just about fans and their adoration for Ajith. It had factors that went beyond being a commercial potboiler. At the time of its initial release, the movie surprised fans by showing their idol play a baddie. It was a period when heroes were quite careful about their image onscreen. Mankatha, which was the second highest grosser in 2011, then had films like Suriya's 7 Aum Arivu Vijay-starrer Velayudham, Jiiva's Ko and Siruthai starring Karthi as top grossers. While all these films had its heroes as saviour, good guy, and some redeeming qualities, Ajith had a different option in Mankatha.

How Ajith’s anti-hero character made Mankatha a success story?

The film, which revolves around a cop Vinayak Mahadev (Ajith) plotting a heist along with a group of four to steal cricket betting money, has a last-minute reveal to the heist. Vinayak Mahadev and his friend, cop Prithvi (played by Arjun Sarja) cleverly plot the mission and escape with a huge sum. Even in 2011, when Ajith was at the peak of his career, his choice to play an outright bad person, was a thesis on anti-heroism for Tamil cinema then. Not that Ajith never played the wrong guy, a prime example being his evil twin role in Vaalee much early in his career, but Mankatha catered to all; from his ardent fans to critics and simply movie lovers who wanted to taste something different from the regular heroism. Imagine, a tier one hero pushing his lady love’s father off the car, stabbing a knife through a woman he used as pawn for his agenda, rambling for how long can he put a good guy show and what not. Perhaps, fans simply loved when their onscreen heroes unleashed their brutality and steered away from being on their good books only.

Also read: Mankatha re-release reactions: From ‘thala’ chants to soft drink anointments, fans' fervour hits peak; say ‘badly missing vintage’ AK

Mankatha re-release: How Venkat Prabhu crafted a multi-starrer with Ajith onboard?

When Tamil cinema sometimes shies away from multi-starrers, Mankatha director Venkat Prabhu went ahead and made a film that not only has his regulars, but multiple characters, villains, and female leads. From his regular casting like Premji, Vaibhav, Aravind Akash to bringing onboard Trisha, Andrea, Anjali, Lakshmi Rai as female leads, and still have Arjun Sarja, Ashwin Kakumani, Mahat play important roles, Venkat Prabhu made sure despite being a star-driven film, Mankatha had enough meat to chew for each of these characters. Using the heist drama to his advantage, Venkat Prabhu gave ample screen time for romance, drama, comedy and betrayal, which makes Mankatha a film that has enough to be invested, even years later while watching.

Mankatha re-release: When craft, storytelling and daring choices made it a success

Mankatha was a technical strong film, that despite 15 years after its release, had its charm on audience. The songs of Yuvan Shankar Raja, the background score which still exudes power and charisma, the belief of Ajith Kumar to play a man who makes morally questionable decisions, and the last-minute reveal, all comes together to make Mankatha a timeless classic. A cult film in Ajith and Venkat Prabhu’s career, the film brings in the sharp cuts of editors Praveen KL and NB Srikanth, the racy cinematography of DOP Sakthi Saravanan, which helps Mankatha not becoming a technically obsolete film.

Mankatha FAQs

Q. Is Mankatha hit or flop?

A. Mankatha was a commercially successful film at the time of its release in 2011.

Q. Which Ott has the Mankatha movie?

A. You can stream Mankatha as Gambler in Telugu on JioHotstar via OTTplay Premium.

Q. What is the 50th film of Ajith?

A. Mankatha is Ajith's 50th film.

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