Set in the 1990s, it revolves around four bachelors, whose carefree lives take a turn when they are embroiled in a political fight, but they end up finding their mutual interconnections.
Uriyadi was released theatrically on 27 May 2016, to highly positive critical reviews praising the screenwriting, direction, performances, action sequences and other major technical aspects of the film.
Critics further praised Vijay Kumar for his realistic filmmaking and for being devoid of clichéd elements present in mainstream Tamil films.
1995: Lenin Vijay, Suresh, Akhil and Karthi, were four carefree and adventurous friends who are final year students at an engineering college on the outskirts of Trichy.
Vijay Kumar, a software engineer-turned-filmmaker, worked on two short films which were screened at the reality show Naalaya Iyakkunar in 2009.
[6] When he moved to the United States the following year, Kumar began working on the script of his maiden feature film which served the title Vidiyum Varai Vinmeengalaavom (transl.
As a result, a three-month acting workshop was conducted, and he had hired the actors: Chandru Kumar, Henna Bella, Jeyakanth Velu and Suruli.
He managed to shoot the action sequences as realistic as possible, where many scenes in the film where the actors hit each other are real, and there were instances of a few getting injured.
[17] In an interview with the Indo-Asian News Service, Vijay Kumar relates how actors were actually injured during filming: "I was supposed to hit someone in the back with a rod, and somehow the blow landed on his head, much to my surprise.
[19][20] Writing in The Hindu, Baradwaj Rangan notes that director Vijay Kumar illustrates "how these small outfits form a party whose mission is (apparently) to represent that particular caste, get votes from people belonging to that caste, get elected to power, and trade this power for favours from bigger parties.
[19] Puthiya Thalaimurai noted that Uriyadi shed light on the selfish political ambitions of caste outfit leaders.
[27] In mid-2015, director Nalan Kumarasamy, whom Kumar befriended when they were contestants in the reality show Naalaya Iyakkunar, had agreed to distribute and co-produce the film, under his newly launched production house Pinrom Pictures.
[28][26] Kumar organised a preview show for the members of the Tamil film industry on 23 May 2016, where it received highly positive critical response.
"[34] Baradwaj Rangan, an Indian film critic and writer for The Hindu, stated that "Vijay Kumar doesn't need a condescending pat on the back.
[36] Sify gave three out of five stars for the film and stated it as a "well made revenge thriller by a young team and they have conveyed a relevant message on caste base politics with realistic treatment".
[38] In contrast, Gautaman Bhaskaran from Hindustan Times rated one out of five stars, calling it as "A socially debase story on caste-based politics.
"[39] The daily newspaper Dinamalar reviewed Uriyadi and wrote it has a very gripping storyline and screenplay, that is entirely new to Tamil cinema.
[40] Ananda Vikatan reviewed Uriyadi, calling it a trendsetter for the current film industry and saying it is executed in a very appreciable way.
[22] However, Uriyadi was listed in the Hindustan Times' top 10 southern films of 2016 and praised the director Vijay Kumar for his solid directorial debut.
[66] Talking about the movie, after the interaction session, Director Cheran said he looks at Uriyadi as the contribution of Tamil cinema toward positive societal change and lauded Vijay Kumar for taking up such a powerful issue in his debut venture.
[73] Veteran director Bharathiraja while speaking at an event, praised Uriyadi and expressed his amazement saying "It is a beautiful film, made fantastically without any absurdity".
[74][23] Uriyadi also transcended cultural borders when it was screened at the Institute of Politics of the University of Wrocław in Poland and created an awareness about the Indian caste system among its students.
[75][76] The official representatives of the university also commended Vijay Kumar for handling a difficult subject in the movie, its realism and its unique way of narration.