Devan is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language action film written, directed, and produced by Arun Pandian, marking his directorial debut. The film stars Arun Pandian himself in the title role, which was his 50th project as an actor. The cast includes Meena, Vivek, and Sai Kumar, with Vijayakanth, Karthik, and Kausalya appearing in extended cameo roles. Sai Kumar made his Tamil film debut with this movie. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja.
Release date: 14 June 2002
Running time: 175 minutes
Production company: Friends Creations
Plot: The story follows Alex Devan, who is seen murdering a photographer named Jeeva. A CBI officer, Rathnavel (played by Vijayakanth), apprehends Devan but later learns that Devan is seeking revenge for the death of his sister Jacqueline, who was killed by the antagonist Chetta Raghu. Rathnavel ultimately helps Devan bring Chetta to justice.
Cast:
- Arun Pandian as Alex Devan
- Vijayakanth as Rathnavel IPS, Deputy Director CBI (extended cameo)
- Karthik as Lawyer Chakravarthy (extended cameo)
- Meena as Uma
- Kausalya as Jacqueline (extended cameo)
- Vivek as Saravanan
- Sai Kumar as Chetta Raghu
Production: The climax was shot in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, at the harbour, featuring underwater sequences, helicopters, ships, 3,000 tractors, 50 buses, and 200 camels. Vijayakanth made a special appearance without charging any remuneration.
Soundtrack: The music and background score were composed by Ilaiyaraaja, featuring six songs with lyrics by Palani Bharathi.
Reception: Reviews were mixed. The Hindu noted a laudable theme and plenty of action but suggested that proper pruning and crisper narration would have benefited the film. Chennai Online called it an impressive debut. Cinesouth praised the performances and cinematography but found the screenplay predictable in the latter half.
The film was later dubbed into Telugu under the title Mass, with Srihari replacing Karthik's role.
