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Vada Chennai review
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Filmi Score
Exceptional
10 reviews
81
What the critics say
Audience Score · not yet · appears once three readers have written a review
Critics overwhelmingly call Vada Chennai an immersive, richly detailed gangster saga led by Dhanush's restrained performance and Vetrimaaran's direction, with some noting a slipshod, nonlinear structure and a sagging middle stretch.
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Summary
Vada Chennai (2018, Tamil) has a Filmi Score of 81 from 10 critic reviews, is rated 18+ by Filmi (CBFC: A), and streams on JioHotstar in India.
Anbu, a young carrom player in North Chennai becomes inadvertently involved in an ongoing conflict between two local gangsters.
Where to watchAvailability by JustWatch · some watch links pay filmi.ai a small commission; it never changes what we show or how we score.
Box office collection
No sourced figure yet.
Cast & crew
Cast
Directed and written by Vetrimaaran · music Santhosh Narayanan
VetrimaaranDirector · Writer
Santhosh NarayananMusic
R. VelrajCinematography
R. RamarEditing
G. B. VenkateshEditing
DhanushLead
Andrea Jeremiah
Ameer
Aishwarya Rajesh
Samuthirakani
Daniel Balaji
Kishore
Pawan
Subathra Robert
Boxer Dheena
Radha Ravi
Subramaniam Siva
Full crew
Production designJacki
CostumeAmritha Ram
LyricsGaana Bala · Rokesh · Vivek · Sindhai Rev Ravi · Dholak Jegan · Arivu
ActionDhilip Subbarayan
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Summary
Anbu, a young carrom player in North Chennai becomes inadvertently involved in an ongoing conflict between two local gangsters.
Vada Chennai (2018, Tamil) has a Filmi Score of 81 from 10 critic reviews, is rated 18+ by Filmi (CBFC: A), and streams on JioHotstar in India.
Where to watch
Availability by JustWatch · some watch links pay filmi.ai a small commission; it never changes what we show or how we score.Not streaming yet
What the critics said
10 reviews · the critic’s own number where they gave one
Five of 10 · the critic’s own number where they gave one
Priyanka Sundar · 17 Oct 2018
Vada Chennai movie review: A brilliant beginning to Dhanush-Vetrimaaran trilogy. 5 stars | Entertainment News Read it there →
Published · 5/5
Filmi’s reading 95
100
Manoj Kumar R · 17 Oct 2018
Vada Chennai review: Vetrimaran-Dhanush’s gangster drama is as good as it gets Read it there →
Published · 5/5
Filmi’s reading 92
100
Siddarth Srinivas · 17 Oct 2018
Vada Chennai Movie Review Read it there →
Published · 4.5/5
Filmi’s reading 90
90
Sowmya Rajendran · 17 Oct 2018
Praises the film's authentic street language, cinematography and layered character work, naming softer editing and screenplay 'jerks' in the… Read it there →
Derived by Filmi
85
Janani K · 17 Oct 2018
Vada Chennai Review: Dhanush and Vetri Maaran gift kickass gangster film Read it there →
Published · 4/5
Filmi’s reading 82
80
The critic finds Vada Chennai a darkly detailed, well-crafted gangster saga with standout performances from Amir Sultan and Andrea, tipped to gain… Read it there →
Derived by Filmi
78
Srivatsan S · 17 Oct 2018
Praises the film's well-rounded, unsentimental characters and Dhanush's performance, treating the political second-half turn as a setup for the… Read it there →
Derived by Filmi
78
Sreedhar Pillai · 17 Oct 2018
Pillai calls Vetrimaaran's gangster saga layered, violent and mesmerising, anchored by outstanding performances from Dhanush and Ameer, and a… Read it there →
Derived by Filmi
78
M Suganth · 17 Oct 2018
Vada Chennai Review {3.5/5}: The sprawling nature of the narrative makes it truly an epic Read it there →
Published · 3.5/5
Filmi’s reading 76
70
Anupama Subramanian · 22 Oct 2018
Balances praise for the cast, cinematography and score against complaints that the story is 'a bit slipshod,' drags in places, and is overcrowded… Read it there →
Derived by Filmi
55
How this number was made. We read every review and derive a 0–100 reading from each — including where the critic printed a number, which stays first on its row, because it’s theirs. The Filmi Score is the mean of 10 readings; 5 of those rows also carry the critic’s own rating, shown beside ours. Rubric v2.1, computed 26 Oct 2026. Any critic can ask us to remove a derived reading.
PublishedStated in videoDerived by FilmiNo score
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Vada Chennai: quick answers
Box office, where to watch and what critics said — from the same data as the page.
Where can I watch Vada Chennai?
Vada Chennai is streaming on OTT: JioHotstar (India), Vi Movies and TV (India) and Goldmines Play (India). It can also be rented or bought on Amazon Video (the US and the UK), Apple TV (the US, the UK and Canada) and Google Play Movies (the US). Availability comes from JustWatch and is checked every Friday.
What did critics say about Vada Chennai?
Vada Chennai has a Filmi Score of 81 (Exceptional), the mean of 10 readings of critic reviews, one per review. Readings run from 55 (Deccan Chronicle) to 95 (Hindustan Times). Every review and how it was scored is listed below.
What readers say
The Audience Score appears once three readers’ reviews have been read under the rubric — built from what people write, never from the rating numbers.
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