Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan's film Vettaiyan opened in theatres on October 10. The movie made a strong debut at the box office with an impressive opening of ₹30 crore across India, as reported by Sacnilk. The major contribution came from its Tamil shows, which grossed ₹26.15 crore. The film's Telugu shows earned ₹3.2 crore, while the Hindi shows minted ₹60 lakh and the Kannada shows brought in ₹50 lakh on day 1. Vettaiyan had an overall Tamil occupancy rate of 59.43% on its first day. Directed by TJ Gnanavel, the film's cast also includes Fahadh Faasil, Rana Daggubati, Manju Warrier, Ritika Singh, Dushara Vijayan and VJ Rakshan.
Vettaiyan marks Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan's much-awaited on-screen reunion. The duo last shared screen space in the 1991 film Hum. At the audio launch event of Vettaiyan, Rajinikanth recalled the time Big B went through a financial crisis. The actor shared how Amitabh Bachchan had to sell his Juhu home and other Mumbai properties. He ended up working 18 hours a day to pay off his debts.
Rajinikanth said, “He did anything and everything. He did all kinds of ads. People in the Bombay industry again laughed seeing this. For three years, despite having many health issues, he worked for 18 hours a day and cleared all his dues. Not just that he bought back the old house, he bought a total of three houses in that same lane. That's Amitabh Bachchan! He is 82 now and still works for 10 hours a day.”
In an NDTV review, film critic Saibal Chatterjee gave Vettaiyan 2.5 out of 5 stars. He said, “Orbiting within and around the formulaic, writer-director TJ Gnanavel assembles a few novel thematic elements and gives them a reasonable shot in Vettaiyan. The outcome may be a tad erratic in terms of pace and emphasis but, overall, what the film pieces together is not all forgettable.”
Vettaiyan tells the story of Kanyakumari SP Athiyan, a police officer who takes on a drug case in his region. What starts as a drug bust soon unravels into a larger conspiracy, intertwining Athiyan's personal relationships and social responsibilities. The film is produced by A Subaskaran and GKM Tamil Kumaran under Sun Pictures.