Mersal is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film directed by Atlee and co-written by Atlee, K. V. Vijayendra Prasad and S. Ramana Girivasan, in charge of the dialogues, and produced by Thenandal Studio Limited, thus becoming their 100th production. The film stars Vijay in a triple role, Kajal, Samantha, and Nithya Menen.
The story revolves around two twin brothers in which one is a magician avenging for his father's death and medical crimes. The other one is a reputed doctor who charges meagre amounts from his patients. The film's principal photography commenced on 1 February 2017, at Chennai, and filming took place on Gdańsk, Poland and Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. The background score and soundtrack album were composed by A. R. Rahman, while the cinematography was done by G. K. Vishnu and edited by Ruben.
Mersal was released worldwide on 18 October 2017, coinciding with Diwali and opened to positive reviews with praising the performance of Vijay, A. R. Rahman's soundtrack, the cinematography, the social message and Atlee's direction. The film was a commercial success, grossing ₹260 crore (US$40 million) worldwide, becoming the fifth-highest grossing Indian Tamil film and Vijay's second-highest grossing film in his career. The film's dubbed Telugu version Adirindhi released on 9 November 2017. The film completed 100-day theatrical run on 25 January 2018.
The film was released on 6 December 2018 in China by HGC Entertainment. Due to demand, the film was screened at the largest cinema theatre in Europe Grand Rex, France. The film was screened at the Hainan International Film Festival in Hainan, China and at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival in South Korea.
