Mersal (transl. Stunning) is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language action film directed by Atlee Kumar, who co-wrote the screenplay with V. Vijayendra Prasad and S. Ramana Girivasan. Produced by N. Ramasamy and Hema Rukmani under the banner of Thenandal Studio Limited, Mersal features Vijay in triple roles for the first time in his career. S. J. Surya, Kajal Aggarwal, Nithya Menen and Samantha Akkineni play the other lead roles while Vadivelu, Kovai Sarala and Sathyaraj feature as supporting characters. A. R. Rahman composed the film's soundtrack, while also handling the background score along with Qutub-E-Kripa. Ruben and G. K. Vishnu were in charge of the editing and cinematography respectively. The film follows two brothers, Vetri (Vijay), a renowned magician, and Maaran (Vijay), a doctor who charges meagre amounts for his patients, who try to expose the corrupt dealings and medical crimes of another doctor, Daniel Arockiaraj (Surya), who also happens to be the same person that killed their parents, Vetrimaaran (Vijay) and Aishwarya (Menen).

Produced on a budget of ₹1.2 billion (about US$17.5 million in 2017), Mersal was released on 18 October 2017 and received positive reviews. It was also a commercial success, grossing ₹2.6 billion (about US$39.3 million in 2017) worldwide. The film won 35 awards from 57 nominations; its direction, screenplay, music and Vijay's performances received the most attention from award groups.

Mersal received eleven nominations at the 65th Filmfare Awards South, including those for Best Director (Atlee), Best Actor (Vijay) and Best Supporting Actor (Surya). It won in two categories – Best Supporting Actress (Menen) and Best Music Director (Rahman). At the 10th Vijay Awards, it received eight nominations and won three, Favourite Film, Best Director and Favourite Song. Mersal received twelve nominations at the 7th South Indian International Movie Awards ceremony and won five awards, including Best Director for Atlee, Best Actor in a Negative Role for Surya and Best Music Director for Rahman. Among other wins, the film received ten Techofes Awards, seven Edison Awards, five Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards, two Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards, one award for Best Foreign Film at the National Film Awards UK. and Best International actor award for Vijay at International Achievement Recognition Award UK.

Awards and nominations

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref.
Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards	10 January 2018	Best Actor	Vijay	Won
		Best Actress	Kajal Aggarwal	Nominated
		Best Music Director	A. R. Rahman	Won
		Best Playback Singer — Female	Shreya Ghoshal for "Neethane"	Won
		Best Costume Designer	Neeraja Kona, Archa Mehta, Komal Shahani, Pallavi Singh, Jayalakshmi Sundaresan	Won
Edison Awards	26 February 2018	Best Director	Atlee Kumar	Won
		Best Villain	S. J. Surya	Won
		Best Male Playback Singer	Sathyaprakash for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan"	Won
		Best Lyricist	Vivek	Won
		Best Choreographer	Shobi	Won
		Best Cinematographer	G. K. Vishnu	Won
		Best Art Director	T. Muthuraj	Won
Filmfare Awards South	16 June 2018	Best Director – Tamil	Atlee Kumar	Nominated
		Best Actor – Tamil	Vijay	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor – Tamil	S. J. Surya	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress – Tamil	Nithya Menen	Won
		Best Music Director – Tamil	A. R. Rahman	Won
		Best Male Playback Singer – Tamil	A. R. Rahman for "Neethane"	Nominated
			Sid Sriram for "Macho"	Nominated
		Best Female Playback Singer – Tamil	Shreya Ghoshal for "Neethane"	Nominated
			Shweta Mohan for "Macho"	Nominated
		Best Lyricist – Tamil	Vivek for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan"	Nominated
			Vivek for "Neethane"	Nominated
National Film Awards UK	28 March 2018	Best Foreign Film	H. Murali, N. Ramasamy, Hema Rukmani	Won
		Best Supporting Actor	Vijay	Nominated
Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards	26 January 2018	Best Lyricist	Vivek	Won
		Best Playback Singer – Female	Shreya Ghoshal for "Neethane"	Won
South Indian International Movie Awards	14 – 15 September 2018	Best Film	H. Murali, N. Ramasamy, Hema Rukmani	Nominated
		Best Director	Atlee Kumar	Won
		Best Actor	Vijay	Nominated
		Best Actress	Nithya Menen	Nominated
		Best Actor in a Negative Role	S. J. Surya	Won
		Best Music Director	A. R. Rahman	Won
		Best Lyricist	Vivek for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan"	Won
		Best Male Playback Singer	A. R. Rahman for "Neethane"	Nominated
			Sid Sriram for "Macho"	Won
		Best Female Playback Singer	Shreya Ghoshal for "Neethane"	Nominated
		Best Comedian	Yogi Babu	Nominated
		Best Cinematographer	G. K. Vishnu	Nominated
Techofes Awards	19 February 2018	Best Film	H. Murali, N. Ramasamy, Hema Rukmani	Won
		Best Director	Atlee Kumar	Won
		Best Actor	Vijay	Won
		Best Villain	S. J. Surya	Won
		Best Male Playback Singer	Sathyaprakash for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan"	Won
		Best Female Playback Singer	Pooja Vaidyanath for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan"	Won
		Best Lyricist	Vivek	Won
		Best Choreographer	Shobi	Won
		Best Cinematographer	G. K. Vishnu	Won
		Best Art Director	T. Muthuraj	Won
Vijay Awards	3 June 2018	Best Dialogue	Atlee Kumar, S. Ramana Girivasan	Nominated
		Best Male Playback Singer	A. R. Rahman for "Neethane"	Nominated
		Best Female Playback Singer	Shreya Ghoshal for "Neethane"	Nominated
		Best Lyricist	Vivek for "Aalaporaan Thamizhan"	Nominated
		Best Cinematographer	G. K. Vishnu	Nominated
		Favourite Film	H. Murali, N. Ramasamy, Hema Rukmani	Won
		Favourite Director	Atlee Kumar	Won
		Favourite Song	"Aalaporaan Thamizhan"	Won
International Achievement Recognition Award UK(IARA UK)	International Achievement Recognition Award UK - 2018	Best International Actor	Vijay	Won

See also

• List of Tamil films of 2017