Arul was released on 1 May 2004 and became a commercial success at the box office.
Plot
Arul Kumaran, a factory worker separated from his family of goldsmiths in Coimbatore, gets into a verbal fight with the corrupt MLA Gajapathy, which results in Arul killing Gajapathy. Arul surrenders to the cops, but is later released from prison. Sethupathy, Gajapathy's brother and a political kingmaker, wants to exact revenge on Arul for Gajapathy's death. A cat and mouse game ensues in which Arul takes responsibility of cleaning anti social elements and also becomes the kingmaker of Coimbatore.
After the success of Saamy, Hari decided to renew the collaboration with Vikram for second time with Arul.
Jyothika was selected as heroine pairing with Vikram for second time after Dhool.[1][2]Vivek was originally a part of the cast but fell out with the director and was subsequently replaced by Vadivelu in the film.[3]
Though the film's plot is set in the backdrop of Coimbatore, the film was entirely shot at Karaikudi and was completed within 45 days.[4]
Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu wrote "In story and screenplay Hari could have done better. First of all a fearless, infallible hero pitted against a bunch of hoodlums and brutal, power-crazy politicians is too stereotypical for words. And when a completely unexpected twist occurs just before the break, the rest of the tale should be able to sustain the tempo created at the halfway point. Then, of course, you have the disjointed comic sequences".[5]Nowrunning termed it as "long, stale, tedious and drab."[6]Sify wrote "If you like Rambo style of films, Arul is worth investing".[7]Chennai Online called it "a major let-down".[8]
