Amala Paul's first release of 2012 was in Linguswamy's multi-starring action entertainer, Vettai, alongside Arya, Madhavan and Sameera Reddy.[12] The film opened to critical and commercial acclaim with The New York Times claiming the film "entertains without breaking any new ground, though it can also surprise".[16] Amala Paul won mixed feedback for her performance; while the critic from Sify mentioned she "is lovely to look at and her feisty performance proves that a star is born", Pavithra Srinivasan of Rediff cited she "struts, pouts and hams to the hilt".