Movie Review: Vettaikaran!

Movie: Vettaikaran

Director: Babu Sivan

Actor: Vijay

Actress:Anushka

Music:Vijay Antony

Vijay is back in the easy comfort of the FORMULA – one that is all about a larger-than-life character, an adrenalin pumping introductory song, dream duets in studio sets and foreign locales, comedy , punch dialogue, action and sentiments. So, if you have seen earlier films of the superstar, you may strive hard to find anything new in Vettaikaran, which is old wine served in a new bottle, with a different label.

It is a one-man show for Vijay as he is there in every frame, catering to the mass audience who want their dose of unpretentious masala mix. The cardinal rule one should follow while watching such ‘mass masala films are to suspend disbelief and never ask questions pertaining to logic.

The success of such films depends purely on how a director is able to keep his audience spellbound without a script and give him a time-pass entertainer.

The story line is simple and as old as the hills. ‘Police’ Ravi (Vijay) is a village simpleton and a good samaritan who has a sneaking admiration for the men in uniform, mainly the upright and honest cop Devaraj (Sri Hari). Ravi, a cool guy, comes to Chennai to study and drives an auto to make a living but soon gets into a bloody fight with Chella (Ravishankar), a guy who is part of a land mafia and a notorious womaniser.

Chella is beaten to pulp and his dad Vedanayagam (Salim Ghouse) takes over. A cat and mouse game follows. The do-gooder turns into a super hero as the hunt begins.

Added attractions are Susheela (Anushka), a girl whom Ravi meets on a train, who later joins him at regular intervals for the song ‘n’ dance routine. A comic police officer Kattabomman (Sayaji Shinde), and a true friend of the hero (Sathyan), who is killed by the villains, are the other clichéd characters.

On the downside, there is no bone of originality in the story which is etched from earlier films. The climax is hackneyed and predictable. The film works due to Vijay, his charisma and immense screen presence. He takes the cake, cream and cherry and plays to the gallery, with abandon and underlines his over-the-top character with an infectious sense of fun.

Anushka has nothing much to do and hence goes unnoticed. Sri Hari is wasted while Sayaji Shinde does his usual comedy act. Ravishankar and Salim Ghouse are adequate.

A major plus for the movie are the five peppy songs tuned by Vijay Antony which are choreographed well. The introductory song Naan Adichal… has lot of energy in it and the cute bit with Vijay’s son Sanjay dancing with him rocks! The action scenes by Kanal Kannan are superbly choreographed.

Gopinath’s camera is slick and editing is fast paced, despite the film running into two hours and 54 minutes.

Designed as a paisa vasool film, Vettaikaran is strictly for Vijay’s fans – it delivers the goods.