Vaanam, kicked off the actual multi-starers spree in Tamizh cinema. Expectations were big since it involved talented artistes coming together in one film and also for the script as this film is the remake of the critically acclaimed Telugu film Vedam, directed by the same director Krish. Besides that this movie has another added expectations thanks to the controversy of Simbhu walking out of Ko and proceeded to do this film and everyone wanted to know whether Simbhu made the right choice or not. This film follows the multi-story narration where 5 separate tracks converge into one situation in the climax. This sort of narration mode is very popular in the international scene where successful films like Babel and Crash has proved it. In Indian cinema Mani Ratnam used it in Aayitha Ezhuthu/Yuva and even in a recent Malayalam film Traffic.
Each track has it's own story, characters and issues involved. First up is Bharath as the aspiring rock star. It's refreshing to see Bharath in a good role but as per storyline we don't get to see him really living the role of a rock song artist. His stunt scenes in the highway and the risks he has taken to execute it such as running down from the hill and breaking the glass panel of an oncoming car should be applauded. He was presented in a clean and youthful look but his costumes could have been better to be in tune of a rock-song artiste. Vega complemented him well as his partner and her looks and costumes were near perfect.
Prakash Raj as a devout Muslim was too good. The veteran has once again proved why he is a sought after character artiste. His expressions and voice modulation when showing his anger and getting hit by the shocking reality was really brilliant especially in the scene where he gets slapped by Ravi Prakash. Sonia Aggarwal had a neat performance although her role had very less scope in the film. Ravi Prakash as a racist policeman who in the end realises his mistakes, delivered a good performance as well. Jayaprakash had a very small but powerful role and he was in his best elements.
Saranya Ponvannan as the helpless mother who has to rescue her son from the clutches of loan-shark, was brilliant as usual. Her expressions, voice modulation, body language, everything was very natural and she has proved once again that she's an actress of substance. The old actor who played her father-in-law character was also very natural and simple.
Anushka did a role which finally justified her glamour. As Saroja, the commercial sex worker she has excelled in a once in lifetime role and her body language was very apt for that role. As a girl with big aspirations, her best scene was her encounters with Radha Ravi in the police station and it was good to see her role not being depicted in a vulgar manner. Veteran Radha Ravi appeared for one scene but yet stamped his mark with his voice modulations being the highlight. The eunuch character was very well portrayed and Brahmanandam's cameo was an added attraction to the movie.
Silambarasan, has delivered a knock out performance as Cable Raja and it's good to see him following up a fantastic performance after Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. If analyzed throughout the movie, the last 45 minutes was his best and Silambarasan was simply superb by handling the emotional scenes very sensitively and with high level of maturity. It takes a big effort for anyone to act out those scenes and he has done it really well. The only complaints one would say is the unnecessary heroic build up given to him, be it in the title credits or even in his introduction scene. Santhanam and Ganesh were perfect complements to Silambarasan and the trio rocked in the comic department with fantastic timing and it was a relief Santhanam had his own usual punches but sans any vulgarity, this time and Ganesh was at his best as well. Jasmine, the newcomer was apt for the rich girl role and it's good to hear her dub in her own voice.
Neerav Shah and Gnanasekharan did a fine job with the cinematography department and the angles of the camera was good but the best part of it is the lighting and mood/tone selected for each separate story tracks which really brought out the feel of the film. Some of the best shots are the salt field in Tuticorin and the rain scenes involving Prakash Raj. Rembon, the art director created apt sets for the film be it the whorehouse or the streets created for the final dance sequence. Yuvan Shankar Raja's music was a little disappointing as Vaanam cant be said as one of his best tracks although the Yevandi Unnai Pethan song had fantastic sound engineering work with well shot video song and Na Muthukumar's lyrics for the title track was brilliant though songs were unnecessary speed breakers of the film. Yuvan made up for the disappointing album with an excellent background score. The film's biggest asset is the dialogue write Gnanagiri who wrote simple, straightforward and thought provoking dialogues. Kudos to him for coming up with such gems and that too for the important scenes of the film. Krish has penned a neat story with strong messages but the script had space for improvements especially for the first half but still he should be appreciated for not coming up with a nonsensical masala film.
Vaanam manages to get the recognition as a good film though it had room for improvements and the director should have stuck to his original Telugu film, when it comes to depicting the ending of 2 major characters of the film. Overall, a decent and different film for the average viewers.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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