VANA YUDDHAM MOVIE REVIEW

Director A.M.R Ramesh is known for his selection of controversial incidents as the backdrop of his films. Most notable of them is his work in 'Cyanide', which centered on the assassination episode of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Now, its the turn of the ever-hotly discussed and debated personality, the dreaded and infamous dacoit/smuggler, Veerappan. Scripting the life and times of a man, who terrorized the governments of three states, is no joke and it involves intense research and acute scripting sense, to pull off a great film.

Casting is a very important aspect of any film, and what more with a take on a real-life personality. The pivotal Veerappan, was enacted by the versatile and talented Kishore, who was looking very much apt for the role. The popular mustache look of Veerappan, fitted Kishore to a T. The rough and threatening voice, complements the looks and performance wise, it was a decent effort from him. Arjun as Vijayakumar IPS, was in his usual elements, and playing cop roles is like second skin to him. The cool and smart looks is nothing new and he carries the look with ease, but is that how the real Vijayakumar IPS is in the real world, is a totally different question, though. Suresh Oberoi, looks and behaves very much as the deceased Kannada Superstar Rajkumar. Jayachitra as Chief Minister J.Jayalalitha was a good choice and so does Ravi Kale and Ram Sampath as Senthamarai Kannan and Sethukuli Govindan, respectively. Writer Jayabalan of 'Aadukalam' fame, has an important role in the second half, but his performance was a little raw and less convincing. The rest of the cast such as Shikha, Sulakshana, Vijay Anand and Lakshmi Rai has little to do, in characters of lesser importance. Vijayalakshmi's portions have been sadly chopped off entirely, due to a court ruling of the case filed by Muthulakshmi, the real life wife of Veerappan, who wanted all the scenes depicting her, to be taken off the film.

On the technical front, this film has average works and nothing extraordinary, in order to be raved. The stunt sequences have been well choreographed by Dhilip Subbarayan, Ravivarman and K.D Venkatesh, which was well conceptualized, in accordance to the needs of the script. D.Nagu's editing work was marred by the excessive deletion and the flow of screenplay, gets disturbed. Annamalai's production design was kept minimal and it should have been an easy job for him. There are no song-and-dance routine in this film, and Sandeep Chowta only had the background score department, to prove his skills. Sadly, he faltered in his attempt to deliver a rousing score. The background score was too loud and uninspiring. S.D Vijay Milton's commendable camera work, helped to bring out the look of the film. Capturing the essence of the real life forest and the usage of natural lighting method for the penultimate, climax sequence, are the highlights of the film. And occasionally we can see his trademark camera movements implemented.

A.M.R Ramesh's script is a very simple one and he has picked some of the most important events in Veerappan's notorious timeline. Some of the indispensable episodes are the kidnapping of Kannada Superstar Rajkumar, kidnapping and murder of politician Nagappa, the killings of elephants and illegal smuggling of ivory tusks and the gradual shift to sandalwood and the legendary 'Operation Cocoon'. The research work is evident through the depictions of Veerappan's daily life, such as the spiritual side of his, his friendship among his band of brigands and his behavioral habits. On the other side, we do get to see, the tasks carried out by the elite police pair of Arjun and Ravi Kale, in drawing and executing the plans to nab Veerappan. But the artistic presentation and necessary intensity was missing in the narration and the proceedings looked too simple and bland. There's no exciting element to the script, which can make us be hooked to the film. The forced deletion and extensive bleeping/muting, further spoils the flow of the screenplay. The poor dubbing work, is something unacceptable and should have been rectified, or at least taken care of from the start, itself. Due to the lack of emotional connectedness, the film has a documentary feel to it, and adding fuel to it, is the occasional insertion of actual television clippings. It is quite obvious, that the director has worked on a low budget, but these sort of films will definitely need a budget of higher scale to bring the actual depth and intensity of the topic. Ajaybalan's dialogues were simple and just adequate enough for the script.

'Vana Yuddham' is worth a look, for the subject handled, and to some extent, the performance of the two, lead artistes.


Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL