Linguswamy is back with another commercial cocktail with two cool dudes and two gorgeous gals as the lead characters. Lingu is known for his fast, swift and hard-hitting action screenplay which is coated with good technical aspects and wonderful songs. The coming back of Madhavan with Lingu is much awaited as their last film "Run" was a huge hit in those days and can be considered a cult classic for action films. Here they anticipation is further pulled upwards with the inclusion of Arya as well and Lingu's last, "Paiyaa" was a big hit. Are there chances for Linguswamy manage to pull of back-to-back hits, as the trailer of "Vettai" was promising?
One positive aspect of the film is the strong characterization of the lead artistes roles. First of all, Madhavan must be applauded for accepting a role which portrays him as a coward and that too with a upcoming hot star with him! He got his comic timing checked in, with cute expressions and his trademark smile as well. Besides that, he carried the changeover from the first half to the second half very well, and there were no hesitations on his side. Its good to see him play lighthearted roles in multi-starrers once again, but he has to keep his weight and physique in check. He is not really in shape and it actually contradicts the energy and vigor projected by him for his character in the second half. Other than that, he is good as usual. The real scene stealer is Arya. Though the trailer projected him as a loud and noisy character, in actual fact its the opposite in the film. He plays a chilled-out, relaxed and cool dude. He has very good screen presence and his action hero image helps him to convincingly play the role. He too, scores in comedy portions with subtle and restrained dialogue delivery. Sameera Reddy has a good role to play as the bold, brave, talkative, fiery but dumb girl. Her lip sync was not bad which needed her to utter long dialogues in fast manner and Chinmayi's dubbing for her worked well again. Amala Paul was cute and lovely in her limited scenes as Arya's pair and Savitha's dubbing for her complements her looks. Ashutosh Rana was good as well and had good screen presence and expressions, especially during close-up shots, though he struggled a bit with the dialogue delivery which was little bit out of sync with 'Thalaivasal' Vijay's dubbing for him. Nasser was a scream in few scenes which he appears once in a while and his dialogue delivery with fantastic comedy timing proves the veteran is a class actor. Sreejith Ravi was fine with Akash giving him the voice in dubbing. Thambi Ramaiah too delivers in comedy sequences with his funny dialogues and his clean delivery of it. Raju Sundaram and Linguswamy too makes surprising cameo appearances in the film.
One major asset of "Vettai" is cinematographer Nirav Shah. He had a fun time shooting this film and it was evident with the brilliant shots displayed in the film. His low angles and close-ups gives the right mood and feel for the film, especially during the tense sequences. The lighting done in the warehouse fight sequence was very well done, and the fight sequence shot in the rain, was class as well. Through this film, Nirav proves that he can cope very well with any sort of scripts and the bright color tones used, like red, orange, yellow and brown throughout the film really complements the script very well. Anthony's razor cuts keeps momentum of the film very well and the first fight sequence was very well edited. Rajeevan's props were very lifelike and all the interiors of the house, police station, warehouse and etc were natural and also went along with the script. Deepali Noor's costumes were very much apt for each character (Madhavan's conservative dressing, Arya's stylish and soft colored dressing and the heroines half-sarees) and it really complements the attitude of each character very well. Besides that, special kudos to her for Amala Paul's costumes in the "Kattipidi" song. Stunts are the real highlights of Linguswamy's films and this time he has opted for stunt director Silva. The action scenes are very well choreographed and composed which gives the adrenalin-pumping feel, though it is a mildly out of logic. Logic is of course something which is not bothered of when it comes to 'masala' commercials.
"Paiyaa" was musically a huge, huge hit and expectations were sky high once again for the trio of Linguswamy, Yuvan Shankar Raja and Na.Muthukumar. Sadly the expectations were not met as the songs were not as good as their previous film. "Dham Dham" was touted to be something on the line of "Theradi Veedhiyil" song from "Run" but sadly it was way behind that chart-busting song. The picturization was cool with slow motions used at good length and many half-saree clad girls were used to bring back the feel of "Theradi Veedhiyil". "Damma Damma" is a celebratory song picturized on all four lead artistes. It was well shot inside the old Karaikudi houses, which gives it a beautiful old-school feel. "Kattipdi Enna" was picturized among swanky new buildings and Nirav's cool color tone gives the song a different feel from the other one's in the film. The low angles and camera movement was creative. "Pappappa" is just another fast-numbered folk song and was picturized in a regular way with dancers dressed in fanciful costumes. Besides that, Amala Paul gets to show her glamorous side through this song. "Thaiya Thakka" was shot on both Sameera and Amala clad in half-sarees throughout, with wonderful rural landscape used in the background. Yuvan's background score too was not up to the mark, with the loud trumpet noises used throughout, bringing in a deja-vu feel.
Linguswamy's script are always taut, racy, pulsating and simple in manner but what adds additional strength is Brinda Sarathy's dialogues. Brinda's words are simple and stylish at the same time, which enhances the action mood of the script very well. Though the script has a very thin story-line, Linguswamy manages to keep the attention of audiences with interesting knots in the screenplay for instance the kidnapping scene and the child rescue scene. Also, he incorporates cute and humorous scenes which are light in manner. Example is the 'Thank You' scene which evokes laughter from all. Not to forget some good action scenes, Arya's encounter with the villains during a blood donation camp scene and Madhavan's "shutter" scene was racy and engaging. The film threads on the same line as Linguswamy's previous Vishal starrer "Sandaikozhi" with traditional Karaikudi houses, many shots taken in bright day time, the earthy and warm color tone throughout and a simple storyline. Although having simple story-lines is a welcomed move, the ending should not be too simple, as it was a little abrupt with this film and during post-ending credits, we are shown several scenes which should have been incorporated earlier to have a smoother ending.
In conclusion, "Vettai" is a simple, neat and lighthearted commercial action film which is a good time-pass film, especially during the festive holiday periods.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After the superb performance in Avan Ivan, Vishal is back in a film which belongs to his forte, the action genre. Helming the director's seat is Prabhu Deva which raises the bar and expectations of the film. The teasers and trailers promised some pumping action sequences. It's an important film for Vishal, reputation and financial wise as his last decent hit was Thamirabharani way back in 2007 and since this is his home production. As for Prabhu Deva, his Engeyum Kadhal was a disaster and to be on the safer side, he has chosen to remake a hit Telugu film called Shouryam. As the title suggests, will this film be a cracker ?
Vishal embodies the perfect Tamizh cinema action hero with his dark complexion, tall and well built physic as well as good looks. His radiates the macho look very well and it suits him perfectly, a throwback to his Sandakozhi and Thimiru days. There was no overreaction in any sequences from him. His dialogue delivery has improved a lot and the manner he performs his stunts scenes are ferocious. He's very much fit to be in the action hero category. Sameera Reddy has nothing much to do, as expected in mass masala films. She should be commended for trying comedy and she got her expressions right. Not to forget, she looks very pretty and attractive. Vivek's comedy fails to arise laughter and he only impresses in bits and pieces. It's pathetic to see Sayaji Shinde dishing out similar performances and that too as the same, lame, shouting villain. Wonder what happened to the man who portrayed Bharathiyar in that classic film, Bharathi. Poonam Kaur gets a small role to play, which she did neatly. Oorvashi and Seeman's brief roles, bring a smile to us with their perfect timing. Devi Sri Prasad was impressive in his cameo in the opening song.
Vijay Anthony's score is adequate and mild and the pick of the lot will be the "Ichu Ichu" number, youthfully written by Vaali sir. "Enna Aachu" and "Ippadi Mazhai" numbers can get more popular with repeated airings on television and radio. His background score was not loud. Among the songs the "Enna Aachu" has been captured in the beautiful Ladakh region but the promised sizzling number "Bombay Ponnu" featuring Sophie Chaudary was a damp squib. RD Rajashekar is one of the best in the cinematography field, especially the fight sequences, "Kaakha Kaakha" and "Bheema" being testimonials to it. He has brilliantly captured the fight sequences, especially the one right before the interval and the climax portions with the slow motion effect, well used. His angles and placement of camera elevates the impact of the fight sequences. Anal Arasu, who did a wonderful work in "Rowthiram" continues his work here, though he should have avoided the 'bouncing' effect and some over-the-top moves. His one-to-one combat sequences was well choreographed. Chaitanya Rao's costumes for Sameera was very pretty and apt which accentuates her good looks. V.T Vijayan's editing was clean and neat making the film crisp. RK Nagaraju's sets especially the villain's house was noticeable.
The biggest problem with the film is the outdated, worn-out, boring and lame script. The story is as old as the hills and was seen hundreds of times on screen. Prabhu Deva tries to prep up the excitement level by infusing some "time-limit" sequences in the second half but it actually fails to achieve the intended result. The "Pokkiri" effect can be seen here and there in bits and parts. Though the film doesn't drag and is made crisply, the sequences are out-dated and not fresh at all.
End of the day, Prabhu Deva and Vishal has dished out a film which has decent performances, decent cinematography, decent music, decent action sequences but a bad script and story.
Ratings: 2/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
One of the few directors in Tamizh cinema with a high success ratio, Gautham Vasudev Menon comes up with a experimental and daring movie after scoring with his Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya big time. He has chosen the psychological thriller genre which is quite a rarely chosen one in Tamizh cinema.. Many comparisons have been made with the ever green Bharathiraja classic Sigappu Rojakkal before the release of this movie. After watching the movie, there's only one verdict and it's DISAPPOINTMENT. It's no where near the Sigappu Rojakkal and Gautham did not deliver on his promise of a thrilling movie. The movie fails to do that so and there are quite a number of loopholes which questions the logic of the screenplay.
On the acting front, there aren't much of characters here as the whole movie is focused on the lead artiste. Newcomer Veera has delivered a very good performance as the psychologically affected teenager who also happens to suffer from multiple personality disorder. Gautham has done a good job by extracting the best from Veera and his body language and tone was perfect though at times he tends to shout too loud. But kudos to him for balancing the act of 3 different personalities. Sameera Reddy as the tortured 'prisoner' did a fine job as well and she really conveyed the emotions wonderfully. Swapna as the caretaker of Veera was brilliant be it in the flashback and also as the 'illusion-ed' Meenakshi Amma.. Deva as the police officer was an average act as he did not really fit in to the role as he looked amateurish in a police uniform.
Gettin on to the technical department, the usual Gautham's team is behind all the work and except for the absence of the music director. Manoj Paramahamsa did a good job with his handling of the camera with many top angle shots especially in the scenes focusing the perimeters of the house and zooming into the face of the characters and most of the duration of the film has been filmed at night. One particular shot which really deserves plaudits for the director and the cinematographer is the opening shots of the credits where the firing of the police officer with a gun shot takes place. That slow moving and water splashing end to reveal the title credits was simply superb. Rajeevan has come up with simple house sets and mostly depended on Gautham's favorite colors of white and blue. Anthony's editing was fast and sharp with the transition of scenes with the viper effect being the highlight. Nalini Sriram has little work to do as there's not much of scope on costumes since every character has to be dressed like an ordinary person. Coming to the captain of the ship, Gautham should be appreciated for coming up with a movie which dwell on the psychological thriller genre there must be some suspense element in the film which was really missing since it really fails to thrill the audience. It only made some of them to squirm in their seats. It was a novel attempt from Gautham to come with a film without any sort of music but that decision did not really work in favor of the film. A sudden silence together with raw and natural sounds in a film can elevate the thrilling moments in a film with has good background score but a whole film with only live sounds will actually take out the eerie feeling created by haunting music. Though it is chilling to know that this movie was based on a true story of a psychologically affected person, Gautham failed to create a tight and engaging screen play as sometimes the movie tends to drag. By the way it was cheeky of him to come up with a scene where the characters in the movie goes to the cinema to catch a movie of his own with the title "Abaayam" which also happens to be a thriller with the poster of Veera!!
Overall, Gautham should have done a better job in coming up with a more convincing and gripping thriller and it was a heavy disappointment to see him fail in that aspect. Technically the movie is of high quality and international standard but then the main criteria is weak. Hope Gautham comes up with a better package next time.
Rating: 1.5/5 STARS
BY: TAMIL
