Vettaiyan(2024)
Directing a movie successfully is an uphill task. The tougher task is to make a likeable Rajini film. Only a bunch of directors have succeeded in the past and the list has become increasingly scarce in the last decade. Vettaiyan is an almost perfect Rajini film, note the term almost. It blends the Rajini factors with the director's vision and the output is pretty good, it's not perfect but it's not bad either.
Vettaiyan is an investigation thriller drama that has a solid message that is not done namesake. My most favourite thing about Vettaiyan was its conviction to the script. In an era where directors take the short route to get whistles in the hall with silly buildups and nostalgia milking, Vettaiyan captures the star in the director's frame and surprisingly it does justice to the star while not swaying away from the story.
Rajini plays the role of an encounter specialist Athiyan whose life takes a turn when a government school teacher enters his life. His values and principles get questioned. The unlearning and relearning process of Vettaiyan forms the crux of the movie while also addressing a major social issue. Rajini still is one of the actors with a majestic presence. Even at 73, he has the aura to hold the screen and deliver solid drama. The movie has a lot of drama between the characters and it's presented convincingly. However, his action and dancing ability are questionable, he never danced fully yet the gimmick to hide him is much visible. Similarly, the director employs several methods to cut short the action scenes yet the flaws are hard to miss.
TJ Gnanavel shines with his solid story and sharp dialogues. He still requires skill to make a rousing clapworthy scene that doesn't feel icky. Yet, he is a great writer. The way the story flows is organic. A problem is opened. The solution to the problem leads to a bigger problem. The solution to the bigger problem turns into another bigger problem, it's organic. Special appreciation for the subject dealt in the movie. The politics he speaks is laudable and is done in a not so preachy way.
Among the cast, Fahadh Fassil and Ritika Singh get the meaty roles that shadow Rajini for almost full movie. Ritika Singh does a decent job but the biggest show stealer is Fahadh Fassil as "Battery" Patrick. Vettaiyan is a serious movie with almost everyone holding a death stare throughout the film. Fafa comes off as much needed comical relief with his one liners and quips that leave the theatre in spilts. The character is not developed well, he's just a sidekick to the police but the performance of Fahadh makes it much effective. Thushara and Amitabh are the next two highlights who pull of a convincing performance required for the movie. Rana was a caricature villain and Manju Warrier has been wasted as a pretty wife.
Anirudh has delivered a solid output in the movie. Though the song "Hunter vantaar" is ironic and irrelevant to the theme of the movie, it has been used without lyrics for major high moments. The movie also proves Anirudh's capability in providing a gripping score for not so massy movie. The pulsating BGM for the investigation scenes and the pathos for emotional scenes are laudable works of Anirudh. And, Anirudh had insane screen presence in the Manasilayo cameo who even danced pretty well.
The movie is not without flaws. Firstly, the biggest flaw was the manipulation tactic of the audience with repeated visuals of a triggering scene. It was done bad and presented in a very poor taste. The logic goes for a toss in some scenes, yes it's a Rajini movie but the logic misses is tough to avoid. Finally, the predictability and lack of surprises makes it a pretty tiring watch in the latter half.
~𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗶𝘆𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗻𝘆.
P.S.: Vettaiyan is the best Rajini movie since Kaala, Petta and Jailer were fan services. TJ Gnanavel is a director to watch out for.
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