Vettaiyan Movie Review

Vettaiyan is directed by Jai Bhim fame director TJ Gnanavel (pronounced as Thaa Se Gnanavel). It is his first project with Rajinikanth. The huge budget film is being produced by Lyca Productions, which had recently produced the films Ponniyin Selvan 1&2, Chandramukhi 2, Don and Indian 2. The film features a star cast including Manju Warrier, Fahadh Faasil and our own Rana Daggubati in pivotal roles. Although the Telugu industry has several smaller releases in Dasara this weekend (Viswam, Maa Nanna Superhero, Janaka Aithe Ganaka), Vettaiyan is understandably the only release in Tamil Nadu this weekend.

What is it about?

SP Athiyan (Rajinikanth) is a police officer from Kanyakumari. However, he is known across India as a renowned 'encounter specialist' who often resorts to extrajudicial killings to ensure objective and speedy justice. The prominent lawyer and human rights activist Sathyaraj (Amitabh Bachchan) observes his actions up close and criticizes them. He believes that seeking immediate justice through encounter killings is just as bad as delaying court proceedings for years, and that the former must not be used as an alternative to the latter. When one of Athiyan's encounters goes wrong, he is forced to reconsider his behavior and seek justice. How he manages to do this with the help of his colleagues in law enforcement shapes the rest of Vettaiyan.

performances

Despite playing a 58-year-old man, Rajinikanth is stylish and suave as usual in the film. However, he plays a character who admits he's made a big mistake, and that's something our on-screen heroes rarely do. He doesn't appear on screen every second as the characters' actors have their own moments on screen. Amitabh Bachchan's Sathyaraj is an iron-clad, strong counterpart to Rajinikanth's Athiyan. Amitabh Bachchan plays the conscience of Vettaiyan. It is a pleasure to see him and Rajinikanth together on screen. Although Amit ji's role in Vettaiyan is not as electrifying as his last outing as Ashwathama in Kalki (2898 AD), it is a refreshing change to see him in more and more South Indian films. Similar to Kalki, the makers of Vettaiyan opted for AI to get authentic dubbing of Rajinikanth in all languages ​​including Telugu. This was extremely helpful for the film overall as Amitabh Bachchan's voice is so unique and a replacement could potentially cause discord in the audience's minds.

In Vettaiyan, Fahadh Faasil plays Patrick, a Horlicks-loving thief turned police informant and tech expert. The role may be a downgrade for an actor of Fahadh's caliber and superstar status, but Fahadh plays the role with an ease and ease that immediately puts us at ease too. Veteran Malayalam actress Manju Warrier doesn't have much to do after the Manasilayo song ends. Ritika Singh, who plays a new IPS officer, gets more screen time but trails only Rajinikanth and Fahadh Faasil. Rana embodies the role of Nataraja Shanmugham aka Nat, a billionaire supervillain, with his muscular physique as well as his intense gaze. Abhirami, Dushara Vijayan and Rohini shine in short parts. TFI character actors Supreeth Reddy and Krishnudu are given brief roles as Telugu gangsters and cops respectively as the story moves from Vettaiyan briefly to Kadapa, giving a familiar and reassuring presence to the Telugu audience.

Technical details

Apart from the Manasilayo song and the Hunter Chodu ra soundtrack, there is nothing strange about Anirudh's soundtrack. The film's background music is pretty much unforgettable. You feel a certain excitement after listening to the Manasilayo song and you hope that the excitement reflects in the video, but Manasilayo's music video is chaotically shot and edited. One can hardly watch the music video and enjoy Manju's dance moves at the same time.

Another disappointment of the film came from the film's dubbing. While there has already been enough debate as to why Vettaiyan's title was not changed in the Telugu version, the entire film paints a worse picture of this situation. Rajinikanth's name is Athiyan in the film. While Athiyan may be a normal Tamil name, “athi” has a completely different meaning in Telugu. They should have changed the name of Rajinikanth's character to a name that sounds less funny in Telugu. Some characters in the film speak in Telangana dialect while all others speak Telugu with a neutral Andhra accent.

What is problematic about this is the fact that the characters who speak with Telangana accents are men from the slums who are also suspected criminals. In the context of the language and statehood policies of the Telugu states and what the Telangana people fought for before 2014, this is an insensitive and tone-deaf creative decision. Most of the signs in the film are also in Tamil, further confusing Telugu viewers with the incomplete cultural translation. Weeks after the release of Sathyam Sundaram, who beautifully translated the film for its Telugu audience through appropriate and creative dubbing/dialogues/signages, Vettaiyan's Telugu dubbing is a disappointment.

Thumbs up

First half
Rajini screen presence
Social News

Thumbs down

Flat narrative
No highlights
Music

analysis

In Vettaiyan, there is a certain mismatch between the expectations of the audience and what the film delivers. When a regular audience enters the theater with a big star cast, they hope to see a real entertainer.

But Vettaiyan is largely a social drama told in the form of an investigative thriller. The investigative parts of the film are not the strongest as they become predictable over time. We simply find out what's next and what's not.

But the socio-dramatic parts of the film are strong. There are comments about rape culture and women's safety that seem all too similar after what the country has experienced this year. The problem of coaching institutes harassing parents and not teaching students well is also very similar to what has happened recently with online teaching platforms. The portrayal of these two social issues is accompanied by the film's overarching commentary on extrajudicial killings.

In addition to underscoring the importance of thorough investigation, the film shows how killings and other forms of police brutality disproportionately impact poorer communities. Those expecting mass moments, which is what people usually expect from a Rajinikanth film, will be disappointed, but more patient and discerning viewers can give it a try.

Verdict – Neither a serious film nor a star film!

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