Movie: Uriyadi
Direction: Vijay Kumar
Cast: Vijay Kumar, Mime Gopi
Music: Masala Coffee
Cinematographer: Paul Livingston
Editor: Abhinav Sunder Nayak
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Rating: ∗∗∗∗
What is it about: This film has a political backdrop mixed with caste fanatics. The film revolves around 4 friends from an engineering college, who get mixed up in this twisted caste-politics. The film is directed by a debutante Vijay Kumar.
Why it’s disappointing: After a long gap, for a Tamil film I’m leaving this space blank.
What to watch out for: The film may have a story which has been told in many forms. But what makes “Uriyadi” stand out is its treatment to the subject which was original and refreshing. Director has not left a room for the audience to complaint or crib about the way it has come out.
Another surprising thing of “Uriyadi” was the central cast, all of them were fresh faces, a film which not only has a debut director and producer but also the central cast debuting in to Kollywood. A package so fresh that it gave a whiff of a new age cult cinema in Tamil film industry.
There are a few scenes in the film, which when plays out, makes you want to applaud with excitement, and in fact gives you Goosebumps. For instance the “Dhaba” fight sequence, it was brilliantly derived and choreographed.
The cast was so chilled out in delivering the performance. The lead who doubles up as the director too, Vijay Kumar gave a riveting performance which one would wonder and state “Pinreenga Sir”. Another character which catches your eye instantly is Sivaperumal as Quarter, it’s not the appearance I’m talking about, but the performance which reminded me of a character from “Gangs of Wasseypur” named “Perpendicular”. The guts he would show during the pivotal situations in the movie was applause worthy. Mime Gopi was cunningly perfect, which was well supported by Suruli as Ramanathan.
The film had crisp writing which doesn’t dull at any point and keeps marching brisk right from first frame till the end. The back ground score was simply great by Vijay Kumar. It’s really been a very long time we got to witness a film of this sort, which hits you hard and makes you clinch when someone gets beaten on screen.
When a filmmaker is not worried about the censor certification of the film, he has achieved the Zen required for the product to deliver, regarding its certificate. Nalan Kumarasamy with Sameer Bharat Ram and Vijay Kumar have made a bold attempt which is catching up like a fire caught in a hay stack. Hope this film gets more screens in the city, which would give a great chance for many to catch this.
The cinematography was raw by Paul Livingstone which had a cut throat edit by Abhinav Sunder Nayak. Music by Masala coffee was great.
Verdict: Vijay Kumar proved as a director, actor and a producer. What else can you ask from a debutante. A fresh product which balances the sentiments in right proportions and keeps a sharp eye on the violence surrounding it. Definitely worth more than one time watch, because I’m not done watching it just once.
