Movie: Velaikkaran
Direction: Mohan Raja
Cast: Sivakarthikeyan, Fahadh Faasil, Nayanthara, Prakash Raj, Sneha
Music: Anirudh Ravichandar
Cinematographer: Ramji
Editor: Ruben
Genre: Social Drama
Rating: ∗∗∗∗
What is it about: This film is a social thriller which revolves around a salesman Arivu (Sivakarthikeyan) who stands up against the food corporates, in eradicating food adulteration. What happens during this process forms the crux of the story written and directed by Mohan Raja.
Why it’s disappointing: One may point out many factors, and that will be only due to one factor that the film focused on the core subject skipping the routine. As the audience are used to masala, they couldn’t digest the fact of the adulteration forced fed in the name of entertainment. So I really have no qualms about it.
Yes we agree it did have few logical loop holes, but look at the bigger picture.
What to watch out for: There are many thing you can take from this film in terms of knowledge. Agreed that it gets a bit too much for many when so much is comes to your knowledge. But the way it was derived was an art which was mastered by writer-director Mohan Raja. The film was well paced for the content it packed in and hit spot on with the message. It doesn’t compromises and falls in to the pit of commercialism which usually social dramas of this kind does. It felt good to see that the content was the HERO of the film, and it was given utmost importance.
Sivakarthikeyan, one must definitely applaud his guts to come out of his comfort zone and play a role where heroism takes a back seat and he does things a common can does, unlike being a fantasia superhero. He did a great job and kept the sanity balanced giving his best till date.
Fahadh Faasil, he was effortless. He surprised everyone with the amazing performance which slipped in like the butter on a hot pan and was well spread in the story. His shades were well played out and the character was well written and played to its best.
Nayanthara, did have a small stint to play, which did upset the fans. But sometimes you have to let go.
Mahesh Manjrekar, was a new addition to Kollywood and he did a neat job. So did Anish Kuruvilla. RJ Balaji and Sathish did their parts well accordingly along with Robo Shankar.
Vijay Vasanth did a great job, we hardly get to see him in good roles and this was one of them. Vinodhini slowly marking her territory and soon will be one of the leading character artist in coming years.
Rohini was seen on screen after a long gap and as Siva’s mother she did an amazing job. So did Charlie who can pull these kind of roles off in his sleep.
Prakash Raj was a sharp and was spot on with his performance. His versatility is a known fact.
This film was well built on an amazing Art Direction by Muthuraj which was splendid. The cinematography by Ramji was crisp and had an amazing balance of tone maintaining the mood of the film. It was crisply edited by Ruben.
The music by Anirudh was good, and the background score was quite gripping. The best among the lot is “Ezhu Velaikkara”.
Verdict: Mohan Raja, did it again. Once mocked is being praised with anticipation. He should be given due credit for the effort he puts in to present something, as he states in the end card “This is a SAMPLE marketing” for the message put across in the film. Definitely worth a watch, don’t miss this and catch this one with your family.
