Visaranai

There comes a movie like Whiplash once in a while where there is lot of action primarily due to intensity of performances and absorbing screenplay. Then there are movies like Haider where the movie atmosphere is dense and disturbing that you are left cold and horrified at the very end. Visaranai is a movie that has successfully blended both these aspects in order to present a practical, rational view of the system that is part of our livelihood. I cannot remember the last time I watched such an intense, nerve chilling, baffling movie in Thamizh.

As I have now noticed, Vetrimaran's films have two different halves but which are part of the same story. In Polladhavan, we see the happy, everyday youth Dhanush living a jolly good life in the first half while in the second, things take a sudden turn and he gets exposed to a world of ruthless criminals. In Aadukalam, we see Dhanush's involvement in the rivalry between 2 rival gangs in the first half, while in the latter we turn audience to how one man's greed changes his surrounding people's lives. Similarly in Visaranai, as the title suggests we are presented with 2 separate interrogations with different scenarios in both halves of the movie.

The movie attempts at one thing as beautifully explained by Kishore in one scene - The system is the boss and we are just pawns playing a game in it. The powerful always prey on the powerless and there is no way that one who has been nabbed in the web escape out from it. This is explained through layers of tightly scripted scenes with lots of crude violence, not to a forced extent of skipping the movie but watching it as if the horror where happening in front of your eyes. Few minutes into the movie the story starts unraveling and you start feeling a slight chilling fear which later keeps intensifying exponentially until the very end where you are left distraught. The range of emotions portrayed by the variety of villains torturing the innocents affect you up to a level that you start trembling as if watching a horror movie. Off late we have been seeing great improvements in movies like Thani Oruvan where a lone hero fights corrupt, antisocial elements in the society and this one breaks all those clichés to state a point that the system cannot be won over. I was particularly reminded of the Brazilian film duology 'Tropa De Elite' where the story ends with an unstated "moral" that criminals, politicians and police are of the same circle and you end up on the losing side if you mess with them.

Performance wise, Dinesh continues with an impressive tough role which might prove as a highlight in his career. I somehow feel convinced that Samuthirakani must be considered the real protagonist as his role portrays how a honest person becomes prey to the system and is left torn without options at the crux. The music, camera and editing cuts add more intense chill to the atmosphere. Special mention to Dhanush for continuing to surprise us by producing such top class movies. It is highly unlikely that any other Thamizh movie can beat the class of this in 2016!

Vetrimaran sir, you are not a director now but a visionary. This is not a movie but a well learned and constructed, flawless piece of art about the society. Feeling proud of you and the growth in your class of movies. Take some more national and international awards! I would have been glad if I could rate 12/10 for this movie!

Visaranai is a movie with the highest level of filmmaking (no songs, no heroism, no nonsense) coming out from Tamil cinema.. Director Vetrimaran of Aadukalam, has done brilliant depiction of novel 'Lock Up' based on a true story(great end credits).. He portrayed an hard- hitting screenplay to show the miserable plight of innocent immigrants being made scapegoats for the powerful system (call it brutal system).. From the very first scene he will arrest your attention and what follows, is a riveting narrative and gripping cinematic experience!! The casting is first class, Attakathi Dinesh and his 3 friends(Aadukalam Murugan), the supporting cast of Samuthirakani, Kishore and Policemen In the custody, given top notch performances.. Dinesh(one of the most underrated actor) another effortless, heart- wrenching performance while the terrific Samuthurakani finding himself stuck in between this brutal system but trying to act fair for god sake, he was excellent to describe!! The private interrogation part between Samuthurakani and Kishore one of the best part of the movie.. Vetrimaran made it a classic encounter against the painful, merciless lockup scenes.. And when you think things get better for Dinesh and friends, misfortune struck again, inevitably.. Move on from there, Afsal execution scenes will make you breaking inside.. Spell bounded!! The intense climax ended in the dark, intentionally he wants us to know nothing can be justified that ill-fated Dinesh character, very well crafted by Vetrimaran.. He is certainly, one of a kind filmmaker in the league of Bala and Myskkin!! This cinema is so world class!!

Visaranai (Interrogation) captures the harsh truth behind Police department corruption, thirst for Power, urge to close cases and how it affects the life of four runaway youngsters in a non-native state. It is just not that actually the plot traverses to the native state to show that no mercy is left in the department on handling the poor guys. It is based on true incidents which became a novel named "Lock Up" by M. Chandrakumar. Well that explains the crux of the tale but what makes it more solid and interesting is the chilling screen play and 100 % pure cinema type of handling where there was no absolute space for commercialism. Hats off to Director Vetrimaran who has dared to experiment this genre which reflects the ruthless, impolite, merciless, callous nature of some police officers. The plot gets enhanced by the performers like Dhinesh, Samuthirakani, Kishore, Adukalam Murugadoss and some more actors whom we hardly know by their names. The thrashes that these boys take up looks so vivid, raw, brutal, inhuman and clearly I understand this movie will be a hard to digest fact for soft or weak hearted audience. So people of this sort you are warned better try some comedy in the next screen. On the technical front the cinematography and BGM also shows the pain. This movie is a clear warning that there is a corrupt system out there waiting for innocent prey and if we are caught it is like the hell's hole and no escape. I didn't find anything as such which ruins the flow or script. So pure award category no scoring required.

Verdict : "Watch it if you can take it"

-Sivakumar Balachandran

This movie shows the harsh reality faced by some in some parts of the world.I can call this a masterpiece in reality film making.I have not known much about Vetrimaaran,after watching this,I feel like knowing more about him.This is a very sensitive topic to see upon.Therefore,I have give my huge applause to director Vetrimaaran for the courage and braveness shown by him that many other director's have struggled to show over the years,be it in Indian cinema or abroad.Hats off.The sufferings of the innocent minds in reality were finally paid off through this film with the blessings of the Almighty.Performances by Samuthirakani and Dinesh Ravi has totally done justice to the characters they played.Supporting casts did excellent jobs as well.Everyone has lived their character in this film in a totally convincing manner.I hope they will deserve all their awards in the coming award ceremony regardless of the one they already have.The highlight of the film was the interrogation scenes between the police and the victims.The cruelty of the police officers towards these helpless people were shown without any distinction.The innocence shown by the actors were unseen and amazingly painful to watch.The beating shown on screen will definitely be felt by all experiencing this film.Some may even end up in tears.I would also give a huge thumbs up the make up artists of this film for giving such real wounds and bruises for the actors.Music was done well and really intense.There are many moments that will make you scared and shiver through your spine.Finally,I wish the whole team and producer Dhanush my heartfelt well wishes for presenting this magnanimously informative piece of art that has become an eye opener for many worldwide.Hands down,again.God bless those who were affected in real life.A better life is awaiting you.Thank you,for this painful and hard hitting piece of brilliance.

I m shivering as i am typing this......... Gut wrenching.....Ufff!! I m exhausted!!!! Truly sucked out every last bit of my soul!!!

This is too realistic to be labeled as a film.....An extremely violent intense political conspiracy is the apt genre.... Really tests the audience mental strength!!! My heart was pounding during the entire 110 minutes of running time...... Gonna have hard time sleeping at least for a few days!!!

This film will undergo some serious cuts before releasing in theater's, as the characters depicted and their language are too raw... Hope censor board takes it easy and release it with minor cuts.....

Dinesh, U beauty.....Wat have u done!!!.....National Award is awaiting!!!

Out of all the 100 films which i ve seen this year, this tops the list like a Boss.... Too good even for a WORLD cinema standards!!!! Take a bow, Vetrimaaran!!! A Masterpiece in filmmaking!!!!