Viduthalai Part 1

I would say, this is not Vetrimaran's best. But it is still up there, in the top echelons of Thamizh movies.

Acting was superlative across the board - Soori, VJS, Bhavani, and the host of characters that play the different parts in this movie. I couldnt think of anyone who did a lesser job. With VM around, its virtually impossible for an actor in movie to deliver less.

Story is layered. There are many nuances, or two sides that compete to be right. But it screenplay and direction that makes all this come together beautifully. The movie was slow, purposefully because it it was meant to play on your mind. It was not dragging.

Only thing about the songs, i wish Ilaiyaraja would control his exuberance to sing!!

I also think VM made some compromises in some shots. The opening sequence was good, but could have been better. The art direction too could have been better here. But thru' the rest of the movie camera, sets etc were super.

Cant wait for part-2... when the movie was ending, for a moment, i thought part-2 was going to start..... oh man.

Balumahendra made uncompromising raw and realistic films. Both Bala and Vetrimaaran are his disciples and Balumahendra's influence is heavyset on both these directors. Both the disciples haven't swayed till date and carved an unique raw, cruel, brutal genre for themselves albeit an unpalatable one for a larger part of the audience, which contributes to the reason why one of the top directors that India has ever produced arent as well known as they should have been.

Vetrimaaran directorial debut was in 2007 with Dhanush Polladhavan, the movie was remade in Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Bengali and Sinhalese. Viduthalai is his 6th movie as a director in his 16th year. Four years later in 2011 came his second movie, Aadukalam which was again with Dhanush, the movie raked 6 National Awards including Best Screenplay and Director. Another 4 years later came his third movie Visaranai, which bagged 3 National Awards including Best Feature Film in Tamil. He joined hands again with Dhanush for his 4th film in Vada Chennai which was released in 2018, the movie will be a cult classic in years to come and is rated 8.4 on IMDB. His 5th film was released one year later in 2019, again with Dhanush. Asuran won two national awards including Best Feature Film in Tamil. Dhanush won both National Awards for Best Actor for Aadukalam and Asuran.

Viduthalai is a 2 part movie and Vetrimaaran takes his time to set the plot. Soori, an accomplished comedian in the Tamil film industry makes his debut in a lead role and is an incredible casting choice for the role. Set in 1987 in a fictional town, the plot is based on Jeyamohan's short story Thunaivan. The narration is fresh, raw and aptly supported by Velraj's cinematography and IRs BGM, both the full songs are soothing melodies from the 80 year old maestro and apt to the situation. This is Vetrimaaran's first collaboration with his mentor's one and only favourite music director. Buzzing insect noises form a part of the BGM giving you a feel that you are actually there at the mountainous forest surrounded village. Vijay Sethupathi sizzles and scorches the screen with his brief screen time. Bhavani Sre delivers an award winning performance. GV Menon is his usual clinical self as a top cop. There are several new comers in the film who all give a seasoned performance. Vidathu Karuppu Chetan as the cruel cop stood out tall. Stand out casting choice was Rajeev Menon as the chief secretary, the characterisation was so real that Rajeev could actually walk into any government and do the job immediately.

If you watch movies for entertainment only, this is not the movie for you like Visaranai or Jai Bhim. The police station scenes are brutal and raw unlike any movies that you would have seen. It even makes Schindlers list concentration camp scenes palatable when compared against this.

Once in a life time role for Soori and he has given his 200%. Vetrimaaran's direction prowess can be seen throughout the movie, spectacular location choice and art work supported by solid actor's performance, editing, cinematography and music makes this a grand teamwork.

Another world class movie by Vetri. The romance track is little longer than needed, it felt but when we see the last 30-40 minutes it makes sense why he had spend that much time. Wow ... Is that Soori? He fits perfectly to the story line and even romance sequences did not feel odd.

If i don't talk about the background score, i am not xx's kid 😊 Not a noise in background but it flows with the scene. Only Karthik Raja can come close to it. Both the songs were good, listened to it on the screen for the first time!

Part-2 will be for sure more engaging & powerful, no doubt. Vijay Sethupathi full naked in 2nd. No discrimination for Vetri most women nude sequence in first part and in second Vijay 😂

Vetrimaaran's Vetri ( Winning ) streak continues...

Pros - Heart wrenching brutal cinema . Before getting into detail it's definitely not for light hearted . Viduthalai part1 plays a major role in setting up for part 2 . This time narration wise and making wise there was slight difference from Vetri's previous works . Part 1 explores the world of Viduthalai , Police brutality , separatist and politics . Narration was slow , but that doesn't means flat . Soori as protagonist gave a realistic show stealing performance . VJS had less screentime but created quite impact . Other cast did their part really well , they had enough scope throughout the movie , even GVM played his part neatly . Technical wise , impressive cinematography especially opening single shot sequence one of the best in kollywood , opening shot clearly established the tone of the movie . In a slow burner movie , Climax was total bang , action set pieces were well choreographed , excellently captured and edited . Ilaiyaraaja's back ground scores were well suited to this dark tone and periodic movie , songs were really great . Atlast part 2 glimpse literally increased the hype .

Cons - Asusual dubbing was poor as expected , lip syncing were totally odd in most of the places . Editing in few places weren't upto the mark .

Overall , a slow burning crime drama . Definitely worthy one for your patience and time . Highly recommended . Strictly 18+ .

I hope Part 2 will be released as soon as possible .

This was filmmaking masterclass*, another reminder for why the Writing > everything else to make a good movie. It was also raw, in-your-face, hard hitting - everything you expect a Vetrimaaran movie to be.

Story - Loved how this socio-political topic was written without getting too preachy, it felt more like a thriller; police brutality portrayed with a lot of thought.

Soori, B. V. (Before Viduthalai) - The comedian, Parotta Soori.

Soori A. V. (After Viduthalai) - The actor who can do pretty much anything he's given. You've never seen this type of work from him, he was amazing. So were Bhavani Sre, Chetan, and the rest of the supporting cast. I wonder if Santhanam would have ever considered something like this.

Cinematography - Very well done. Single shots. Drone shots. Shots on a gimbal, this has got everything. The camera work will catch your attention from the very first scene, you'll see why. Shoutout to all the technicians, it must have been tough to film it in those locations. Music - I didn't feel it, but it fight the 80s feel, so I guess that was the point behind choosing Ilayaraja...?

The dialogues (*minus the dubbing) in this film need a special mention - especially the ones towards the end. Some of the most hard-hitting dialogues aren't even in part-1. Of course, I know that because there's almost a trailer of sorts for part-2. Not a post credit scene, almost a proper trailer. Never seen it done that way. T

This isn't your family entertainer commercial flick, but I totally enjoyed it. His one is 2h 36m long, I'd have sat for another 3 hours if I had a chance to finish watching P2, back-to-back. Can't wait; hopefully this drops sooner than Vada Chennai 2.