Velaikkaran

Director Mohan Raja has come up with another massive product after Thani Oruvan. From this film it is more than evident that Sivakarthikeyan has evolved into a better actor. There are too many good characters, thus reducing the screen-space of each actor that seem to be disabling the audiences to connect with those characters. Fahadh Faasil has done a fantabulous job but lies low as compared to Arvind Swami in Thani Oruvan. Velaikkaran lacks the cat & mouse game between the hero and the villain and focuses fully on social messages and facts. It is indeed stunning that the facts told can be easily related with our daily lives, and it sure changes our view towards malls and supermarkets. Nayanthara's role too wasn't as expected but it didn't turn out to be an obstacle for the movement of the story. Anirudh's bgms has been the backbone in elevating the impact of the scenes, and the songs to are fixed wherever it is necessary and not to drag time. In a typical Sivakarthikeyan movie, we expect comedy, fun, dance, romance etc., but for those who expected these things are sure to get disappointed and to enjoy the film, they must realise that it is a Mohan Raja film. The facts and cause steals the show, and has managed to involve the audiences. It has also left a huge impact on the audience and sure to become aware of the food adulteration that has been prevailing in our nation for decades. It is a more than one-time watchable film, and undoubtedly it deserves an 8/10 and probably one of best films of the year.

This movie is worth going to the theatre for Anirudh's music alone, Bjorn's singing is the highlight, and Jonita Gandhi lives up to the expectation. There are a few thought provoking ideas, extrapolating the advertising strategy a pro- capitalist technique and using it against the very system of capitalism. This is a movie that will stimulate a long drawn out contemplation of the society well into the following weeks. Nonetheless, I would reserve such ideas to a platform like TEDx, the message and the format don't gel well, the didactic script back-fires miserably. What's worse, is that even the message is flawed, if packaged goods are harmful, so are steroid- induced chickens, pesticide ridden vegetables which again is only so called natural!

Apart from the impeccable performance by Fahadh Faasil as the antagonist,nothing in this film is smooth or subtle. The character transforms from newbie to the highest moral authority in just a snap. It tries too hard to deliver its message and ends up not giving an emotional impact of any kind.

The intend of the entire crew is good and the message tried to deliver is new and novel. Absolutely no doubt about the intentions and thought process is really admirable.

Too many good characters but given very limited space. Siva's space should have been sliced out to other characters to throw more weight-age on the story telling. Unfortunately Director has failed on that aspect of planning. Moreover, movies should rely more on script, screenplay , story telling and content delivery. In those lines this is very mediocre typical commercial movie.

I wanted to rate 7, but with the quality movies Tamil Cinema has been producing lately its tough to rate as a good movie.

Velaikkaran, Mohan Raja's follow-up post his Thani Oruvan revival, tries a little too hard to repeat the success formula of a David vs. Goliath story but ends up a mixed bag. This might be considered Sivakarthikeyan's 'maiden' venture where the character he plays, has a greater mission than 'wooing the next-door girl'. Add a suave 'corporate' Fahadh Faasil to that. Anirudh's by-now-charbuster compositions. Mohan Raja's slick direction (and co-written by his Thani Oruvan writer-duo Subha) coupled with Ramji's visuals. Sounds like a sure shot winner on paper, right?

The final product we receive is a film that entertains partially but is more interested in giving us lectures on what we read in the news (and on social media) every now and then. Yes, it tackles the concept of 'food adulteration' - in a part nonsensical, part docudrama way. The first half is in fact the better of the two - where we get to witness inventively written scenes such as the one where Arivu (SK) does live commentary for a gang war, his struggle when it comes to dealing with the self-proclaimed feudal lord of the area Kasi (Prakash Raj), how his life gets entangled with the 'feminist' Mrinalini (Nayanthara). Even the build-up given to Fahadh Faasil's Aadhi (a cunning corporate fox) is neat. We sense he's smarter than the protagonist, and for obvious reasons.

But Mohan Raja ditches everything 'commercial' in the latter half. The comedy is lacking, there's tonnes of sentiment thrown in (with character after character walking in and out without bringing much to the plate), plus lengthy monologues on the functionality of the FMCG industry. The solutions that it presents for the issues that arise also don't come across as path-breaking. Arivu turns into an activist of sorts, driven forward by the support of the blue collar laborers in the industry, and the transition (from newbie RJ to social crusader) isn't one bit smooth.

What works for the film are the factors I've mentioned: the cinematography is glossy and polished; the music and BGM by Anirudh are excellent and suit the film's tone perfectly (on most occasions), and an excellent Fahadh Faasil (who's debuting in Tamil) who makes the best of an underwritten character. There's no questioning Raja's honest intentions in 'Velaikkaran'. Just that it all blows out of proportion by the time we get to the climax - we see crappy stereotyping such as Corporate Chairmen all being depicted as ruthless, and employees who believe everything on 'face value' (noone's that innocent anymore, duh). Thankfully a social media activism angle is avoided - it's already an overcooked dish.

So, if you're asking me whether you should go for 'Velaikkaran', I'd say watch it comfortably at home when it airs on TV or rent a DVD. 2h 40m isn't a lot of fun at the cinema halls, especially with a second half as dead-weight as this.

Verdict: Had the potential to be better!