Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu

First of let me talk about the positives in this movie : The movie was totally awesome ... technically .. Its a very different approach followed by the director .. We could definitely say with pride that Gautam has taken Indian cinema to new heights ... ! The story narration was beautiful though it did not have a very strong plot ... Thanks to Hollywood ... Tamil Cinema is reaching new dimensions ... Especially the opening 15 minutes and the scene where the killer talks with Kamal in midst of vendetta .. Just too good ! Kudos to the director .. the real hero ! Though he is not commendable in the plot, as in Kaakha Kaakha, he wanted to prove a point here ... and he does it in style ... Cheers Last but not the least ... The pride of Indian cinema .. Dr Kamal Haasan .... Does a powerful role with so much of ease ... Yet another movie of his to be remembered ..

Now coming to the negatives: Though the director succeeds in a certain way .. he lets you down at certain scenes which are so Indian ... Especially.. When the hero does things out of nowhere and categorizes them as "Raghavan Instincts" .. the scene where the killers escape from the airport .. and the usual coincidence where the killers meets the hero and his girl within minutes he reaches a new city ..

Our heroes which includes Kamal .. For their lack of body maintenance .. (Got to reduce the protruding tummy) Though these are negatives, they just go vanishing because of the style in which things are told ! In a nut shell .. Its a delight to watch this film !

Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu ("hunt and play", more approriate to say "hunting game") is Gautham Menon's second venture into a cops life. This time a widowed DCP Raghavan (Kamal Hassan) hunts for "a" serial killer who has murdered his mentor Arkoiaraj's (Prakashraj) daughter first (in India) and, then later him and his wife (in US).

The story has all the qualities for a good thriller and to a certain extent engages the attention of the audience till the end. The movie contains a fair amount of violence, blood and gory scenes. So, if you do not like it, just stay away. After the first half, the story develops in a predictable style. So the key is that watch Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu, experience the thrill and, then forget about it (like any other thriller book).

As expected, Kamal Hassan gives a first rate acting performance which glues the audience attention to the screen. I like Kamal's acting but on a second thought, I feel that the character Raghavan did not really needed Kamal Hassan. In other words, it could have been played by another decent actor, for instance Surya and, same effects could have been produced. Balaji does a good job as the serial killer Amudhan. At the end of the movie, you will come to hate as well as fear him. Jyotika has done well with in the given amount of screen time. I also feel that the movie could have been done without Jyotika's character. Kamalinee Mukherjee and Prakash Raj have a short screen presence but leave a good impression.

Gautham's direction is crispy and good. With in a short space of time in the beginning, he creates the tough cop character Ragahavan. The script is good. Harris Jayaraj's music is OK. Songs are hummable and foot tapping. There is not much to say about the back ground score.

The movie has its share of "flaws". For instance,

(a) When Raghavan and his US cop partner zero onto a "suspect" Amudhan's companion, the first alert should have gone to all the ports to contain them inside US. Instead the cops go and knock on the doors of the "suspect" (psycho) without even having a backup plan.

(b) In the era of fast digital communication, it is little bit difficult to digest that the news about the serial killers reach the Indian port authorities late (inspite of some US citizens being killed). Also, given that the travel time between New York to Mumbai can easily cross 15 hrs and, the existence of numerous channels through which the information could be sent and criminal being apprehended.

(c) The serial killers kill US citizens including some police authorities. US does not even sends an investigating team to India.

(d) Amuthan keeps claiming he is a university rank holder (a brilliant and intelligent guy) but some of the events does not fit into the character. For instance, when they come to know about the police surveillance they should have vacated their usual residence.

The primary reason for these flaws is that the first half of the story is shown through the eyes of an investigating police officer and, the second half is shown through the eyes of serial killer.

Eventually what happened in the second half of the movie is that the director ended up spending time creating the fearsome serial killers character (also resulting in some more violent and gory scenes) and, Kamal spending rest of the movie running around the trees with Jyotika and ending up as the usual villain bashing hero cop. Thus, second half becomes very predictable.

Instead the character of the serial killers could have been developed through the investigation of cop, thus, keeping the audience more on the edge of seat and guessing. This would have meant that Raghavan doing some really good investigative cop work.

Nevertheless, "Vettiyadu Villaiyadu" is worth watching once at least for Kamal.

Very solid technical details. The way new york pictured is simple superb. Hats off to Ravi Varman for his cinematography. This movie is not inferior to any Hollywood one. Tamil movies are catching up with them. Great direction by Gautham. Kamal should shed some weight and continue his world class acting. The matured romance between Kamal and Jyothika needs a special mention. Too bad the other heroine Kamalini Mukherjee didn't get much attention. Absolutely no comedy sequences at all in this thriller. Thats a great attempt by the director in these times when comedy is given lots of importance in Tamil movies. Background score by Harris Jayaraj is simply superb. World class.

What do I say ... To start with Kamalji is in it!! and boy has he done a good job!!! the movie is technically brilliant!! well written,edited,shot and executed!! u couldn't ask for more!! kudos to Gautam on a fantastic job ..though I've seen several English serial killer movies , this one is awesome for a Tamil movie ... truly Kamal is India's Al Pacino and Gautam is Michael Mann in the making !!! Credit goes to the lyricist and music director for good songs!!

All in all a racy thriller with all the ingredients to watch it over n over ....

P.S: i have already seen it thrice in the theaters in its first four days and I cant wait to watch it again!!

The movie is really a bench mark for Tamil cinema on the technical fore front. The plot is also a bit bold and one of its kind. Kamal hassan underplays DCP Raghavan really well. Its a big boost for the movie. The duologue's are pretty good, and the subtle sense of humor of kamals character is enjoyable. another big plus for the movie is the outstanding camera work by ravi verman. Those aerial shots of NY are really breathtaking. Editing keeps the movie fast paced. the BGM of Harris is the main drawback of the movie. The romance between kamal and jo is offbeat.Very new to tamil cinema.The movie may not go down well with children and women for its content and violence. Overall a very uncodable nice movie. A real treat for action lovers and Kamal fans.