Vedalam

Ajith has always excelled at playing characters with shades of Grey and until now it worked wonders. Ever since that Rajini movie came out every other Tamil hero has tried to do something similar and failed to meet expectations. Ajith himself did this in Jana. Still, this may be the closest a star may have come to replicate Basha. Though the plot is different the themes are the same. The one major difference is that in that movie Rajini stays away from trouble in this one Ajith goes looking for it. Being a Vijay fan I did struggle a lot to sit through the terrible comedy and numerous hero worship scenes in the movie. But if you remove all that you end up with a Masala movie that can be watched once. I wanted to give this 5 but the message about women empowerment gets an extra star. Go for it if you need a Masala movie to forget the real world for a few hours.

'Vedhalam' is a run-of-the-mill mass masala film which follows the 'Baashaa' template. But here the director had concentrated more on sister sentiment quotient.

The plot goes as below : Ganesh (Ajith Kumar), with his lovely sister (Lakshmi Menon) leads a simple life in Kolkotta. But Ganesh happens to target underworld dons with intention. What is the motive behind it and how he kills those scumbags follows the rest of the film.

Being a commercial genre film, the film provides few entertainment and mass moments throughout the film. Ajith Kumar's screen presence would be a treat for his fans. Lakshmi Menon has some space to perform in the film and she had justified her role.

Other than that, the film contains many negatives and logical loopholes. Surprisingly, Anirudh had failed to score good both in songs and background score.

Overall, this movie has been targeted for Ajith fans and the film had failed to impress the general audience.

Rating : 2/5

Sorry if I'm straying of topic, but in this day and time, originality is a rarity. I mean, it's not like you could make an original story in an hour, right? So, we should give this film a break and judge it for what it is, and not compare it to classics like 'Baasha'.

This film is a masala film, which is to say it is an entertainer that it uses most of the popular genres in films (action, comedy, romance, family etc.) to cater to a vast audience. Hence, we should not blame it if it is lacking in one of them.

Sure, Soori's comedy makes you wince more than it makes you laugh and Shruthi Hassan's role in this movie is less than a love interest but more of a reason to listen to a flashback from the hero and of course there are those gaping plot holes. In fact, most of the events in this movie purely occur due to coincidences.

BUT, if you are willing to overlook those errors and set your expectations low, you will enjoy this masala flick.

'Thala' Ajith does justice to his role as a loving brother and as a baddie don in this movie. Even if you hate the plot and other characters, you can count on him to make it worthwhile to watch this movie.

Lakshmi Menon portrays the character of Ajith's sister very well. Just the right amount of kindness and lovingness to make her likable and not too much until she becomes annoying.

Anirudh strikes gold with this album. Songs are top notch, especially 'Veera Vinayaka' and 'Aaluma Doluma', a number that will make you want to get up and dance away. The background music during the fight scenes are great as it gives that feeling that you are about to be blown away.

Thambi Ramaiyah should be given an honorable mention for only he could have pulled off his character's caring and worried state at the right time. This movie also has some scenes that are quite emotional but might come of as melodramatic to some (it really depends on what type of person you are).

Director Siva should focus more on the script as well as the commercial elements in his next movie. If only the script was better, this movie would have become a blockbuster as well as a critical hit and would have stayed in the audience's mind long after they have left the cinema.

However, if you are looking to be fairly entertained for about 2 hours, I suggest you to go for it and judge for yourself.

Vedalam (English: Phantom) is a 2015 Indian Tamil action-masala film written and directed by Siva, and produced by S. Aishwarya. Ajith Kumar and Shruti Haasan play the lead roles, with Lakshmi Menon, Ashwin Kakumanu, and Kabir Duhan Singh among others, appearing in supporting roles. Anirudh Ravichander composed the film's music and background score, while Vetri and Ruben were the film's cinematographer and editor respectively.

Films positive + Ajith - screen presence semma ! Anirudh - Songs OK but BGM semma ! Lakshmi Menon - Semma acting ! Looked like real sibling. Screenplay - Movie was like Singam ! Perfect !

Films negative - Sruthi Hassan - Felt like why she was acting in the film. Soori - Some worked but most didn't.

Its a full entertaining film with action, comedy, sentiment and some twist. Positive vibration throughout the film. Entertainment guarantied till the end. But nothing new. Flashback scenes are like refreshing the mind. Anirudh music made the frame in fire. Perfectly made for Ajith fans. The way Thambi Ramaiah handled his character was awesome. Good break for Lakshmi Menon. Shruti Haasan and Soori character is just for time pass. And of course its commercial one, so some illogical elements are there. But it satisfied the audiences they targeted. Now its proved Siva is one of the best commercial film director in Tamil film industry. And I can say its a big blockbuster film in the year.