Its true that Vijay redefined the masala landscape of Kollywood with his trademark punches and action formula which enabled him to breach that elusive territory that was the forte of many demigods in the past. It has undoubtedly worked for him in the past and would definitely work for him in the future as well, if only the formulaic proportion has been mixed well and executed with absolute panache (as in films like ‘Thuppakki’). This is not the first time Vijay has handed over the charge to a newbie director, he has done it in the past and one of the foremost reasons for him to do that might be that he wants to call the shots and dance to the tunes of his loyal fan base (as he perceives it). This time around debutante director Neason had to face the wrath!
Sivam (Mohan Lal) is a don in Madurai (where else?!!) and he upbrings Sakthi (Vijay) as his own son after losing his father in a violent encounter. Sakthi is Sivam’s blue eyed boy and he supports Sivam in all his illegal activities. Soon Sakthi is coerced to join the police force in order to assist Sivam in a better way. So Sakthi turns into an ACP (WTF??!!). He realizes his godfather’s unholy ways of dealing with things and so wants to reform him. Soon they both are at loggerheads with each other. A predictable climax results, but the journey that ensues was pathetic and proved to be a no-brainer even for the average viewer!
I am not able to point out even one positive thing that worked for the movie. It was riddled with liberal abuses against the service class, disintegrating moral values and the worst of all, audiences seem to relish while their favorite star is an alibi for all these things. Its time to question the rationale behind the perception of entertainment.
Only Mohanlal can be perceived as the silver lining and that is mainly due to his experience and his image as a versatile actor. Vijay seems to be all over the place and his screen presence was more of an irritant. Pradeep Rawat as an honest cop was a relief only for the very thought of being cast as one. Sampath was a stereotype but handled his role with ease. Soori was too small to handle the comic department and he is still not matured enough to handle it alone.
Music by Imman was horrible. The song ‘Kandaangi’ was hummable, other than that no song stays with us. The movie’s duration at a little over 3 hrs was tortuous and the misplacement of too many songs added to the miseries.
Though Vijay knows what works for him best, he is yet to realize that movie making cannot be restrained in a formulaic nutshell. A bane with most of the contemporary ‘wanna-be’ super-stars in Kollywood.
Verdict: Avoidable
Rating: 1 / 5
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