Who's the man? Kamal's the man!
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The greatest Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu review ever.



Greetings everyone.

First off, I urge you, do not read the reviews at Sify and Galatta.com. They are filled with spoilers and reveal almost half the story.

I watched the movie in INOX, Bangalore - the reel changers, theatre operators, janitors and ushers were competent enough and did not influence my review of the movie.

Without further ado, I present to you a spoiler-free review that will help you decide if you want to watch VV or not.

To start with, lets look at the cast.

Kamal:
You've seen Vikram, Surya, Prakash raj, heck.. even Arjun, Parthiban & Vijayakanth play tough in uniform. Around 15 years ago.. there was this movie(Khaki Sattai, was it?) where Kamal plays a youngster whose ambition is to be a policeman. He gets the police uniform stitched by a tailor and when he wore it for the first time, I thought it fit him very well.

Cut to 2006. In Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, Kamal as DCP Raghavan proves he's still the best dressed cop out there. Period. The confidence, the charm, the walk, the sunglasses, the tejas ... Unbeatable!
Whether he's acting out an emotional scene or whoopin a bad guy's ass, Kamal totally rules!
Kamal Hassan is worth the price of admission alone. ( *fanboy alert!*)

Kamalinee Mukherjee: pretty but disposable.

Jyothika: The zero chemistry between Kamal and Jo leads me to strongly suspect that loverboy Surya has warned her from getting close to Kamal. I'm almost positively sure that Surya might've been present on the sets while they were filming VV.

Prakash Raj: Small role, good nevertheless. (Some Mystic River Sean Penn-ish crying. Just as overdone. )

Remember the chain smoking bad guy who played Danny on Sun TV's Chitthi(yeah, I was forced to watch some episodes of it during dinner) This movie is definitely his biggest break and his acting prowess stands out, even in the presence of Kamal, very well.

Music:
Good idea releasing the movie before Harris Jayaraj's hit songs became old. All songs sound just as good as they did 6 months ago. The background score deserves special mention, it perfectly complements the action and moods in the film.

Direction, Screenplay and Camera:
Gautham skilfully directs "Another episode in a police officer's life". The line splashes across the screen at the start of the movie letting us know what we're in for.
In my astoundingly intelligent opinion, I must say its a largely intelligent movie, in many parts atleast. The viewers simply cannot second guess the screenplay in the first half. Its highly engrossing and very few scenes allow audience members to yell witty lines at the screen. They're stupid people anyway and would probably do so irrespective of the movie but yeah, the point I'm trying to make is even the ones responsible for such obnoxious behavior were making an effort to understand and were seriously paying attention. The editing is crisp. The scenes in between the action and detective work are entertaining and do not drag at all. The songs are perfectly placed. And well shot. But the Neruppae item number could have been avoided. The sights and scenery of New York are beautifully filmed. The settings and the locales for the crimescenes are wickedly pleasing and brilliant.

The bad: Kamal sounds a bit self indulgent at times, but hey, its Kamal. He's allowed to do all that. The twist -"Who could it be? Could it be Jyothika?" question is answered too soon. And the gory scenes have been shown in explicit detail. Rapes/murders/dead bodies get way too much exposure. I'm okay with that but sensitive people will have to look away or cover kids' eyes.


Still in doubt?

FAQ's

Q: Is Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu a good movie?
A: Yes, absolutely.

Q: Should I take my girlfriend/family to VV?
A: Its not exactly a perfect date movie.. You see, its downright gross in certain places. There are sequences involving extreme violence against women. And there's cursing too. Kids under 13, no way.

Q: Has Kamal kissed any of the heroines?
A: No. I mean, maybe.. but you don't get to see it on screen.

Q: Nudity?
A: Ahem...No! Dude, whats up with you?

Q: So you're reccommending I go see it as soon as possible?
A: Yeah man. Put it on top of your must-watch list. Bunk office/school/college if you have to.

Q: Can you lend me a 100 bucks? I promise I'll return it tomorrow.
A: No. Go away.



In conclusion, its a slick action-packed, raw & violent cop vs. serial killer thriller with very high production values. And Kamal Hassan in one of his best roles ever. And great music to go with. I think I can safely say we haven't seen many action films in the league of Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu. So will you stop critiquing it like it was Kubrick's work, brother?
Okay thats all you need to know. Just go watch it. Don't miss Gautam's cameo and the bloopers/deleted scenes that are shown in the end when the credits roll.

Winter.

A large red smoky neon sign flickers unsteadily in the distance as acid rain drops descend slowly from a thousand feet up in the air to wash away paint from the walls of a suburban apartment building. The sea breeze sweeps a few drops on the window, some of them stick while the others slide off. The sounds of police car sirens (or was that an ambulance) from five minutes ago still ring in my head. I'd like to to hear something tranquil to get that off my ears .. like seagull cries interspersed with waves and orcas. Three notes of seagulls, a full wave hitting the shore, troubled orca wails to fade and crank up the volume -the final wave hits. Loop this sample.

Or I could just break a bottle.
The sound of a bottle breaking is a turbulent yet placid sound. Try it. For this experiment lets toss an A4 sized bottle at a wall with brute force. Pay attention. Visualize the scene in slow motion and freeze time at the instant when the bottle hits the wall. Pause.



Play.
Glass shatters and tiny fractals hurtle in random directions piercing the calm and then, there it is. The hum. It doesn't last long, so you gotta listen very carefully. If you missed it, use another bottle and try again. Once you do get to hear it, make a memory immediately. You can invoke that hum at will.

Requesting permission to stand.
brain notifying leg: we've lost contact, do you copy?
I think my leg's gone to sleep.

Girl in leopard print costume walks across the room. I need to reach for the remote before she does.

"There's no girl. We don't have a TV. Its all in your head."

But.. isn't everything?

Answer me.

I guess I need new friends. My opinion is of no consequence to you.

Feelings of @#%$% consume me. She's like a pharmaceutical product, I could just simulate her presence in our loveseat and that would be my fix for the day.
I worry sometimes. One of these days I'm going to leave a cartoon-like outline of myself when I crash through the windows and fall down fourteen floors.

Would you like to try the stuff I've been smoking?



PS: I know I've been posting erratically and I owe you an explanation, kind reader. I god promise to be a little more regular. Please continue to visit my blog.