'Vettaiyan', produced by Lyca Productions, was released in theatres today. In this section, we are going to tell you what the movie is like.
Plot:
Rajinikanth's SP Athiyan, a Kanyakumari-based police officer, is notorious or famous (as the case may be) for his often controversial and routinely unforgiving approach to justice. Known as an "encounter specialist" who means business, he has a history of extrajudicial killings, inviting the anger of the human rights activist Sathyaraj (Amitabh Bachchan), who challenges Athiyan's methods. The duo spar over a wrongful encounter killing, which opens a Pandora's Box leading to a thorough investigation and interrogation of a corporate scam.
Post-Mortem:
Rajinikanth is quite routine in the movie. If we end up liking him, it's only out of habit. If we decide to indulge him, it's because he is the only one who holds several scenes. Big B is just there without leaving any impact. Fahadh Faasil as Patrick, who offers entertainment amid seriousness, is very good. Possibly because of the 'Pushpa 2' craze, he gets to hold his forte among the Telugu audience. Rana Daggubati as Natraj is hammy. He almost looks disinterested. Manju Warrier as Thara, the wife of Rajini's wife, is forgettable. Ritika Singh as a cop, Dushara Vijayan as Saranya, Rohini as Nazeema, Rao Ramesh as DGP, Kishore as SP Harish Kumar, Abhirami, Supreeth Reddy and others are there without leaving any impact.
Anirudh Ravichander-composed 'Manasilaayo' is enjoyable, while 'Hunter Vantaar' is okay. SR Kathir's cinematography is quite basic.
The scripting is basic for the most part. How come Rajini's character is so naive that he is shocked when told that there is corruption in his department? So much for a specialist. He never suspected corruption in the department? How else does he think powerful scamsters and well-networked criminals get away with heinous crimes? Did he think ganja sellers have had their way all along without the connivance of the police department?
In a scene, a cop says that Human rights advocacy groups were feared by the police. Why would the cops fear them in a highly sensitive political issue? Wouldn't they be sure of the backing of their political bosses in such cases? When are these filmmakers going to stop showing cops learning about important developments literally from watching TV channels and not from their subordinates or connections in different fields?
Encountering becomes both a moral imperative and a convenience at one point in the story. The script seems to acquire heftness at this point. The final stretches are interesting, although the film should have picked pace like anything after the entry of Rana's character. Fahadh Faasil's light-hearted character is good but distracting from the standpoint of script integrity.
Since two legendary actors were on board, one would have expected 'Vettaiyan' to be far more content-rich. The stakes are so low in the story that the story might have been written with Vikram and Dhruv Vikram in mind.
Closing Remarks:
'Vettaiyan' features a dull Rajinikanth and a duller script.
