Vada Chennai

A slice of 'Ceasarisation' that would have done Shakespeare proud

***SPOILER ALERT***

Rajan(Ameer), feeling sorry for being hard, on his cohorts, decides to meet them over a drink and make peace, not knowing that plans are afoot to get done with him. As he arrives and breaks into a genial conversation, with his customary ease, nudging the conspirators to a sense of uneasiness and confusion, making them take turns to the farthest corner of the room to reassess their position and in a state of indecision and as they return to converse with him and then fatefully the weapons stacked up to stab him, fall down from their hidden places, from under the table, the period of indecisiveness gives way to insecurity among the cohorts, leading to a most decisive stab, And as a devastated Rajan, crumbles in a state of shock, the act of cowardice gets exacerbated as the others join in a frenzy of stabbing. And as the camera moves away from the scene of the crime and the victim, but stays,focused on the act of stabbing, Vetrimaran, may have just managed to recreate the 23 stabs that got rid of Caesar.

This slice of 'Caesarisation' is a slice of exhilaration, a reason, why we go to the movies. Shakespeare would have approved of the craft. It is so perfect. (Just imagine, how this sequence would have been if VJS had done this role)

Hail Caesar!, Nay, Hail Vetrimaran!!

Recently, I saw Namak Haram, the credit for the story goes to Gulzar, and I realized, that Rajesh Khanna's  role was that of Moses. 

I guess then there are probably no new stories to be told, only new ways of story telling.

Consider, Pariyerum Perumal, a most magical narration, of a story that has been told an infinite number of times.

I am such a great fan of Vetrimaran's  works, it is only natural that that your expectations are sky high.

And when you can be delighted, to slices like the 'caesarisation', was the rest of the movie in the same league? 

I did not think so. I sincerely hope that the ground work that he has done in this part, justifies in the future episodes to come.

For me most parts of the movie, did not seem fresh, they seem to have been repeated in so many movies that have been seen. North Madras itself, no longer remains something new. 

Vetrimaran is both candid and honest. We have seen Rajan in Pollathavan. Rajan is a beautiful character, 'donated' to Pollathavan, from this script which is been evolving for the last fifteen years. We see Dhanush(Anbu) reflect shades of Pollathavan and Adukalam and his fateful transformation infuses a necessary tragic undercurrent. It remains to be seen, how Dhanush will evolve. While Daniel Balaji's performance was pitch perfect and expect him to be a source of  several surprises in the  subsequent helpings, I was not really sure what exactly differentiated Samudharakani and Kishore, not that I am complaining of their screen presence.

I would consider, 'PettaiKaran' as Vetrimaran's best character. A character that is not only grey but so enigmatic adding so much to the suspense of a story. That is also a reflection of Vetrimaran's capability to think. Now do you have a character with the complexity of 'Pettaikaran' in Vada Chennai?

After having been fed to the likes of  'Pettairkaran', the motives of the antagonists, in Vada Chennai, are so simplistic and predictable, that most of the narrative falls flat. In the Interval block, Vetri falls from his  own phenomenal standards of the splendid Adukalam interval block.

I liked the pleasant romantic track and Dhanush seeking the blessings of his father-in-law to get married is a hoot.

In a recent video interview, while discussing the hospital scene, in Pollathavan, Vetrimaran mention's the detailing in the scene and the audience's appreciation of the detail orientation. Sure, Vetrimaran, has never shied of details. Drama is all about conflict. It is surprising then that the most important conflict in the climactic sections(land acquisition deal) lack any detail orientation.

Personally, I was pretty disappointed with Vada Chennai, but last but not the least, there is a phenomenon in the making and that is Santhosh Narayan. He is pure delight. God Bless him.