Monday, December 21, 2009

Vettaikaran - A jumbo pack of tortures


Every fan of Tamil Cinema would love movies and directors who takes Tamil Cinema to the next generation. But there are a set of respectful artist in the industry who wants to refresh the audience with past memories. One such set is the team Vettaikaran.

Let me also refresh my viewers with the 70s and 80s story board template.

Hero Introduction with an opening song - What the motto of the hero - Heroine Introduction - Obstacles for motto - Life changes - Intermission - Revenge of the hero for the obstacle - One failure from hero's side - Final Fight.
Note : Unwanted song sequences in between is highly encourged.

Our director, Babu Sivan has strictly adhered to this template and has taken the audiences two decades back with this mind boggling movie. And not to forget the mass hero Vijay, who never disappointed the audiences. He started with one benchmark movie in the start of 2009 and he has maintained to deliver another benchmark in the end.

Story - Torture # 1
I have already shared the story board template and I have also mentioned the fact that the director did not deviate the policy. Well, let's not blame on this movie alone, there are quite a lot of inspiration for the movie which the director has cunningly capitalized for a few releases in the recent past. Surprisingly, all the inspiration were real blockbusters and official contenders for oscars. Even if someone had to miss any scenes while returning from the break can easily understand the continuity without troubling fellow viewer. More importantly, Babu Sivan has literally understood what Tamil audience wants and thinks and has brought the same on screen. One can even predict what will be the next dialogue while watching. Who else can better understand the audience mind than the director Babu Sivan???

Dialogues - Torture # 2
Enough!!! Is the word that the audience utters when some character in the movie starts speaking. Usually, the lengthy dialogues are meant for the hero but our director has slightly given chances for other artists in the movie so that they can also shine well in their future movies for the role of an advocate. Lengthly dialogues itself is a terrible pain, what do you say about lengthly dialogue with message and that message has absolutely no relevance to the sequence or the situation or the story or for the movie itself??? He starts telling message in the opening scene and continues till the end even after the climax. Another special mention should go to the punches in the movie. Slowly he started reducing these punches on screen, but now he has started doing that again with this movie.

Logical Screenplay - Torture # 3
I agree that one should not expect any sort of logic in Vijay's movie. The man is known for this and in fact, the audience are even ready to accept him doing a Superman character without the movie being a fantasy. He has given a big impression on the audience and made them to accept it. But I am not talking about that. I am talking about the exceptional logical reasons in the name of screenplay. +2 four attempts and clearing the 5th time like his idol is rib tickling. The villian can recognize Vijay only when he is wearing a scarf around his forehead and he don't even know who he is when he is not wearing the scarf is mind boggling. An assistant commissioner becoming an honest police man because villian took over his *keep* is out of the world. A bomb, I mean a real bomb, explodes and it's specifically designed to explode just the chair with doing no disturbances to the people standing an inch closer to the chair is sensible smart. Targetting the villian with his weak point where doesn't know swim is an exceptional twist. All these scenes can be excused, one can't forget the climax. A clear example for an edge of the seat thriller with an innovative twist is a real thunder.

Direction - Torture # 4
The captain of the movie has miserably failed with his direction as well. Cleverly following the template he also impresses his mentor Dharani in movie making. Most of the scenes you would have a flash that it would have seen a similar scenes elsewhere. A flying sequence before the interval, an item number song towards the end, most of the revenge sequences.. what not??? The so called change over pre and post interval for Vijay and the Devaraj IPS character had come in numerous movies in the past. The casting is another major area where he fails to impress. Funniest part is their character names and it makes us think again who is the director of the movie because there is already an established director who always keep such interesting names to the characters. Unnecessary message, I am not sure if it's the director's idea or whether he was forced to keep such dialogues. We need a rescue team here.

It's seriously high time Vijay should change the style. We never want Vijay to do a Hey Ram or Raam. We would want him to break this stereotype of following the same template in all his movies. This is seriously a miserable situation. Audience are not the same old audience who claps and whistles for everything. The movie has just two positives. One is Vijay Antony who has seriously given splendid numbers. Though they are relevant for the movie or not is a second thought, but he has certainly given good music for a Vijay movie. The another major advantage which overshadows this awful crap is the distributors Sun Pictures. It's quite obvious what the movie will be claimed to be in the near future. But this should not overshadow Vijay and make him to work with him again.
Image Courtesy : Cinesnacks

40 comments:

  1. damage innum ethirpathaen rombha kammia iruku unga review la grrrrrrrrrrr

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  2. It's seriously high time Vijay should change the style. We never want Vijay to do a Hey Ram or Raam. We would want him to break this stereotype of following the same template in all his movies. ///

    Everyone feels the same Except Vijay and his fans who are claiming this as BB

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  3. Thank you people.

    vendakkai : Idhuve podhum, Suraa la vachikkalam.

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  4. Here comes the most awaited review.. But is the special mention about the costumes??? :((

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  5. Vivek : I have mentioned about the vital costume *Yello Scarf* which has played a significance role in the movie right??

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  6. Super Review :) Hope this will continue In Sura Too :)

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  7. Gawd...idha padikala...Naan TOI review padichuttu nee dhaan avalo soft eh ezhudhinyo nu nenachuten :D

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  8. avalo mosamaa adhu, let me check :P

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  9. vikram..expected a lot...kalaikave illeye...padam pudichu irunthutho ?

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  10. enna oru villathanam da unnaku :-x

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  11. dir snake babu rockssssssss

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  12. dai vikram.. enna da.. i was expecting a complete rip off for the movie... ippidi yemathi poitiye macha... :D :P

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  13. vidu maapla, i don't want to post a spoiler review :P

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  14. The most shittiest movie i ever seen in the recent past... you left the most torturing part of the movie.. the villians... yuck... was so bloody irritating...intha padathoda reviewla hey raam pera use pannathukku unna thookula podanum :x

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  15. Not enough. Language too soft. The review shifts between sarcasm and narration of the torturous experiences. SEMMMAYA Kalaaikavendiya padatha... kaka kadi kadichi vituteenga! :(

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  16. the 4th vijay movie that i have boycotted.. will surely touch 5 with sura.. a very proud moment for me and my family.. i just hope vijay goes field out after sura..

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  17. romba edhirpaartheenga pola enkittendhu... naan romba damange panna vendaamenu vittutean

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  18. Nice review....looks like u have ripped the movie apart to ur hearts content!
    u still must have given some credits to his first half!!

    //Surprisingly, all the inspiration were real blockbusters//
    Interestingly this will also be one!!

    //Vijay only when he is wearing a scarf around his forehead//
    Well am not here to defend the movie or the star..just giving my thoughts!
    What was wrong with this? It is definitely not anything innovative or extraordinary but not insane too as u have claimed....the villain must not have caught a clear glimpse of the hero as he was struglgling to digest the fact that some laymen had stopped his car. Now the only piece that caught his attention was the yellow scarf and he uses it to identify him the next time...

    //A bomb, I mean a real bomb, explodes and it's specifically designed to explode just the chair with doing no disturbances to the people standing an inch closer to the chair is sensible smart//

    This is very much possible....bombs can be made with a wide spectrum of intensity..they can explode just to damage a chair or bring down a complete skyscraper...they are still called bombs!!So this inst as insensible as u have made it sound!!

    Vikram we shudnt forget that the star has had a major setback with his last 3 ventures. To make a comeback he cannot obviously experiment with new subjects and roles where he is a novice! All he can do to shape himself back to form is use the formula that he is most comfortable with and established himself in the past..thats what he has done!!
    Lets hope for something better in his forthcoming projects!!

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  19. Meena, interesting response. Well, the first half of the movie didn't please me either. I seriously felt that this type of movie is for the period 70s and 80s where you have a revenge story with some awareness message being given to the public. To be honest, this style template was started by the legend MGR during the course where he was busy in both politics and cinema. Just FYI, you know our actor Vijay as well has stepped in politics and these messages are nothing but to attract the so called audiences.

    Coming to the scarf thing!! I would even accept if it's something in a different getup or some coolers or something that SERIOUSLY don't reveal your identity. But with just an yellow scarf and with almost the same costume is something one need to think about. Anyway, these small small instances won't be remembered by the audience. The main culprit was the climax of this movie which no one can excuse.

    Now the bomb! Well, I haven't done research with these explosives but to a layman, a bomb is something when exploded will destroy or at least leave scar to someone who is near. It's not a bijili vedi.

    Thanks a lot for reading my review, when are you releasing your review??

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  20. //It's not a bijili vedi.//

    I LOL on this one!!
    Well mine will be out either today or tomorrow!!

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  21. AM an ardent fan of Vijay.. i was so upset with his few projects in the past... i was totally hoping that this will be fine... i heard a lot of comments from my friends (positive and negative) but i was waiting to read ur review... i am so unhappy :-(.. i totally hope Vijay does movies with wonderful stories like " thullladha manamum thullum, kushi, priyamanavalae, priyamudan etc". OMG you have really ripped the movie apart.. kind of harsh (i felt)...

    P.S: If u were wondering why i was waiting for your review on this one... it was only after i read ur review abt "Eeram" i wanted to watch that movie...

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  22. Ragav : I am surprised to see that my review has got a decent fan following! Well, if you actually read the comments, you can see that people actually scolding me as they expected a more harsh review :-) Anyway, did you watch the movie?

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  23. ivlo nalla padathukkey nee ippadi ezhuthuriye avlo kevalamana padathukku lam eppadi ezhuthuvey.. bayangramana critic da nee

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  24. Dai police ranjith, iru unnoda review va podanuma inga :-X

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  27. hmmmm :-)... ya i read all your reviews... i like the way you write them... my most fav posts are abt the movie Eeram and abt Kamal...

    Well i read the comments for this post ... why is everyone hating him so much... there are few actors who do movies with different kind of stories and there are actors who do movies just for entertainment... Do we need logic for an entertainer... anyways i am no one to say those things... its their view...
    I am scared to watch the movie... i was so upset when i watched Villu... but will watch this weekend after my Christmas celeb...

    Just one info: In Pondicherry it is very difficult to see the houseful board in weekdays... i read in the local newspaper that the movie 2012 was an exception... now Vettaikaaran has joined the exception list...

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  28. Yea, do watch the movie and let me know how do you like it :-)

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  30. Hmmm i watched the movie... to be very honest... it was ok... but it was much much better than the last few projects and as Ms. Meena has stated in her comment, he cannot make experiments on new projects for a comeback...

    The weird things happening in Pondicherry theaters: I have never seen houseful shows on a Monday in a very long time and this movie was having the houseful slot for all the shows in weekdays... In Pondicherry it is a big hit... I could see all the kids in my friends home telling his dialog and imitating his style- the scarf handling... i guess only Vijay after Rajini has created this kind of impact on Kids...

    I had an encounter with few fishermen brothers and auto annas... from the conversation with them i learnt that apart from class movies there should also be mass movies... they are the entertainers... Life and the things happening around the world teach us so much... if all the movies start to teach us something or the other then it will not be an entertainer...

    This is just my view- no offence meant...

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  31. Ragav : We, tamil audience will never expect Vijay to experiment in his movies. All we expect from his to break his stereotype script. That itself is more than enough.
    Seriously I am surprised to hear that people enjoying inside the theatre. Believe me or not, I saw this movie again on Monday. But that's strictly because of my collegue's compulsion. We were about 26 people went to watch the movie and trust me, not even a single soul liked the movie. I had a nice sleep inside the theatre as there were only 40 people in the entire arena.
    When/where did I mention that movies should teach the audience? I never considered the medium cinema as a school to teach something. When I watch a movie, ALL I NEED IS SATISFACTION FOR THE MONEY THAT I SPENT!

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  32. I said that the things were weird... but it was happening around me. People were shouting but all my friends were teasing me since i was the only Vijay fan in my group.. i did not like the movie so much,it was just ok... since i am an ardent fan of Vijay, it was ok.. if it was someone else with the same script i would have walked off... i did not say that u meant movies to teach and etc.. it was few different people saying those things and i felt like telling it to you...
    Your expectation is quite simple... i too wish that he does movies with nice stories...

    P.S: I ve never talked anything against my fav... be it anything... this is the first time i just cannot defend... because i myself felt the movie a little too much... nevertheless i like him and i cannot change my likings...

    have a nice day... hope to read a lot more review in ur style...

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  33. Ragav : It happens for every fav stars, so nothing can be done. I won't review the movies of my fav stars :-)

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