Movie: Velayudham
Cast: Vijay, Genelia D'Souza, Hansika Motwani, Santhanam
After a string of not-so-successful movies, Vijay has bounced back with “Kavalan” last Pongal. Now with “Velayudham”, a typical Vijay mass masala movie, he has regained lost ground and is back to what he does best — entertain.
Plot
The movie is about Velayudham (Vijay) giving life to a fictitious superhero character created by a journalist (Genelia) to instil fear in the corrupt. The plot of “Velayudham” is as old as the hills. But the makers did not promise anything novel. It is the execution that scores.
We have the first half packed with a heavy dose of comedy and the film moves to intermission at a rapid pace. Post interval the pace slows down considerably with back to back action sequences that make you a little restless. But the movie does pick itself up in the last 30 minutes.
Performance
Vijay has cleverly done away with punch dialogues and gravity defying stunts that made his non-fans cringe in his previous outings. As Velayudham he is at home. His agility in the dance and stunt sequences never seems to diminish. His monologue in the climax is convincing without going overboard.
Santhanam is having a ball these days and it continues in “Velayudham”. When he is able to evoke laughter with healthy humour he can surely do away with those scatological references.
Apart from Santhanam, there is a whole battalion of comedians in the movie to tickle your funny bone. Among the lot Soori of “Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu” fame makes an impression.
Hansika is a mere eye candy. Genelia as an integral part of the main plot does justice to the role. “Velayudham” has a horde of villains onboard. But surely someone should have concentrated on their lip sync. It is terrible to say the least.
Vijay Antony's songs and the background music are just about perfect for this commercial pot-boiler. Stunt sequences are neat, particularly the one atop the train. Cinematographer Priyan and stunt master Silva deserve praise for this.
This is director Raja's first Tamil movie starring someone other than his brother. The movie released without much hype. Sometimes it is better for the movie to do the talking.
Bottomline: With an engaging screenplay sprinkled with comedy and action, and the one man entertainment troupe Vijay in the lead, “Jayam” Raja has a clear winner this Diwali that will rake in the moolah.
BHARATH VIJAYAKUMAR, 25, Systems Engineer in TCS
