It is a good move by producer Sravanti Ravi Kishore to dub the film and release it rather than remaking it irrespective of its fate at the box office. One, our contemporary Telugu stars will never leave their comfort zone and commercial dances to do films that are close to real life. Two, the script is so entertaining, commercial and above all makes you believe in it that you don’t need a new set of characters to lend credence. Dhanush himself is so ordinary looking, the dialogues and the setting gel so perfectly that one wouldn’t complain that there isn’t any nativity in the frames. It will not take us much time to notice that Dhanush is imitating Raiinikant, his mannerisms are so identical in this dubbed version of Vellai Illa Pattathari . It is about an irresponsible youngster who refuses to take up other jobs other than the ones connected to his branch of civil engineering, and how his mother’s death changes his life.
The first half of the film is witty, breezy; though you get a deja vu feeling of the middle class family, you will still enjoy watching the story unfold as if it is the first time. Full marks to Kishore Tirumala and Ramajogaiah Shastri for retaining the essence in the dialogues and in the lyrics. Dhanush enjoys himself playing the silent hero, the silent victim and finally emerging as a flamboyant hero who has his shirt ripped to expose his six pack body, for his fans. The heroine doesn’t have much to do, any other girl could have delivered the smiles that Amala Paul did; ditto with Surbhi too. Vivek as the comedian is fine but his track hardly evokes any laughter.
Dhanush carries with him a great deal of candour and for this particular role as an unemployed engineering graduate he brings in subtlety and even when his mother dies, he keeps the melodrama in control. He delivers a lengthy dialogue that will make you whistle, with ease and brings different dimensions to his roles as a brother, son, lover and as an unemployed youth and as a socially responsible citizen.
The second half gets too predictable and the villain is not as powerful as he looks. The scenes are weaved for an enthusiastic and unsuspecting audience. The commendable thing is instead of wrapping up the story with a regular role conflict between the two heroines, Velraj runs a message in the credits for the unemployed engineering graduates in Tamil Nadu. The film is a proper package of each emotion and Anirudh gives it a decent BGM. A good one-time watch.
