At its core director TJ Gnanvel has an important story to say, the dangers of hurried justice resulting from external pressure and sufferings of the poor but the struggle to balance the societal aspects with the demands of Rajinikanth fans make it an uneven film at best
- Starcast: Rajinikanth, Amitabh Bachchan, Fahadh Faasil, Rana Daggubati, Manju Warrier, Ritika Singh and others
- Director and writer: TJ Gnanvel
- Additional writer: B Kiruthika
- Producer: Subaskaran Allirajah
- Music: Anirudh Ravichander
- Cinematography: SR Kathir
- Production Company: Lyca Productions
- Running time: 2 hours and 45 minutes
T J Gnanvel’s last movie Jai Bhim was a hard-hitting tale on the horrors of custodial torture. It was by no means an easy watch particularly the portions involving police atrocities, but still the relevancy of those scenes shook the viewers conscience. Jai Bhim rightfully won many awards along with garnering excellent ratings. What also made Jai Bhim a major winner was the use of Suriya’s stardom. The actors star power at no point overpowered the narrative, Suriya also blended in perfectly delivering his lines with absolute conviction. Vettaiyan directed by the same TJ Gnanvel’s also focuses on the sufferings of poor people showcasing the transformation of an encounter specialist while merging the topic of educational scams. But unlike Jai Bhim here the director’s handling of the subject leaves a lot to be desired. Vettaiyan isn’t a complete washout particularly if you are a diehard Rajinikanth fan, but the movie leaves you with the feeling that it could have been so much more given the names associated.
Vettaiyan primarily focuses on the vastly different ideologies of SP Athiyan (Rajinikanth) and a prominent lawyer cum human rights activist Sathyaraj (Amitabh Bachchan). SP Athiyan is popularly known as an encounter specialist. He is a no- nonsense police officer who prefers the method of extrajudicial killings in order to deliver speedy justice. Sathyaraj is a vocal critic of SP Athiyan’s methods. Sathyaraj firmly believes that speedy justice is not the way to go about things. For him it is as bad as delaying cases for years in court. Fahadh Faasil is Patrick. He is a thief turned police informer with a lot of technical knowledge. His knowledge regarding the technical aspects makes him a very valuable addition. SP Athiyan’s firm belief on speedy justice takes a major hit when an innocent person dies. He is forced to reconsider his ideals marking a significant change in the thought process. This is the story in brief.
Through Vettaiyan director TJ Gnanvel has focused on multiple social issues whether it is encounter killings to satisfy a mob or the business of education, particularly exams like NEET. All of this while trying to merge Rajinikanth’s stardom. This khichdi doesn’t come across satisfactorily and a major reason for that it is the confused tone.
The first half is filled with numerous scenes of Rajinikanth carrying out his own form of justice against the backdrop of Anirudh Ravichander’s stylized background score. These are very repetitive in nature tiring the audiences quickly. What also makes the proceedings silly is the reason behind SP Athiyan’s wife played by Manju Warrier to not have children. There is a scene where Athiyan talks about the wife not wanting children as she believes it is a form of sacrifice for her husband killings. It is a very flimsily written scene leaving no impact whatsoever.
Yes, the inevitable transformation in SP Athiyan does take place in the second half. There are few scenes exploring the guilt that SP Athiyan faces, but TJ Gnanvel doesn’t let those moments linger. From the middle of second half the movie gets into the usual zone of good versus evil. Rana Daggubati plays a typical corporate villain who feeds on the poor. The actor has a towering presence but suffers majorly on the account of a sketchy characterization. It looks he had directly entered from Baahubali sets to this.
Amitabh Bachchan as Sathyaraj though makes his presence amply felt. Sure, the characterization lacks the meat of what Nag Ashwin pulled off with the Shahenshah in Kalki 2989 AD. But still the senior actor brings in a much-needed gravitas in the scenes where he talks about unequal society and the poor generally being the causalities of encounter killings. Rajinikanth as SP Athiyan is mostly required to be a star which the actor pulls off with consummate ease but there isn’t much in the role for the actor Rajini to shine.
Fahadh Faasil as Patrick raises many chuckles with his antics. He brings in a certain energy perfectly embodying the required street smartness. There is also a slight emotional touch in a crucial scene with Rajinikanth making the viewers feel for Patrick.
Anirudh’s music once again after Devara is a major misfire. Working on too many projects is clearly affecting the quality of this young talented musician. The background score though slightly better becomes monotonous after a point.
A major problem of Vettaiyan are also the investigative portions of the second half. The pattern of investigation and the eventual reveal of Rana being the big villain becomes easy to guess leaving little to no surprises. The hero and villain clash also becomes heavily one sided.
To sum it up Vettaiyan wants to be both a commercial entertainer and also a serious movie, but it eventually ends up in the zone of nowhere. A major letdown from the director of Jai Bhim.