Vettayadu Vilayadu - déjà vu!
[Be warned, spoilers in here!]
There are two cop movies in Tamil that are really the benchmark for this genre — Kurudhi Punal and Kaakha Kaakha. The first, a remake of Govind Nihalani’s Droh Kaal is a chilling tale of an officer in the anti-terrorism squad in his quest to bust a terror gang. Kamal Hassan starred as Adhi Narayanan, DCP, in this film which takes a look at a police officer’s life from a pyschological angle. The other, directed by Gautham Menon, describes how policemen suffer as a result of criminals victimising the family of the cops.
One of this year’s most awaited movies teams up Kamal Hassan and Gautham Menon. But Vettayadu Vilayadu (வேட்டையாடு விளையாடு) is neither a tale of mind-games, nor in-your-face. Rather, it comes out as a movie where the pair seem to have tried out the leftovers of their ideas from their older projects.
Have no doubts, Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu is / might be one of this year’s better movies. It might become an instant hit in almost any language. It is good overall, great in flashes, and is a treat in terms of technical value and finesse; the camera-work, for instance, deserves an interim National Award! It marks a departure in moviemaking, where the storyteller, believing that he is in control, can take his time to let the desired effect sink into the audience. Not many directors are adept at this art. Gautham Menon is. But there are chinks, here, there and everywhere. And it makes me say the one word I will not want to associate with a Kamal Hassan movie — ordinary!
For one, the tale is not new. There are not traces, but whole predictable parts that have a close resemblance to Kaakha Kaakha. Come to think of it. In both the movies, just after the interval, the cop knows who he is in pursuit of. They meet. They fight. The bad guy walks away. And in both the movies, the bad guys get personal. And in both, bad guy abducts the cop’s love interest (incidentally, it’s the same poor Jyotika). And in both, the cop turns out victorious, and how? A similar one-on-one fight. Honestly, the way the first half (which was exciting) ended, the story should have taken a different twist. Gautham could have filled the second half with a pursuit on the lines of, say, The Day of the Jackal, or even Catch Me If You Can. Not that we wouldn’t have sensed a deja vu in that case, but it would have been new at least for Tamil cinema. Why should every movie follow the same route? A friend lamented that Tamil movies are becoming as predictable as Hindi movies!
The second mistake, and this is glaring, is that the casting is terribly wrong. The cast is almost similar to that of Kaakha Kaakha! The girl who gets abducted in the first scene is the same lass who gets killed by Pandya at the end of the Thoothu Varumaa song. Santosh, the officer who helps Kamal Hassan, the beggar who gives details in the bus stand, Arun who ill-treats Jyotika (much to the disapproval of the Mayajaal audience), the police officer who keeps the two criminals in custody, Daniel Balaji (Shrikant in KK, Amudhan in Vettaiyaadu) and even Jyotika herself are all faces we’ve seen in the earlier movie. There’s a similar storyline, similar treatment. Even the tagline — “another episode in a police officer’s life”! Pray why, Mr. Menon, the same cast?
Perhaps to compensate for all this similarity, Vettai differs from Kaakha in one way. It lacks the freshness, the originality and the crispness of Kaakha. There are quite a few scenes which seem unnecessary, something which can never be said about KK. Protracted scenes make us lose the effect. Take for instance the timing of the intermission — had the curtains been downed once the bad guys came into view, it would have made it more interesting, more thrilling.
And the audience is almost always in the right about what’s coming. Incidentally, just a couple of hours before watching the movie, I chanced to watch this YouTube video. Gautham Menon describes the alternate ending to Kaakha Kaakha (didn’t we always know there should have be one?), in which Jyotika doesn’t die. Really, it wasn’t that difficult to see where the inspiration behind Vettayaadu’s climax came from! It shows that Gautham hasn’t been able to shrug off Kaakha Kaakha.
Kamal Hassan isn’t known for self-effacement, and it is evident at a few places. Like the one where he tells Detective Anderson of the NYPD, “You know, it’s a hunch. It’s a gut feeling. Back home, they call it the Raghavan instinct.” Adhi Narayanan and Anbuselvan wouldn’t have uttered that. I wonder if such a dialogue might have been part of the original script. It is at places like these that Vettaiyadu loses out. Kaakha Kaakha is a director’s movie — where the one who wields the megaphone is totally in charge. Vettayadu doesn’t seem like one. Maybe the administrative difficulties in the making of the movie led to a drop in creativity or experimentation; but really, that’s speculation, and won’t serve as a good excuse.
I reiterate… Vettayadu is worth a watch; you might even like it very much… that is, if you’ve not watched Kaakha Kaakha… which, along with Kurudhi Punal remains one of only two — ONLY TWO — cop movies in Tamil worth benchmarking against.
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A clean and crisp review..Good work and thanks for taking the time to share your views with others..Sure helps a lot in toning down the expectations when such big names like Gowtham, Kamal, etc team up..Hope it doesn’t die meekly in the box office..
A
a good one VK
Awesome review da. As a die hard fan of Kaakka Kakka, one of the stylishly made cop movies and my all time favorites, i think this one should be a little less satisfying one. Since it is supposed to be a sequel, the hangovers are still there from KK for Gautham i think. Even some of my other friends, who have seen it, feel KK was better. But when you have a Kamal and Gautham menon combo, it should be worth a watch.
Goops!!!
Director have clearly mentioned that VV is a sequel to KK and defn it should have the hangover and obviously the char they should be able to correlate.
Anywayz i am happy that VV is getting good review around the cornet.
The problem with most of us (movie-buffs, so to say) is that we watch movies with a predetermined mental block that the movie will either be A) Very good B) Good C) Ok D) Bad E) Terrible. I guess you watched the movie with option C in your mind. Had you watched it putting down the Kaakha Kaakha hat and without any reservations, you would have liked it a lot more.
I liked the movie very much. I agree that there were some things here and there (but not everywhere) which were quite hard to digest. But on the whole, it was a very good movie - great performances, fast-paced screenplay, top direction, great camera stuff, good songs and awesome background music.
Yes, there were resemblances to KK. But that is the forte of the director. Don’t you find similar resemblances in Mani Ratnam’s movies? And moreover, this was hyped as the sequel to KK. If you have read the Bourne series by Ludlum, you know what i mean.
Lastly.. Guys, don’t believe this man. He will never accept modern-day Kamal as a superhero!
@AND1: For Manickam Narayanan’s sake, let this movie triumph at the BO.
@Prakash & Gopps: Thanks.
@Vijay R: I think it is pretty easy to theorize that people must forget all the earlier movies by a particular director while watching a new one. That is stuff only computers are capable of. Maybe you too; I cannot.
Secondly, I don’t understand this whole sequel funda. I have seen a couple of sequels — The Godfather, Lord of the Rings. How would you have reacted if Marlon Brando had been given the role of Frankie Pentangeli in the second part? If VV is a sequel, then how can it involve people who were dead in the previous movie? Where is the continuation in the story? Is the Bourne series about three men, three sets of characters, and a rehash of the first novel?
Mani Ratnam, yes. But, directorial style is different from a rehash. We see Mani Ratnam’s style in every movie. But was Dalapathi a rehash of Nayagan?
I agree with Vijay. Think you have gone to the movie with too much of expectations and therefore feel disappointed or perhaps let down even. Approach viewing of Tamil or for that matter any movie only with a simple approach - is it going to be engaging or am I going to rush out mid-way. I think VV was engaging and thats it.
You were supposed to take a break for a few months ? Are you back from your sabbatical or again going away again ?
Good one VK. A similar opinion was voiced by another friend as well. Well, I’ll watch it anyway
But inge, its to be released only on Sep 1st
Good review….very analytical
Good Morning:
When VK started off (the film review) with the benchmark movies in ‘Kurudhippunal’ & ‘Kakha Kakha’, i couldn’t have agreed more [perhaps my mother would have added 'Thanga padhakkam' (Sivaji Ganesan) as the other 'ivy league' police movie in tamil].
I was thankful to watch the movie 1st day 1st show at sathyam cineplex(chennai) with Goutham Menon and the villain artistes (Amudham & Ilamaran) sitting in a row front of us. Frankly, they appeared not to be too thrilled with the audience reaction, even though it was fairly positive. Perhaps they were expecting more, which i guess could be the problem here, from audience point-of-view as well.
My initial instincts were to compare with the other two films and hence find apparent faults [like a) no strong underlying motive for the villains being psychotic b)no coherence in displaying timeline c) gaps including songs in the second half that slows down the pace which is not keeping with this genre].
Appreciating a movie in the context it was made, is something that i have learned recently. And I feel the movie needs to be given its due, viz. It is a honest effort which is apparent and this having shaped out as a good entertainer’.
Goutham had mentioned in an interview that it is a three-part series with cop stories in their 30s (KK), 40s (VV) and 50s(his next one and for me the one that kamal could be played better!)
(Disclaimer: I am not used to blogging or write follow up threads but being an ardent kamal fan irrespective of his box office credentials, i felt i was due my two cents)
Why do u guys always complain when a tamil director uses the same cast in his next movie but dont complain when a bollywood director does the same?
@Anu, Balaji: Thanks.
@Ashok: Thanks. My grievance about VV is not that it is not good (it is). It has more to do with logical gaps, and a painful lack of verve.
@Shek: Why do I not complain about Hindi movies? Simple. I don’t watch Hindi movies at all. Happy?
Speaking of casting,
I dont see any harm in using same cast.
Balachandhar rotated Nagesh, Gemini Ganesan, Jayanthi, Kamal, Rajini a hell lot.. They jus took different characters. Its shouldnt be a concern, as long as its called a SEQUEL.
Actually, this movie is far better movie than KK. KK’s villain story is a usual villain story but this movie had a villain story that was very different than anything we’ve seen in a tamil movie. It talked about repressed sexuality and sociopathic psychosis forming a very deadly combination.
I liked the line where Kamal says “it’s a gut feel” and Anderson goes “UH!”. I don’t think Kamal used the word “hunch” there and that was the whole point of that dialogue. I was surprised Gautham Menon had made that observation where everyday usage in India doesn’t make sense for Americans. If Kamal had used the term “a hunch” then the guy would have understood and that is the reason why Kamal (being an India used to saying “a gut feel”) said it in the best possible way - “Raghavan Instinct”.
I don’t understand how you can call this movie a SEQUEL. It is not about Anbuselvan or anybody related to him in KK. Gautham Menon only says “another episode in a police officer’s life” - not the SAME PO!! This whole crib about bringing back dead people to life doesn’t make sense to me. These are different people not the same characters. This movie actually seems less of a Kamal movie than any other Kamal movie from the recent past. For heavens sake, Kamal did not even sing a single song in this movie!!! Let me ask you this - why shouldn’t the movie have both Kamal and Gautham Menon’s artistic enhancements - I in fact expect that when Kamal and Gautham team up. If Surya where in GM’s movie, then I don’t care but when Kamal’s in the movie, wouldn’t you want his trademarks felt? How about that deft look at the girl he bumps in the discotheque in the title sequence - wouldn’t you want those things from a Kamal’s movie?
I think you’ve gone with a mindset of comparing it against KK that you’ve not really enjoyed the movie for what it has offered. I suggest you take a second look at it without worrying about the baggage of KK and KP.
The biggest drawback by far of this movie is not so much the plot, similarities to Kaaka Kaaka (which were only in some of the event sequences), etc — is the COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY and VIVID depiction of the various scenes of violence and rape against the women who are victims in this movie. Where on earth was the need for those unnecessary re-captures and flashbacks to each victim’s rape or murder? Especially horrible was the scene involving the murderous duo’s teacher — come on, this was just unconscionable and a HUGE BLACK mark on an otherwise well-made movie. These scenes were thoroughly disturbing and should have not even been shot or at the very least excised at the censor’s or the director’s own hands!
The crew had been facing neck tight situations right from the beginning, as the producer tried to commit suicide. from then on one thing that would have been on the crew’s mind would be to make the film success-by making it as much commercial as you can, even following the KK’s sequence, which would cash-in. Moreover Kamal’s movie is always Kamal’s movie- never anyone in the crew can take it over from him. if it would have been in Gautam’s hand, we would expect a different twist. Wait for the next romantic movie from Gautam.
VV is a good movie.. Could be a better movie without Jyotika.. Kamal’s silly comedy & his famous cry is not so evident made further nice… Neat screenplay from Gautam… Above all, I appreciate the villian’s performance (Daniel Balaji)…
It’s tough to reach the rural population in T.Nadu.. 1st target seems to be NRI indians…
Every Kamal hassan movie is special because he is a fantastic actor. After watching chachi 420 in which he plays that versatile woman so well, one wishes that all his Tamil movies be dubbed in other languages to enable other audiences who admire him. That man is an institution in himself.
The review is good. I have not seen KK, but I still feel the second half in VV is too long, Jyotika’s role unnecessary. It could have been anybody as the cop, Kamal’s talents have been mostly wasted. The who-doneit part is extremely watchable and has a good pace, but the chase in the end was unbearably elastic. Sometimes it pays to keep songs out of the way, if there is a racy script.
I just checked out the movie last week.First half was just awesome.But i felt 2nd half of the movie could have been handled better.Though its no way even close to Kakha-Kakha its worth watching.One thing I really liked about the movie is the ease with which kamal has carried forward the good work done by Surya..
Wow, great review ! I especially liked someone’s comment saying he watched it with Gautom Menon in the front row - that should have been interesting
Do we have any place to get BOX OFFICE data - how much collection a movie is making ? Movie buffs, any ideas ?
Box office report (link) for VV -
http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=14278338
For me the real box office success cannot be gauged before 3 or 4 weeks. I happen to read somewhere that the movie was infact released at a loss (with Gautam distributing it in Chennai - which is the movie’s forte)
hi this is actually a nice movie but could’ve reduced the lengthy scenes of the murders. and the love bloomin between jyothika and kamalhassan is really beautiful like a rainbow. partha muthal naale song wil be the hit of this yr
MAN THIS MOVIE REALLY SUCKS!
IT’S WASTE OF TIME WATCHING THIS MOVIE!
GUY’S DONT WASTE UR TIME !IT’S BETTER TO WATCH KK AGAIN!!!!!!
D FROM CANADA.
A very good review…only bcos it matched with what i felt after watching the movie…
The dialogue in the movie needs some fine tuning..they are pretty ordinary…
Same “potturu”( killing) lingos…
kamal looks a lot detached from the movie,unusually..
By the way what do both the villains do for a living???
Gautham shudn reply that they are medical practioners…who have a clinic in the US…
A small word to Mr Vijay Krishna, who wrote the review, i just have to make two points..
1) The charecter that helps kamal in the investigation is SATISH not SANTOSH.
2) The actor who played that charecter did NOT act in Khaka Khaka.
3) Most importantly, repeat casting is not a problem if u have good enough actors to play their charecters well…
One more clarification,
1) The lass that u mentioned about, who gets killed in Khaka Khaka at the end of the Thoodhu Varuma song is not the girl who gets abducted in the first scene. Mr Vijaykrishna, you are welcome to have your own opinion about the film however if you are going to point out errors, you might want to get your facts straight..
What seem to be interesting is the way kamal has underplayed the role. He has brilliantly portrayed the role of how a Raghavan would look like, stiff, straight walking, less talks, (except for the first scene masala introduction) and maintaining decency with women, mildly but clearly putting across his love etc. The kamal-jyothika scenes definitely set a new trend in tamil movies. The other aspects are the sheer technical brilliance. I think hollywood would soon start outsourcing cinematography and background scores, editing etc. from tamil movies at a low cost.
I immensely liked the film. But of course I have n’t seen Kakka Kakka
If someone doesn’t like kamal i have to tell that they dont have 6th sense. I watched the movie “VV” for more than 10 times specially for the song “karka karka”. I dont think there would be anyone who can match the majesty of kamal in that song. hats off for the video editing. Kamal is unique and this movie is another feather in his cap. There is no need for me to tell abt that great guy who introduced tamil cinema to the world….Kamal always lethal.
Yes it resembles. But defenitely it didn’t occur to me at the time of watching. So it is a winner for director. Even though the characters are similar the motive is different.
It defenitely keeps you to the edge of the seat. I have watched several episodes of C.S.I (crime scene investigation) serial in CBS. Some of the scenes remind me of that. You have to watch it as a whole. You shouldn’t pick each scene and compare that scene with some other movie. Martin Scorcese a legendary director. If you look at most of his mafia movies they follow more or less the same pattern. Still they are enjoyable. I don’t think this movie is that bad a movie even assuming you have already watched kakka kakka. Only kink is Kamalhasan and his king kong size body.
TOTALLY agree with your review…
the plot and jyothika’s character was way too similar to KK…
of course the reasoning behind the killers’ motives etc is different…
the gore and violence int he movie may have been too much to watch for family audiences…but i think it is an essential part of the script…i mean u cant go to watch a a police movie and say ‘i dont want to see murders/rapes etc’….
also agree that it is a good movie…definitely worth a watch…but i too at the end felt like i had just seen KK again….
Hey gr8 review whether I agree or not… But it did help me with my story that I am working on. I only got to watch Vv two days ago and I loved it, I watched kk on you tube so I don’t know much about contextual background of both movies. However my opinion is that Vv is an awesome movie, way better than Kk!! Plus I am glad that Tamil movies are moving away from the clichéd plot lines. Somehow Vv clicks with my general plotline (I mean without the rape and sexism)!!! The only thing I did not like about the movie was Jyothika coming back to life??? I know it’s a Tamil film convention but conventions are there to be subverted!! Besides the casting was okay… except for Jyothika… I am starting to dislike her… but I haven’t watched mozhi yet… so can’t say much about her acting…lolx so yea… in general thanks for the review, and can I request a list of movies of a similar genre if you guys have time?? I would appreciate it very much, just email it to me at dragon_princess@rediffmail.com because I have just stumbled on to this site during my research and I am not so sure if I can find it again =P thanks a great bunch!