Movie Review : Vettaiyan

 SP Athiyan ( Superstar Rajinikanth) is a trigger happy cop who believes that justice delayed is justice denied, and has a reputation of being tough on notorious criminals and conducting encounter killings  on them.  He believes that otherwise, with their influence, they will escape punishment and continue to wreak havoc in society.

At the other end of the spectrum is justice Satyadev ( Amitabh Bachchan) who conducts lectures at cop academies, highlighting the need for the police to display caution and lay the law take its course,  because ' justice hurried is justice buried '. 

Their paths soon cross, when a  teacher, Sandhya ( Dushara Vijayan) is brutally assaulted and killed and Athiyan metes out his brand of justice by a police encounter killing a young suspect,  Guna.

But Athiyan soon learns that things are actually not what they seem.  Bigger forces are at play in a huge scam,  and Guna may have actually been innocent. Devastated, he is determined to find the truth and clear the innocent boy's name.

How does Athiyan reach the truth ? Who is the actual culprit ? What justice does  Athiyan finally mete out  to the powerful perperators ?

Director TJ Gnanavel touches upon several themes in this commercial potboiler cum investigative thriller. From the issue of fake encounters,  to education scams targetting the poor  and the complicity of the rich and powerful in high places, Gnanavel deals with it all. At the same time he manages to convey  the Superstar magic, with the way scenes are written and conceptualised. Rajinikanth oozes charm, swag and style along with the mandatory punchlines and a modified popular typical  gesture with his glasses that he is known for. The action scenes spell mass and his dialogues are impactful. The scenes with Fahad Faasil  ( as thief turned geeky informant) and Rajini are delightful to watch while cop  Ritika Singh's vibes with Fahad, add an enjoyable, lighthearted  touch.

Amitabh Bachchan with his gravitas- exuding presence ensures that he is aptly cast and the scenes of him reuniting with Rajini on screen, make for nostalgic viewing, but at the same time dont distract from the content.

Manju Warrier  makes her presence felt, especially in the manasilaayo song and in an action scene. We wish there was more of her on screen though. Abhirami too, fits her negative role to a T and makes a mark. 

Dushara Vijayan shines in a realistically performed role, proving her mettle once again after  Raayan.

The stylish character of Rana Dagubatti, is fantastic as the  chief villain, bringing credibility to his character who has nefarious designs, with an impactful  performance. The scenes between Rana and the Superstar are to watch out for. 

Anirudh Ravichander's bgm is apt while 2 songs stand out. The screenplay is racy, and action scenes with Rajinikanth spell mass all the way. 

On the flip side, the second half has more dialogues that require concentration, the repeated scenes of Dushara's killing gets too much to watch and one wonders what was the need for so many repeats.  The film, though delivering a comtemporary message, seems to get preachy at several places.  The scenes with Amitabh and Rajinkanth could have done with some more spark, given the size of their stardom.

Overall, Vettaiyan, with Superstar' inimitable mix of charm, style, swag and substance,  a well chosen cast, a social messag and, a racy screenplay with twists, makes for an engaging and entertaining watch. 

Rating 3.5 /5 

Cast :-

'Super Star' Rajinikanth

Amitabh Bachchan

Fahadh Faasil

Rana Daggubati

Manju Warrier

Kishore

Ritika Singh

Dushara Vijayan

G M Sundar

Abirami

Rohini

Rao Ramesh

Ramesh Thilak

Rakshan

Crew:-

Writer & Director                    : T.J. Gnanavel

Production                               : Lyca Productions

Producer                                  : Subaskaran

Music Composer                     : Anirudh Ravichander

Director of Photography         : SR Kathir ISC

Production Designer                : K.Kadhir

Action Director                        : Anbariv

Editor                                       : Philomin Raj

Screenplay                               : B Kiruthika

Art Director                             : Sakthee Venkatraj M.

Dance Choreographer              : Dinesh

Costume Design                       : Perumal Selvam, Anu Vardhan, Dinesh Manoharan

Co-Directors                            : Mahendran, Senthilkumar Kesavan

Stills                                         : Murugan

Publicity Design                       : Gopi Prasanna

Production Executives             : K.R Balamurugan, Thambi M Boopathy

Executive Producer                  : Subramanian Narayanan

Head of Lyca Productions       : G.K.M. Tamil Kumaran

PRO                                         : Riaz K Ahmed, Sathish (AIM)