Rusticity at its best. Review on Virumandi Movie

The first thing that strikes you about the film is its true to life colours and depiction of rustic Tamil Nadu. The portrayal of scenes right from those showing the sport, ?jallikattu? in all its gory glory to the nascent temperaments of the hospitable and gay villagers who don?t stop to think twice before slaying a man is down to earth and very real.

The two versions of the story used to bring out the story is an impressive technique but which has rarely been used in Tamil cinema. The story as told first by Kothala Devar and then by Virumaandi have been used to reveal the ?sandiyar? (rogue) Virumaandi?s naïve and gullible character and the cunning and sly side of Kothala Devar, one of the bigwigs in the village.

Kamal, the director has made his actors perform to perfection. Kamal must be praised for taking care of even minor details and for bringing in his very own kind of humour. For instance, the scene where Virmaandi grieves for his grandmother who passes away is embedded with humour yet it does not dismiss the gravity of his grief or fail to move the viewer.

Abirami as Annalakshmi, Pasupathy as Kothala Devar and Shanmugarajan as Peikaaman (the sub-jailer) require special mention for their respective performances. Rohini as Angela Kathumuthu (the journalist) and Napoleon as Nallamma Naicker have done a good job. However, the character of the jailer does not require an actor of Nasser?s caliber. Kamal?s rendition of Virumaandi makes one forget his age and even his flabby physique is seen as supporting the alcoholic and brash character.

Prabhakar?s art work is fabulous. He has succeeded in bringing Theni district in Madurai to Chennai through his sets. The set of the Central Jail in Chennai has also been cleverly built and after watching the movie it is astonishing to know that only one scene had actually been taken at the real location. Sudharshan?s editing, Sridhar?s audio additions and Vikram Dharma?s action choreography complete the movie. Keshav Prakash?s camerawork is exceptional and helps to set the mood for each scene.

Ilaiyaraja?s background score must be given special mention and he has once again proved that none can beat him at it. The songs are melodious and retain an earthy quality about them. Muthulingam, Ilaiyaraja and Kamal have penned the https://lyrics. The film sets that had been set up at the Campa Cola campus near Guindy contribute in no small measure to the grandeur of the movie. However, the graphics at certain points in the movie had best been avoided like the one used in the bull-fight scene where Kamal is tossed by the bull after he conquers it. The usage of live sounds has enlivened the movie.

As usual, a Hollywood hangover is seen (but to a markedly lesser degree than in Kamal?s other movies) in certain scenes like the Unna vida? song (written and sung by Kamal Hassan) which resembles the eloping sequence in Braveheart and in the scene where Nasser tells Virumaandi to use the uniform of a dead police officer adding that he won?t be needing it any longer is a wit typical of Hollywood and which seems strangely out of place.

However, there are a few loose ends to the movie, such as the part played by the schoolteacher cum artist whose sketchings of Virumaandi does not make a contribution anywhere. Also, Nallamma Naicker?s mother?s sudden change of heart towards Virumaandi is also left unexplained. Most of all it is confusing to note that the supposedly central theme of the movie namely, capital punishment, has been sidelined whereas, the riot scene in the prison inspite of not contributing much to the story has been given a lot of importance.

Kamal has taken great pains to make a powerful movie that has retained the aroma of a Tamil village and his efforts are laudable.