Film: Vetrivel
Director: Vasanthamani
Cast: Sashikumar, Miya George, Nikhila, Prabhu , Vijy, Varsha, Ilavarasu.
Set in a rural milieu, the film chronicles the journey of Vetri Vel, an uneducated rustic. Touching on sibling bonding, sacrifice and redemption, the plot has innumerable characters and quite a few subplots. But each has been given its space and importance and seamlessly weaved in. The scenes flow from in rapid succession with a fair share of twists and turns and a certain amount of predictabilty. It may fall short in its form and style, but makes up to an extent through it’s content. It is to Sashikumar’s credit that he chooses roles which go well with his persona. And Vetri, like most of his earlier characters, fits the actor like a glove, as he plays it with fair competence, though in the initial scenes, where he wears a lot of coloured clothes and dances to songs, one felt a slight trepidation that he was dangerously about to step out of his comfort zone!
Vetri is a school dropout and the bane of his father, a disciplinarian school master (Ilavarasu). Being constantly berated and compared to his younger educated sibling Saravanan (Ananth Nag from the Malayalam screen), Vetri doesn’t take it to heart. The bonding between the brothers is well brought out. We learn of Vetri’s love for Janani (Mia), as he narrates it to Saravanan. And the latter opens his heart to Vetri about his love for Subha (Varsha), daughter of village elder Rajamanickam (Prabhu).
The scenes where Sarvanan’s father is persuaded to approach Rajamanickam with the marriage proposal, only to be rejected by the caste-conscious elder, are believable and have a natural flow. Prabhu and Ilavarasu essay their roles with understanding. It’s what happens when Vetri, helping out in his brother’s love affair, plans a kidnapping that goes awry, having its repercussion on the lives of many. The scene of the kidnapping is handled in a lighter vein, as more of a tribute to a similar scene in Sasikumar’s earlier film Nadodigal (2009). Some actors from the earlier team make a brief appearance here, its famous song Shambo Shiva Shambo... also being played in the background. Thambi Ramaiah as Vetri’s companion and the butt of many a joke, livens up the moments he appears in. Another appreciable factor is the way the director deals with the issues the characters face. Most of the problems are solved promptly and sensibly, and in a natural manner, through discussions and compromises.
Vasanthamani’s female leads are bold, sensible and know when to let go. Like Janani (Mia George), who withdraws gracefully when she realises the compulsion that made Vetri opt out of her life; Subha (Varsha), who rejects Saravanan’s plan of eloping with him, determined that she would get her father’s consent and marry him; and Latha (Nikhila), who facing public humiliation for her supposed eloping, defends her kidnapper, understanding the circumstance in which it had happened.
Each woman gets her space and fits it suitably. Another crucial character is that of Vijy’s, who plays the estranged sister of Rajamanickam. As the woman determined to have her vendetta on the perceived slight to her family, Vijy essays it with finesse. The twist in the finale is an expected one. A promising work from a debutant maker, Vetrivel is a decent, wholesome and a fairly engaging family entertainer.