‘Vengayam’ (Tamil)
Director: Sankagiri Rajkumar
Cast: Alexander, Pavina, Sankagiri Rajkumar, Kalki, Eezha Venthan, Thanga Raj, Vellaiammal and Satyaraj
While most directors prefer going for the formula-patterned scripts, centering their plot on the same issues and causes, there are a few who are daring enough to strike a different chord. Debutant Sankagiri Rajkumar is one such maker who offers a fare that keeps the viewer engaged with his meaningful script.
Rajkumar (former assistant to Velu Prabhakaran) scripts, directs and produces the film, apart from essaying a crucial character in the plot. And it’s to his credit that he has done a fairly competent job in each of these departments. The director has meticulously crafted the situations and characters, staying away from the stereotypes.
Most of the actors are first timers on screen, but each gets their space at the appropriate moment. Blind beliefs and superstitions, charlatans, self-styled godmen and greedy astrologers, who take advantage and exploit society, tantriks and their heinous practices, all come under the scanner here.
The story opens with the sudden disappearance of an astrologer (Thanga Raj) from his village home. Local cop Anbu (Alexander) is roped in to investigate the matter. Then follows a second name on the missing list, another tantric (Eezha Venthan). And the third target victim is Kadavul Samiyar, a popular godman, who is also missing.
There is an episode of Raju, a poor orphan (director Rajkumar fits in suitably), who shares a strong bonding with his grandmother. The local astrologer’s predictions that Raju’s proximity to anyone would bring them bad luck and that he should stay away from his grandmother create turmoil in his mind, leading to tragic consequences.
Valliammal as the mentally-deranged old woman is an apt selection, the character getting to play a crucial part towards the end. The most gruesome and touching episode is the one related to the poor folk-artiste, Ratnam and his little son and daughter, and the fate that befalls him on his trip to Pondicherry with the little boy.
Shot realistically, the scenes have some fine little touches, where folk-art is intertwined with the episode. Rajkumar wouldn’t have found it difficult to find inspiration for his episode of the fake godman (Kalki), who seduces and rapes nubile young girls, because these have made headlines quite often.
Weaved into the script is the blossoming love affair between the cop Anbu and Thamizh, the vivacious village belle (Alexander-Pavina). Scenes, where the mystery unravels, are deftly handled.
Sathyaraj, a self-professed atheist and a rationalist, appears as himself in a cameo.
The dialogue pithy and starkly realistic is a key strength to the film. Particularly in the scene, where four spirited kids from an orphanage, debate and question the moral authority of some religious guides of society. The kids get to contribute more as the story progresses.
Contemporary, provocative and engaging, ‘Vengayam’ is a film, worth a watch.