Film: Valiyavan Director:
M Saravanan Cast: Jai, Andrea, Aaran Choudhary, Azhagam Perumal, Bala
Recent releases have reminded one of a hangover of the Hangover film, where a night’s drunken binge led to forgetfulness of what had transpired the previous night to the hero. This one too seems to have it as the touch point.
The director here blends a love story with a boxing angle. The film opens promisingly enough. Where Ashwin (Aaran), a boxing champion is in the glare of the media, having won an Olympics silver medal. With Vinod (Jai) on the sidelines watching the man with dislike, we wonder what the issue was about and why Vinod was planning the man’s downfall. But it’s a cliched back story we get to see later.
The first half depicts the love-track, the second the boxing one. It’s in the subway that Vinod first sets eyes on Subhiksha, where she a stranger, says ‘I love you’ to him. Saravanan’s subway is far from realistic, with its lively and colourful ambiance, overcrowded with youngsters. It’s also here that Vinod has his encounters with a tramp, a black man and a dog, each acting like they knew him. There is a back story to this too, engaging and interesting. Jai’s new smarter look suits him.
His whole drunken act where Andrea gives him a lift in her car is splendidly enacted. In her effortless portrayal, Andrea is eminently watchable.
The pace slackens midway through where the boxing angle is tackled. The narration peps up again towards the closing scenes where Vinod has his final face-off with Ashwin. And if one wonders how a common man can defeat an international champion, the director has an explanation ready. That a common man should never be underestimated!
On the flip side the narration has a disjointed, jerky feel even as the director tries to link the various episodes into a logical whole. And though Imman’s songs are lively, they seem to be forced in towards the second half, slackening the pace.
Engaging in parts, one expected a better fare from the Engeyum Eppodhum director.