Adukalam

Cast: Dhanush, Tapsee, Va Se Jeyabalan Music: GV Prakash, Direction: Vetrimaaran

It's not very often you get into a movie with hall with enormous anxiousness mixed with immense hope. It's rarely for the actor but always for the director; you invest so much faith in the director and when he turns around, slips under your grip and tells you, with a sombre face that you dread, that he is not in that league, it hurts.

Adukalam misses so many milestones that it requires heavy dose of suspension of disbelief to continue to respond to Vetrimaaran's second outing. Why, and why Vetrimaaran could not deliver another Pollathavan is a nagging question that you'll never find answer to. Perhaps only speculate about, at your own peril.

Having said all those nasty things, Adukalam indeed does have a fresh story of Shakespearan proportion - a rural Othello with serious complexities. It has powerhouse performances, especially from Dhanush, and a very sincere effort from Vetrimaaran. The mileu too is very earthy.

What failed me was the kitch of presentation. A modern City of Gods type introduction to a film that's rural in its core jarred hard. Such a stylish introduction may be fit for an Italian Job type of action thriller but Adukalam? I can understand that the intro was intended to ease up the complexity of the story and the characters, but it hurries impatiently briefing us about all the important characters and the problems of cock fighting and then the style suddenly disappears and we are brought to a small town in the realism of Bharatiraaja. This jarring, 'switching on the tube light in the middle of the night' kind of irritation notwithstanding GV Prakash blares as much of his intruments and Macintosh loops that he could muster into your ears that your head explodes. I was so enraged I wanted to knock off the fuse from his studio.

The film starts with a prologue to cock-fighting by a narrator that sounds as sincere as a yesteryear's Films Division newsreel and then the narrator suddenly disappears. Who is this narrator, is he one of the characters or is he an omniscient observer? Where did he disappear after the film has started? After the abrupt disappearance of the omnicient director into the chaos of the scenes that unfolded, the group rivalry about cockfighting and the love interest of the protagonist are played in a tearing hurry. Are we witnessing the invasion of editing software into the domain of the director? Why do filmmakers after filmmakers believe in the Final Cut Pro software more than their own script?

Whilst the rural part of the story is played with honesty, Vetrimaaran's portrayal of Anglo-Indian community is less than convincing, which is only made worse by a plasticised acting by Tapsee.

As I watched with anguish the slipping away of the movie, with some occasional brilliance once in a while, I couldn't help wonder what could have made my experience better. A more restrained approach from GV Prakash? A more satisfying ending? A better performing heroine? Relaxed editing?

Neverthelees, Vetrimaaran still holds the promise. Despite the gloomy portrayal of the previous paragraphs, Adukalam is still highly watchable and is more sincere than any other contemporary excrement downloaded by the Tamil cinema as a whole. Remember, a disappointed fan tends to be more critical than the impassioned critique.

What's difficult to understand was what compelled or restrained Vetrimaaran. Will his next venture repay the promise vested in him by his aredent fans like myself? Or will he go down the path of other directors with failed promises such as Cheran, Gautam Menon, etc.?

Talking about Gautam Menon, I heard his Nadunisi Naaygal has no songs. That's not something new but it doesn't have any background music either. Thinking about it, I couldn't help wonder how much better Adukalam would have been without any background music.