CHEKKA CHIVANTHA VAANAM (2018)

Critic - No.160

Director: Mani Ratnam        
Casts: Vijay Sethupathi, Silambarasan, Arvind Swamy, Arun Vijay, Jyothika, Prakash Raj, Aishwaraya Rajesh, Aditi Rao, Dayana, Jayasudha, Thiagarajan
Language: Tamil
Genre: Action / Drama
Music: A.R.Rahman

SYNOPSIS:
After a fatal murder attempt on a powerful mafia Senapathy (Prakash Raj), his three sons (Arvind Swamy, STR, Arun Vijay) aim to seat on the throne even if they have to turn against each other.

REVIEW:
Right from the announcement till the latest promo videos, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (CCV) has made a spot on noise among the Indian film circuit. After experimenting with two light hearted films (OK Kanmani & Kaatru Veliyidai), Mani Ratnam returns to his 80s love of portraying the tricky, complex emotions in the world of gangsters.

Loosely based on Ponniyin Selvan, Mani threads a story about how three brothers who have totally different characteristics are in the race to seat on their father’s powerful throne. The film starts off with establishing the world of the three brothers Varadhan, Thyagu and Ethi and how their father’s accident brings them back together at one place. From the first scene we know how the film is going to go. Yes, it is predictable (and personally I felt that the trailer has revealed too much). However, Mani Ratnam’s usual treatment with style, exotic locations, symbolism, colour schemes and hard hitting dialogues gives the journey the intensity it warrants.

Multistarrers are a rarity in Tamil cinema and it’s a sheer delight to see four intense performers competing with each other with each given fine moments and monologues in the film to shine. All the four lead actors fit perfectly in their role. Arvind Swami’s maturity gels well with Varadhan who is fighting with his internal conflict to whether be a good man or a greedy man. As Mani's favorite associate, Arvind looks extremely comfortable and dynamic.  Arun Vijay excels mostly in his look and stunts. STR as Ethi fits well as the rebellious brother who years for love. His character for me, is the most interesting with more layers of emotions than the other two brothers. Spoiler alert – STR has a scene where he conveys to his mother how he yearns for his parents love than anything in the world. He proves his versatility in that one scene.

With due respect to all the actors, Vijay Sethupathi steals the show with his controlled acting who throws a witty line whenever he appears. There is an underlying pain within the suspended police officer who finds comfort with his buddy Varadhan. He doesn’t convey much with words but his expressive eyes and backstory win us over by the end of the film.

Even though the action set pieces and fast pace makes the film tight, CCV misses out in making us feel for the pay offs and twist it has. There are shocking revelations and betrayal that comes in as a shock but it doesn’t sting you as much as intended. The main reason might be the abundance of characters where the writer struggles to establish in a short time. The cat and mouse game between the brothers in the second half is visually striking but lacks variety or innovation. 

For a man who has given us so many bold female characters in his career, CCV lacks that despite having 4 heroines. Even though we have strong performers like Jyothika and Aishwarya, neither of them serve much purpose in the narration. Like what I said, despite the engaging story and top notch performances by the heroes, the film lacks the emotional quotient. One example will be a homage scene of Nayagan(1987) that appears where a lead character’s lady love is killed by a shot to a balcony. The pain stings up straight in Nayagan but it barely moves us in CCV. That is the problem in here. But one can see that Mani is in mood of some mainstream, commercial fun with CCV after so so long.

That said, Santosh Sivan’s arresting, racy camera work and ARR’s creative song placements immerse us into the mafia world so intently that these glitches rarely stick out during the watch. And of course, the masterstroke is felt at the climax that reminds us that we are seeing a work from one of the finest director.

VERDICT: 
CCV might not be as edgy or suspenseful as intended, but the gangster flick is packaged with great performances and technical finesse that marks the return of commercial form for one of India’s finest contemporary filmmakers.

CELLULOID METER- 3.25/5: