ASURAN (2019)

Critic - No.173

Director: Vetrimaran
Producer: Kalaipulli S. Thanu, V Creations
Casts: Dhanush, Manju Warrier, Pasupathy, Balaji Sakthivel, Prakash Raj, Teejay Arunachalam, Ken Karunas
Language: Tamil
Genre: Action / Drama
Music: G.V.Prakash Kumar

SYNOPSIS:
A family from the underprivileged class is on the run after the teenage son kills a rich man from the upper caste. 

REVIEW:
Vetrimaran is one gem of Tamil cinema who tries to address relevant social issues through hard hitting real stories that are also presented to the taste of mainstream audiences. His combination with Dhanush has always worked and Asuran is no different. With Asuran, Vetrimaran delivers a solid engaging drama through an adaptation of the novel, Vekkai written by acclaimed writer, Poomani. He touches on the casts division and the atrocities that followed in the 60s to 80s in the villages of South India through this thriller drama. However, he doesn’t throw the socio-political idea so blatantly in his film until the latter part of the narrative where we see Sivasamy’s flashback which denotes why he has subsided all his anger that destroyed his loved ones in the past.

While the first half of the film keeps us at the edge of our seats that follows through the survival process of Sivasamy trying to protect his family in the life or death situation, the second half digs deeper into the prevailing division of classes that plays out as a strong catalyst of catastrophe in India even today. No scene felt unnecessary and the pacing was air tight with Ramar’s precise editing.

The beauty of this ‘mainstream’ socio political film is that Vetrimaran refrains from spoon feeding us and uses strong film language to denote his idea. My favourite scene as such is when Sivasamy and his sons try to chase the wild boar that entered their field but it escapes and runs beyond the barbed electric wire to the other side of the village. However Sivasamy’s pet dog runs into the electric wire and dies instantly. I read the barbed wire as a barrier for the untouchables and while an stray animal steps beyond it, even a pet from the lower caste can’t. Vetrimaran also gives us scenes where wearing slippers on the scorching hot villages were a privilege of the upper caste and if that is challenged, a string of violence will burst out. Vetrimaran ends of with a memorable climax with Ambedkar’s thematic echoes to educate, agitate and organise.

Dhanush’s perfect portrayal of Sivasamy especially during the present time as a 50 year old, should get him all the awards in the region while Manju Warrier could never have asked for a apt debut in Tamil as this. Stellar debutants, Ken Karunas and Teejay as the sons have given a seasoned performance in such pivotal roles that are as important as the protagonist.

Some people might argue that Asuran is just one of many violent films that talk about the caste division in India but what makes the film difference is the hard hitting scenes, symbolic narrative and the strong performances. Yes, the film is predictable but that doesn’t stop us from getting engaged from the start to finish or root for the Sivasamy’s justice to prevail so badly; that's where director Vetrimaran succeeds. Thevar Magan (1992) is one such film that did it so effectively that we can cover whole topic of casteism through it. Also, it evokes the rarest feeling of wanting more run time of a film to give more meat to the whole bunch of interesting supporting characters that appeared to be slightly under explored.

VERDICT: 
Vetrimaran-Dhanush combo gives another hard hitting socio-political thriller that is dark, memorable and glorious in voicing against India's long prevailing issue of casteism.

CELLULOID METER- 4/5: