VENDHU THANINDHATHU KAADU (2022)

Critic No. 288

Director: Gautham Vasudev Menon

Written by: B. Jeyamohan, Gautham Vasudev Menon

Produced by: Vels Film International 

Casts: Silambarasan, Siddhi Idnani, Raadhika Sarathkumar, Siddique, Neeraj Madhav, Delhi Ganesh, Appukutty

Music: A.R.Rahman

Language: Tamil

Genre: Action, Drama

SYNOPSIS: 

Muthu (Silambarasan), a youngster from a village in Tamil Nadu goes to Bombay in search of a better life and gets sucked into the underworld. Will he be able to find a way out of the violence and bloodshed?

REVIEW:

Even the die hard fans of Gautham Vasudev Menon have been calling out on his tried and tested treatment of excessive voice overs, breezy romance and cop fall stories. Silambarasan-Gautham-ARRahman has never disappointed us but with the growing audience and surge of different stories, it is definitely a challenging time for even seasoned filmmakers to hit the bulls eye. However, I felt that Jeyamohan’s addition to this team is rather interesting because Gautham has spearheaded most of his films as the main or solo writer. 

The film kicks off with Muthuveeran (Silambarasan), who is used to life dealing him a bad hand. We sense this through a nice metaphorical scene where Muthu escapes a life of thorns, quite literally, and escapes a wildfire that progressively gets bigger when he attempts to survive. Again, a great foreshadowing of what comes after where a dialogues also suggests, “Thappikanum ninaikum pothellam, iunnum aalama maatikiren (whenever I try to escape from this, I get caught even deeper)”

To provide a better life for his mother Latchuhmi (Radikaa Sarathkumar) and sister Gomathi (Angelina), Muthu, goes to Bombay to work in a parotta shop that is a front for a notorious gangster Karjee. Gradually after a few sequences of mysterious happenings, Muthu is caught up in the rivalry between Karjee and Kutty Krishnan Nair (Siddique) that is based on an unsaid, but hinted at, land war . In midst of this, he falls in love with Paavai (Siddhi Idnani) and as stakes get raised, Muthu enters deep into the dangerous web of gangsterism. 

Vendhu Thanindathu Kaadu is the most grounded and realistic film of Gautham till date. The unhurried pacing, long takes and the sharp dialogues immerses us into the world of Muthu effectively. Jeyamohan’s constant efforts to foreshadow Muthu’s destiny is commendable. I loved the way the Parotta shop is framed when Muthu enters, almost like a jail with bar, denoting the slavery nature of the people who are stuck in the ganster hell hole. There’s a terrific dialogue by Appukutty who describes the life of henchmens as a screw in a big machine. It zooms to a point where Muthu becomes the machine itself in the interval. 

The writing also reaches a little biblical when Muthu’s mother believes that he is destined to kill according to the astrologer and before he heads to Bombay she says “Thikathavangalukku saami thunai irukum (God will guide the one who is directionless). Muthu replies, “Saami illana pei (it’s God or else the devil). No mass dialogue can be better than this heroic yet subtle line that sums up the film. Gautham also keeps the audience into the space through many long takes especially the soulfully visualized ‘Malipoo’ song that encapsulates the feelings of workers who miss their loved ones back at their homeland. Subtle touches like this keeps the film more genuine and close to reality. 

A.R.Rahman has brilliantly has kept that score subtle and used the ‘Marakuma Nenjam’ to spill over Thamarai’s apt lyrics, specifically the lines ‘Engu thodangi, Engu mudiyum…Aattrin payanam (Where will it start? Where will it end? A river’s path…)”. He also uses some exciting raps in Malayalam (done by Neeraj Madhav) and Hindi to accentuate key fighting / transfromation scenes. Gautham has kept the songs as story drivers and character builders rather than distractions. Siddhartha Nuni’s effective use of steadicam and handheld shots ensure that we really follow Muthu closely as if we are one of the characters in the film. 

That said, the film comes with a share of flaws, especially the lack of depth in the supporting characters. We get to know very little about Karjee and Kutty apart from the fact that they have someone even more powerful above them calling the shots and that both have a weakness for women. I personally liked the romantic track and how Paavai’s character was designed to lead to the final climax. However, Siddhi Idnani’s confused look throughout the film looked like she was constantly trying to figure out the character which was rather distracting. To expand on that point, the casting could have been more stronger for the pivotal roles. That said, Jaffer though reminds us of his role in Vikram, he did bring out the eccentricness of what you expect of a villain from Gautham’s universe. However, similar to Gautham’s recent films, the story suffered with a rushed lead into the sequel that felt more like a half baked attempt given the nuanced storytelling we had witnessed till then. 

Silambarasan proves again his mettle of owning a character strongly after Thotti Jaya and Vinnai Thaandi Varuvayaa. Right from the first frame, he makes us forget the actor Silambarasan and sells us the character, Muthu. He looks thoroughly convincing in three different looks at the three different stages. He delivers an extremely nuanced performance and the way Muthu walks, talks and stays restless throughout with constant fidgeting shows how uncomfortable he is with his new skin in Bombay.

Vendhu Thanindhathu Kaadu is not a ‘Pudhupettai’ or a ‘Vada Chennai’ that has explosive moments throughout the birth of a gangster. The film is a rather immersive, personal journey of a youngster turning into a man he doesn’t want to be. Similar to the theme of rebirth, Gautham has successfully entered a second inning of his career, modifying his director voice almost, completely and successfully. 

VERDICT:

Gautham Vasudev Menon reinvents himself as a filmmaker in this grounded, slow burn gangster flick with the help of Jeyamohan’s sharp writing, Silambarasan’s terrific performance and A.R.Rahman’s inspiring score. 

CELLULOID METER- 3.75/5: