Vedalam movie review: Ajith's terrific performance is the only saving grace in this stale revenge drama!

By Sreeju Sudhakaran
Published: November 10, 2015 3:34 PM IST

The film is directed by Siva and produced by S. Aishwarya.

After Vijay's Puli didn't exactly win everyone's hearts, as it was expected to do, Ajith's fans were expecting a lot from Vedalam to win the race this time. Ajith and director Siva already have an ace up their sleeves with Veeram, so naturally, an encore of the same level was expected from them. So how did it turn out? Here's what happened... Also Read - Vidaa Muyarchi: Ajith Kumar’s AK62 gets a title on his special day; all you need to know about the upcoming new movie

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Ganesh (Ajith) and his younger sister Tamizh (Lakshmi Menon) migrate to Kolkata, where he works as a honest taxi driver, who also is a part time informer for the police. This brings him to the notice of the goons, whom he had betrayed, led by a trio of villainous brothers (Rahul Dev and co.). When they realise that it was Ganesh who ratted them out, the youngest villainous brother kidnaps him and bring him to his lair. However, little did they know that Ganesh is not the honest man he tries to display to the world. There is another dark side to him - The Vedalam side, which will only come when he faces the men who was responsible for a tragedy that happened in the past. Cue to a lot of stylish stunt sequences, Ajith grinning his teeth devilishly, a wishy-washy flashback drama, and a predictable conclusion. And yes, there is Shruti Haasan trying to do comedy and then trying to romance Ajith, making us wish Ajith would kill more villains instead! Also Read - AK 62: Director Vignesh Shivan breaks silence on being replaced from Ajith Kumar starrer

What's hot:

Three words. Ajith. Ajith. Ajith.

He is the only reason why Vedalam seems so bearable. The film is tailormade around his charisma and his mass image. Be it the action sequences, the heavy duty drama and even the lighter scenes, Ajith chews each one of them as they were some delicious juicy pieces of chicken leg. His transformation sequences from mild-mannered Ganesh to maniac and blood-thirsty Vedalam (though clearly inspired from the Bruce Banner - Hulk equation) is terrific, and he provides few sequences for his die-hard fans to stand up and clap, especially when he shows that evil grin. Though, I would need to add that the actor need to lose some serious weight. Lakshmi Menon, as his sister, is also impressive. The first half is fast-paced with two brilliant (and illogical, yes, but do you care about logic in an Ajith or Vijay film?) fight scenes. The action sequence just before the interval point is actually first-rate. If only director Siva could maintain the tempo in the second half...

What's not:

As much as I would like to praise Ajith as an actor, I would really need to criticise how he chooses his scripts. For Vedalam has nothing new to offer to the actor, other than tap on his already popular mass image. Though the teaser of the film and (even the title) gave us a slight hint of some supernatural stuff or split personality stuff, there is nothing of that sort in the film. Ajith's character is like any typical massy Tamil hero - he is an indestructible killing machine, for whom swords, hockey sticks, guns and 100 goons don't matter (though he can get heavily injured as per the convenience of the script). It is never explained how a local goon can suddenly become this brilliant mastermind who can hide from surveillance cameras while killing villains, track them down out of nowhere and get into high security buildings without anyone noticing him. In fact the plot is so full of convenient plotholes (like how Shruti Haasan follows Ajith right in the middle of his murder spree, though she had no clue where he went exactly), that you stop bothering with logic (seriously, why did I?) and just cringe and bear. After a somewhat enjoyable first half, the plot loses everything in the second half with a long, over-drawn flashback sequence that never ends, and the way it sets up the revenge drama is as predictable as Shikhar Dhawan's form. The comic scenes, involving Soori, Rajendran, Balasaravanan, Swaminathan etc. are as funny as a grating toothache. Shruti Haasan is hardly there in the film, except for two songs and three and a half scenes. In fact, if you chop off her character completely, it wouldn't matter much to the plot. The villains are stock characters whose only purpose in the film is to die at the hands of the hero!

What to do

Though a lot was expected from Ajith after a decent Yennai Arindhaal, poor screenplay and average direction let him down this time. With so much expectations riding on the film, it's really sad that the final product turned out to out to be a wet cracker! Only recommended for his die-hard fans!

Rating : 2.0 out of 5

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BySreeju Sudhakaran
Published: November 10, 2015 3:34 PM IST