Viduthalai Part-1 review: Vetrimaaran & Soori deliver unpopular, but gutsy statement

Cast: Soori, Bhavani Sre, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vijay Sethupathi, Chetan

Director: Vetrimaaran

Music director: Ilaiyaraaja

Until 2015, the opinion about police was mostly rosy thanks to some Tamil commercial potboilers. Vetrimaaran, who then had given a couple of blockbusters starring Dhanush, dared to do something different. Visaranai (2015), based on true incidents of custodial violence, "humanised" the police department which was kept on an unrealistic high pedestal till then.

The national award-winning filmmaker has now come up with a similarly daring oeuvre. Viduthalai starring Soori, Bhavani Sre, Chetan, and Vijay Sethupathi, has a crucial statement to make on the cops and the power centre that controls them.

The film, set in the 80s, begins with a terror incident that puts "Makkal Padai" (People's Army) on the police radar and its leader Perumal "Vaathiyar" (Vijay Sethupathi) on its wanted list. A naive Kumaresan (Soori), upon deputation, provides a much important social commentary on the police department as he unlearns pretty much everything he thought he knew about the department. He veers from "duty" and "obedience" in service of people, which he thinks is important than blind subservience. Some lines like "Adhigaringa kitta keezhpadiya kathuko" (Learn to obey senior officials) recur, underlining that the ends are irrelevant and obedience is of paramount importance.

Kumaresan while having a hard time to customise himself to the department's "requirements", Sunil Menon (Gautham Vasudev Menon), who played a major role in quelling Naxal movements in Northern states, gets deputed as the DSP to spearhead "Operation Ghost Hunt" with the twin-objective of neutralising "Makkal Padai", and "freeing" the forest and hill regions for government's mining project. Kumaresan, already startled with the paradigm shift he is going through in the department, gains some personal reasons to nab Perumal. But being a mere a jeep driver who delivers food to cops guarding checkposts on rough terrains, will he be able to accomplish this is what Viduthalai Part-1 answers in its 2 hr 30 minute runtime.

Vetrimaaran scores big with casting. Hands down! Soori, Chetan and Bhavani Sre have delivered the best performances of this year so far. Soori lost his comical side for good and has immersed himself completely into Vetri's world. Bhavani Sre, playing a tribal woman Tamilarasi, has got into the skin of her character. Belonging to a tribal community, caught in the crosshairs of police and militant fighting, her hesitation in interacting with the police and finding a confidant in Soori one step at a time, Bhavani has emoted satisfactorily. Her performance in the custodial torture scene will surely create some uneasy moments for the audience. Chetan as a disciplinarian cop Ragavendar, stands his ground unabashedly with a frozen conscience. Filmmakers Gautham Menon and Rajiv Menon play their part as the mouthpiece of the government really well.

Viduthalai definitely has its dull moments. In the second half after Kumaresan gets to know Tamilarasi full well, the screenplay meanders for a good 10-15 minutes before getting back on track.

Cinematographer R Velraj picturises the hills and forests in an intimidating way that makes it look far from desirable. The dull lighting and gloomy colour palettes have helped the audience stay invested in the narrative. However, Ilaiyaraaja infuses romance into the daunting terrain with "Onnoda Nadandhaa" and "Kaattumalli". The background score aids and doesn't hinder the screenplay.

The confusion in Viduthalai Part-1's production looks pretty conspicuous with a hurried climax making us want more, especially of Vijay Sethupathi whose glimpse we were able to catch only briefly. However, all is not lost since the movie is being made in two parts. Despite minor hiccups in the screenplay, Viduthalai Part-1 as a standalone film is an important documentation of the excesses of the police department and as an extension of the government.