A short while into Nalan Kumarasamy's latest film, I began wondering whether the world of Ramu (Karthi) appears a certain way because the director of Soodhu Kavvum and Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum imagined it that way or because Ramu sees the world that way. After all, he happens to be a huge movie buff — and an MGR fan to boot. The answer was right there. I only had to remind myself that I'm watching a film made by Nalan Kumarasamy, the kind of filmmaker who dares to go outside the box even when working within a mainstream template, the kind of filmmaker who comes from the same maverick gang that comprises Mysskin, Thiagarajan Kumararaja, and other kindred spirits. We also have to remind ourselves that Kumarasamy was one of the co-writers of Super Deluxe (one of the best Tamil films from the last decade). That film, too, had a certain look and vibe. While not as dark, Vaa Vaathiyaar comes with its own unique personality.
Here's a filmmaker with an ability rare among those working in Indian cinema today. The ability to not reveal all the tricks in one go. The ability to give our imagination a workout. I'm not implying that Vaa Vaathiyaar is The Matrix (although there is a brief nod to The Matrix Reloaded) or that it's rocket science. No. I'm just saying that Vaa Vaathiyaar believes in not telling you right away what genre it belongs to. The teaser did not give us any hint, and in this day and age, when the promo materials give away most of the movie, what Kumarasamy and team did with Vaa Vaathiyaar is something special. So I won’t tell you, in this review, what the film is about.
I can, however, tell you how I felt about it.
To start off, it's nice to see Karthi again in a role that plays to his strengths. I can tell you that he plays a cop, but he is neither playing the same guy from Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru nor Siruthai (although you can see a bit of that mischief here, too). This character, Ramu, is designed to put us completely at ease. His demeanour, body language, and facial expressions say, "Please, make yourself feel at home..." even when going through challenging times. I could say the same about Kumarasamy's filmmaking approach here. It's not that no "bad" event ever happens in it — a fair amount of blood gets spilled here and there — but in terms of mood it leans more towards Soodhu Kavvum than Kadhalum Kadanthu Pogum.
There's also the sense that Kumarasamy wanted to go lighter on the material than he did with his last films. This is reflected in the manner he has treated the songs (stunning colours, imaginative sets), the fight sequences (variations of fantasy and reality), and the overall warm, comic-book texture applied. Cinematic with a capital C.
Yes, Vaa Vaathiyaar is Kumarasamy's most mainstream work yet, but this is not the work of a "compromised" or "diluted" filmmaker known so far for his singular vision. It still looks like a Nalan Kumarasamy film, not the work of someone else. It takes place in a certain kind of reality where the hospitals don't look depressing as they do in real life — they have warm and inviting colours and lighting. The same applies to the look of the police station and the neighbourhood in which Ramu lives. The gritty aesthetic is not what Kumarasamy is going for.
And even when Kumarasamy goes full commercial, he doesn't go overboard or get too self-indulgent. When Karthi and Krithi Shetty (she is a part YouTuber/part Oracle blessed with the abilities of Samuel L. Jackson's character from M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable) break into a song and dance, the film lets you know that the entire sequence is playing out in their heads, unlike a recent "pan-Indian" Telugu biggie that randomly threw in songs and dances with no rhyme or reason.
The ending suggests that Kumarasamy may have plans for more adventures. I'm not sure if it's a wise move, because Vaa Vaathiyaar is the sort of effort that may not work with the majority of audiences. You have to be a bit twisted/quirky to enjoy it. There are parts in Vaa Vaathiyaar that didn't quite work for me, but that would make up, maybe, 20 per cent of the whole thing. If Vaa Vaathiyaar ends up doing well at the box office, perhaps it would be a good idea to go ahead with a sequel. I'd rather see the next chapter of a Nalan Kumarasamy film than of someone else’s.
Film: Vaa Vaathiyaar
Director: Nalan Kumarasamy
Cast: Karthi, Krithi Shetty, Rajkiran, Sathyaraj
Rating: 3.5/5