Never did I imagine, of all the things that I ponder, it would be a movie that would finally push me to write my first medium post.
Vikram Vedha.
I am sure there are enough reviews and spoilers floating around already. I do not have to do the honours. However, I am going to do something more blasphemous than doling out spoilers. Read on. (Stop here if you haven’t watched yet, bookmark this, watch the movie and come back.)
VV is an important film for contemporary Tamil cinema, thanks to a plethora of reasons. As the reels unfurled on the big screen, I had a recurring emotion - one that of a concoction of relief, awe and surprise. Relief, as it felt like some one was pulling Tamil cinema out of the abyss of tiring cliches and stereotypes; Awe, as I watched a resplendent formula of storytelling present itself; Surprise, as I realised I was watching a classy film made for the mass audience. Here are some reasons why this movie transcended from ‘good’ to the ‘great’, ‘super’ to the ‘stupendous’ zone for me.
- I found VV to be feminist in more ways than one. For once, there is no scene catering to the male gaze in an out-and-out male-territory gangster film, which is typically ripe with such opportunities. Even the typical ‘drunk men dancing’ sequence, where the tamil audience is used to watching a skimpily clad, white skinned woman gyrating, is set apart by the ubiquitous absence of the ‘item girl’. Pushkar-Gayathri, thanks for letting our world know that it is possible to make such a sequence absolutely entertaining without having to degrade women into items.
- VV’s women look normal — like the women we see in our every day lives. Shraddha is pretty but more importantly, her character is relatable. Most importantly, she has a career and a mind of her own (that too in a film that has two strong male characters on lead roles). She is independent, smart, sassy all the while being loving, caring and sensuous. Pushkar-Gayathri, thanks for shattering the stereotype that such a woman is necessarily ‘thimir pidichava’, ‘villi’ or worse, the ‘vamp’.
- The romantic relationship of the lead pair in VV, I think, is a trendsetter in Tamil cinema. I do not know if there is any other Tamil movie which has portrayed the subtle egos yet overwhelming love, mutual respect and individual maturity of the two in such a matter-of-fact fashion. Pushkar-Gayathri, thanks to the poignant poetry of romance you have penned on screen.
- Chain of stories within a story makes for a very powerful narrative that rivets the audience to their seats and their brains to the ongoing story. This displacement of filmmaking from the ‘formula’ style feels like a whiff of fresh air in a fish market. Pushkar-Gayathri, kudos to serving the old Vikram-Betaal wine in a refreshingly new pitcher.
- In the initial scenes, while I was wondering if Madhavan was born or sculpted, Vijay Sethupathi walked in and effortlessly stole the charisma and hence the spotlight. From then on, in spite of the taut screenplay and the well constructed maze of story sequences, I could not but gape at the well orchestrated ‘jugalbandi’ that played out between the two veteran actors. I think I witnessed such a powerful chemistry between two male leads, for the first time after Agni Natchathiram. Pushkar-Gayathri, another applause for your stellar job in terms of casting.
There were several other interesting aspects. Like the attention to detail. The use of body language. The inherent intelligence of the story. The ‘no smoking’ bilingual voice over. Nasser’s voice bellowing in the background with the title animation. Anyway, enough said. The movie is just a class apart. Period.
I am grateful for this glimmer of hope.