Ippadai  Vellum - Implausible, but racy 

Director Gaurav Narayanan is known for his thriller screenplays involving technological crimes and in 'Ippadai Vellum' he joins hands with romantic comedy hero Udayanidhi Stalin and manages to deliver an implausible but racy film that is engaging in most parts.

Madhu (Udayanidhi Stalin) and Bhargavi (Manjhima Mohan) are lovers and since her brother Dheena (R.K. Suresh) a senior cop objects they opt for a registered marriage and fix a date.  Elsewhere Kuzhandhaivelu (Soori) is planning to go to his native place Thindivanam for the birth of his child. A dreaded terrorist Chota (Daniel Balaji) after striking Hyderabad with a bomb blast targets Chennai next.  As fate would have it Kuzhanthaivelu going to his hometown and Madhu on the way to his wedding get involved with Chota and are believed to be his gang members and the lives are put in extreme danger . How the duo wriggle out of the difficult situation forms the rest of the screenplay.

Udhayanidhi Stalin has chosen a role that suits him and has done a neat job as the reluctant hero who uses his brains to best his lover's brother on one side and the terrorist on the other.  He especially makes a mark in his genuinely warm, interactions with his mom (Radhika).  It is refreshing to see Soori in a role that has to do more than just being the hero's sidekick.  He has his own sentimental scenes with his pregnant wife and once he loses his memory he is at his hilarious best. The well rounded  Manjhima Mohan not only is a pleasant sight for the eyes, but has also natural with her expressions in all her scenes.  R.K. Suresh as the wile cop and Daniel Balaji as the ruthless terrorist are perfectly cast while Radhika shines in the brief screen time she has.  Gaurav Narayanan himself appears as an investigating cop and thankfully gets hospitalized after a couple of scenes. 

The first half after a rather slow paced buildup gets to the business soon enough and races to the interval block when Uday and Soori get caught in a predicament.  There are quite a few clever plotting in the screenplay like showing how Uday "beats" a huge waiter at the beginning and using the same technique in the end to get the terrorist in trouble.  The "Godfather Kanmani" song and the sentimental scenes between Radhika and Uday are touching.  Though Soori resorts to fart and pee jokes the bomb comedy in the hospital and his struggle to pass urine in the police chase do get the laughs.

On the downside the memory loss of Soori could have been exploited further for comedy as well as for the plot.  The jarring coincidence of the villain's flat being just above the one the hero and heroine choose as a hideout, the cops taking orders from Udhay and the dilemma in the screenplay, whether to proceed as a comedy or a serious film take its toll in the second half.

D.Imman's "Godfather Kanamani" and 'Guleba' are good to listen to and in the re-recording he uses a theme for R.K.Suresh and a slight variation for Daniel Balaji but on the whole is in sync with the film.  Cinematography by Richard M Nathan and editing by Praveen KL are true to their reputations.  Gaurav Naryanan has attempted a racy thriller with an unconventional casting and meets with success to a certain extent, but one should say the script has more potential than what is on offer.

Verdict : Go for this racy thriller that is engaging as well as entertaining in parts.