Uriyadi Review

If you are appalled at the sight of excessive violence in ‘Uriyadi’ the team is not to blame as they warned you in the trailer and in all their interviews that this one is not for the faint-hearted.  Youngster Vijay Kumar deserves kudos for delivering  a film with random violence as its theme without compromises, that hits you hard on your face.

Set in 1999, Lenin (Vijay Kumar) and his three friends are engineering and metallurgy students who are hostel mates leading a wayward life of drunkenness and violence.  There is also Kumar (Mime Gopi) who is one of the leaders of a caste based organization nurturing political ambitions.  The  youth  frequent a Dhaba near the college owned by Kumar where they often get into fistfights and are helped by Kumar since Lenin and one of his friends belong to the same caste as him.  One such random incidence leads to more violence and results in one of the boys beaten into a coma by an assassin.  Things get out of hand and  culminates into a bloody carnage for all those who are involved.

Vijay Kumar as the central character Lenin has given a good account of himself with appropriate expressions in all the scenes and especially is violence personified in the climax sequences.  The only known face is Mime Gopi  who is apt as the foxy caste organization leader who manipulates every member and situation to suit his ambitions.  The  newcomers who play the three friends as well as every other actor, however minor his/her character is have performed uniformly well. Special mention is due to the actor playing the drug addict Ramananthan and the deadly assassin posing as an insane beggar.  The love episodes between Henna Bella and  Vijay Kumar is insignificant to the story, but serves the purpose of being the reason for a major plot point that triggers the mayhem that follows.

Songs by Masala Café neatly supplement the proceedings of the film and ‘Agini Kunjodru’ number lingers in the mind for long.  Background score is effective in conveys mood of the film that is always pregnant with violence.  Paul Livingstone’s camera captures every minute build up to the violence and is the backbone of ‘Uriyadi’ while Abhinav Sundar Nayak’s  brilliant cuts allows the violence in some scenes to engulf you in its slow detailing while others hit without warning.  Stunt choreographer Vicky is the real hero of this film and almost all the scenes in the entire film stand testimony for his hard work with the climax sequence taking the cake (or should I say the dagger).  Nalan Kumarswamy’s name attached to the film as co-producer will surely provide the impetus.

Vijay Kumar , who hardly looks 25, has played the hero, written, produced and directed ‘Uriyadi’ apart from providing the background score. Armed with a gripping and novel, screenplay, Vijay  has executed it well with minimal resources that warrants a pat on the back.  The interval block is stunning as the rowdy group plan to kill the four boys in the dhaba and the audience get a nice reversal of expectation that is sure to drown the theater with applause. At such a young age it is surprising that this man has a deep understanding and conviction about the caste based politics and how the self proclaimed champions of a caste betray their own people for selfish motives.  A definite talent, one hopes Vijay’s next would be for universal viewing.

On the flip side,  even after being warned the violence in the film is excessive and causes the viewers to flinch and squirm.  The pacing is uneven in some portions and a few long sequences like the one when the small boy is killed could have been trimmed down.  Since characterization of the four boys is as bad as the politicians the viewer is left with no one to root for.  Budget constraints are evident in many scenes.

Verdict : Recommended for film enthusiasts.  Families keep away