Veedokkade Review

What happens to the fate of the youth who get into illegal activities just for the sake of a quick buck is one angle of the story and how one man who is street smart, highly qualified but wants to do smuggling meets with a fate that he cannot deny.

Story

Deva (Suriya) is a typical youth. His mother (Renuka) aspires that her son would join government service. Pursuing his post graduate course, Deva instead works for Das (Prabhu), who runs a smuggling racket. A shrewd Deva is a carrier of smuggled articles bringing from abroad everything including pirated CDs of newly-released movies to diamonds without getting caught by customs officials. However Kamalesh (Akashdeep Saigal), who runs a similar racket in the locality starts to give nightmare for both Das and Deva. Keen to topple them, Kamalesh goes to any extremes. Das entrusts Deva with a job to smuggle diamonds from Congo. In comes Kamalesh and he sends his man to make Deva's mission unsuccessful. But eventually he fails. Meanwhile, Deva falls in love with Yamuna (Tamannah), sister of Chitti's (Jagan), who also works for Das. Their rivalry hots up and a turn of events leads to Kamalesh becoming responsible for Das's death. Deva goes on revenge mode. They sort out their enmity in the barren lands of Congo and a surprise awaits Deva in the form of Narcotics Bureau chief Parthiban (Ponvannan) after he returns to the country.

Performances

The life for the film is Suriya who came up with an exceptional performance once again and he has wowed with his fights. Tamannah was there for the glamour part and she did her bit well, Akashdeep Saigal looked quite evil and carried out his role well, Prabhu was gracious and elegant, Karunas did his bit without a hitch, Jagan was impressive. Renuka looked apt as the hero's mother and Ponvannan also had a key role to play in this one and that too with grace. The others did not have much say.

Technical aspects

The film will score mainly on its technical aspects. The script was written well, the screenplay was gripping. Music was neat and though there was just a song or two to really catch the tune, the background score was good. Cinematography deserves centum marks for exceptional capturing of the locales and moments. Editing was required badly during the second half but overall, more push is needed. Costumes were apt, the locations were remarkable and the art department has done a good job with its settings.

Director's portrayal

The director has attempted at a complete commercial treat with the regular formula of songs, dance, romance, sentiment, melodrama but then the content part was not that great. He was good in his narrative and also the presentation but then he should have worked on the editing part so that the length got contained and it became crisp. However, he must be appreciated for trying to come up with a message for the youth who tend to take wrong ways to make quick money. The research he has done when it comes to smuggling, piracy and other aspects were quite commendable.

Critic's view

The film is more of a no-nonsense presentation of few reality issues that are not usually discussed. Unlike the regular commercial flicks that have loads of goons and high flying dialogues, this film is more on the realistic side and there is a lot of effort that has gone in studying the subject of drug trafficking and piracy. While the first half goes about in a smooth manner with the romance, action episodes, the second half takes off the inertia due to unwanted dragging and over detailed scenes for a situation. Overall, the film must be appreciated for its heavy content, high technical values and a solid performance by Suriya again.

Verdict

Technically well made but lengthy, one time watch

Cast: Suriya, Prabhu, Tamannah, Renuka, Akashdeep Saigal, Jagan, Ponvannan, Karunaas and Others

CREDITS:

Banner : Sun Pictures, AVM

Cinematography: M S Prabhu

Music: Harris Jeyaraj

Producers: M. Saravanan, M.S. Guhan, Aruna Guhan, Aparna Guhan

Director: K.V. Anand

Release Date: May 1, 2009