Kukku Surendran, once again comes up with a film that is straightforward stuff with strong and believable narration. The director who has debuted with Oral has graduated on commercial lines and have come a long way to make another family oriented film that bases on a ritualistic family based on traditions versus modernist clashes.
He never loses the grip even while dealing with a story about an educated rural youth caught in mind mayhem of forced traditions. Kuku must be lauded for his exemplary direction and for getting the best out of his casts.
The film tells the story of Hari Narayanan (Prithviraj), who is working in Chennai, and is in love with Pooja, the daughter of rich parents. Hari, who comes from a rural background, had his grandfather who is an oracle of the village.
As he gets haunted by certain thoughts and similar visions, he decides to go to his village, which he never had been to in the last two years.
Hari's father, Madhavan Nair, was an industrious farmer but since his childhood, Hari had always held in dread his grandfather Narayanan Nair, the oracle of the village temple. Madhavan Nair had promised Hari that he would never become a Velichappaadu as he gave more importance to his family. But after Narayanan Nair's death, Madhavan Nair assumes the mantle of the Velichappaadu; with a justification that he was selected by the Bhagavathy and that he had to uphold age-old traditions. As the father fails to keep his promise, a friction arises between them which make the son to leave home, and to settle in Chennai.
After a few days of Hari at home, his urbanized girl friend Pooja also follows him, and within a few days she clears off the friction between the father and the son. But the good days are not to last long, as Bhagavathy the goddess is going to test the family with newer problems.
The scenarists Ashok and Sasi have created a not so tried storyline and impresses with the crisp dialogues and shorter scenes.
Prithviraj, after Vasthavam, once again appears in an intense role, effectively portraying the dilemma of a man in between traditions, as a dutiful and obedient son. He proves that he is capable of repeating noteworthy performances. Murali with another powerful performance as Madhavan Nair steals the show as a self made man full of love and emotions. Padmapriya also performs in a better role but lacks screen chemistry with Prithviraj. Jagathy as the grandfather is also a surprise element in a serious role.
Suraj Venjaramoodu as Pavithran, Jafer Idukki as barber Sundaran, Indrans as thief Ramu and company brings out life like characters and all do justice to their roles. Their roles show the other extreme of ritualistic fervor and the corruption amongst the men of God. . The film has two good songs by Viswajeet, but it is Mohan Sithara, who with his exceptional background scores has kept the tempo of the film all through. Cinematographer Manoj Pillai and editor Hariharaputhran have also worked in tandem to create a better feel to the movie.
Overall, Veeralipattu is a well made movie that is advisable for all type of viewers, particularly so called, class audiences.
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