Velayudham Review

Vijay's wish to act in a Shankar's film might have come true with 'Nanban'. However, it is not going to be the usual Shankar movie we had watched so far. But there is nothing to worry about, as 'Velayudham' is 'Jayam' M Raja wearing the mask of Shankar and projecting the 'Ilaya Thalapathi' as the messiah of masses. The story is as old as the sun and the moon. Though it is actually inspired from Telugu hit 'Azad', Kollywood is already familiar to it thanks to a number of films from 'Indian' to to 'Citizen' to 'Samurai' to 'Anniyan'. To make things more clear, 'Velayudham' is about a common man, who vows to clean evil things in the society. The way it has been presented by Raja makes all the difference. The director has packed the screenplay with ingredients that would be liked by one and all. There is action, comedy, romance and sentiment- neatly placed and packaged. In all, Raja, in the able company of Vijay, has ensured that the film has got something for everyone to enjoy. Velayudham (Vijay) is a milk vendor in a village called Pavunoor, who has a sister Kaveri (Saranya Mohan) to shower affection and a cousin Vaidehi (Hansika Motwani) to go crazy about him. Life is cool for Velu till he comes to the city to withdraw money he had saved for his sister's marriage.

In the city, there is Bharathi (Genelia D'Souza), a television journalist who creates an imaginary character called Velayudham, and instills fear among baddies that he would put an end to all atrocities in the metropolis. Situations force the milk vendor to wear the attire of the crusader. It's Vijay all the way. From scene one till the end, he is there fighting, dancing and tickling the funny bone. In comedy scenes, he allows Santhanam to dominate him and this brings the roof down. As the actor said in one of his interviews, 'Velayudham' is a Deepavali treat to his fans. Hansika, without vanishing with mere skin show, tries her hands at comedy too and her chemistry with Vijay is cool. Genelia as television journalist fits the role well and she emotes well in serious scenes. Santhanam as Speed throws some good one-liners at the audience which are received well. There are Manivannan, Shayaji Shinde, M S Bhaskar and Suri too who do their parts well.

Vijay Antony has played to the gallery by giving songs that would be loved by Vijay fans. Priyan's cinematography does its bit in elevating Vijay's image. V T Vijayan's editing proves the experience the veteran has in the job. Tom Delmar's stunt scene is of top-notch quality. However, the film makes you feel lengthy, especially at the second half. Also, songs appear from no-where putting a speed breaker on proceedings. But these things fail to stop 'Velayudham' from emerging a racy entertainer this Deepavali season. A right choice for the festival mood.