Pongal offering for families

Thala Ajith, who had last made an appearance on screen with the action-packed Vivegam (2017), is back on screen, this time in a rural avatar, collaborating with director Siva for the fourth time in Viswasam. Viswasam boasts of a huge star cast, and the trailer promised of a typical mass family entertainer. While Veeram and Vedhalam fared well at the box office, Vivegam met with lukewarm response. Let's see if the most talked about the combo of Kollywood in recent times, has worked wonders this time around.

Viswasam begins with the introduction of Thookudurai(Ajith), the bigwig of Koduvilarpatti, who leads a lonely life. Cut to the flashback, Doctor Niranjana (Nayanthara) comes to Thookudurai's village for a medical camp, and though she initially hates his atrocious acts, slowly falls for his character and they get married. However, as his violent ways trouble their daughter, the couple split. Cut to the present and Thookudurai sets out to Mumbai to see his daughter Swetha (Anikha Surendran) and gets to know that she faces threat from the evil Gautam (Jagapathi Babu). Why is Gautam behind Swetha's life, whether Thookudurai saved his daughter's life eliminating Gautam and was he able to unite with his family is what Viswasam is about? 

Thala Ajith as Thookudurai surprises with his bubbly, full of life act in the flashback episodes, and a subtle yet swag filled act in the salt and pepper look, and has a towering screen presence, with an improved body language and near perfect Madurai dialect. Nayanthara as Niranjana gets a meaty role as she gets to emote and shares almost equal screen space with Ajith, and excels in romance as well as sentimental sequences. Jagapathi Babu is yet again cast I'm a cliched, minuscule role without much impact as his character isn't menacing enough for a strong protagonist. Anikha Surendran is back sharing screen space with Thala after Yennai Arindhaal and she's aptly cast. Viswasam has an army of comedians including Yogi Babu, Robo Shankar, Vivek, Kovai Sarala, and none really make an impact as the comedy falls flat.

Siva has packed the first half with family sentiments and presents Ajith in a young and energetic look, as the atrocious do-gooder Thookudurai and despite the leisurely pace of the screenplay, manages to engage the audience with the chemistry between Ajith and Nayanthara. 

However on the flipside, the conflict point isn't strong enough to carry the movie forward, as Jagapathi Babu's character is weakly etched, and the second half lacks mass moments for fans of Ajith to rejoice, despite actually having a hero-villain challenge. Excessive melodrama towards the end also works against Viswasam.

Imman's rise up theme is placed in several sequences effectively, while of his songs, Kannaana Kanne and Vaaney Vaaney appeal, with the lovely visuals featuring Ajith and Nayanthara. Cinematography by Vetri presents Viswasam in a colourful manner, capturing the contrasting Theni and Mumbai milieu well. Editing by Ruben could have been taut, as many sequences seem stretched. 

Siva, who had earlier delivered a rural hit with Thala Ajith in Veeram (2014), was expected to score well in his territory, as Viswasam happens to be a rural entertainer predominantly. Siva has presented Ajith in a lively role which is sure to appeal to everyone, reminding of roles he did in his prime, but has missed to make use of the mass image of the actor, as the screenplay lacks mass moments, barring few episodes like the rain action episode and the toilet fight sequence. The first half has a number of songs placed in regular intervals, but Ajith - Nayan's sparkling chemistry brightens up the proceedings.While fans of the actor would have expected mass episodes elevating heroism in the second half, Siva completely takes the emotional route with the daughter connect as Viswasam is filled with sentiments and bonding throughout,with the so called villain taking a backseat, which could cater more to the family audience, than the fans of Ajith. All said, Viswasam is Siva - Ajith combo's emotional Pongal treat for families.