Visaranai Tamil Movie
Visaaranai is one of the rare gems of Tamil cinema. No one has made a film about police interrogation and prison experiences of innocent victims in the history of Indian cinema as vocal as national award-winning filmmaker Vetrimaaran has done in Visaaranai. The film reeks of sordid moments and makes audiences feel the utmost cynicism for the police department. And, to add to the fact that the film is based on the novel series 'Lock Up' penned by M Chandrakumar, the stomach-churning experience becomes more than just inevitable.
Four Tamil-speaking youngsters - Pandi (Dinesh) and Murugan (Murugadoss), accompanied by two of their friends, make ends meet with menial jobs in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. They don't have money to check in to a nearby hotel or rent a house. So, they bribe the watchman who is taking care of a park in their locality to take shelter during the night time.
However, a topsy-turvy turn of events makes the four innocent workers get trapped under police custody for a crime they did not commit to. They don't have any idea why they are arrested and detained by the police. Is speaking Tamil in a neighboring state a crime? Are caste configurations taken into account in order to categorize the perpetrators of a crime? Vetrimaaran raises intense questions on morality and humanity with Visaaranai, which brims with philosophical lines and disturbingly intellectual metaphors that make the film a very unique experience for viewers.
The film is packed with performances of the highest order from the whole cast. The entire story happens in two police stations, a courtroom and a swampland. Cinematographer Ramalingam's frames penetrate the bustled walls of police station as terrifyingly as it does in the climax at a benighted swamp which has no props or whatsoever.
The simple but subtle dialogues penned by Vetrimaaran makes us ponder, argue and sometimes guilty too. Samuthirakani delivers a terrific portrayal of a sincere and honest police officer enchained by the power of his higher officials. It is films like these that can make the Tamil cinema proud. It is films like these that provide audiences a truly world-class experience at a time when the commercial garbage is fed into theaters without fail every week.
With Visaaranai, Vetrimaaran has proved his mettle as a full-blown filmmaker who knows how to balance the trade and commercial aspects of a movie, even if it has superior shades of an art film.