Ippadai Vellum Tamil Movie

Feature Film | 2017 | UA
Critics:
The movie has a fairly engaging narrative that is worth a watch!
Nov 9, 2017 By Baranidharan Sivasankaran



Director Gaurav Narayanan's spurious use of technology was engaging even in his previous film, 'Sigaram Thodu'. He has kept the thing consistent in his latest, 'Ippadai Vellum'. Featuring Udhayanidhi who is desperately searching for a hit, the movie is packed with some mainstream elements with a few logical and illogical (read it as unbelievable) threads that ran all through the proceedings.


Madhusoodhanan (Udhayanidhi) and Bhargavi are about to tie the knot. Bhargavi's brother (R.K. Suresh) vehemently opposes their marriage. They eventually plan to have a secret marriage at the registrar's office. Due to the sudden turn of events, they get entangled in a plot involving a terrorist who wants to bomb different parts of Chennai.


Plots involving romance and terrorism isn't new. 'Uyire' for one had set the precedence for it. But this one here is more mainstream and contrastingly less intense with light-hearted laughs and some loose ended plot points which were hard to believe at times.


The overall pace of the narration has helped the movie to proceed rapidly without getting stuck at plot points. The movie also took a stand on Hindu terrorism (and thankfully didn't face a ban threat from any fringe group until now) and revitalized its presence through a subtle ringtone on the terrorist's mobile playing "Ram Ram" at crucial junctures!


The movie thankfully had some of the most sensible female characters with acumen. For instance, Radhika's role as a doting mother was further beefed up by showcasing her as the first female bus driver for Tamil Nadu. That, along with Radhika's innate audacious personality augured well for the overall character which was rooted well within the ethos, but had a progressive appeal.


Even Manjima's character was etched as having to think from the head than from the heart and so was Udhayanidhi's. It's pretty hard to see a hero think through his moves while in action. It was translated on screen with an element of CG - lines with labels such as "target" and "idea", which helped in giving a primer of his ability. Also, this technique saved us from watching a slender guy walloping a bunch of goons!


Soori, who is the official comedian has bagged a role that had some emotional strings attached. But the episode of him with a memory loss and the one with MS Bhaskar and his hypnotherapy was some run-of-the-mill slapstick that hampered the pace.


Daniel Balaji was the usual bad guy who gets to be his own after the initial sequence of having to sport a bad wig. His role as that of a bomb specialist initially gathered some curiosity but as the movie progressed, the idea stayed but there were hardly any intelligent moves from him and he was rather made to surrender meekly at the hands of a rookie cinematic "investigators" like Udhayanidhi and Manjima, who go about hunting for the terrorist.


Richard M Nathan's cinematography and Imman's music tethered smoothly with the movie such that the songs and the locations that were shot were not an eyesore but nothing worthy of a mention either.


Director Gaurav has certainly showcased the knack of spinning technology with a cliched narrative structure with something as simple as the usage of "Gmail" and "saving a mail as a draft". It reminds me of his knack for showcasing "ATM crimes" in 'Sigaram Thodu'. Well done, in that aspect.


I only wished for more such brilliant elements, better performing artistes and sprucing up some unwanted portions that begged for logic. Overall, the movie has a fairly engaging narrative that is worth a watch!

Baranidharan Sivasankaran

   

MOVIE REVIEWS