Vezham Tamil Movie
For a thriller to work, the milieu plays a vital role to a large extent. We have seen that since "Moodu Pani", wherein the eerie air surrounding the misty hill stations bring in part of the chills (pun not intended). Debutant director Sandeep Shyam has traversed a similar arc with Vezham.
The film has got the milieu right. However, neat and concise writing is quintessential for any film. Especially when it comes to thrillers, more than the hooks and deceptions, the audience should feel at least a part of the trauma that the characters in the film undergo. This movie has made an attempt to that effect, but sadly falls flat!
The movie opens with a young couple (Ashok Selvan and Iswarya Menon) riding around the hills. A tea shop owner warns them of a psycho killer on the run and asks them to get back home. Then, as predicted, the couple is subjected to an attack. The movie cuts to the present day, where Ashok Selvan is recovering from the aftermath of the incident a few years back.
He has mood swings and feels guilty that he couldn't do much to save his girlfriend. At the same time, he is determined to find the killer. The only clue he has is the voice of the attacker, being knocked out. He even confronts random people on the road to find the killers. As he finds solace in Janani, whom he gets acquainted with through his friend. As one thing leads to another, he urged to avenge the attackers. Did he find the real killers and did things get murkier as he further dug into the happenings?
The movie had a great potential to prove itself as a deceptive thriller. The first half of the movie was very complacently made. It took its sweet time to reveal the character of Ashok. Also, the blossoming romance between Janani and Ashok took a toll on the pace. The lines were familiar. The character who plays the hero's friend was mildly irritating, as it was half-baked.
We are served with easy clues at various junctures. There were attempts to undermine our predictions too. However, the screenplay rides on a bumpy road, attempting to connect the dots haphazardly. We end up with a ton of logical questions. The sly motives of critical characters were not sugar-coated enough. We could call out the suspect effortlessly.
The music for the film is composed by Jhanu Chantar. The songs had a mix of melodies. The BGM was quite jarring at times. Other technicalities are not worth mentioning. Action blocks were realistic. The movie could have been a better thriller had the screenplay been groomed with intelligent and sophisticated hooks. Searching a man with his voice sounds great on paper but requires a lot of leg work.
Vezham fails to create the magic the lead pair once enjoyed with Thegidi a few years ago. It doesn't warrant a visit to the theatres. An OTT release is imminent!
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