Vettaiyaan means hunter and famous IPS officer Athiyan (Rajinikanth) is called by this name by his colleagues. Athyan has his own style of providing justice. He kills criminals in encounters and considers this as justice. But Athyan’s bloodied hands tremble when he learns that he has accidentally killed an innocent person in an encounter. So will the Athenians now mend their ways? Will his thinking change?
Story of ‘Vettaiyan’
Encounter specialist SP Athian believes, ‘Delay in justice means no justice.’ But in front of him is Justice Satyadev (Amitabh Bachchan), who is completely committed to protecting human rights. He is against the encounter. He believes that ‘to judge hastily is to bury justice’. Athyan and Satyadev both have opposite ideologies and are at the extreme of their thinking.
The story revolves around Sandhya (Dushara Vijayan), a government school teacher, in whose rape and murder case Athyan wants to deliver justice quickly. Bowing to media, political and social pressure, Athyan kills an innocent person in an encounter. When Satyadev confronts him with the truth, Athiyan is filled with despair. They set out to find Sandhya’s real killer, which opens Pandora’s box. New revelations come one after the other. But will Athyan use his gun again or learn from his mistake? To know this you will have to watch the film.
Watch the Hindi trailer of ‘Vettaiyaan’ here
‘Vettaiyan’ Movie Review
There is often a lot of pretentiousness in police stories in commercial films. The hero of the story can shoot without looking and his aim is correct every time. When he gets down from the police car, he is seen in a different swag. Neither science nor any other rules work in these stories. Director TJ Gyanvel’s film with Rajinikanth also has all this. But there are a lot of different things as well.
‘Vettaiyan’ is not just about encounter killings, the film also demands debate on it. Tells how only the poor are targeted in these encounters. The rich never face bullets. This film also raises questions on the shortcomings of the education system. Gyanvel’s previous film ‘Jai Bheem’ was based on a serious subject. This film shocked everyone. Now in ‘Vettaiyan’ Gnanavel has come up with an interesting social drama. But the problem is that due to Rajinikanth’s stardom the story has remained buried here.
The first 30 minutes of the film is dedicated to Rajinikanth and his fans. But then it turns into a fast-paced investigative thriller. The story keeps the first half on a tight footing with an intro fight, a dance number and a sharp narration. Even by the time the interval comes, it reaches a powerful point. But its second half seems to reduce the brightness instead of increasing it. While the excitement should increase further in the film, it starts becoming preachy and also seems long.
The climax between Rajinikanth and Rana Daggubati is the same cliché. Rajinikanth’s character, which was created in the film as a person facing moral dilemma, ends up looking like another commercial film with a story of rich versus poor. The fight scenes of the film are such that they are clearly written for whistle blowing. But the choreography of the action is very mediocre.
Despite this, TJ Gnanavel’s film raises questions about the morality of police encounters. Shows how fake news, doctored videos, media trials and public pressure can force officials to take wrong decisions after a crime. It talks about how the police, who are supposed to be non-judicial, get stuck in stereotypes when it comes to investigating white-collar jobbers and blue-collar people. ‘Vettaiyan’ also talks about how rich people are exploiting the education system.
Rajinikanth, as always, is in full swag and heavy style. His superstardom is such that all the other characters in the film seem like cameos. Despite this, Fahadh Faasil has won hearts in the role of Patrick aka Battery. He is a clever thief, hired by Athean to help him with ‘technical things’. Fahadh, a chatterbox who eats Horlicks, has given life to many scenes by adding comedy to them.
Amitabh Bachchan’s presence in the film is very good. But those scenes, where Amitabh and Rajinikanth come face to face, have not been very powerful. The dialogues between them could have been better. Manju Warrier plays the role of Rajinikanth’s wife, who runs a YouTube channel. His role in the film is limited to Rajinikanth’s support system. But in the end she scores 10/10 in the scene.
Rana Daggubati is seen only at the end in the role of a sharp businessman who cashes in on the education system. Anirudh’s background score takes the film forward. The background music is good, in front of which even the songs pale. The emotional scenes of the film needed a little more depth.
After ‘Jai Bheem’, director TJ Gnanavel has presented another social drama through ‘Vettaiyan’, but this time it has been wrapped in a glittery bundle. He also had an interesting story, but the stardom bug stung. The rest of the film is a treat for Rajinikanth and his fans.