viduthalai movie review in hindi

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Viduthalai - Part 1 review: Soori steals the show in this Vetrimaaran flick

Viduthalai is a multi-layered film, held together by a gripping narrative

Nampikkai .

Trust. It can move mountains.

The name ‘Vetrimaaran’ invokes a similar faith in film buffs and actors alike. The National Award-winning filmmaker, known for critically-acclaimed films like Aadukalam , Visaranai , Vada Chennai and Asuran , has a penchant for pushing the envelope.

So, when he cast actor Soori, who is best known for comic roles in Tamil films, as the lead in Viduthalai – Part 1 , people knew Vetrimaaran had seen something in him that others had missed. In fact, Soori had revealed in an interview that they came close to working together twice in the past, but the projects had to be shelved. He went on to add that it was the director’s nampikkai that helped him realise the actor in him.

And it shows in the film, which is based on B. Jeyamohan’s Thunaivan - he doubles up as the scriptwriter, along with Vetrimaaran. Soori, as police constable Kumaresan, arrives at a remote forest base camp on the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka-Kerala border, known for violent and bloody confrontations between the police and guerrillas (named Makkal Padai, or people’s army). The police are after the outlaws and their leaders - the main target being Perumal or Vaathiyar (Vijay Sethupathi in an extended cameo).

Life in this part of the world is not all black and white, and Kumaresan learns it the hard way. A simple man with unshakeable principles, Kumaresan is drawn into the eye of the storm inevitably.

The name of the film – Viduthalai means liberation – couldn’t have been more apt. Soori is finally freed from the shackles of the comedian stereotype. He ditches his slapstick humour and mannerisms to slip into the character of Kumaresan – both physically and otherwise - and shines like never before. It’s as much a conflict of emotions as it is of ideologies and powers, and Soori essays it all beautifully.

Soori isn’t the only surprise element in Viduthalai – Part 1 . Vetrimaaran has mostly associated with actor Dhanush as the lead and music director G.V. Prakash Kumar in his films so far. (Interestingly, Kumar’s sister Bhavani Sre plays Tamilarasi, Soori’s love interest). But, this time, he not only opted for Soori as the protagonist but also brought on board legendary music director Ilaiyaraaja. The move seems to have paid off.

Viduthalai stands out for other reasons, too. One, for the brilliant cinematography by Velraj, capturing the Sathyamangalam forest in all its rustic beauty. Then, the opening scene itself is a piece of art. The tracking shot, which takes the viewer in and out of a train accident setting, is as gripping and captivating as perhaps the iconic shot in Joe Wright’s 2007 war drama Atonement . Once can see the genius that Vetrimaaran is, at work in moments like these.

Viduthalai is a multi-layered film, held together by a gripping narrative. It’s as much about police brutality, as it is about politics and ideologies (though it may seem one-sided at times). The film meanders a bit early in the second half, before picking up pace towards the end. The pulsating finish sets the stage for the next part of the film, and the post credit scenes promise more revelations and a meatier role for Sethupathi, who shines in the limited screen time he gets in this one.

Will Perumal be able to liberate the land from the clutches of the mining mafia? Which side will Kumaresan finally find himself on? Will politics prevail or will the people’s movement bring the powers that be on their knees? Will Viduthalai – Part 2 deliver a resounding answer to all these questions?

In Vetrimaaran, we trust.

Film: Viduthalai - Part 1

Language: Tamil

Director: Vetrimaaran

Cast: Soori, Vijay Sethupathi, Bhavani Sre, Gautam Vasudev Menon and others

Rating: 4/5

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Viduthalai Part 1 Movie Review : Vetri Maaran's Viduthalai Part 1 is a potent socio-political portrayal of a struggle for liberation

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loshan 88 days ago

Deepan 269 days ago

Soori teach the acting to all heroes

kuttyvp 277 days ago

Super good movie 1������

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Suma pm 471 days ago, visual stories.

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Viduthalai Review: Vetri Maaran's Weakest or Strongest?

Over five minutes, a trembling long shot opens Viduthalai Part 1 . A terrorist outfit, Makkal Padai or the People’s Army, has bombed a train because the government is bringing mining corporations into the mountains — to hack it for profits that never trickles down to the people whose land is hollowed out. This five-minute shot takes us through the debris of the explosion an hour after it has taken place. The police are scurrying, with evacuations still in progress, the politician has arrived, stretchers roving, the women mourning, the men crippled. A journalist who begins photographing the tragedy ends up becoming one of the volunteers helping evacuate a child. All hands on deck. The camera loops into and out of compartments, smoothly sliding through the aisles, then agitatedly shaking through, swirling through the scene, panning over conversations, sliding over heights, moving horizontally and vertically with just as much lubricated ease. The shot ends with a train compartment that is precariously dangling over the bridge, collapsing into the ground in slow motion. How do you know it is slow-motion? This isn’t apparent. You have to see the stretched motion of the people gathered around to figure, such is the subtle slowing down of time. 

When we feel awe and when we feel terror — how different are these feelings? Both leave us in this asphyxiating, wide eyed, submissive posture. Smartly, then, writer and director Vetrimaaran evokes awe in us while depicting terror on screen. It is a masterclass in how cinema can approximate the emotional landscape of what it is showing, in us, the audience.

To make us feel the thud of a slap, Vetrimaaran will have a shot of a jeep’s door being shut, followed by a sharp cut to the slap. The suddenness of the cut, the timber of both the metallic slam and the skinned slap side by side creates a moment of jerking violence. This is style used as substance, to a point where you are unable, unwilling to distinguish between the two.

Viduthalai , based on a Jeymohan short story, is cinema, pure and distilled. It sharply, smartly evokes what the characters are going through using cinematic language and the grammar of a shot. It is Vetrimaaran’s finest work yet, taking the sophistication of Visaranai , the density of Aadukalam and Vada Chennai, and the masala grammar of Asuran , and creating its own grammar of violence — one that isn’t gratuitous but casual and crippling. 

Suri plays Kumeresan, a kind-hearted police officer, capable of both seeing and fighting for goodness. He has been sent to the dense, forested mountains as a driver. The officers are all recruited as part of “Ghost Hunt”  — similar to the Operation Green Hunt that the  Chhattisgarh police officers carried to violently clamp down on Maoists. This Ghost Hunt is trying to pin down Perumal (Vijay Sethupathi), the man behind Makkal Padai. The police looking for him don’t even know how he looks. Only that he is called “Vadhiyar” because he used to teach and “Ghost” because he is just as slippery and elusive. The film’s frame is Kumeresan narrating his life to his mother through a letter.

The letter unfolds Kumaresan’s gradual recognition of not just the violence of his uniform, but how easy it is to slip into it. When you are pinned against the wall, the choice is either to take a life or give yours up. Which life, then, is more valuable, more valid? Kumaresan falls in love with Tamizharasi (Bhavani Sre), a girl from one of the nearby villages, and suddenly his beliefs — in law and order, in love, in violence — are tested. The same flashback, of a police station being plundered and bludgeoned by Perumal, is narrated twice, the second twisting the first.

This is part one of a two-part epic. The focus here, the journey here is not that of Perumal, but of Kumaresan. Kumaresan isn’t a hero as much as a righteous, wide eyed spectator. When, in a moment of heroism towards the end, he jumps across rooftops, we see how the tile crumbles under his weight, how they slip, how he stumbles, crouches. It is heroism that we can believe in, not necessarily aspire for. Because Vetrimaaran asks provocatively — what are the tragedies we must experience in order to become heroes? What kind of a broken world this is that needs a hero. 

This film, like Vetrimaaran’s filmography, is entirely unsympathetic to the police. The police is a moral quicksand, nothing worthy of kindness or tenderness survives its sludge. Gautham Vasudev Menon, who plays a higher ranked officer, is a portrait of power. One that starts as empowering, endearing, polished, and ends as desperate, opportunistic, and violent. That he never raises his voice, never grins in villainy, never speaks in villainy, does not mean he isn’t capable of being a villain.  Such is the deadening, flattening tendency of the police force. So Kumaresan is eventually called by his number “1563” and not his name when being referred to. The terrorists, on the other hand, are really rebels fighting for justice, for Viduthalai, freedom. They are, what Arundhati Roy, calls Gandhians With Guns. In one moment, Perumal says that violence isn’t their language. That it is one they were forced to adopt. He is careful about the lives of villages. What about the train accident he orchestrated, then, killing and maiming ordinary people? This, Vetrimaaran leaves for Part Two. 

Unfussy about a scene lingering, Vetrimaaran will cut away from a moment before its impact is even felt, because the impact of it is not in its festering but in its unrelentingness. That this violence will keep happening, there is no point mourning so forcefully for life that is so dispensable. To be fair, there is something unkempt and unpolished about his films, too, something we are used to in the rushed releases of his films. The dubbing is hastily done. The color corrections keep shifting, from dryness to wetness of color. Then, there is the animated, rushed prologue that hurls you into his film as much as holds your hand into it, a dizzying rush of details, of context, of information — the dense scaffolding of a broken world that Vetrimaaran wants us to squeeze and squirm through. 

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Viduthalai 1 - Vetrimaaran wins again with his intense storytelling 

Vetrimaaran is one of the few filmmakers from the South who has maintained his cent percent hit rate critically as well as commercially for more than a decade and a half.   He has a lot at stake with his latest release 'Viduthalai 1' considering the fact that he gave up at least two superstar vehicles to pursue this pet project.  Whether this intense socio political action thriller satisfy his fans only or cause his intended debate in the society remains to be seen.

'Viduthalai' set in 1987 begins with Kumaresan (Soori) a fresh recruit police constable arriving at his base camp which is situated in a dangerous forest area.  He gets the post due to his hill driving prowess but is allocated menial jobs like cleaning toilets by the sadistic Officer in Charge (Chethan).  The elusive Vaathiyaar (Vijay Sethupathi) the leader of a Naxalite group Makkal Padai is rebelling against the government's plan to set up a mining operation and a special task force is formed to nab him dead or alive.  Kumaresan who is good at heart helps save the life of an old woman attacked by an animal and her granddaughter Paapa (Bhavani Sre) strikes a friendship with him that turns to love.  In a twist of fate Kumaresan becomes the only one to see Vaathiyaar aka Perumal's face and when Paapa's life is in great danger from the police he embarks on a mission to capture the terrorist himself.  What happens next is what 'Viduthalai 1' is on the surface level but there are many layers to it that have to be watched to be felt.

Soori has completely justified Vetrimaaran's immense faith in him, not only with his dedication but his talent too.   Soori's performance is so good that the minute he starts his long climb up the forest mountain you only see Kumaresan.  Right from his loving voiceover explaining the happenings to his mother through letters to falling in love with Bhavani Sre to suffering humiliation at the hands of the cops he moves the audience with his emoting.   Vetrimaaran has written one of the best character arcs for a lead character in recent times for Soori and what a mass moment the erstwhile comedian gets when he finally puts his hands on a rifle.  And of course those dangerous stunts that Soori has executed falling off rooftops is in an altogether different level.   Bhavani Sre has got the role of a lifetime playing Tamilarasi the tribal girl who falls for the hero.  She is subtle in her expressions of love while her emotional outburst when losing a dear one is very touching. Kudos to her for going dress less in the most crucial sequence that drives the entire story. Rajeev Menon as the higher government official and Gautham Menon as the DSP have done justice to their roles.  Chethan as the sadistic cop and the rest of the cast have performed neatly.  Vijay Sethupathi makes a very subtle entry and appears in a few action scenes that dont even show him clearly.  However he towers in the scene where like a wounded lion  he is surrounded by Soori and the cops .  It is all Makkal Selvan in the few glimpses we get of 'Viduthalai 2' at the end and the crowd cant stop cheering for this rare actor who is a true boon to filmmakers of substance like no other.

What works best in 'Viduthalai 1' is the intensity and detailing that goes into every scene. The very long take of the aftermath of the train accident and Soori's long mountain climb to get to his outpost are so well executed that it draws the audiences into the world of the story and keeps them there till the very end.   The graphic depiction of the print media highlighting the narrative of the government's side of the story and sensationalizing any random encounter death is well documented in the film.   The romance between Soori and Bhavani Sre is integral to the narration and serves as the anchor for the former to the lengths that he goes to capture Vaathiyaar.  

On the downside Vetrimaaran's own 'Visaranai' in which he has dealt police brutality to the extreme works against him giving an impression that he has repeated himself.  Similarly Thamizh who is the co-director of this film already dealt with the plight of the constable in 'Taanaakaran'.  Hence these sequences are not as riveting as they should have been. There is also pacing issues and scenes that make the same point again and again. The couple of romance songs only elongate the length of the film.

Isaigniani Ilayaraja's background score is reminiscent of the eighties that suit the story setting but at a few places it seems to overdo the emphasis on the emotions.  Velraj's cinematography is stunning when capturing the beauty and the enigma of the mountainous forest terrain.  At the same time his lens also get close enough to register the inner turmoil of the protagonist through his eyes. RS Infotainment has made a strong and telling comeback with this much promising franchise.  Vetrimaaran has once again impressed with his vision, authenticity, intensity, balanced politics and the handwork in the making. He has set up strong conflicts with high anticipation for the payoffs.  However the judgement on whether this is on par with his body of work can only be determined after the release of 'Viduthalai 2'.  

Verdict : Go for this vintage Vetrimaaran film with a powerful performance from Soori.

Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

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‘Viduthalai Part 1’ review: A blistering portrayal of power run amok

Tamil director vetri maaran’s new film stars soori, vijay sethupathi, gautham menon, bhavani sre and chetan..

There are few better positions from which to observe the exercise of authority than the lowest rung. Tamil director Vetri Maraan’s terrific new film Vidhuthalai Part 1 (Liberation), set in 1987 but ricocheting through the present and even the future, provides a bottom-up view of power through the experiences of a low-ranking police driver.

Kumaresh (Soori) is the newest recruit in a police unit that has been set up to nab the shadowy rebel leader Perumal (Vijay Sethupathi). Stuck at the border of a forest for months, poorly equipped, making do with basic rations (the gourd known as chouchou is a staple), and always in danger of being attacked by Perumal’s followers, the police unit initially invites sympathy.

The 150-minute movie begins with a bravura extended single-take depiction of a train that has been blasted off its track. This is the very day that Soori, gingerly picking his way among the bodies, concern and conscientiousness writ large on his face, begins work as a driver, cook and general dogsbody.

The rebels are protesting against a proposed mining project in the region. The police don’t have a single photograph of Perumal, who flits in and out of view but whose reputation, and essence, loom large over events.

There is another behind-the-scenes presence in Vidhuthalai Part 1 , based on a story by the writer Jeyamohan (a second part will be released over the next few months). The state, represented by the wily Chief Secretary Subramaniyan (Rajiv Menon), doubles down despite incidents of custodial torture, killings by trigger-happy policemen and the disappearance of suspects. High-ranking officer Sunil Menon (Gautham Menon) is sent to ensure that “Operation Ghosthunt” is executed successfully.

Vetri Maaran, who has written the film with Jeyamohan, keeps a densely plotted narrative moving along while never ignoring the political circumstances behind Perumal’s militancy. The director of Visaranai , Vada Chennai and Asuran is no stranger to addressing debates on caste, deeply embedded inequity and injustice through popular storytelling devices.

Kumaresh’s charming courtship of village resident Tamizharasi (Bhavani Sre) unfolds amidst soulful tunes by Ilaiyaraaja, Battle of Algiers -style chases, and disturbing instances of police excess that leave Visaranai behind in terms of their shock value. Some of these scenes are needlessly graphic, especially in showing the trauma of the women.

The stuff that goes on in this remote outpost, far away from the eyes of the media and with the state’s sanction, is presented with a boldness and cogency missing from popular portrayals of militant movements. Except for a few moments of crowd-pleasing heroism, the film has an unwavering ripped-off-the-headlines quality that is conveyed through documentary-style realism and cinematographer R Velraj’s unshowy visuals.

Vetri Maaran dexterously flips the notion that there are two sides to every story by watching Perumal’s war on the government through Kumaresh’s troubled eyes. This marvellous creation, beautifully played by Soori, struggles to earn his place in the police unit while also answering to his conscience. The cast includes Chetan as Kumaresh’s odious boss, who is an all-too-perfect product of a system that has dehumanised its constituents.

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Viduthalai Part 1 movie review: Vetrimaaran film is not for the faint-hearted, questions police brutality without fear

Vetrimaaran's much-awaited movie viduthalai part 1 was released on friday. it features soori, gautham vasudev menon, vijay sethupathi, chetan and bhavani sre..

Vetrimaaran ’s Viduthalai Part 1, his most hard-hitting film since Visaranai, isn’t just another film on police brutality but one that exposes the inefficiency of a system which continues to prey upon the weak. The film, which is definitely not for the faint-hearted, is an elaborate, detailed exploration of abuse of power and it dives deep into the psyche of a man, an honest police constable, who is torn between his job and seeking the truth. Also read: Vetrimaaran, Pa Ranjith defend farmers' right to protest

The film is narrated from the perspective of Kumaresan (Soori), a righteous police constable who gets recruited into the team that has been on the hunt to capture Perumal aka Vaathiyar – The Mentor ( Vijay Sethupathi ), the leader of the local separatist group called Makkal Padai (People’s Army). Kumaresan joins the force with big dreams but little does he know that he would spend most of his time doing menial jobs – from delivering food to every check post through the forest to doing tower duty at night. When Kumaresan accidentally crosses paths with Vaathiyar and later plays a pivotal role in his capture, his beliefs about what’s right and wrong are questioned.

The film opens with a train blast and the visuals are easily the most chilling scenes one would've seen in Indian cinema in recent years. People’s Army is blamed for the attack which has resulted in 28 deaths and many severely injured. The police department launches operation ‘Ghost Hunt’ to capture Vaathiyar dead or alive. Cut to next shot, we see a bus being frisked at a check post and the police shoot down two men (for carrying weapons) in cold blood when they try to flee the scene. In both the scenes, some lives have been taken but the police killings are justified as they become newspaper headlines the next day. Viduthalai questions the ethics behind police brutality in the most uncomfortable, unflinching fashion. The fact that it narrates the story from the perspective of an innocent constable makes the experience more chilling than one can imagine.

The film unfolds like a crime drama and takes its own sweet time to set up its world. Apart from throwing the spotlight on police brutality, the story also discusses the state of politics in Tamil Nadu in the 1990s. Soori, who has so far played comic roles in his career, is a very interesting choice to play the central character. He becomes a silent spectator – just like most of us - to all the atrocities that happen in the name of police investigation. He brings out the innocence as well as helplessness of his character so effectively.

Vetrimaaran makes some very interesting casting choices. It’s a masterstroke to cast Gautham Vasudev Menon to play a key role. A filmmaker whose films (in the past) glorified cop killings now plays a cop in a film that exposes police brutality in the most hard-hitting fashion. Vijay Sethupathi as Vaathiyar is a no brainer. Even though he makes an extended cameo appearance, he leaves maximum impact in those scenes. Bhavani Sre is a talent to watch out for and the role of the women, who face the maximum brunt, is what makes Viduthalai disturbing at times.

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‘Viduthalai Part 1’ movie review: Soori shines in Vetri Maaran’s most politically-charged film yet

Soori, in the role of his lifetime, brims with energy and innocence as kumaresan, as director vetri maaran’s socio-political commentary gets more vigorous in his latest outing.

March 31, 2023 06:40 pm | Updated 07:15 pm IST

Soori in a still from ‘Viduthalai Part 1’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

A look at director Vetri Maaran’s filmography shows us a common trope in all the films he has directed; they’re stories of ordinary men, underdogs who are trying to make a living for themselves, only to be unwittingly pulled into a world of chaos that they have to escape unscathed. While this might sound like an over-simplification, it doesn’t dismiss the fact that they’ve all worked, both critically and commercially; this winning streak seems to have continued with Viduthalai Part 1 . What’s also evident is how his socio-political commentary has gotten more vigorous with his latest outing, which is also his most politically-charged narrative yet.

The cops in Vetri Maaran’s films are usually filled with subservient people hardened by years of conditioning to follow orders or treacherous power-wielders who can misuse them for malicious purposes. While his Visaranai — a film that’s futile to not think about while watching or discussing Viduthalai — introduced us to a conscientious man in the form of Samuthirakani’s Muthuvel, here we get an entire spectrum of policemen; so much so that it would have been befitting to title this film 50 Shades of Khaki.

Viduthalai Part 1 (Tamil)

In the place of Muthuvel, we’ve got Kumaresan (Soori) a new joiner at a police camp set in a village surrounded by thick forests near the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border. Kumaresan, as our POV character, learns the ways of the constables as well as about the Makkal Padai movement headed by Perumal aka Vaathiyaar (Vijay Sethupathi). Under the pretext of providing employment to thousands of oppressed people, a mining company — aided by the government in the name of the development of the state — plans on bringing down the ecosystem surrounding the hamlet. On one side, are the revolutionaries who claim they can speak all languages including violence; on the other side, we’ve got the system-led police force who term the separatist group a terrorist organisation. Stuck in the crossfire are the villagers who rely on the wealth of the forest for their livelihood and hence support Perumal who wants to save them and the land from the clutches of the corporate companies.

Despite talking about government affairs, the politics behind them and the social issues pertaining to them, Viduthalai doesn’t really get into the rights and wrongs. It instead concentrates on the conflict between the troops and the group, as well as the trials and tribulations of Kumaresan who has to make the difficult trade of his innocence and morals for recognition in his job and the love he has found in Tamizharasi (Bhavani Sre). While the former results in custodial torture and retaliation from the revolutionaries (which seems to have happened for years now) Kumaresan’s escapades are met with slap after slap of reality. Like a video game character thrown into a new world, he has to explore the unexplored and gain knowledge by understanding the locale’s history and its tryst with those in power.

At its core, Viduthalai Part 1 is Kumaresan coming to terms with the harsh realities of the world, the powers vested in those in charge, how they can be misused at their will and those at the receiving end retaliate to it. When he gets on the wrong side of the system, despite knowing a single apology can bring him back on track, he chooses to endure the punishment because what’s right and what’s decree isn’t always the same. This leads to another confrontation with a senior who, sensing Kumaresan’s resentment, asks if he would hit him, to which the once-meek constable answers affirmatively.

The film sports a brilliant list of talent both behind and in front of the camera. Soori, in the role of his lifetime, brims with energy and innocence as Kumaresan. As a good shooter who is forced to do basic chores, Kumaresan finally reaching out to a rifle at the climax with his trembling hand is symbolic of a man who is done being taken for a ride and is finally ready to take over the helms. The actor aces the intense scenarios his character goes through, as well as the breezy romance sequences.

Vetri Maaran’s latest film sports a brilliant list of talent both behind and in front of the camera

Bhavani Sre, who we earlier saw in Paava Kadhaigal in which Vetri had also directed a short, is neat as the strong-headed Tamizharasi. Chetan as Ragavendar and Gautham Menon as Sunil Menon play superior police officers and do an excellent job in one of the best roles of their careers. Vijay Sethupathi, in an extended cameo, excels as the man with a mission.

Vetri’s frequent collaborator, cinematographer Velraj, exceptionally portrays the treacherous terrains that are visibly difficult to even traverse through, let alone shoot a film in. A single-shot sequence involving a train crash is probably one of the best we’ve seen in Tamil cinema. However, Ilaiyaraaja’s two songs, despite being melodious, provide very little respite as they take away from the intensity the film builds up to.

Despite starting as a single project and now stretched into two parts (the sequel is scheduled to release soon), Viduthalai Part 1 does feel rushed with its narrative. So much is packed into it that we rarely get to linger and feel for the atrocities the villagers are subjected to. There are scene involving fingernails being pulled out, a woman and her father-in-law being tortured naked, and a whole bunch of women forced to strip. But apart from the brazen display of power, those scenes really don’t have the same impact Visaranai gave us within a very limited runtime.

Viduthalai Part 1 ends at a crucial juncture and the ending makes it evident that exponentially more incidents are bound to happen in the sequel; Vetri leaves us on the edge of our seats.

Viduthalai Part 1 is currently running in theatres

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Tamil cinema / Indian cinema

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Viduthalai Part 1 Movie Review: Soori's standout performance is the highlight of this film

Viduthalai part 1 is directed by vetrimaaran and is a riveting cop drama set on the tamil nadu-karnataka border. soori has delivered a stellar performance, says our review..

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• Soori essays the protagonist in the film.
• Vijay Sethupathi stars as Perumal.
• Viduthalai Part 1 released on March 31.

Release Date: 31 Mar, 2023

Vetrimaaran is an award-winning director and everyone knows that when he decides to make a film, they can expect something unique and engaging. With Viduthalai, the director has split it into parts and Viduthalai Part 1 was released on March 31. This movie has been adapted from the short story titled Thunaivan written by B Jeyamohan, and both Jeyamohan and Vetrimaaran worked on the screenplay together.

Kumaresan (Soori) is a police constable and he is sent to a police camp based in a village near the Tamil Nadu-Karnataka border. A police camp, headed by Ragavendar (Chethan), has been established there in order to catch the key leaders of a terrorist outfit called Makkal Padai (People's Army) headed by someone named Vaathiar aka Perumal (Vijay Sethupathi).

Makkal Padai had been fighting police brutality for many years and their latest act was to detonate bombs on a train bridge which killed 25 and injured many. Now, politicians have inked a deal with foreign companies for mining in the forest area and the Makkal Padai has taken this up as their latest cause. Since Ragavendar doesn't succeed, in comes senior cop Sunil Menon (Gautham Vasudev Menon) as the head of Operation Ghosthunt.

Kumaresan recounts the story of what happened in letters to his mother and that's how we learn of what transpires. He joins the E company as a jeep driver and his duty is to deliver food to all the police who are based in the checkposts in the forest. When he helps a village woman to a hospital, Kumaresan is severely punished by Ragavendar and he learns there is a nexus between the villagers and the Makkal Padai. He refuses to apologise to Ragavendar and that's how we learn how strong he is when it comes to his principles and beliefs. It is at this time he also meets Paapa (Bhavani Sre) and an unexpected romance ensues.

Do the police catch Perumal and his men? How does constable Kuamresan fit into this whole police hunt for Vaathiar? Who is Paapa?

At the outset, one may think this movie is a police drama like Vetrimaaran's earlier film Visaranai and it is not. It is a completely different story in a different setting. Like Visaranai, Viduthalai also shows police brutality and cops being 'bad' but for very different reasons.

The way the director has narrated the story, it seems to be simple - good men versus bad men, but there are so many layers that unfold as the film progresses - politicians and corporate relationships, how politicians shape social narratives, cops and their brutal behaviour, caste politics, a seemingly untenable romance. The beauty of the film lies in these layers and there are some scenes that flow so naturally that you realise its importance, like the actor on screen, much later.

Vetrimaaran's ability to weave a gripping narrative is well-known, but his choice of Soori as the lead would have surprised many. The main highlight of this film is Soori, as he has delivered a stellar performance as Kumaresan. It is his face that is clearly etched in your mind long after you leave the theatre.

How Kumaresan and thereby Soori mature through the film is a compelling watch and you applaud the character as well as the actor. Soori carries this film on his shoulders not just with his acting but his voiceovers as well. Bhavani Sre must also be appreciated for her good work as Paapa and Chethan as well. Ilaiyaraaja's background music was apt for the film, but his songs could have been better. Velraj's cinematography was a great asset to Viduthalai.

Viduthalai (Freedom) is a film that is a must-watch because it offers a new cinematic perspective of Vetrimaaran and especially because Soori is outstanding.

3.5 out of 5 stars for Viduthalai. Published By: Anindita Mukhopadhyay Published On: Mar 31, 2023 --- ENDS ---

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Home » News » Anurag Kashyap reviews Viduthalai Part 1: Vetrimaaran is India's best »

Anurag Kashyap reviews Viduthalai Part 1: Vetrimaaran is India's best

Bollywood filmmaker Anurag Kashyap has given a glowing review for Vetrimaaran's latest directorial outing Viduthalai Part 1. 

• Team OTTplay

Last Updated: 11.57 PM, Apr 07, 2023

Bollywood filmmaker Anurag Kashyap is an avid watcher of movies. And especially he never misses the films made in the south by a set of his favourite directors. And National Award-winning filmmaker Vetrimaaran is defiantly at the top of his list of favourite directors. Anurag has given a rave review for director Vetrimaaran's latest directorial outing Viduthalai Part 1. 

In his review on Letterboxd, Anurag wrote, "Very powerful film, superb performances across board , the best opening shot I’ve seen in the longest time .. looking forward to part 2 .. Vetrimaran is our best (sic)." 

Also Read: Candid Review | Viduthalai Part 1: Vetrimaaran's own 'Come and See'

Anurag credits Tamil cinema for inspiring him to make rooted movies. It's worth noting that it was the 2008 cult Tamil film Subramaniapuram that inspired him to make the Gangs of Wasseypur series in 2012. 

Viduthalai Part 1 is based on writer B Jeyamohan's short story Thunaivan. However, Vetrimaaran has developed that idea into a five-hour movie and he has split it into two parts. The first part was released in cinemas last week with good reviews. 

"With Viduthalai, Vetri Maaran is completely in his zone and delves into police brutality, caste discrimination and abuse of power with finesse. The film leaves you shaken and triggered, as it should be. Viduthalai scores on all corners, be it the plot, narration, background score, acting performances, cinematography and not to forget, the filmmaking. A brilliant film from the Vetri Maaran stable!," wrote the reviewer for OTTplay . 

Some have also opined that this movie was not the best work of Vetrimaaran compared to his previous films. However, all of them who have watched the movie seem to be eager to watch the second part too. 

Viduthalai stars Vijay Sethupathi and Soori in the lead roles. 

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'Viduthalai Part 1' review: Lots to like about Vetri Maaran’s dramatisation of police brutality

Deciding to be a good person is all fine and dandy, but how do you decide which side to stand for? Who’s the oppressor? Who’s the victim? Who’s right? Who’s wrong? These are questions we grapple with every day. And it’s this extraordinarily relatable question that haunts police driver Kumaresan (Soori, who is a wonderful fit) throughout Viduthalai Part 1. He doesn’t have the luxury of being a bystander, with his job forcing him to take a side. However, where another policeman would unthinkingly follow orders—prioritising self over others—this man is unique, for, somehow, some way, he’s managed to retain his manasaatchi (conscience).

Another policeman points this about him almost as a statement of doom. It’s due to being wired so that Kumaresan is unable to apologise as a compromise. On some level, it seems like he wishes he could, but he simply can’t. He’s not vain about his behaviour; he just doesn’t fit into the usual boxes of a policeman. In a film about the struggle between systemic authority and rebel forces, Kumaresan is arguably the biggest rebel of them all, a man who just cannot obey/submit. Perhaps it is this that truly defines a good man: The refusal to choose convenience over conscience. Viduthalai Part 1 is terrific when it digs into these subconscious, intimate spaces.

At a point in his delicate romance with a tribal woman, Thamizharasi (Bhavani Sre), Kumaresan stands confused at a point of ideological divergence. He finds that the anecdotes he’s hearing are at loggerheads with what he’s been fed by the system. I loved that Vetri Maaran, in a way, toys with us similarly. The first time we see Perumal (Vijay Sethupathi) in action, we register him as a brutal killer—not all too different from the policemen, in fact.

But then, we, like Kumaresan, have our eyes opened with more information—and suddenly, we see the truth. Isn’t it touching that Kumaresan’s eyes are opened by something as simple and beautiful as… love? Isn’t that, after all, the great equaliser? As Thamizharasi asks him, “Who’s real family? Those you are related to by blood? Or someone like you, who, at great personal suffering, still chooses to stand for us?” In a sense, she shows him the way. It’s perhaps why for an entire song, ‘Unnoda Nadandha…’, we see Kumaresan following her, as she leads the way through the darkness of the forest, shining a torchlight. The song itself feels longer than it needs to be, but I didn’t mind.

Soori is fantastic as the innocent, dogged Kumaresan. There’s just an innocence about comedy actors that comes through so effortlessly. In Viduthalai, this air of innocence Soori carries about him benefits the character greatly. When he’s resisting submitting to his horrible boss (Chethan), where another actor might come through as rigid in an egotistical way, Soori comes across as vulnerable—which makes his character profoundly likeable. This is Soori in a way we have hardly seen him, and much credit to Vetri Maaran for imagining this. There’s none of the slapstick, goofy humour we have come to associate with Soori in this film. It’s instead replaced by situational, organic humour—of course, in small places where it can exist. I laughed out loud when Kumaresan is asked to accompany a senior officer as he walks into the forest, and he says, “Enakku varla, neenga poitu vaanga.” Even his refusal to be forced into an apology is admirable and funny.

“Thappu dhaanunga ayya… aana epdi thappaagum?” These are such lovely portions in the film. But of course, there isn’t much place for humour in this film. We hear a voice in the beginning say that the events are all fictional, that any resemblance to real people/incidents is purely coincidental. But it all does ring real. A corporate-political nexus is eager to exploit land and resources, and as a side-quest, subjugate the residents living in harmony with said land. The question is, do the corporate organisations, political parties, and the police (who seem to act like security personnel for the rich and the powerful) really care about civilians and their rights? Do they care about anything beyond moneymaking?

Vetri Maaran, once again, shows great talent for capturing both the intimate and the expansive. That long, opening shot of the aftermath of a railway bridge explosion is a great example. The camera captures the frenzy, severed limbs, the dead, the crying, the pleas and sobs, the orders… before suddenly rising and moving into one of the train compartments to capture the misery inside. It glides out soon and presents us finally with an aerial shot of the carnage. Vetri Maaran does pretty much the same with the premise of this film. We get the inner workings of Kumaresan’s mind, but we are never too far away from understanding the larger developments and forces at play.

Vetri Maaran isn’t one to flinch from gore and violence. It’s essential to the realism of this film and serves the purpose of eliciting a reaction from us. Like in Visaaranai, the film is constantly asking us questions: Are you seeing this? Are you seeing what’s going on, under the guise of an interrogation? Are you seeing these power-hungry humans lose their humanity? Do you see why it bothers Kumaresan so much? At its essence, the story is drawn from a familiar template: A hunter joining the hunted. And yet, Vetri Maaran is careful not to make Kumaresan the champion of the downtrodden. He’s careful to allow Perumal and team to fight their battles. And in any case, this is just Part 1 of the film, and if I have a major grouse, it’s that we don’t get a sense of completion, despite having spent about 150 minutes on the film. Kumaresan is still foggy at the end, and his moral compass is a bit all over the place. And so, Part 1 ends with some footage from the second film, so we get a sense of what could potentially happen. Perhaps in that film, Kumaresan will finally, truly come of age?

It’s still a relief to know that filmmakers like Vetri Maaran truly care. I’m not talking about cinematic merits alone here; I see real value in their messaging. He cares for the trampled; he sees the value in mounting opposition against the big, bad system (like in Visaaranai). In this first film (even if it’s incomplete), whilst documenting the physical and psychological struggles of a driver named Kumaresan, whilst depicting the tragedies that befall a trampled community, whilst raising opposition to the methods of the police, director Vetri Maaran even manages to get us thinking of a question that’s fundamental to our being. Who’s a good man? If it is true that a good man is one of conscience, one who’s willing to reflect on his own actions and change in the face of compelling information, then it’s clear that Kumaresan is a good man. How far will it take him though? How long before the system fixes its crosshairs on him? Hopefully, Vetri Maaran won’t keep us waiting for too long.

Director: Vetri Maaran Cast: Soori, Bhavani Sre, Vijay Sethupathi, Rajiv Menon

Rating: 4.5 stars

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விடுதலை | Viduthalai Part 1 | படம் எப்டி இருக்கு | Dinamalar | Movie Review

• Actors: --> விஜய் சேதுபதி , சூரி
• Release: --> 31 மார், 2023
• இயக்குனர் : --> வெற்றிமாறன்
• 'விடுதலை' போராட்டம்…

தயாரிப்பு - ஆர்எஸ் இன்போடெயின்மென்ட் இயக்கம் - வெற்றிமாறன் இசை - இளையராஜா நடிப்பு - சூரி, பவானிஸ்ரீ, விஜய் சேதுபதி, கவுதம் மேனன் வெளியான தேதி - 31 மார்ச் 2023 நேரம் - 2 மணி நேரம் 30 நிமிடம் ரேட்டிங் - 4/5 அரசின் திட்டங்கள், இயற்கை வளங்களின் பாதுகாப்பு, மக்களின் எதிர்ப்பு, சில குழுக்களின் வன்முறை, காவல்துறையின் அடக்குமுறை, கடமைக்காக தங்கள் இன்னுயிரை பலி கொடுக்கும் அப்பாவிக் காவலர்கள் என தமிழ் சினிமாவில் இதற்கு முன்பும் பல கதைகள் வந்திருக்கிறது. அவற்றில் ஒரு சில கதைகள் கமர்ஷியல் படமாக மட்டுமே அடையாளம் காட்டப்பட்டன. ஆனால், விரல் விட்டு எண்ணக் கூடிய ஒரு சில படங்கள் மட்டுமே முதல் வரியில் குறிப்பிட்ட விஷயங்களை அவரவர் சார்ந்த நிலையில் ஒரு வாழ்வியலாகக் காட்டியுள்ளன. அப்படி ஒரு படத்தை இயக்குனர் வெற்றிமாறன் கொடுத்திருக்கிறார். வெற்றிமாறன், இளையராஜா, சூரி, விஜய் சேதுபதி என இந்தப் படத்தில் பங்கேற்றுள்ள சில கலைஞர்களை முதலிலேயே பாராட்டாமல் இந்த விமர்சனத்தைப் பதிவு செய்யவும் முடியாது. அவரவர் பங்களிப்பில் இதுவரையிலான அவர்களது திறமையின் சிறந்த வெளிப்பாடு இந்தப் படம்.

அருமபுரி என்ற ஊருக்கு அருகில் சுரங்கம் அமைக்க அரசு திட்டமிடுகிறது. ஆனால், அந்த சுரங்கத்தை எதிர்த்து விஜய் சேதுபதி தலைமையிலான மக்கள் படை என்ற தீவிரவாதக் குழு பேராடுகிறது. ரயில் குண்டு வெடிப்பு, காவலர்களைக் கொல்வது என பலவித தீவிரவாத செயல்களில் ஈடுபடுகிறது. மக்கள் படை தலைவன் ஆன விஜய் சேதுபதி யார் என்றே அரசுக்கு தெரியாது. அவரைக் கண்டுபிடிக்கவும், அவரது படையை அழிக்கவும் பல மாதங்களாக சேத்தன் தலைமையில் ஒரு காவல் துறை அணி போராடி வருகிறது. அந்தக் குழுவில் டிரைவராக வேலைக்குச் சேரும் சூரி, ஓரிரு முறை விஜய் சேதுபதியைப் பார்க்கிறார். தனது கடமையில் ஈடுபாட்டுடன் இருக்கும் சூரி, மேலதிகாரி சேத்தன் ஆணையை மதிக்காத காரணத்தால் மெமோ கொடுக்கப்பட்டு பணித் தண்டனை கொடுக்கப்படுகிறார். காவல் துறை குழுவுக்கு புதிய அதிகாரியாக டிஎஸ்பி கவுதம் மேனன் நியமிக்கப்படுகிறார். அதன் பிறகு அந்தக் குழுவினர் விஜய் சேதுபதியைக் கண்டுபிடித்தார்களா, சூரி அதனுள் எப்படி வருகிறார் என்பதுதான் படத்தின் மீதிக் கதை. படத்திற்காகத் தேர்வு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ள காட்டுப்பகுதி, காவல்துறை குழு இருக்கும் இடம், படத்தில் கதாபாத்திரங்களுக்காகத் தேர்வு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ள நடிகர்கள் என ஒவ்வொருவருமே குறிப்பிடும்படியான அதிகப்படியான ஈடுபாட்டைக் காட்டியிருக்கிறார்கள். தமிழ் சினிமாவில் தொடர்ந்து பலத்த விமர்சனங்களுக்குள்ளாகும் படங்களைக் கொடுத்து வரும் இயக்குனர் வெற்றிமாறன் இந்தப் படத்தையும் அப்படியே கொடுத்திருக்கிறார். வெற்றிமாறன் படத்தில் சூரி கதாநாயகனா என யோசித்தவர்கள், இந்தப் படத்தைப் பார்த்த பின் குமரேசன் என்ற போலீஸ் டிரைவர் கதாபாத்திரத்தில் சூரி எந்த அளவிற்குப் பொருத்தமாக நடித்திருக்கிறார் என்பதை ஆச்சரியத்துடன் பார்ப்பார்கள். ஒரு இடத்தில் கூட இதற்கு முந்தை நகைச்சுவை நடிகர் சூரியை படத்தில் பார்க்க முடியாது. மேலதிகாரியாக இருந்தாலும் தான் தவறு செய்யாத போது எதற்காக மன்னிப்பு கேட்க வேண்டும் என்ற குணம் கொண்டவர். பவானிஸ்ரீ மீது வரும் காதலில் அவருடைய காதல் நடிப்பு கூட கவனத்தை ஈர்க்கிறது. படத்தின் கடைசி அரை மணி நேரத்தில் சூரியின் நடிப்பிற்கும், ஆக்ஷனுக்கும் தியேட்டர் முழுவதும் கைத்தட்டல் கிடைப்பதே கதையின் நாயகனாக சூரிக்குக் கிடைத்துள்ள மிகப் பெரும் பாராட்டு. இந்த முதல் பாகத்தைப் பொறுத்தவரையில் விஜய் சேதுபதியைத் தேடும் குழுவிற்கு முதல் அதிகாரியாக இருக்கும் கவுதம் மேனனை விட அவருக்குக் கீழ் சிஓ--வாக பணி புரியும் சேத்தன் தனது கடுகடுப்பை அந்த அளவிற்குக் காட்டியிருக்கிறார். சூரியைப் பார்த்தாலே எரிச்சல் வருகிறது என்று சொல்லுமளவிற்கு அவரது கதாபாத்திரம் உள்ளது. டிஎஸ்பி ஆக கவுதம் மேனன், அந்தப் பதவிக்குரிய மிடுக்குடன் நடித்திருக்கிறார். இரண்டாம் பாகத்தில் இவருக்கான காட்சிகள் அதிகம் இருக்கலாம் எனத் தெரிகிறது. சூரியின் ஜோடியாக மலை கிராமத்துப் பெண்ணாக பவானிஸ்ரீ. அந்தப் பார்வையும், தன் பெற்றோரைப் பறிகொடுத்த சோகத்தையும் பற்றிச் சொல்லும் போது கண்கலங்க வைக்கிறார். தலைமைச் செயலாளராக ராஜீவ்மேனன். அந்தப் பதவிக்குரிய அதிகாரத் தோரணையை அற்புதமாக வெளிப்படுத்தியிருக்கிறார். விஜய் சேதுபதிக்கு இந்த முதல் பாகத்தில் காட்சிகள் குறைவுதான். இடையிடையே வந்து போகிறார். கிளைமாக்சுக்கு முன்பாகக் கொஞ்சமாக வருகிறார். இரண்டாம் பாகத்தில் அவருடைய காட்சிகள்தான் அதிகம் இருக்கும் எனத் தெரிகிறது. படம் முடிந்த பிறகு இரண்டாம் பாகக் காட்சிகள் சிலவற்றைக் காட்டுவதிலிருந்து அப்படி ஒரு எதிர்பார்ப்பு உள்ளது. தமிழ் சினிமாவில் 1500 படங்களுக்கும் மேல் இசையமைத்தவர் இளையராஜா. அவருடைய இசைத் திறமை என்னவென்பது பற்றி தமிழ் சினிமா ரசிகர்கள் நன்கறிவார்கள். இந்தப் படத்திற்காக தனி கவனம் செலுத்தி, உலகத் தரம் வாய்ந்த வேறொரு விதமான பின்னணி இசையைக் கொடுத்திருக்கிறார். படத்தின் ஆரம்பக் காட்சியிலேயே நம்மை படத்துக்குள் இழுத்துக் கொண்டு செல்கிறது அவரது பின்னணி இசை. இரண்டு பாடல்களும் அப்படியே மனதோடு கலக்கிறது. தன் காதலியை போலீஸ் பிடியிலிருந்து காப்பாற்ற சூரி ஓடும் போது இளையராஜாவின் குரலில் வரும் அந்தப் பாடல் உருக வைக்கிறது. காடு, மேடு, மலை, இரவு, பகல், பனி எனக் கடந்து இயற்கையுடன் ஒன்றி ஒளிப்பதிவு செய்திருக்கிறார் வேல்ராஜ். ராமர் படத்தொகுப்பு, ஜாக்கி கலை, பீட்டர் ஹெய்ன், ஸ்டன்ட் சிவா ஆகியோரின் சண்டைக் காட்சிகள், என மற்ற தொழில்நுட்பக் குழுவினர்களும் கடுமையாய் உழைத்திருக்கிறார்கள். காவல் துறையின் விசாரணைக் காட்சிகளை மிகவும் வெளிப்படையாகக் காட்டியிருக்கிறார்கள். சென்சார் செய்யப்பட்டும் அந்தக் காட்சிகள் இடம் பெற்றுள்ளது ஆச்சரியம்தான். படத்தின் ஆரம்ப ரயில் குண்டு வெடிப்புக் காட்சி நீளமாகவும், இடைவேளைக்குப் பின் கொஞ்ச நேரம் கதையோட்டம் கொஞ்சம் தடைபடுவதும் படத்தின் வேகத்தைக் குறைக்கிறது. 'விடுதலை' போராட்டம்…

விடுதலை தொடர்புடைய செய்திகள் ↓

விடுதலை-2 ; தியேட்டரில் பாதி.. ஓடிடியில் மீதி?

விடுதலை 2 ரிலீஸ் தேதியை அறிவித்த படக்குழு!

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'விடுதலை 2'க்கு பேருதவியாக அமைந்த 'மகாராஜா' வெற்றி

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பட குழுவினர்.

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கொட்டுக்காளி

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மெர்ரி கிறிஸ்துமஸ்

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நண்பன் ஒருவன் வந்த பிறகு

திரைப்பட வரலாறு

மேலும் விமர்சனம் ↓

லப்பர் பந்து

தி கிரேட்டஸ்ட் ஆப் ஆல் டைம்

போகுமிடம் வெகு தூரமில்லை

நுனக்குழி (மலையாளம்)

டிமான்டி காலனி 2

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Viduthalai Part 1 Movie Review: Vetrimaaran Explores A Man Losing Innocence In The Most Brutal Way

Vetrimaaran is himself experimenting with viduthalai, the filmmaker has reshaped his own grammar and tried to expand the universe..

Star Cast: Soori, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Vijay Sethupathi, Bhavani Are, and ensemble.

Director: Vetrimaaran

What’s Good: It is Vetrimaaran setting up a foundation for a much larger story that is about a man losing his innocence and a cultist making his point in the most brutal way.

What’s Bad: While this is a visually brutal movie, it isn’t so brutal in its ideology like the filmmaker’s last movies.

Loo Break: It is an uncomfortable watch which will make you look away from the screen at least once.

Watch or Not?: You must because not many brave filmmakers still have their ideology safeguarded like Vetrimaaran. A mind we must promote and protect.

Language: Tamil (with subtitles).

Available On: In Theatres Near You.

Runtime: 150 Minutes.

Kumaresan (Soori), a newly joined police officer, is posted in a politically sensitive village where he is supposed to capture the leader of a separatist group, Perumal (Vijay). With time he learns tough way that the stories of valour and shining badges about the police force are not the same in reality.

Viduthalai Part-1 Movie Review: Script Analysis

Vetrimaaran , with time, has become the voice of the have-nots whom the woke culture and progress both have to reach. He is a mirror that shows the exact reflection of their condition and how brutal an existence they are living. The filmmaker weaves his stories in a way that they are niche in nature but global in approach. Viduthalai, for the beginners is probably the least ideologically brutal movie to come out of his mind, but visually the brutality multiplies and for a reason.

Written by Vetrimaaran and adapted from Jayamohan’s novel Thunaivan, Viduthalai is a movie that is used as a run-up to the central conflict and nothing else. A 10-minute long shot without a single cut, in the beginning, speaks at length about the immersive experience the filmmaker wants to welcome you in. A train filled at total capacity with passengers is bombed, and there is death all around. The camera skilfully walks through the entire scene defying geography, through windows, uncomfortable openings in the fallen train, and past dead bodies and amputated body parts. He doesn’t want you to be a viewer but a participant.

It is about a police officer filling up for a dead officer in a region known for the unrest it is in. Technically Kumaresan always thought of the force as righteous and the one that is always at the service of people. Little did he know the brutality of the business. There is so much nuance in how Vetrimaaran creates Kumaresan visually. He is informally ousted from the troop because he follows the book and has a heart. He was told to guard a watch tower and later connected to a skill set that he must have developed while being on the tower. Slowly he is made to lose his faith and innocence but becomes brutal to fight for his rights.

So is the man who he is fighting against. Perumal, a boss of a separatist group, fights for the people. At some point in his life he was also like Kumaresan, because the screenplay does hint at his generous heart. So technically here are two individuals of the same emotion fight against each other. Between this is the class divide, the caste divide, police brutality, the haves eating off the have nots, and the forest that is very much a character.

The only thing that Viduthalai lacks in is building Kumaresan’s world inside the police workshop. He is never shown forming a bond with the fellow officers giving a gateway into some more lives.

Viduthalai Part-1 Movie Review: Star Performance

Soori, as Kumaresan, is a sheer force. The actor is our eyes in this world and is learning it as we are. He is empathetic, loveable, but these are not the only qualities which will help him survive. There is so much layering to him as he even shows hint of saviour complex. The movie explores this character in the most immersive way possible.

Bhavani Sre, a girl from the village, is an effortless performer. She becomes the voice of the women who have faced brutality at the hands of the system. When the brutality gets visual and the fact that Sre is at the recieving end, it hurts you, because the actor has managed to impress you so much. Gautham Vasudev Menon is his perfect self.

Vijay Sethupathi doesn’t have much to do than some very brief appearances this time, but the last scene where he confronts a corrupt cop is an testimony of what is about to come.

Viduthalai Part-1 Movie Review: Direction, Music

Vetrimaaran is himself experimenting with Viduthalai. The filmmaker has reshaped his own grammar and tried to expand the universe. He treats the Part 1 as just an introduction to what is to come, and that works well till and extent. But the lack of Sethupathi in the first part might not be welcomed so well by an audience who will buy that ticked for him. While there is enough brutality on screen where nails of a man are being chipped during an interrogation. Women are stripped naked and physically assaulted. But all of this is visual, the idea never gets that brutal. It does bother a bit, because the impact gets diluted by the intercutting of the scenes.

The cinematography by Velraj is beautiful and haunting. The frames are perfectly lit and they have a story to tell. The music by the Maestro Illaiyaraaja, like all other Vetrimaaran products, is on point.

Viduthalai Part-1 Movie Review: The Last Word

Viduthalai Part 1 is Vetrimaaran experimenting and trying to make his audience live a very haunting story. Go in with a strong heart because this watch needs one.

Viduthalai Part-1 Trailer

Viduthalai Part-1 releases on 31st March, 2023.

Share with us your experience of watching Viduthalai Part-1.

For more recommendations, read our Christopher Movie Review .

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Viduthalai Part 1 Movie Review (2023)

• 31 Mar 2023

Vetrimaaran's 'Viduthalai - Part 1' lacks the raw power of 'Visaranai', but it’s still a worthy, watchable coming-of-age action-drama

Viduthalai Part 1 Movie Cast & Crew

Viduthalai - Part 1 is set in 1987, and it is based, loosely, on a Jeyamohan short story. At heart, it's an underdog story. The big name in the cast is Vijay Sethupathi (he does a kind of cameo appearance here, and he will be seen more in Part 2), but this is about the arc of the Soori character, a newbie cop named Kumaresan. Vetrimaaran's greatest triumph is seeing in Soori qualities that no one else saw for the 25-odd years the actor has been around. Vetrimaaran sees the goodness and the innocence and the helplessness and the lack of confidence and the desperation and also the internal moral code the actor is able to project. (Kumaresan, for instance, is not someone who will say "sorry" to a superior just so that he can escape punishment, especially if he knows he has done no wrong.) Soori repays Vetrimaaran's instincts by internalising the director’s writing and delivering an utterly convincing performance. Most times, he doesn't seem to be "acting". He just is. His Kumaresan becomes our eyes and ears, because like him (initially), we are outsiders to this world.

So, what is this world? It is a specific place set in the hillsides of southern Tamil Nadu, but it is also a microcosm of the State that encourages "development" and invites mega-corporations to invest in, say, mining infrastructure. There is a complex argument to be made about whether all development is wrong, but the film does not get into it. Viduthalai - Part 1 operates at a fairly simplistic good-versus-bad level. The "bad guys" are the cops, the special task force set up to capture the leaders of a rebel group named Makkal Padai. These are the good guys. They resort to violent means to push back against the government's development initiatives, because of the cost to the local people and the local ecosystem. Depending on who's doing the talking, the members of Makkal Padai are Naxalites or revolutionaries or terrorists. Note the name of the outfit's leader, the Vijay Sethupathi character. It's Perumal, which means God. No one has seen him, and yet he's everywhere, orchestrating everything. The name fits.

How does an outsider become an insider? How does an innocent gain wisdom? How does someone learn to separate State-disseminated propaganda and media-disseminated loose talk from the truth? In other words, how do you distinguish the real "good guys" from the real "bad guys"? And finally, how does a man who fears a gun at the beginning end up holding one? That is: how does a "coward" become a "hero"? These are the questions driving Viduthalai – and the way they shape Kumaresan is the overall arc of the coming-of-age narrative. His voiceover-letters to his mother clue us in to his state of mind, and almost everyone around him – both good and evil, pure and corrupt – becomes a kind of teacher, or "vaathiyar". (This, by the way, is also a term of respect used for the Vijay Sethupathi character.)

Even Kumaresan's love interest (Paapa, played by Bhavani Sre) teaches him something – that you should trust people due to what they are on the inside and not due to the external clothes or uniforms they wear. This moment of realisation (for Kumaresan) is just wonderful, and it made me wish the rest of the love track had been written along these lines. The way Paapa and Kumaresan meet is superb. It’s accidental. It shows us the kind of cruel world this is, both in terms of animals and (subsequently) humans. But the rest of this love angle – propped up by two redundant Ilayaraja numbers – doesn't dig as deep. The song stretches feel like they could be in any movie, any love story. We don't really feel the intensity of this relationship, which is crucial to the climax that intercuts scenes of Paapa with scenes of Kumaresan.

Viduthalai is a worthy, watchable movie. Vetrimaaran, at this point, is incapable of making anything that isn't interesting at some level. But given the gritty subject matter, I found it impossible not to keep thinking back to Visaranai , which is a truly great movie. Why doesn't Viduthalai rise to that level of greatness? One, the film feels too tightly edited. The scenes don't breathe. For instance, there is a bit where a teenage Schedule Caste girl is killed. Its ripples aren't felt to the extent that the scene-description suggests. Except the top brass and Kumaresan, the policemen are a fairly anonymous bunch. And even when we get a jaw-dropping technical achievement, like the long, single-shot coverage of a train accident, we marvel more at the shot than we feel about the victims of the tragedy. (The film's finest bit of cinematography is a drone shot that begins with two men in a forest. The camera keeps rising until the two men become insignificant, like insects, when compared to the vastness of Nature – the very Nature that someone like Perumal is trying to save from mankind's greed.)

And because of this rushed feeling, we do not get socio-political points that we do not already know about, points that could make us look anew at this story about cops who will resort to the most horrible means to get to their goal (i.e. the capture of Perumal). Gautham Vasudev Menon appears in a crisply written part as a senior cop (Rajiv Menon plays his superior, Chethan plays his subordinate). Where does he turn from a sympathetic man who seems to resent the stripping of women to someone who pulls out fingernails to extract information? These little graphs could have added more meat to the proceedings. The breathless pace also means that we do not get the sustained atmosphere of dread that held Visaranai together. (We feared and felt for those innocents in a way we never feel or fear for Kumaresan.) Viduthalai is more like Asuran . It is a simple (and generic) mainstream movie, with a thin storyline, but unlike Asuran , the emotional highs are missing.

Ilayaraja's score further defangs the proceedings by sentimentalising and underlining every emotion. During the scene of that train accident, for instance, the music keeps fighting with the ambient sounds (both dialogue and "atmosphere") for attention. A Vada Chennai or an Aadukalam can use – and be enhanced – by this sentimentalisation, by these songs. But the Visaranai/Viduthalai zone is different – and I find it strange when our filmmakers say they send films to festivals without much of a score but add it for local release "for the sake of the audience". (This has happened with Kaaka Muttai , too, and with many other "new-age" films.) If we are going to make movies that change the way the audiences ( our audiences) perceive cinema, should we not also trust these audiences to accept these films without emotional spoon-feeding? As an aside, in my PS-1 review, I said: "Could the AR Rahman songs have been axed completely to make way for more narrative?" It’s a rhetorical point. I do understand the role music plays in the commerce of cinema, but when you have a sprawling story with several characters, wouldn't you rather spend more time on fleshing out the story? It's a matter of personal taste, of course, but I also think it's a matter worth thinking about.

Then again, this "mainstreaming" may be the thing that helps Viduthalai reach a bigger audience than Visaranai did. Given that this is primarily the coming-of-age story of Kumaresan, I wished we had been inside his head a lot more. But then, the entirety of Part 1 is a lead-up to Part 2 , and in the  version I watched a few days before release, there's an epilogue where every single moment, every single line is a firecracker. Another interesting factoid about Viduthalai . Until now, the two-parter films we have had in India (or maybe even the world) have all been in the fantasy / history zone. This may be the first time a socio-political movie is being served in two installments. We won't be able to gauge the full impact of Viduthalai until we see the second part, but for now, what we have is a well-intentioned film that feels like it needed to cut deeper, far deeper.

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• About The Author
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Baradwaj Rangan

National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, former deputy editor of The Hindu and senior editor of Film Companion, has carved a niche for himself over the years as a powerful voice in cinema, especially the Tamil film industry, with his reviews of films. While he was pursuing his chemical engineering degree, he was fascinated with the writing and analysis of world cinema by American critics. Baradwaj completed his Master’s degree in Advertising and Public Relations through scholarship. His first review was for the Hindi film Dum, published on January 30, 2003, in the Madras Plus supplement of The Economic Times. He then started critiquing Tamil films in 2014 and did a review on the film Subramaniapuram, while also debuting as a writer in the unreleased rom-com Kadhal 2 Kalyanam. Furthermore, Baradwaj has authored two books - Conversations with Mani Ratnam, 2012, and A Journey Through Indian Cinema, 2014. In 2017, he joined Film Companion South and continued to show his prowess in critiquing for the next five years garnering a wide viewership and a fan following of his own before announcing to be a part of Galatta Media in March 2022.

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Viduthalai Part 1: FDFS, Plot, Censor, Runtime, OTT & More

Published date : 30/mar/2023.

Five time National award winning filmmaker Vetrimaaran is coming back with a full length feature film directorial venture after 4 years, and Viduthalai: Part 1 releasing tomorrow is the first edition of this two-part movie. Here is a quick scan of all you need to know about Viduthalai: Part 1 : 

• Release Date : March 31, 2023 (Friday)
• First Show (FDFS) :  4 AM IST [USA Premiere],  9: 00 AM [Tamil Nadu]
• Language : Tamil
• Genre : Crime, Drama, Action
• Runtime : 145. 37 minutes (2 hours 25 minutes 37 seconds)
• Plot : A   nearly recruited cop ( Soori ) is pitted against one of the greatest rebel leaders ( Vijay Sethupathi ). Will he be able to capture the rebel leader to save his lady love ( Bhavani Sre )?

• Soori - Kumaresan, a police constable
• Vijay Sethupathi - Perumal Vaathiyaar, rebel leader of an outfit called 'people's army'
• Bhavani Sre
• Gautham Vasudev Menon - high profile cop
• Rajiv Menon - A. Subramaniyan
• Munnar Ramesh
• Saravana Subbiah
• Story:  B. Jeyamohan ( Thunaivan )
• Screenplay : Vetrimaaran, B. Jeyamohan
• Direction : Vetrimaaran
• Music : Ilaiyaraaja
• Audio/Music Label : Sony Music
• Lyrics :  Suka, Yuga Bharathi
• Cinematography :  R.Velraj
• Edit :  R.Ramar
• Art/Production Design :  Jacki
• Action/Stunts :  Peter Hein / Stun Siva
• VFX : Harihara Suthan
• Sound Effects/SFX : Prathap 
• Publicity Design :  sasi& sasi
• Production : Rs Infotainment
• Distribution : Red Giant Movies (Tamil Nadu), Prime Media (USA)
• OTT (Post-Theatrical) : Zee 5
• Satellite (Post-Theatrical)  - Kalaignar TV

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‘Viduthalai Part-1' Review: Soori Shines in Vetrimaaran’s Realistic Cop Drama

'viduthalai' is directed by national award-winning filmmaker vetrimaaran and the music is composed by ilaiyaraaja., ‘viduthalai part-1' review: soori is convincing in vetrimaaran’s realistic cop drama.

Consider this list:

Vetrimaaran’s Visaranai , India’s official entry to the Oscars in 2016

Suriya-starrer , Jai Bhim

Taanakkaran , directed by Tamizh

Franklin Jacob’s  Writer presented by Pa Ranjith

Maari Selvaraj’s Karnan starring Dhanush

Featuring Soori and Vijay Sethupathi , Viduthalai (Freedom) joins this short list of some of the most important cop dramas in the Tamil film industry that vehemently raise a voice against the glorification of police brutality on screens.

A still from Viduthalai Part 1.

(Photo Courtesy: YouTube)

Adapted from the short story titled ‘Thunaivan', written by B Jeyamohan, Viduthalai is not from the usual flamboyant cop universe where the protagonist is a stylish police officer who goes about killing goons as if he were a player in PUBG. And no, the film does not add mass background music simply to amp up the swagger of the hero's murders.

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Set in the 1980s, the film opens with a tragic train accident in a hilly terrain of southern Tamil Nadu. The police suspect the bomb blast was executed by Makkal Padai, a separatist group which claims to oppose the government as the measures taken for development of the region comes at the cost of destruction and depletion of natural resources and the ecosystem.

But were the Makkal Padai really behind the horrific train attack that killed several civilians? Who is the mastermind operating this outfit? Why do some villagers support the group that is termed a terror organisation? A naïve cop, Kumaresan (Soori) who joins the police department tasked with hunting down the kingpin, tries to give us the answers.

The film gets more realistic and rustic as it proceeds with its narration. Using the word 'terrifying’ to describe the brutality on screen would be too mild a word. Viduthalai screams of pain and helplessness under the abuse of power.

Viduthalai is a socio-political commentary that delves deeper into the systemic oppression present in the police forces. It talks about how those at the tail end of the hierarchy are forced to kill their passion to serve the people – which should ideally be the objective for any police officer on duty – just to survive and stay in their jobs.

Soori is excellent with his convincing performance as an innocent, honest, and humane cop. He does take the liberty to show off his comedic timing to spur sporadic laughter without deviating much from the serious plot.

It was interesting to see Gautham Vasudev Menon, a filmmaker whose police-themed films were appreciated but were also criticised for glorifying police encounter killings, star in a cop role that pretty much does the same. However, the gaze was quite the opposite when positioned in the Vetrimaaran universe.

The supporting actors, including Bhavani Sre, Chetan, and Rajiv Menon, deliver great performances. The songs by Ilaiyaraaja, specifically the one in Dhanush’s voice, are soothing to our ears.

Dhanush has sung 'Onnoda Nadantha', a duet in Ilaiyaraaja’s music for Viduthalai

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

‘Thiruchitrambalam’ Review: Dhanush, Nithya Menen Deliver a Feel-good Drama

Viduthalai succeeds in pulverising the audience’s hearts every time it plays 'Aararirao', a word used in Tamil lullabies, infused in an 'Oppari', a folk song tune used at funerals.

The film has graphic displays of custodial torture that may border on torture porn; however, with the ultimate messaging of the film intact, it is quite evident that the director has his heart in the right place.

Another doubt along similar lines: Why would Vetrimaaran , who is known for his anti-caste films, introduce a cop named ‘Menon’, a caste marker used predominantly in Kerala? I didn't find a major significance to its reference in this film. Was it really necessary? Again, given Vetrimaaran's track record of consistently delivering progressive films, I trust that's an unintentional reference.

Moreover, if you watch Viduthalai as a native Tamil speaker, the mediocre lip sync lets you disconnect from the film once in a while. 

Vetrimaaran makes a clear announcement at the start of the film that it is a fictitious work. Ironically, though, one could not miss noticing that the film resembles several events of police brutality that have happened in Tamil history. Was the announcement intentionally ironic? Maybe, maybe not but Viduthalai Part 1 ends with a leadup to a sequel. And that's exciting.

Just like the film has two parts, the crux of Viduthalai universe, in my opinion, can be divided into two parts too. One, not everyone who is accused and killed in police encounters necessarily is the real criminal, and two, not all police officers are brutal and inhuman. What does Viduthalai Part-2 have in store? Let's wait and watch.

But for now, you can catch Viduthalai Part-1 in cinemas.

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