Review Overview
Narration
Performances
Technical Aspects & BGM
Smartly Packed
Debutant director Saravana Rajan’s Vadacurry is a finely made, crisply edited, swiftly paced and a cleverly written thriller which is positively worth your while, though the third-act doesn’t stand-out.
Cast : Jai, Swathi, RJ Balaji, Venkat Prabhu, Ajay Raj, Kasthuri, Sunny Leone, Aruldoss, Sathish, Premgi – Mahat (Cameo) & Others.
Cinematography : Venkatesh S
Music : Mervin Solomon, Vivek Siva, Yuvan
Editing : Praveen KL
Written & Directed by : Saravana Rajan
Produced by : Dhayanidhi Alagiri for Meeka Entertainment
Distributed by : Radiance Media
Release Date : 19-06-2014
Run Time : 02:02:52
Debutant director Saravana Rajan’s Vadacurry is a finely made, crisply edited, swiftly paced and a cleverly written thriller which is positively worth your while, though the third-act doesn’t stand-out.
The premise of Vadacurry is simple. It is about Sathish’s (Jai) temptation to purchase a sophisticated mobile phone because of which he gets mired into a infinite number of unforeseen troubles. How Sathish overcomes the troubles and triumphs over his difficulties is what Vadacurry is all about.
The first half is gradually paced with the director taking a good amount of time to establish his characters. It picks up steam right before the interval and kindles the interest of audiences to sit back. Sathish (Jai) falls in love with Naveena (Swathi), but Naveena’s friend (who is also her bike-companion) misconstrues that Sathish loves her and feels heart-broken when Sathish reveals that he actually loves Naveena, not her. Though the love portions involving Jai and Swathi are ordinary, the director doesn’t let it affect the screenplay and has smartly moved his cards by opting for a different angle in handling it.
RJ Balaji’s quintessential gags and jabs leave the audience in splits at regular intervals in the first half. He even takes a dig at ‘Settai’ running empty in theatres. Mind you. But, the crowd puller is easily Sunny Leone’s song ‘Low Aana Life U’, hands down. Swathi’s role as a whimsical love-interest of Jai might bring you memories of Idharkuthaane Aasaipaati Balakumara. She has chipped in a neat performance though her screen-time is less, comparatively. The pre-interval twist in the film ups the ante and clearly sets the stage for second half.
Jai plays the role of a medical representative and sports formal wears throughout the film. Obviously, not in songs. He has delivered a nifty performance and his idiosyncratic voice befits the role. And then, there is an extended cameo by Venkat Prabhu who plays a cool-headed boss to Jai.
The second half is finely packed with twists keeping the suspense element intact, thanks to Praveen KL’s skillful editing. It deals with the smuggling of medicines in bulk from warehouses and marketing it illegally. The scenes involving drug smuggling are well-thought out and simplistic without going over-the-top. Jai gets entangled in this illegal trade and he begins his quest for finding the mastermind behind all this, a character named ‘Ravi Shankar’. The culmination of events in the second half for a climactic show down is swiftly paced, let alone the revelation. There is no momentum-spoiling songs in the second half, which is really heartening.
Music duo Mervin – Vivek has done a capable debut. Brownie points for their background score in the second half. With nearly two hours, the film is certainly worth your while. Though Vadacurry is not extremely sumptuous, it surely manages to tickle your taste buds.