Review Overview
Performances
Screenplay and Direction
Technical Aspects and BGM
Mundane Moments of Laughter!
The movie is targeted for what trade calls the “B & C” audiences. Vellakkara Durai is a loud-natured, crass comedy vehicle which has nothing new except few passable laughter moments.
Cast: Vikram Prabhu, Sri Divya, Soori, John Vijay, M. S. Bhaskar, Singampuli, Vanitha Krishnachandran, Namo Narayana, Meenakshi (Cameo) & Others
Cinematography: Sooraj Nallusami
Music: Imman
Editing: Kishore TE
PRO: Mounam Ravi
Written & Directed by: Ezhil
Produced by: Anbu Chezhiyan for Gopuram Films
Distribution: Olympia Movies
Release Date: 25-12-2014
Run Time: 02: 17:00
The movie is targeted for what trade calls the “B & C” audiences. Vellakkara Durai is a loud-natured, mundane comedy vehicle which has nothing new except few passable laughter moments.
The story starts up with the intro of Parotta Soori (Police Pandi),who borrows money from Vatti Varadhan (John Vijay). Pandi buys a land for real estate business with Vikram Prabu (Murugan) as his co-partner.They were cheated by the broker (Vaiyapuri) by making them to buy a ‘graveyard land’ which is worth a zilch. Because of that, Parotta Soori and Vikram Prabu with his two friends get insanely drunk and in an attempt to badmouth Vaiyapuri, they try to dial him but end up calling Vatti Varadhan. Vikram Prabu picks the phone and uses sleaze words and drags him through the mud thinking him as the land broker Vaiyapuri. Then all hell breaks loose. When Vikram Prabhu and Soori realize their shenanigans, they’re already held captives by John Vijay.
Vikram Prabhu meets Sri Divya (Yamuna) at John Vijay’s place but thanks to Soori’s roguishness, Vikram thinks of Sri Divya as John’s sister when she’s actually his bride-to-be. Later, when Vikram Prabhu becomes aware of this fact, he becomes shocked and this forms the interval block. What happens to Vikram’s love for Sri Divya? Will they join hands despite the mighty antagonist John Vijay? How did Sri Divya end up at John Vijay’s place? The answers for all these questions lie in the second half, which is underwhelmingly narrated with dull moments of laughter.
Ezhil is known for his rural comedies and huge supporting cast in his films. Here, he operates on the same belief that having funny people on screen is enough to get laughs. But, he misses out the fact that witty writing on paper is vital to bring life to the characters seasoned performers enact on screen.
Vikram Prabhu’s transformation from back-to-back urban hero flicks to this village drama is not convincing at all. His choice of subject is a big let down and we hope him to comeback with a bang come 2015. Sri Divya is cherubic but has little scope for performance. Placement of songs are distressingly screenplay-hindering and tests your patience to the core. Imman’s background score is good, but the songs fail to impress even with the visuals.