Review Overview
Performances
Screenplay & Direction
Technical Aspects & BGM
Melodrama Overdose!
Vennila Veedu is a passable family drama which works in its limited atmosphere, cast and a wafer thin story-line. However, it has its own shortcomings , the ones that plague Tamil cinema very often – overweening scenes of melodrama, a schmaltzy climax and stereotyped characters.
Cast: Senthil, Vijayalakshmi, Srinda Ashab, Black Pandi, Muthuraman, Subramaniapuram Sithan & others
Cinematography: D Kannan
Music: Dhanraj Manickam
Editing: Sabu Joseph
PRO: Nikkil Murugan
Written & Directed by: Vetri Mahalingam
Production: Adharsh Studio
Distribution: The Vibrant Movies
Release Date: 10-10-2014
Run Time: 02:10:00
Vennila Veedu is a passable family drama which works in its limited atmosphere, cast and a wafer thin story-line. However, it has its own shortcomings , the ones that plague Tamil cinema very often – overweening scenes of melodrama, a schmaltzy climax and stereotyped characters.
Thenmozhi (Vijayalakshmi) is a responsible homemaker, a benevolent neighbour and well-known for her altruistic acts in her apartment premises – such as offering free tutelage to the neighborhood children, providing food for an octogenarian who’s rejected in her own household. She leads a happy life with her husband Karthik (Mirchi Senthil) who works as a manager in a private firm, where the proprietor of the business is of the opinion that his company’s growth and profits have manifolded solely because of Karthik’s hardwork and dedication. Such is his crediblility. However, things turn topsy-turvy when Thenmozhi gets acquainted with her neighbour Srinda Ashab, who plays a rich brat of a character. An incident turns Thenmozhi and Karthik’s life forever and tests their self-esteem and morale big-time. Will they survive this catastrophe and come clean? This forms the rest of the story.
Muthuraman of Vazhakku En 18/9 fame has delivered a beautiful performance as Srinda’s father. His command over the character makes him the perfect antagonist for the story. Subramaniapuram Sithan and Black Pandi as father and son offer some light-hearted moments in the film which otherwise oozes emotions. Director Vetri Mahalingam has taken a leaf of a newspaper story and tried to weave it with a family drama blending it with both urban and rural setting.
Though the film conveys a subtle message, the amount of contrivances the film brims with is a major let-down and makes it absolutely cringe-worthy. The first half passes off at a snail pace and the story picks up only before the interval when the proceedings already seem too late. The second half works in parts, thanks to the familiar and the highly relatable backdrop the film is set in. Mirchi Senthil and Vijayalakshmi have performed well as a doting couple.
Vetri Mahalingam’s dialogues capture the perils of a middle-class household and the other-side of leading a life in a urban place. However, the manipulations, time and again, in the narration, in some form or the other, act as a deterrent to the pulse of the screenplay.