Hari, one of the best commercial directors in Tamil, has lived up to the expectations in 'Vel'. He has presented a racy film that provides a perfect entertainer. The movie has action, sentiment, and romance. The script, which is compact, is well complemented by the performances.
The two layered story unfolds nicely. The story opens with a family with a twin children losing one. The separated boys grow up in different environments. The one grows in Chennai becomes an officer (Vasudevan) in a private investigative agency and the other grows in Dindukkal becomes a typical rusty young man (Vetrivel).
The city bred Suriya charms RJ Asin through his professional ethics. Rusty Vel is engaged in the bloody tussle with Kalabhavan Mani, who has deep rooted enmity against the family. Vasu is full of brains and smile while Vel lives with sickle and dangerous duels.
Vasu’s mother (Saranya) could not forget her lost son. She is longing to bring him back to her home. But she couldn’t find his whereabouts. The family, in which Vel lives, is so affectionate with him. Especially the grand mother (Lakshmi) is emotionally dependent on him.
RJ Asin accidentally finds Vel and informs Vasu. Vasu goes to the village and meets his brother. The family refuses to send Vel to his original family. Vasu, understanding their unadulterated affection towards Vel, agrees to give up his claim.
But he has one request. Vel should go to Chennai pretending as Vasu and live with his mother. Vasu in turn would act as Vel in the village. Vel accepts.
Vasu continues Vel’s struggle against powerful Kalabhavan Mani but with a different approach. Vasu uses his brain and investigating network instead of muscle power. The rules of the game changes, and Mani finds himself cornered.
The movie goes on narrating fierce fight and sentimental drama between the two families over Vel.
Director Hari is known for his compact script and smart execution. Though he has proven his caliber in a few films life 'Samy', 'Vel' is easily his best film. It showcases his ability to create a racy entertainer. He has treaded in a safe path to make a commercially viable film by choosing a routine theme based on sentiment and action. But the treatment he has given to the story is commendable. You cannot single out a scene that is boring or redundant.
He has conceived and executed the action and romantic sequences equally well. The pace is ensured from the word go. The two dimensional climax – action and sentiment – is quite appealing.
For Suriya, the roles are not as challenging as the ones in 'Pithamagan', 'Gajini' or 'Perazhagan'. He gets routine roles but his handling makes them look special. He breathes fire as 'Vel' and spreads charm as Vasu. Though there is no much difference in the get ups, he has differentiated both roles by his body language and dialogue delivery. His action in emotional sequences is touching. His on screen chemistry with Asin clicks once again.
Asin doesn’t have much to perform but she does have her moments. The initial roles showcase her magical charm. She has handled her role with amazing ease and brilliance. She shows her caliber when she looks at her lover in the village house with admiration and love.
Kalabhavan Mani, as villain with comical traits, rocks. The man adds life to the proceedings by his inimitable style. Vadivelu’s comedy is simply amazing. The man is definitely one of the major assets of the film.
Saranya and Lakshmi do their parts well. Raj Kapoor as the uncle of Vel and Charlie as Vasu’s friend are competent.
Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music is soothing to the ears. The songs sequences, however, are not among the pluses of the movie. In fact, songs do weaken the pace of the movie.
The bottomline: 'Vel' rocks with racy script and powerful performances. Surefire entertainer to brighten up the festival season.
Director: Hari
Producer: M. Chinthamani
Cast: Surya Sivakumar, Asin Thottumkal, Vadivelu, Aishwarya,
Kalabhavan Mani, Nassar, Charan Raj, Lakshmi, Saranya
Raj Kapoor, Charlie
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
