Veppam Movie Review

Can a female filmmaker handle an action-thriller with conviction? Can she portray the darker shades of underworld in an effective manner? Yes seems to be the answer for Anjali Ali Khan has proved it through 'Veppam'. The debutant filmmaker, who is a former associate of Gautham Vasudev Menon, has come out with a riveting action tale in 'Veppam'.

The movie seems to have carried a lot of hype for it is released by Gautham Vasudev Menon's own banner Photon Kathas. 'Veppam' promises aplenty and lives up to the hype in most parts. For, the script about friendship and deceit is loaded with thrills and spills to entertain the masses.

The director seems to have won the battle thanks to an excellent technical crew coming to her aid. Om Prakash's cinematography and Antony's razor-sharp editing are the movie's flesh and blood while Joshua Sridhar with his seven catchy numbers forms the soul of this film.

The whole film unfolds in a slum in Chennai. Balaji (Muthukumar), after his mother's death and his father Jothi (Shimmore), a drunkard, leaves him on streets, works hard and ensures a decent living for his younger brother Karthik (Nani).

Karthik, who studies in an engineering college, spends all his time with his friend Vishnu (Evam Karthik), who is also brought up in the locality. There is Revathy (Nithya Menen) in the neighbourhood, who loves Karthik desperately.

Meanwhile Jothi takes to illegal ways and makes money working for a woman drug peddler Ammaji (Jennifer). Knowing that Vishnu is in love with Viji (Bindhu Madhavi), a call girl in the locality, Jothi decides to exploit him for his selfish gain.

He gives him an assignment - to transport drugs to Pondicherry, promising to give him Viji if he completes the work. Vishnu takes the help of Karthik and goes to Pondy. However sensing that something is fishy, Vishnu returns to Chennai.

What follows next is the story of 'Veppam'.

Technically it's a brilliant film. Awesome cinematography and good background score besides songs by Joshua Sridhar make it count. The script is racy and the first half with some breezy moments passes off quickly. The twists and surprising turns in the story are enjoyable.

Muthukumar with his subtle performance walks away with honours, while Nani and Karthik play their part well. Bindhu Madhavai has limited scope while Nithya Menen hogs limelight with her character. Gautham Menon has dubbed for Muthukumar in the movie...

The film may have its flaws. There may be logical lapses. But all can be set aside for Anjana's honest work in her debut venture. Watch this racy story for its worth your money...

Sega Movie Review

Anjana Ali Khan whose debut 'Veppam' released in Telugu as 'Sega' today had great openings. Audience thronged to theatres to get a glimpse of hit pair Nani and Nitya on the screen. Released admist massive publicity and hungama, Sega also marks the debut of Nani into Tamil cinema industry. We watched this film today and here is what we think of it...

Story

Balaji and Karthik are brothers.Unable to bear the torture of her husband (Jyothi), their mother commits suicide. Balaji being the elder one, takes care of his brother Karthik(Nani). Their well being is ensured by their neighbour who is a hoarding painter. Karthik grows up with Revati(Nitya), the daughter of that painter. Jyothi who is a broker and runs a prostitute house wants Karthik to handle his business. But Balaji keeps Karthik and Jyothi away. Vishnu who is the son of a mechanic is Karthik's best friend. He falls in love with Veena(Bindu Madhavi) a prostitute in Jyothi's business. To get Veena out of Jyothi's prostitution business,Vishnu agrees to deliver a drug packet given by Jyothi.He seeks his best friend Karthik's help in this operation. The rest of the story is on how Jyothi plays games with Karthik's life and how Balaji confronts him to save his brother.

Performance

Nani and Nitya recreate their 'Ala Modalaindi' magic on screen. Their chemistry is outstanding and a great asset to this film. Nitya looks super cute and realistic in her role.Bindu Madhavi steals the show with her role as a prostitute. Though her screen space is less, she leaves an impact with her role.Infact, in comparision, Bindu Madhavi stole the show. Despite being the first film for many of the other star cast, they did a decent job.None of the actors in this film let you down.

Clap worthy moments

Shashank Vennelakanti's dialogues for this film are well written. For instance, Nani's father asks him, 'Bandi Tholathava, Thooluthava'. Music by Joshwa Sridhar is good. The audio of this film is worth purchasing a CD. All the tracks in this album are melodious and pleasant to hear. The cinematographer needs a pat on his back for doing a great job. Though the screenplay is haywire, the narration is quirky and interesting.Kudos to the director's casting sense.

Cringe worthy moments

The story is boring and predictable. We found the audience screaming the next scene. The movie doesn't stand out if the audience can easily predict the upcoming events in the script. The background score is pale and did not support the intensity of a scene. The locations are irrationally depressive. The costumes are a curse to the film. The songs in this film have no leads. You will be left wondering why there is a song all of a sudden. Nitya's lip movement and the lyrics are an absolute mismatch in the songs. Since there is hardly a comical scene or even a simple situational comedy, this movie leaves a very depressive impact on the viewer's minds.Since this movie was made keeping Tamil audience in mind, the charecters are all too raw and crude. Telugu audience can't relate themselves to such de-glamorous charecters. The director seemed to have been caught in conflict between her style of making the film and the commercial obligations.

Verdict

This film is very depressive and boring. History says that Telugu audience never liked such films. History repeats...