Vanjagar Ulagam review: Gangster film tells almost everything but at leisurely pace
Direction: Manoj Beedha
Cast: Guru Somasundaram, Ciby, Vishagan, Anisha Ambrose, Chandini
At a time the entire nation is talking about a particular topic, Vanjagar Ulagam, has hit the theaters with similar things. Perhaps the timing was a co-incidence. Newcomer Manoj Beedha has attempted an experimental genre and tried to present it in Hollywood style. The gangster film has loads of violent scenes, bloodshed, drug mafia, sentiments, betrayal, love and lust, but everything opens at a leisurely pace.
The movie begins with Shanmugam aka Shaam (Ciby), who works as a network engineer at a newspaper office, setting ablaze a van. In the subsequent scene, Shaam is picked up by the cops under the suspicion of murdering his neighbour Mythili (Chandini Tamilarasan). Enter Vishagan (Vishagan Sulur Vanangamudy), a reporter for a newspaper and Shanmugam’s friend who is also into the investigation. Then there’s a gangster track involving Sampath (Guru Somasundaram) and his elusive boss Durairaj. Police also interrogate Mythili’s husband Bala (Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan), a friend of Sampath, who works in a shop that belongs to Durairaj.
Guru Somasundaram has given a versatile performance, although he goes overboard at times. Perhaps, that was not his fault, as most of the character arcs are not etched out well. Vishagan and Sibi do their parts convincingly. Chandini in a strong and bold role scores with her measured performance. All others including Azhagam Perumal, Vasu Vikram and John Vijay are adequate. The twirled narration only adds to the confusion. The climatic revelation (though guessable) and the backstory involved in it are told in a resounding manner.
The music is unconventional with Sam CS playing a Carnatic dubstep for a lovemaking scene and during a police encounter. Camerawork by Del Rio Herrara and Saravanan Ramasamy goes well with the dark mood of the film. The length of the movie is also yet another aspect, which goes against its enjoyment quotient.
