Anjana, who has worked as an associate director with Gautham Menon, has made her directorial debut with “Veppam”, which has been produced by her mentor. Her narrative style is very similar to that of her mentor but the film fails to hold the attention of the viewers for long.

The film is set in the backdrop of North Chennai and it unfolds from Balaji’s (Muthukumar) perspective. The film revolves around Balaji’s brother Karthik (Nani), Vishnu (Karthik Kumar) and Revathy (Nithya Menen).A flashback tells us that Balaji’s father Jothi (Shimmor) was a drunkard and he deserted his family after his wife’s death. Then, Jothi ventured into illegal business dealings with a lady don Ammaji (Jennifer).Karthik and Revathy fall for each other in their childhood and Vishnu gets attracted to Viji (Bindhu Madhavi), who is a commercial sex worker. Vishnu takes a risky decision to save Viji which affects all the characters in the film.

Nani has a meaty role in the film and has lapped up the opportunity. Nithya Menen has given a subtle performance and is quite apt for the role. Bindhu Madhavi fits the role to a T with her powerful expressions. Karthik Kumar looks little unconvincing in the role of a rugged guy. The rest of the cast fails to make a big impact.

First, the film follows the tried and tested path which we have seen in many films earlier. Many scenes give us a déjà-vu feeling which could have been avoided. For a crime thriller, the pace of the film is too slow and the plot is very unrealistic. The film does not engage the audience at all due to the flimsy screenplay. There are too many twists and turns in the second half which seem forced into the story.

The only saving grace of the film is Joshua Sridhar’s music. The songs, which are already a rage among youngsters, are picturised well by cinematographer Om Prakash. Director Anjana has made sure that the film is technically sound but fails to concentrate on the screenplay.

Veppam is neither hot nor happening. It is just another gangster flick with regular commercial clichés.